nosapphire

What's the betting that those who avoid the hand-washing stations (including those who simply wiggle 2 fingertips under the tap as a token gesture) would, if they went down with any form of gastro-enteritis, be the first ones off to the tabloids to tell of their "cruise from hell" experience.

Noro and similar are so common, have been common for years, and places where people are in close proximity for extended periods (such as cruise ships) are perfect breeding grounds.

It is sad/annoying/inexplicable (take your pick) that otherwise sensible, educated adults have to be constantly reminded about basic hygene when using shared facilities.

Maybe the "please wash your hands" should place more emphasis on the fact that by doing so you are protecting yourself.

At one restaurant (Saga) there was a queue for the handwashing sink (enforced by staff) and the person behind me said plaintively, "but I already washed my hands before leaving the cabin".

I asked him "and what did you touch on the way to dinner? Maybe somebody who had NOT washed their hands touched it before you."

Franko Papik has been with Saga for quite a while; since 2017, first as staff captain, now as relief captain.

Previously with Seabourn.

One formal night somebody on the next table asked him to be a bit quieter, and he explained (in all seriousness) that he only has two volumes - loud and louder. Great personality.

On 5/29/2024 at 9:38 AM, Cathygh said:

I wonder if some of these issues are caused by staff being ill? Or pehaps some of them did go on strike as they threatened to do? 

The apparent shortage of staff in the bars and restaurants during actions taken to control Noro (or anything else) will be because staff have been taken away to serve at areas that were previously self service.

As a matter of curiosity, those of you who spotted things not being done properly (pagers not cleaned between return and issue, toilets or cabins not properly cleaned, etc) complain directly to either ship management or (after return) to P&O?

13 hours ago, Cruise-Cat said:

Lots of room under the bed.  Can then be used as extra storage for laundry, shoes, heavy jackets etc. if needed 

I'll endorse that comment.
Clothes storage in the standard cabins is not the most spacious (adequate, but not vast) so if you take a lot of clothes to cover all eventualities (like me) then the suitcases can make handy storage for things you don't need yet. Plenty of space under the bed.

Yes, they have board games in the Library. Not sure what ones. I think they are there all the time, and the daily programme often has "board games with your fellow guests" in the schedule.

The section of the Library that has the board games and the jigsaw puzzle table is usually quite active.

I very much doubt it would be left to "some member of staff with many priorities".

Ship's crew and staff train constantly for emergencies, and they all have designated duties.

There will be staff specifically tasked to "sweep" the ship checking all passenger areas (including cabins - and in an emergency they won't stand politely knocking) and making sure that all passengers get to where they should be, either under their own steam or with assistance.

The less rounding up of able bodied passengers the have to do, the quicker they can locate and retrieve the less able.

It may be quite possible that parents/guardians get told to go to the kids club and collect their children - but the first thing you are told about emergency is "Listen for instructions". If you don't do this, you could be heading for the kids club just as the staff are moving the children via a different route to re-unite them with their family.

2 hours ago, david63 said:

The nonsense of that letter is that your travelling companion may not be with you, which is true but one thing that is certain is that a member of crew will not be with you and furthermore your companion stands far more change of finding you than a member of crew will.

In a real emergency your travelling companion may not be permitted to go looking for you.

Last thing any ship wants in an emergency is everybody running about looking for other people.

I'll agree with the above points - even the local open-top tour bus and trolley trains take card.

IF you think you will need a small amount of currency, you can usually buy it on the ship (from Reception).

The "buy" rate is usually reasonable, and Reception are always happy to help.

Although - in a real emergency, people can often surprise themselves with how much ability they suddenly discover to get themselves out of trouble. Not because they don't have genuine problems, just because adrenaline can sometimes override everything else.

Now - hand washing and sanitiser. Infringements of people's right to spread germs, that is.🤢

I haven't been able to understand the Captain's comments on the last 2 cruises. One had a thick accent (Franko Papic), the other apparently mumbled (Darin Bowland). As both were perfectly legible face-to-face, suspect that it may have been a speaker system problem.Was not of much concern to me, as pretty sure that if it was an announcement that I needed to hear, it would be made clearly and repeated clearly.

Incidentally, as a committed carnivore, on the last cruise (Discovery) one MDR dinner option was a roasted vegetable loaf (vegan). DH and I tried it. Absolutely delicious. Not pretending to be a meat substitute/sausage/burger - just chopped compressed roasted vegetables. Clever chefs, on Saga, catering for all.

57 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

Most emergencies are not that sudden and people are sent to their cabins to wait instructions

And what's the betting that crew time will be taken up convincing the minority cohort that this is an order, not a suggestion, so no, you cannot stay to watch the action.

It's a difficult/confusing situation all round. Difficult for the passenger who may not be fully mobile (applies to a lot of us) but is certain that they can reach a muster station unaided in the event of evacuation.

Very difficult for the cruise line, who have to decide how many passengers will need help in an emergency (just think of the headlines if there was an emergency and they had so many passengers needing assistance they could not get them off in time). 

I agree that it does seem reasonable for a line to think that if a passenger intends to use a wheelchair on board, then they may need emergency assistance.

As many others have already said, it really comes down to when P&O knew that a passenger was intending to have a wheelchair on board, and, if they knew at/near the time of booking why they have taken so long to react.

23 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

Something has, because as I said before, refusing to rent someone a wheelchair who needs one because the evacuation facilities are full and your policy is that anyone who asks for a wheelchair needs evacuation facilities, means that the passenger doesn't have the wheelchair they need and they have a passenger they cannot evacuate because there are no facilities.

re-reading the post, the OP seems to say that they do not NEED a wheelchair to move around the ship, but it makes their life more comfortable.

The OP has also said that they would be able to make their own independent way to the muster station in the event of an emergency, so do not require an evacuation chair.

I sometimes need a walking stick ashore because of a weak leg. I do not use it on the ship, but provided the stairs have handrails I can get up and down 10 decks or so totally unaided and fairly briskly.I have not booked with P&O since starting to use the stick, but it sounds as if I would also be told that I need one-to-one for evacuation assistance.

It does sound as if the new mobility rules are causing problems for people who are in-betweenies - i.e., not disabled, but not fully fit either. 

Let's hope the OP manages to get a satisfactory resolution - and comes back to let us know what happens.

(After I post this, I'm not coming back for a while as I know I'll get shot down for it).

Reading some of the comments on this long running thread, it seems that specific alcoholic drinks are so important to some people that I wonder whether their health could be vastly improved by 2 weeks making do without any alcohol.

Sorry. I'm off now.🙃

My understanding is that a hold for a certain amount is placed on the card when you register it with the ship.

No money is collected from you, it simply reduces the amount of credit available to you.

At the end of the cruise, the actual amount owing is collected by the ship from the card and any hold is released.

 It can take a few days for the card company to update (same as a credit back onto your card from a retailer always seems to take longer than a debit to be actioned).

An actual charge appearing, or a pending transaction suddenly appearing, several days after leaving the ship points more to an error from the cruise line.

Maybe somebody has accidentally re-activated the original holds.
I'd notify the card company in the first instance.

Glad to hear that after the initial hiccups you seem to be off to a good start.

You may have been unlucky with your car, as I have problems with high steps into people carriers, and in both cases when I could not get in the driver dug under his seat and produced a step-stool to get me in.

I can sympathise about Portsmouth - not a good place for people with any leg problems.

Hope the rest of the cruise (including the return journey) carries on in the best possible way for you.

That is one of the very positive aspects of Saga - being able to do so much over the 'phone with a helpful person on the other end (Freephone, as well).

P&O is a business. It has to make a profit to continue being a business.

The level of profut it can make is determined by many things - including the customer.

If the customer is willing to pay, then they can keep their profit margins.

If the customer is not willing to pay, and goes elsewhere, then they have to reduce their profit margins.

If they get reduced too much - then the business ceases to exist.

Most of us book (whoever we book with) for the experience itself, and while we may grumble sometimes about the cost, it is the experience itself that matters - and if we (a) can actually afford it, and (b) enjoy it, then the cost itself is not very important.

So comparisons are not really possible - how do you compare one person's enjoyment with another person's enjoyment?

Excellent news, enjoy your cruise.

Not wanting to be a pessimist, but your baby is definitely up-to-date with whooping cough vaccinations?

This is one of many things that start off with the same symptoms as a cold - the majority of times it is just a cold (babies immune systems are very busy developing) but I really would speak to your GP - forget all the "I don't think it's urgent" bit and insist on behalf of your baby.

Mush better to feel embarrassed about making a fuss than to later wish you had made a fuss.

Wow.

'tis a real eye-opener to realise how important specific brands/types of alcohol can be.

A thread started 4.5 days ago, over 300 posts already.

This is even better than the Saga page thread with people finding it a deal breaker that there was no coffee barista on board.

Now - why do I think of that advert with somebody packing tins of bhis favourite baked beans...?

I think Noro is always everywhere, it's just that it gets noticed(and reported) more when on a cruise.

I wonder what the "level" was on the Saga ship (Adventure) last December - they removed pretty much everything touchable that could be removed, what was left was scrubbed almost continuously.

No hard covers on any menus, all single use paper sheets.

Salt&pepper grinders on tables replaced by single-use sachets.

No books, no launderette,no games - even the shop was closed.

Enforced hand washing (not gel - soap and water washing) every restaurant, even on return to ship. Tour coaches/shuttle bus fumigated each trip (drivers looked a bit startled).

I was quite sanguine about it all until I realised the ping-pong table was also folded up and put away. 😢

(I understand the next cruise was fine, no problems - so obviously it all worked.

If it's any consolation, similar thing happens on other lines too.

All cruise lines rely on their Port Agents, who in turn rely on their chosen tour operators.

Nowadays, nobody seems to double check, just assuming that the description given is accurate.

Not unusual topre-book a ship's tour for a specific destination, get on board and find a letter in the cabin saying tour cancelled because the specific destination is closed on that day.

Laugh or cry - evidently nobody looked at the day the ship would be in port.🙄

I have been on a ship's tour where it turned out that it was impossible to do all the promised actions supposedly included in the tour, simply because the time allowed was not long enough (needed at least another hour to fit it all in).

(Got a full refund on that, by arguing that the tour itself was "not as described".)