Andy24v

I've got a friend who's on Explorer 2 at present. Cruise News and chocolates are being delivered in the evening. Apparently they abandoned the idea of moving to the app and making the paper version available at reception due to it causing massive queues.

We had a late flight back from Gran Canaria on Explorer in Feb. They had facilities for minding hand luggage, and they also made cabins available later in the day for freshening up. They were bookable at reception from 10:00.

Next stop Walvis Bay, Namibia. ETA 06:00 24th April.

Discovery 2 in now en route to Port Louis in Mauritius according to Cruise Mapper.

I appreciate they take the money once, but for someone who's paid by debit card, they may as well have taken the whole amount twice, until the hold expires.

Actually, I think I've worked it out. P&O will no doubt be charged a fee for each transaction, so charging at the end cost them less than charging each day. Probably saves them a few pence per passenger per week.

I've no problem with the daily charges. What I don't understand, is why they don't just take the daily charges as payment? Why do they take the whole lot again at the end?

Surely if someone spends more than their credit limit, it makes no difference whether the charge per day or at the end?

It's entirely P&O's making. They choose to charge your account on a daily basis, then instead of claiming the daily charges, they recharge the whole amount again. We spent £790 on board Arvia, and ended up with over £1500 pending on the credit card shortly after we got back. Went on Marella, no such issues. They just collecting the payment once at the end.

What is the date of the cruise that's been cancelled?

Still the same for us, no dining or excursions for our May 31st trip. On a positive note, I've logged into Cruise Control so many times, I've managed to memorise our booking number..

Genuinely intrigued by this. £145 pppn is just over £2k for 7 days. Had a quick look on Princess website, they are asking £2200 for a 7 day med cruise in May for inside cabin with drinks package. Flights from Manchester are another £700, and there's no mention of transfers? Where have you found this bargain?

I've been having the same issue, so I called into our local TUI shop earlier, and asked them if I can book an excursion for our cruise on 31st May. "Certainly" they said, until they tried to bring up the excursion page - blank screen. Seems like a technical issue. Just checking my emails, regarding our last cruise on 28th October 2023, we booked dining on 27th August, and excursions on 10th September. Both much earlier than 30 days before.

There are some airports which are only used between May and October, Edinburgh is one of them. I don't know your location, but Glasgow and Newcastle are in use year round. One thing with Marella, they usually have one sea day, and five ports in a week long cruise. Some other cruise lines pad their itineraries out with more sea days. Another thing we like about Marella is the flight times are stated when you book, so you are able to plan airport parking, hotels etc. Some other lines don't release flight times untill "some point near the criuse" With regards to the drinks, all the beers and spirits are branded, the standard package gives you Gordons/Smirnoff/Teachers/Bells etc. The premium package gives you Bombay Sapphire/Grey Goose/Glenlivet etc. You also get coffee and soft drink cans from the Coffee shop. WiFi is now a purchased as a package of data, £12 for 200 mb, £35 for 1Gb etc. but as most people have said just use data in the ports. We've done a few Marella cruises now, and enjoyed them all.

Hi Jim, it's 2 weeks before the cruise..

Looking at the advert, it's amateur hour. There's at least 3 pictures of Explorer in there..

We've just got back off Explorer, Koran La (Asian) was £27.50 per person, and Surf and Turf was £33.50 per person. Had a fabulous meal in both restaurants.

We have a fridge in our cabin, Deck 9 outside on Explorer.

Never managed to find the gym! Mind you, I've never looked for it.

We're on Explorer at present. Water is available, but not included on either standard or premium AI. Prices are Still or Sparkling 500 ml £1.10 Still or Sparkling 1.5 ltr £1.85 Perrier £1.95. You do get a 1.5 ltr bottle of Still water included in the premium AI package.

Yes, you get 1.5 litres of water per cabin per day. There's also a carafe in your cabin, and chilled water machines on most of the stairwells on each floor.

In my opinion Marella really care about the customer experience. We're on Explorer at present doing a trip round the Canaries. We left Lanzarote on Monday evening, due in Madeira at 08:00 Wednesday morning, Tuesday being a sea day. Due to strong winds the sea is rough in the area, so the Captain increased speed so we made Madeira by 18:00 on Tuesday, saving us another night at sea. There were no doubt some extra costs incurred by Marella in doing this, but they did it nevertheless. As others have mentioned the staff on board are brilliant, and the food and entertainment is really good.

Thanks Jim, I hope their customers service is right, as I don't intend taking a jacket. Might be the buffet for me! I'll report back in due course..

We've just booked a 5 night Ambassador cruise for December as a toe in the water. I also don't like dressing up, but I've been told by their customer services that formal ware doesn't apply in the speciality restaurants on formal night. Also they do Saver and Ambassador fares. The Ambassador fare includes gratuities and gives you their top drinks package. Only issue for us, is they don't do fly cruises, so too many sea days, which is the attraction of Marella.

You're missing the point. If someone cancels leaving the space unfilled, then I have no problem with cancellation charge. What I am suggesting is that if the place is filled with another booking, such as from a wait list, then P&O are not out of pocket, so the charge should be waived.