LondonLad60

My wife and I are on Spirit Of Discovery on Monday going to the Canaries. We received a letter today saying that the sailing time has been put back to 22;30 to enable the ship to be deep cleaned by a specialist team on arrival into Southampton on Monday morning. 

13 hours ago, Tablelamp said:

We were also seated with the security officer. He told us he always made sure he had the troublemakers on his table. I thought that was very funny and we had some really good conversation.  To complain to an officer over lunch is very inappropriate.  Try going to reception instead

Err... where did I complain about anything?? And I certainly don't need telling who to address any complaints to.

Hi Eglesbrech

He was asked who has the final say when it comes to having passengers removed from the ship. He said after all the evidence had been heard and considered, he would make a decision, which would go to the Captain for rubber stamping. He said the Captain could overturn his decision, but he/she would have to have very good reasons for doing so, and to the best of his knowledge it had never happened. 

The most interesting Peninsula Club lunch I have attended was on Ventura last year. The senior officer on our table was the chief security officer (or whatever his title is) and there was only one other couple on the table, so we all had the chance to chat to him. I asked him what he did before coming to P&O. He replied, "I was in the royal protection squad". I said, "And I guess that's all you're allowed to say". He just smiled and nodded. He did though give us an interesting insight into the processes and procedures involved when passengers don't behave as they should, and he has to get involved.

I'm with you there Jean. We lost two cruises when Adonia was sold, and P&O's explanation was not  only absolutely  pathetic,  it was ridiculous . The only reason we continue to cruise with P&O is that they offer small to mid size adult only ship.. Perhaps the time to look else where, methinks.

Whenever senior officers are asked questions regarding the sale of ships the standard response seems to be, "I/we are not aware of any plans to sell <insert ship of choice>". Some go on to say, "Although Carnival are hardly likely to tell us if there are any such plans", so I was surprised to read that the Captain of Azura announced that Oceana is up for sale. I was on a cruise when a senior officer was asked during a Peninsular club lunch how the plans to sell Oriana were going; as there were so many rumours circulating that she was being sold, and he gave the standard response. A lady on the same table said, "Oriana has been sold." Someone else asked her, " Are you saying she IS being sold, or HAS been sold?" She replied, "Oriana HAS been sold - and that's all I'm saying". Within two weeks, the sale was announced...

There is also a rumour going around that when Iona's sister ship enters service in 2022, Arcadia will be going. At a peninsular club lunch on a recent Arcadia cruise, the officer on our table said that Arcadia has a good ten years life left in her. What WASN'T said was how many of these ten years Arcadia would be spending with P&O. The trouble with rumours though is that there are probably more rumours circulating on a ship at any one time than there are passengers aboard.

Bob

Will you be booking a select or saver fare? If it's a saver fare (i.e. you don't receive free parking or onboard credit) then parking4cruises will be cheaper than CPS. If it's a select fare, I find it works out better to take the onboard credit as the select fare option and to book my own parking with parking4cruises. After you have parked with them once you qualify for a 5% discount. I was put off CPS for the following reasons. The first time I used them they must have parked my car beneath a lamppost or a tree, because when I returned to it, it was smothered (and I do mean smothered) in bird droppings. CPS had cleared the windows, but it took a pressure washer to get the rest off when I got home. On subsequent occasions I've returned to my car to find it covered in a layer of fine brown/grey metallic dust, which suggests to me that it was parked near one of the scrap yards within the port boundaries. I've never had any problems at all with parking4cruises, and I would happily recommend them.

Whichever terminal you return to, the short stay car park is only a few minutes walk away, and as Brianl says above, whichever terminal you return to (even if this changes during the cruise) your car will be waiting for you.

Bob

I'm pretty sure there is normally a little card left to that effect.

It should have been placed in your cabin (or fridge, depending on the individual steward) during the day of the first Black Tie night. Not that this helps you now, but at least you'll know next time.

In the last few years I've seen Tom O'Connor (stand up comedian and Name That Tune among other shows) and Roy Walker (stand up and Catchphrase among other shows).  Sue Holderness (Only Fools & Horses and The Green Green Grass) was a guest speaker on Arcadia on a recent Med. cruise.  Probably the funniest act I've seen on a cruise and who may not be quite so well known as Messrs O'Connor and Walker is a guy by the name of Mike Doyle. He first came to fame as a contestant on Bob (Monkhouse) Says Opportunity Knocks back in 1988. I've seen him on two cruises, and not only is he a very funny man, he is no mean singer either. If you get the chance to see him, I recommend you take it. 

I was on Arcadia several times last year and I seem to recall seeing buckets on all cruises. These were mainly on deck 2 (in and outside the Rising Sun, in and near the Intermezzo and Spinnaker bars and in the midship lift/staircase area). On one cruise (I forget which one), a length of the corridor alongside the Intermezzo and Spinnaker bars was cordoned off for several hours while ceiling panels were removed and overhead work was carried out by the maintenance team. Whether or not this was related to the leak problems I don't know, but I assume it was. Passenger inconvenience was minimised, as passengers were simply diverted through the bars' seating areas. It would be interesting to have an update from anyone who has been on Arcadia since mid December.  

Another error on the P&O site, this one regarding Arcadia - I've been on Arcadia four times this year (last time was earlier this month), and the Black Tie dress code is not enforced in Sindhu

My daughter is currently on Britannia in the Caribbean. Her cabin is being serviced twice a day. I agree with Selbourne; perhaps the trial is aimed at 2-3 night party cruises.

Hello Jean

My wife and I were on the same Oriana cruise. We removed the autograts at the beginning of the second full week, and we received the letter a few days later. It wasn't left outside though; it had been placed in our cabin by our steward. From the people we spoke to and from what we heard, a lot of passengers removed the autograts. I've kept our letter as I intend to send it to P&O along with a letter of my own, as this is one of a number of issues (not all relating to this particular cruise) that I want to bring to their attention.

I've received several of these post-booking questionnaires over the last year or so. One question I distinctly remember appeared on only one of them. I forget the exact wording, but the question was something along the lines of, "In one word, how would you like to feel at the end of your cruise? Please select one." There were several alternatives such as Refreshed, Revitalized, Reinvented, Relaxed, Rejuvenated, etc. The one that stood out for me was Hungover. Not saying which I selected...

My wife and I are cruising the Baltic on Arcadia in July, so we are monitoring the ongoing situation with Russia with more than a passing interest. IMHO, unless relations deteriorate to the extent that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office issues an 'Advise against all travel' warning (which surely P&O wouldn't dare ignore) then the St. Petersburg stop will probably go ahead. If that stop is cancelled, so be it. We would still go on the cruise because there are other ports of interest to us, especially Tallinn. However, the ante has been upped somewhat with the news this morning of air strikes on Syria.

My wife and I are on X722 on Oriana departing on Monday. It's supposed to stop in Barcelona next Saturday (Nov 4th) but with what's going on in Catalonia at the moment it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if that stop is cancelled. Things like this are completely out of P&O's control. Of course, we'll be disappointed if the port is missed, but it's just something that we'll have to put up with. It also wouldn't surprise me if P&O already have contingency plans in place just in case.

I too wonder where CPS park customers' cars. The first time I used them my car must have been parked under a tree or a lamppost because when I collected it, it was smothered in bird droppings. I scraped the windows, mirrors and lights clean before leaving the car park, and it took a pressure washer to get the rest of it off my car. On subsequent occasions I've used them, on collection my car has been covered in a thick layer of grey/brown dust. The last time it happened I checked my milometer - it had hardly moved, which would suggest to me that my car had been parked within the port boundaries, and close to a scrap dump. I don't use CPS now - I'm more than happy with Parking4cruises.