TigerB

We've had some more good news since making the booking... We each had £500 OBC between us banked for a future cruise; I asked if £250 of that could be applied. We've recently had the email and new booking confirmation to show it has. I also sent an email asking them to confirm that we were too late to apply shareholder benefit to this cruise. Within two hours we got an updated booking confirmation to show the additional £150 OBC. So, for the sake of a phone call and two quick questions, we got a bargain cruise and £400 OBC too!😊 So anyway, many thanks Harry for your original post. Just post your bank details on here (it's safe, I promise) and I'll send you the finder's fee!😉

I did look at a US based one but they set the (unfavourable) exchange rate when paying by card, so that put me off. I know the one you and I use charge £11 odd for the purchase plus a couple of quid extra but, as we will never sell them while we are still cruising with Carnival, that didn't matter at all.

Harry, I don't know whether to thank you or berate you for posting this. Probably the former, though!😉 After reading your post a couple of hours ago, I checked our calendar for the next few weeks and showed our lass your post and the calendar. Piqued her interest, it did! The problem is, we need an accessible cabin; we thought there would be absolutely no way that any such cabins would be available just eight days before cruising. "Give them a call", says the boss. Long story, short; no accessible PF cabins left. There were two aft PDs on decks 11 and 12, and three mid-forward PCs on decks 8, 15 and 16; the latter being a little larger than the PDs. Booked there and then at £649 each. The advisor asked if I had a preference; I did, so she marked deck 15 as a first choice. She then asked if I wanted to pick the actual cabin, as a select fare, for £1000 more. "No thanks, we'll take our chances". An hour later, when we looked at the Cruise Planner again, the preferred cabin had been allocated to us. Happy days! We cruised on the maiden Transatlantic cruise and initially had a PF, same size as the PC, albeit for one night only; so, we know what to expect, with it being suitable for my wife. Trouble is, she has just said that she will need to get her nails done and hair coloured this week. So, what was initially a bargain is now starting to cost me!😆

Is that because it was full of folk from Yorkshire, who had them all away? 🤭

I'm 55yrs and a pescatarian, our lass is 59yrs and a carnivore; we both absolutely loved Green and Co., it is a great concept and the food and service was second to none. The unfortunate thing was that it was quiet for almost the entire cruise, the maiden Transatlantic. With what you write about the age demographic being higher than anticipated, that could explain it. We both thought it was a shame and feared that they would bin it after just one season. I really hope they don't.

It could be useful for folk who are already sat on the bed and want their feet to reach something solid. Not though suitable for folk like my wife, who cannot stand unaided, to step onto in order to then get onto the bed; it would still require someone to assist them. The thought was there though, Dave.👍

Under the bed is a box in which spare sheets and some other items are stored, which makes life a little easier for your cabin steward. Also in the same box is likely to be a bottle of body lotion and/or hair conditioner; then, if a guest asks for them, the cabin steward can retrieve them easily enough or tell the guest to look themselves.

That is one very poor feature of the accessible cabins John, the beds are far too high for a wheelchair user to transfer independently. I always have to help her on and off. Ideally they should be the same height as the beds in Premier Inn, which we've found to be between 44cm and 49cm. The last time we were on Britannia I asked our cabin steward if it could be lowered; he said no.

Cabin 11534 on Arvia:

We used at British based one, their initials are HL. It was really easy to do online. We were happy with the price and, like you, we hopefully have a few years of cruising left in us, so they should pay for themselves many times over

We had soap bars on the sinks on Britannia in September but, as I've already written, a pump on Arvia in January, which was fixed to the wall just above the sink.

It's on my phone, along with three others😀

We were late to the party with buying shares; I became aware of the benefits just too late for our September cruise, but put it on my to do list. That list had loads of other stuff on it, so I didn't remember again until just before Christmas, which was too late for our cruise on 6th January. £300 in OBC missed over both cruises...Doh!🙄 We finally did something about it a couple of weeks ago and bought 100 shares for £638. I emailed P&O the day after, a Saturday, and got confirmation first thing on the Monday that the OBC credit had been applied to our June and September cruises. With two more cruises in the pipeline, we'll not be far off getting back our initial investment by September next year. And it's all thanks to the sound advice on these forums.🙂 They're worth £70 more now, so I think I'll treat our lass to fish & chips this weekend; I'll even let her have mushy peas!😉

Our lass has recently got some DM mules; she's on about taking them in June and will no doubt wear them on our only formal night.

I would say a few coasters, but we never saw any .....he says, opening up the coaster debate again! 🙄

You're welcome 🙂 We weren't aware of it when we booked ours on Arvia next March; we booked onboard in January and the sales rep didn't mention it. I only found out about it on this very forum the other day, and called to book our places.

They provide complimentary coach travel from Southampton to the airport from which you flew, if that is any good to you.

Do you mean like hard plastic sheeting rattling in a strong wind? That's what I likened the sound to when we were on Arvia in January. I could not get to the bottom of it, but did think it may have been the balcony dividers. We were in 11534.

Just as Majortom suggests, just one of you needs book the table for four for each of the venues you want to book in advance. You can settle up later. On a recent cruise with my sister and brother-in-law, we booked half the paid-for restaurants and they booked the other half. You will probably already know that you get a 20% discount for booking before you cruise. If any of you get Peninsular discount, it would be wise for that person to book ahead. If you planned to go to the same MDR each morning and evening, after attending the first time and giving both cabin numbers, you will find that every other time they will have them linked on their seating computer.

We got the body lotion in September on Britannia, and again in January on Arvia. On the second one we moved cabin, and there was one in the box under the bed, so our lass doubled down!🤭 Maybe they didn't have enough onboard each time, or the two stewards couldn't be bothered and weren't thinking of the potential end of cruise gratuity. Or, maybe it's just the way you talk to folk!😯😂

Our lass always asks for the body lotion, with the view to taking home what she doesn't use; the cheeky sod that she is! Last trip, we also found one in the box; she thought all her Christmases had come at once! Lasses and their fancy toiletries, eh!😄

Pump bottles on Arvia in January. If you look in the box under your bed you may also find a bottle of body lotion.

Drinking a can of pop away from your cabin, Zap? You'll need to be careful; you could get hung, drawn and quartered for that. 😯

Just as Interestedcruisefan says; it's a case of the early bird catches the worm I'm all for, in the case of small and sought after venues such as the 710 Club, a floating charge of about £5 being made per person on the booking, and if you don't turn up then it gets charged to your account. I understand they do something like that for speciality restaurants. That would hopefully dissuade all the 'happy bookers' that book everything they can, as soon as they can, without thinking about the knock on effect if they simply can't be bothered to turn up.

Are your comments directed at me? If so, what have I done to cause you frustration? Several contributers have written that soft drinks brought on board can only be consumed in your cabin. I was just seeking clarification as to where that is stated by P&O, because I can't find it. It isn't that the answer isn't what I want, it simply is not there. I am not by any means being discourteous by drinking from a can outside my cabin, and have been allowed to do so previously. I will continue to do so occasionally, and if I am asked to stop by a crew member, and the reason explained, I will do so. I certainly won't be emailing anyone. I ask again, where is that stated?