bee-ess

21 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I am so glad that I have no desire to book chargeable speciality restaurants on specific days at certain times. If I really want to book one I will pop into the restaurant once on board and check with a human as to what times and days are available, and then book it. Will this work, well it has done on our last 3 cruises, even though "The Computer said No".

It may well be, I hope it is John !

15 minutes ago, lincslady said:

So you got exactly what you wanted even leaving it a lot later, presumably?

We did get what we wanted thanks

9 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

You've chosen to go on and do that at midnight

 

You didnt have to

 

I'm sure everything you wanted that was available last night to book you were able to get?

 

I'm sure it would have been available to book today and tomorrow as well?

 

You are just one of the ultra extra organised ones 

 

Good for you. But like I say you chose to do that?

 

Nobody forced you to and it really isn't necessary IMO

 

99 per cent of guests aren't panicking like you?

 

Most won't attempt to book anything until they are on the ship or nearer to the  cruise

 

I honestly feel you've created your own panic a little bit. With all due respect

 

What exactly did you book at midnight for Arvia that you don't think would be available today or later this week for example?

 

Nothing we booked last night was available this morning

I am not panicking or exaggerating. Sometimes we ordered and paid OK, Most times the slot was taken before we could pay and we chose a different slot.

The IT cannot cope with the many people trying to book at the same time, loads of buffering and then messages to say that the slot has already been taken before we could pay.

Maybe the situation has changed since your last trip.

I am no stranger to IT with 45 years experience or cruising with 25 years experience, so youy are not talking to a newbie in either.

We are on Arvia on June 11th and today is the day our Dining and Entertainment became available.

We logged on at Midnight last night to book our Dining and it was very frantic with lots of buffering and bookings being cancelled before we could pay for them, literally before we could get into the basket to checkout, even though we were doing this process one booking at a time and losing half of them seconds later.

We got more or less what we wanted in the end but it took over an hour to book 8 slots and have made sure we have proof of the bookings for when we lose them as many have done on cruise that has just ended..

We are not early diners so have not booked MDR's or Olive Grove as they only had slots up to 6:30 available.

NO sign of any Entertainment to book at the moment., although there was a message on the page tp say available on 27th May !! which has now been removed but nothing there to book.

I could tell by our first and last order numbers that there were many people on there at midnight trying to do the same thing - but if this is future of cruising on these new large ships I'm not sure that it is for us. Holidays should be relaxing not stressful (as this was last night). It is a bit of a shame as we really like Britannia which does not have this hassle, but the 'fear of missing out' is causing this panic to prebook on an IT system that cannot cope with the demand. I cannot see much being left to book when we get on the ship in 2 weeks.

We will go with an open mind but have to say we are not impressed with the panic to prebook stuff like this.

18 hours ago, tring said:

 

 

I have a particular interest in port times for our US/Canada cruise in September, so will email P&O for the actual times as suggested.  Can I ask what email address you used for P&O when asking for them though, to make sure I have the best chance of getting a response?

 

Thank you both for reporting you were able to get the actual times the ship is due in port.  Though of course I do realise there can easily be some changes a better approximation would be very useful for that cruise.

 

Barbara

 

I type a question into this and they reply by email

https://www.pocruises.com/frequently-asked-questions

10 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

This is sadly taking a turn for the worse and getting a bit too deep and personal.  When people start telling me I'm enticing people to complain and cancelling holidays I think the time has come for me to.move on.  I have decided not to post anymore on this link as it isn't and never was intended to be anything other than posting on my holiday experience.  Thanks.

I'm very sorry that you are not posting on this topic anymore. We are on  Arvia in 3 weeks time and am very grateful to you for your posts that have highlighted many things to avoid such as Palma shuttles. I have found your posts to always be very fair and to the point. From a selfish viewpoint I would like to you keep posting as it highlights deficiencies that can only help us and future cruisers on Arvia, but fully understand why you choose to stop. Please enjoy the rest of your cruise and thank you for your helpful posts on this topic. 

We go there in 4 weeks time and are happy with Palma. Would rather have that then a last minute change, at least we can plan what to do now.

It looks though Arvia is in Palma today.

It it there with Seaview and Celebrity Edge - so 2 ships with over 5k passengers have been allowed in, I thought that the rules say that is not allowed.

10 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

As long as it is somewhere else not a relaxing day at sea ...

Nor an overnight in Barcelona

44 minutes ago, purplesea said:

No, still no change to the itinerary!

Getting late to change now, perhaps they have got around the rules

On 5/5/2023 at 12:54 PM, purplesea said:

I'm on that cruise too and no news!! Still showing as a port of call.

Any news about Palma change yet ? Getting close now

On 4/18/2023 at 7:58 PM, Megabear2 said:

Is this the 14 May departure due Palma 19th - that's the one I'm on.  Port schedule actually shows Seaview, Edge and Arvia in port that day so assumedly we won6 be going.

Hi, Megabear, Any news about Palma cancellation yet, it is getting very close to 14th now.

Has anyone else on Arvia had Palma cancelled for the upcoming Summer cruises yet ?

We have used to train to Rome a couple of times but not for a few years. We stopped when they changed where the port shuttle drops which made ot harder to get to the station, We didn't have any problems, I seem to remember there were a number of trains during the day. This link will help

https://www.rometoolkit.com/airport/civitavechia_train.htm

Seems to be 10% deposit req'd now, has been 5% for past launches.

Won't be bothering this time, going to wait for offers/bigger OBC.

12 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

On the days with big clashes Celebrity have been moving Edge to Ibiza as a substitute but she of course is under 3,500 passengers. Will have to wait and see

Would be happy with Ibiza, just don't want overnight in Barcelona, we have been there so many times, we struggle with 1 day there now so don't really want 2.

10 minutes ago, purplesea said:

I hope not as I chose the itinerary as it didn't have an overnight in port.

And us !

13 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Unfortunately I expect P&O will be looking to do overnights somewhere rather than find an alternative port.

Hoping it will be Valencia or Alicante rather than an overnight. 

46 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

If you check the Palma cruise port website, you should be able to see how many ships are  scheduled to be in the same day as Arvia, and that should give you an idea of the likelihood Arvia will be cancelled.

Thanks, I cannot see us docking there due to the current rules but just hope that P&O tell us soon where we will be going instead,

4 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

 

 

Regarding Palma I have noted that Celebrity Edge has now updated a number of her cruises from calls there to now being Ibiza, but these seem to have been done very quickly as a block.  Is there any news yet on Arvia calls - I have notification on the August Britannia one as mentioned above by others.

We are due to visit Palma on Arvia in June and have not had any notification of a change yet

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

The same number that is on your cabin key is also on your boarding pass that you print off and take with you to show at check in.

Thanks, would never of thought of that.

2 hours ago, TigerB said:

 

I took the advice of others on here and logged onto My Holiday while in the terminal and bagged a couple of 710 club shows.

 

 

Quick question - how did you manage to use My Holiday from the terminal, the last time we tried to use My Holiday from the terminal we needed the last 6 digits from our cabin key to log in so we had to wait until we were onboard. 

I'd like to use My Holiday from the terminal when we go in June so any instructions would be great..

38 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

As Palma is Seaviews home port they always have preference. Arvia and Iona will not be allowed to berth at the same time no matter what P&O say or do.If P&O are still selling shore excursions then they have the money in their account getting interest....naughty naughty!

I agree, we need confirmation from P&O  On our cruise due to call in Palma on Arvia on June 16th there a few of the excursions Sold Out.

2 hours ago, dallas16 said:

One ship with 5000 passengers allowed in port each day , two other smaller cruise ships. Arvia and MSC Seaview both in port the same day and MSC are embarking passengers there , Some cruises changed for Alicante , the others will be changed for that or Valencia possibly Malaga or overnight in Barcelona 

That was my assumption but we ve not been notified of a change yet.

Does anyone know if the planned port stops in Palma for Arvia this summer are going to happen or not. We are due there in June but have not yet been notified of any port changes but I thought that Arvia will not be allowed to berth there due to passenger numbers ?

If anyone has had any notification of Palma being cancelled could you tell me which port has replaced it.