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Re labels etc - sometimes trying a different browser works.

My wife found a new-to-her clothing website today and wanted to buy loads of items. Got them into her basket but the page would not show "proceed to payment" bit, so stuck.

Great, I thought, saved some money there - but she tried again on Chrome and it all went through without a hitch. DOH!

re your requests for information about dining - both these ships, and Ventura, also have fixed dining - i.e a reserved table seat at a fixed time for the whole of the cruise for dinner (not lunchtime or breakfast - they are unreserved) - and two sessions: first sitting (6.30pm) and second sitting (8.30pm), and you choose which sitting you want when booking (we have never had anything else in 25 years on P&O other than first sitting).

You can also ask for table size (2, 4, 6, or eight) when booking. There are no guarantees that you will get your choice but if you book on first release day you are probably going to be O.K.

We don't use the Buffet for dinner, aways MDR, but do use it often for breakfast and lunch, although both meals can be taken in the dining room - unreserved - which is more civilised. We just can't eat as much as we used to so snack instead. I call the Buffet the "Works Canteen" as it reminds me of an earlier experience in a manufacturing industry, but its alright. Some hate it (scrum) - others like its flexibility.

1 hour ago, david63 said:

I would also add that now is a good time to buy as Carnival shares are quite low and will probably start to rise.

Naughty, naughty, David! I'm sure you didn't mean to intentionally give share advice to anyone?

I use a different insurer, but same experience - this is standard practice.

Remember it is a tick-box exercise on his/her computer for the clerk dealing with your claim - common sense and/or use of initiative are not relevant once the tick-boxes are established by "management".

10 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

We disembarked this morning off Arvia and as we were walking across to CPS car park there was also a queue of cats waiting  to be checked in by CPS.

Wonderful image! No wonder my car always smells a bit iffy when I collect it after a cruise!

On 4/16/2024 at 8:00 PM, jh1809 said:

I couldn't resist booking Aurora's 24-day Med cruise in Sep-Oct 2026. Quite a few intriguing ports that I've not been to before. 

Another plus for this cruise, given the red-hot temps in the Med in recent summers (too hot for us in July and August), by the time this cruise goes it might well be nice and hot but not unbearable.

On 3/19/2024 at 9:41 AM, July morning said:

I've been on two cruises with my daughter. We share a cabin I make the booking (and pay) we were given times two hours apart.  That was because I'm Caribbean level and she was a beginner 😂 

I phoned and was told as we were sharing a cabin she could board with me and go to the welcome lunch which we both enjoyed😁 

We were on Britannia and Ventura

Glad you were dealt with sensibly - but here is a cautionary tale though from October last year: 

My wife is Caribbean level but I am not, and when we turned up for the earlier time, having checked by email with P&O customer services that this is what we should do, we were refused entry by a pathetic jobsworth who didn't have the intelligence to see how ridiculous her position was!

It took 20 minutes and a supervisor before we were let through, thoroughly ruffled.

Our time differential was even longer than two hours!

The Welcome lunch was an overcrowded buffet instead, and of poor quality with huge queues, so we ended up in the "workers playtime" canteen upstairs anyway!

Has anyone else noticed that the Shore Experiences on forthcoming cruises will only give the following message?:

"Please bear with us while we add the final touches to your Shore Experiences.

Our team of destination experts is currently finalising the Shore Experiences for this destination, so you can enjoy the very latest and best options available in this port. Please check back with us soon for availability."

For me this applies to a cruise in Sept this year for which I have already booked all my shore experiences (confirmed in "My Orders"), and another one booked for June 2025 which has never shown the tours yet (fair enough) except for 2 minutes one evening a fortnight ago!

.... and take a couple of different configurations of mulit-sockets if that is the way you want to go as I seem to remember someone saying that there is not enough room around the wall socket to attach some types.

Having said that I have never needed more than are already built-in on Aurora, be it 3 or 4 (not sure).

Just remember to take a 3-pin adapter with the USB port in the back for charging phone or iPad etc. as JH1809 says.

If you forget, just hang around in the lifts asking fellow passengers to lend you theirs for a few hours! Someone will take pity on you!

2 hours ago, HMB1990 said:

Do you have an email address to do this ? 

1) Back in October last year, Megabear2 said:

P&O Exec Office email:

Executive.Correspondence@carnivalukgroup.com

2) I agree with Winifred22. A saver fare gives you no control over your cabin number - that is why people typically pay up to a £1000 or more extra to secure a specific Select cabin that they choose at booking. I think P&O are saying that the appearance of Queen config was not guaranteed but would be allocated if available when they allocated cabins to all the Saver fare passengers, by which time your situation precluded it, in their eyes.

Still, try the email address - good luck.

In my experience with "missed ports" insurance:

They will not pay out without that letter from P&O the captain was referring to. Often it is not automatically sent to your cabin and you have to know that you need to go to reception to get it - other wise back home you need to write to P&O to get the letter.

The letter will specifically state that no compensation was paid by P&O. If compensation is paid, then the insurance claim will fall as they will claim you have not suffered any loss, having been compensated, probably even if it is less than the insurance pay-out (but no experience of that bit).

Most insurance policies have a limit on how many missed ports per trip they will pay out for, expressed as a limit amount in £.

A missed port that is replaced does not invalidate the claim, which is good news.

Bear in mind that if an "independent" tour has an issue (e.g.breakdown*/traffic problems/etc) and does not get you back in time, the ship will sail without you.

Only P&O tours guarantee the ship will wait for you.

I have been on a Caribbean tour where the bus had a blow-out. The driver mended it himself and we got back O.K. (P&O Tour), but the Caribbean can be very lay-back regarding issues!

11 hours ago, Snow Hill said:

My seed order came yesterday, two varieties of French Green Beans in the order, one dwarf and one climbing, was tempted to try the purple variety but decided against it. 

When you cook the purple ones they turn green anyway - it is a conspiracy!

21 hours ago, GINGERWILDCAT said:

A really stupid question, we have printed ours off, I’m just looking at how to fold it and I’ve got that, but when fastening to the handle which do you have facing you, the colour bit with bold writing on or the other other bit with your name and booking reference etc?

This is the bit to be showing so the handlers know which deck and room number to deliver it to. We bought these strong plastic tag holders on eBay so there is no danger of the label coming off (red ribbon optional!).

We did a glass-bottomed trip once and afterwards everyone was commenting on the fantastic colours - all except my wife who thought it was nothing special. Then she realised she had had her dark sunglasses on the whole time! Doh!

On 1/30/2024 at 8:00 PM, Ukulele girl said:

 

posting error - please ignore

On 1/30/2024 at 7:13 AM, Eddie99 said:

I suddenly feel the urge to sing from West Side Story

 🎶 I think I'll go back to San Juan
I know a boat you can get on 🎶 

or "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" (Camp Granada Song)?

On 1/29/2024 at 3:16 PM, Harry Peterson said:

But it’s a changing language, and if it weren’t we’d all be using Chaucerian English, or something rather older.

 

 

 

Ita quidem.

On 1/30/2024 at 11:27 AM, Clodia said:

I am on that cruise too and have paid my balance as I booked through a TA. I would be disappointed not to see Tallinn again as I went on a similar itinerary in 208 and loved it there.

Clodia - it may have changed a bit since Roman times.

20 hours ago, laslomas said:

 

There are many people who are not actually infirm, disabled, or in a wheelchair, that struggle to stand around for long periods. I didn't realise this until it finally hit me as I got older. I do not use a stick, or any mobility aid, but as the years go by I find many things a problem that never were a few years ago. I would not turn up early and expect to jump the queue, but I know that if I arrived on time and there was a hold up for any reason I would really struggle to be standing around more than 20 minutes, or so. 

 

Exactly!

When as a young man you are playing football, you cannot imagine later in life not being able to even kick a ball at all without your right knee feeling like it has fallen apart, taking weeks befor the pain subsides!

Also when you are fit and young you think you will live for ever! It is impossible to believe that later on in life you may find yourself unable to stand on the same spot for more than about 5 minutes, or to walk for more than 10 minutes or so, because bits of you start aching so badly. I am not disabled - just 80.

Every new place you visit you never pass a toilet without serious internal debate!

You avoid like the plague getting into situations where a waiting/some walking required at a pace not chosen by you/no toilets situation might arise!

One such situation is arriving too early for embarkation at the P&O Mayflower terminal after a 200 mile car journey during which you know that if you are seriously late (closure of any of the M25/M3/M27/M271 due to a crash will do it) you will not only miss your holiday but also have the several thousands of pounds you paid forfeited. We therefore often have to find ways to kill time before driving into Dock Gate 10, but even then tend to arrive early in case of long car queues at the dockside, which we have experienced.

I have found that I can relieve the hip pain caused by standing still for more than a short time by bending over to touch my toes (I am lucky enough to be still able to do this!) and staying there, so I frequently pretend to be retying my shoe laces (I have to remember not to wear slip-ons on these occasions!).

The longer I am down there, the longer the period of pain relief gained for when standing back up again, so if you see a man bent double in the queue, apparently interminably trying and failing to make a bow, please don't offer to do it for him, just leave him to it - it's only me!

7 hours ago, david63 said:

Why is it that some "artists" think that they can improve on perfection?

because they come to realise that they are nothing but a mimic, with nothing to say of their own and think "What kind of a life is this?"

So they put bits of themselves into it by varying the rendition and ending up pleasing no-one!

On 1/5/2024 at 10:55 AM, Selbourne said:

I suspect that Avomine is available as it was on Ventura, but we still have Stugeron left and that’s the only medication that has a 100% success rate for me. Will try to get Cinarizina in Funchal if that’s the same. 

Avomine? - how did they come up with a name like that? I assume it's a cut-down of "anti-vomit"!

On 1/4/2024 at 11:48 AM, yorkshirephil said:

We had buffet lunch on Aurora in October as there were so many higher tier members. It was packed and long queues to get served, if we had known the situation beforehand we would have gone to the normal buffet as that must have been empty when we boarded at 12:30.

We were on that cruise too and did exactly that - walked out at the sight of the "special buffet" queues and went to the "normal" buffet.

On 12/27/2023 at 8:57 AM, Selbourne said:

Just make sure you don't have a walking stick or your spouse has a different boarding time because he/she is in a different tier.
 

On 11/14/2023 at 8:31 PM, twotravellersLondon said:

 

"Obviously never  had the fun of buying fresh roast chestnuts on the streets of London".

 

That brought back a distant memory of buying hot roast chestnuts from the man on the bike with a brazier outside Highbury when Arsenal were playing at home back in the 50's and 60's!