TigerB

That's the nature of these types of forums, and life of course; if everyone had the same opinion about everything then life would be very boring. Whenever I have read reviews for anything, that alone has never put me off trying something, but has encouraged me to do more research. Please don't let it put you off from sharing your experiences; I'm sure folk will be encouraged by your views. They can then make up their own minds about what they wish to do.

On these boards you will get a lot of different viewpoints about many different subjects, including dining. Tring had a very poor experience in Epicurean, whereas we have always had an enjoyable experience. We had a very poor experience in Olive Grove last month, whereas others rave about it. Will it stop us going again? No. We'll try again in June on Iona. My advice would be to give it a go and make your own mind up. If you book before you board, for two of you it will cost less than a weekly shop at Lidl.🙂

That's good 👍

2-6 nights: Inside/Sea view cabin £20, Balcony cabin £40, Suite £60 7-13 nights: Inside/Sea view cabin £50, Balcony cabin £70, Suite £100 14-21 nights: Inside/Sea view cabin £100, Balcony cabin £130, Suite £150 22+ nights: Inside/Sea view cabin £150, Balcony cabin £180, Suite £200 We have been awarded it previously when booking a newly issued cruise, even with the discount for the cruise fare and getting any additional OBC as part of the deal. That said, from recent experience, it is not available if you book onboard and receive extra OBC. As others have written, it's not combinable with Tesco Clubcard; also, I think it may not be combinable with shareholder credit, but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

'if you are that desperate' was for the benefit of the OP 🤭

Nor for us in January; only available on My Holiday once on board. I understand there is a way to log on whilst waiting in the departure lounge, if you are that desperate.

In January, and looking down from our balcony on deck 11 a couple of times, I saw folk 'reserving' them on the promenade deck as early as 06:00; some even before the crew had set them out. I thought about going down and removing all the books and towels, but my bed was calling me.

I seem to recall a previous thread where it is mentioned that gifts should be ordered before the ship sets sail. Hopefully, someone may have better news for you.

A quick search revealed the following thread from the back end of last year that mentions the dress code: https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2890757-where-to-eat-for-gala-night/#comment-64227305 From my experience, I have only seen it 'enforced' in Epicurean and the Crow's Nest. Others have mentioned about a requirement for best bib and tucker in Sindhu on formal nights; however, we have previously dined in there on a formal night when on Britannia, and men were allowed in whilst wearing open necked shirts.

After it had disappeared from the BLC site about a year or more ago, P&O still gave me the extra OBC; but, they may have knocked it on the head altogether now.

Just one update from me: Visby Sept '22 - free shuttle bus for disabled only.

On My Holiday, on your phone or tablet. Do it quickly though, as all performances apart from a couple of the 00:15 ones were booked up within the first couple of days when we were on Arvia last month.

That's good for 19 nights.👍

On our recent Arvia cruise the entertainment booking was available about two weeks before, but only for the Headliners theatre and only a few shows for the first week. The Limelight Club bookings were available with the dining reservations. The 710 Club was only available to book once onboard, and all slots, apart from a couple at 00:15, got booked up more or less immediately. Shows in Headliners start at 18:30, 20:30 and 22:30. When Pulse play in the Club House, their shows start at 19:30, 21:00 and 22:30

For us, the coach transfers are just not possible as they are not wheelchair accessible. So, if it's a Southampton to Southampton cruise we'll drive down the day before and stay in a hotel, most likely Newbury. Anyway, regardless of whether we travel down the day before or not, our holiday starts when we leave the house.

I'm criticising P&O or Carnival, they are running a business and are beholding to their shareholders. My point was that I didn't realise there was such a disparity. Given that CPS is currently £243 for two weeks, and you would struggle to get two weeks parking elsewhere for under £100, if you had an inside cabin you are quids in. That's the same for a balcony cabin, for us anyway, where I was too late to secure a spot with Triangle for £100, and the next cheapest was £150; so, we were happy to forego £120 OBC for parking. The point I was trying to illustrate was that some folk who book a suite may not be confident enough or have the wherewithal to make their own independent arrangements, and leave it to P&O or their travel agent to sort everything out. It is those that are perhaps unwittingly losing out. But, c'est la vie.

Oh yes! As soon as we got home our lass had me buy a jar of Marmite to make that. To me, it's the Devil's spread, but the butter was nice.

If your balcony is on the starboard side then you've cracked it, as you will get the sun morning until evening heading back towards Southampton.🌞 You will probably find, if you are on the promenade deck and fancy getting away from the sun worshippers hogging the sunbeds on the Transatlantic leg, the port side will be quieter as will be the infinity whirlpools (or, as our friend calls them: sex ponds) on that side.🙄

So, how was it with your stern butler? Did they do everything by the book, and not crack a smile for the entire cruise?😂

Thanks for the update. To be fair, the main door, bathroom door, and balcony door on Britannia were not automatic and we managed. The automatic doors, and the adjustable washbasin and support rail next to the toilet on Arvia were welcome features but not without their own little quirks. The automatic main door and bathroom door took an age to close and were sensitive to obstructions. One evening, when going to dinner I waited outside for the door to close, the guy next door did the same; he though obstructed the sensor and his door didn't close, only for his missus to then come into view in just her bra and pants. Boy, did he get what for! The balcony door broke down in the open position the day before we disembarked and it was hard for me to close; my wife or someone with poor dexterity would not have managed to close it. The drop down wardrobe rail is not a feature that my wife uses anyway; she has me to hand her clothes and hang them back again. The most annoying feature for us are the beds; at 60cm or just under, they are too high for a wheelchair user to transfer to unaided. We are set on the Northern Lights cruise, so we will have to use one of the smaller ships; needs must, as they say. I may well look at other cruise lines too.

We've had three different excuses... Last September, when I went to confirm the table size, it was due to not being fully out of Covid measures. When we ate, our waiter said it was due to H&S. Last month the Maître d' said it was because they didn't have the propane. To be fair, they did have the carts nearby, so it may come back soon.

£30 is a fair whack, but it's a lot less than Celebrity and some of the American ships are charging. To be fair, we dined at Epicurean on Britannia in September, after a four year gap from the previous time, and twice again on Arvia last month, and I really didn't think the quality had diminished from the first time we ate there. They no longer do the (poncy) spray at the start of the meal. Disappointed though that they have still not got back to preparing the Crêpe Suzette at the table. Book ahead and it is £24, a 20% discount, and the Peninsular discount will sweeten it a little more.

Thanks Selbourne for the information, it is very welcome.👍 We were looking at March initially, as I understood it to be the optimum time to see a good display. It was when we were on Arvia last month and talking with the cruise specialist that she said about November being better for a wheelchair. I take on board what you said about the packed ice. It warrants further research, and now that I'm retired I can afford more time to do that. I may well come back to you for further advice. We've only sailed on Britannia and Arvia so far, and sailing on Iona in June, so I think we've been spoiled with quite large accessible cabins; I wasn't sure that the ones on the smaller ships would live up to our expectations. I am reassured by your comments.🙂

I was looking at one of our future cruises (B324N) earlier, just to see if there was any difference to what we paid; this is what I discovered regarding the OBC and how much you give up for 14 days parking or coach transfer. For an inside cabin: For a balcony cabin: For a suite: So, in respect of two adults in the cabin, the parking or coach transfer will cost you £90 of your total OBC allowance if you're in an inside cabin; for a balcony cabin it will be £120, and for a suite it will be a whopping £290.😯 Two weeks parking with CPS for that same period is £243. With Portside Meet & Greet it's about £150. Triangle are full. I just wonder how many folk booking suites, perhaps folk that are less likely to research or plan for example, leave their trust in P&O to sort everything, without realising they are unecessarily losing a good chunk of their OBC. It's not just P&O either; Carnival are doing the same for Cunard bookings.

To the best of my knowledge, for Antigua and St Lucia it's more likely to be Virgin than TUI. For Barbados, it's more likely to be TUI. That said, when returning from Barbados to Manchester last month, we were on TUI but the earlier flight was changed to Virgin. We found TUI to be fine; we were in PE. It was the special assistance at Barbados and Manchester that was shocking, but that was nothing to do with the airline.