Cruisemeister2002

Watch out for last minute cabin changes. We did a cruise on Ventura early March and the day before the cruise I got notification via email that my cabin had been changed. Obviously from the fact that someone else's luggage being delivered to our cabin as well as our own they either didn't get told or just didn't pick up the email. It was in my opinion poor planning as i had already printed off the labels and they were attached to the luggage which I then had to cut them off and reprint for the new cabin. Also reprint new boarding passes. The ship was 5 hours late into Southampton and on getting to our cabin found the door cards were in someone else's name. Inside the cabin the dining arrangements were incorrect and a celebration package I paid £399 for not delivered. It took 17 days onboard to get this properly sorted and part of this package was a formal photo in a frame. Guess what ? No photographer onboard. This was just a small part of a nightmare cruise. One I won't look back on with any pleasure. P&O have received a 3 A4 page list of my complaints. When you only get one holiday a year and your my age you are aware that you cannot afford to be subjected to anything but an enjoyable one. I don't blame most of the staff as waiters and bar staff did a great job. Cabin Steward was a bit hit and miss as I had to keep asking for tea, coffee or milk. Which he seemed to play a kind of roulette with so you sometime got one and not the other. Reception staff tried hard, but seemed to be restricted in what they could do for you.

My shares are held with Hargreaves Landsdown. I contacted the in November for the cruise in early March, but due to the heavy volume of work they didn't inform P&O of my holding until around February time. But there is a limit to the time between telling P&O about your Carnival shares holding and your actual cruise. Best to check with them.

Carnival ordinary shares. Now around £6.70 per share. One hundred needed to get OBC. This varies from £30 to £150 depending on the length of your cruise. If you have a tier in the Portunas club, we a Caribbean tier you won't of course get any further discount as you are using OBC.

Just got back off a cruise on Ventura. Got the £150 OBC as I hold 100 Carnival shares. Bought these several months ago at £6.99 per share so an outlay of just over £700 due to purchase costs. Go again next year on a 19 night cruise so another £150. whilst I am aware OBC isn't actually worth £150 as items bought onboard whether clothes, dining, shore excursions etc are all subject to a mark up which will be profit.

Firstly may I say I am glad you liked the Epicurian, Sindu etc. as did we on Ventura. My issue is not with these venues, but of the fact that to get what I consider a decent meal you have to pay extra. Whilst I am aware that P&O are amongst the cheapest for the number of nights on a cruise their prices are increasing quite substantially. An example of this is the 35 night cruise we have just taken aboard Ventura cost just over £6,200 for the cabin. Next year a 30 night cruise onboard Aurora/Arcadia is £8,500 and increase of over £2000 and 5 nights less.

We did frequent the buffet for breakfast on occasions when we got up later and I sometimes popped up to the buffet to get a plate of food lunch time or afternoon tea time to take back to the cabin which was convenient as we were midships with lifts only a few cabins distance from ours which took me up to deck 15. Unfortunately for many the availability of cups for tea and coffee was very poor with constant situations throughout our cruise of no cups being available. Despite the initial Captains cocktail part (if that's what they call it) and him insisting on the ratio of passengers to crew being 2-1 on occasions people were told that there were staff shortages. Although in the eyes of some who have been on endless cruises we may not be deemed "seasoned cruisers" we have done 17 now. No matter what others may say with regards to pricing, pandemic issues or whatever to me and my wife and I don't consider us to be over fussy, standards have dipped considerably. Not due to the excellent service of waiting and bar staff, more due to some little person sitting in an office with no windows deciding if they do away with turndowns and little chocolates on the pillow, two complimentary bottles of water in the fridge on arrival, a small dish of boiled sweets, toiletries in a P&O bag, decent steaks in the MDR along with desserts vaguely resembling what they are supposed to be, then they can save the Company many thousands over the course of a years cruises. What they don't realise is that anyone with half a brain cell notices these cutbacks and whilst the CEO proclaims how wonderful it is to see all these people back on P&O ships it won't be long before some decide the cutbacks have gone too far and that if to get a decent meal means you have to go to the Epicurian, Sindu, Beach House or Glass House then you may as well pay out more for your cruise and get it all included.

Just got back off a cruise to Caribbean and USA on Ventura. Can honestly say the worst food we have had in our 17 cruises. 16 aboard P&O ships. Soups that were o.k. but didn't resemble their description and varied between hot and warm. Main courses that whatever you had one of the veg was always broccoli which in most cases was inedible and ended up with a brown tinge. Desserts that came nowhere near our previous cruises. Quoting they were a pudding with rum or a dessert with pina colada, but no taste of either. Wishy washy custard that was more like water. I can again say in all honesty that during a 35 night cruise only four meals were good. They were three at Sindu which was excellent and one at the Beach House which was good although I didn't go a bundle on the dessert which described itself as an Eton Mess Sizzler. Yes it sizzled, but not an Eton Mess for me.

Yes they did report it. Unfortunately for myself and wife this cruise was a disaster. A letter is winging it's way to P&O. I hope and believe I am not just deemed as a whinger. However I do believe that P&O standards will continue to drop if they are not informed of problems. It does to me appear that everything is being pushed to having to pay to get decent food and by the looks of Iona and Arvia entertainment is going the same way. As wine waiters don't unless asked provide a wine list I ordered two 250 ml glasses of Souvignon Blanc and received an onboard bill of £19.00 for the privilege whereas I could have bought a bottle for £19.95. My fault I know but I do believe everything is getting more expensive and whether an all inclusive on Saga would be a better option ?

A couple I spoke to on Ventura N306 Caribbean/USA 02/03/23 got into their cabin and found rubbish under their bed and someone's clothes hanging in their wardrobe.

Wouldn't have mattered on Ventura Caribbean and USA departure 02/03/23 as she had arrived 5 hours late due to a supposed refit. Which piece of carpet they had changed to account for this delay I am not sure, but apparently it was done in Germany ? But there were still British workers fitting carpets several days after departure as we meet them in a lift with buckets marked do not move on the lids and they explained they were about to fit carpets in the staff quarters. Suffice to say having to queue outside the terminal building along with thousands of others and baggage piled up everywhere. The complimentary lunch was extended to 3 p.m. but we still didn't make it in time. But if the fare dished up by the MDR throughout the cruise was anything to go by it was just as well we missed it as I can only recall 4 meals, 3 in Sindu and 1 in the Beach house that I would class as good. Ventura didn't set sail until 11.30 p.m. The cruise was frankly a nightmare. I am giving P&O one last chance next year on Arcadia. Then I will either cease cruising or go somewhere else.

Best to put the dubbin on after you get out of bed and not before getting in.

Whilst I am highly unlikely to ever purchase a drinks package. I cannot understand the logic by P&O that restricts the cost of a drink to £6.95. Whilst I am aware that there has to be some sort of restriction otherwise you'd probably have people quaffing champagne from morn to night and also that when going abroad to these package type holidays the drinks aren't branded, why does there have to be such a strict limit on consumption and what is drunk by P&O. Is it because their cruises in the main are cheaper than many competitors and they make up the difference by charging more for drinks and the standard of fare in the MDR's isn't what it was so as to steer passengers to places like Sindu and the Glass House ?

Appreciate your reply. In answer to your remarks regarding being fat I am 6ft 2" and around 18.5 stones. Perhaps I was just lucky. really don't know. A few weeks ago also bought a pair of jeans from a fairly local charity shop. They still had their Maine (Debenhams) label on them at £30. Got them for £6.99. Don't get me wrong, most of my clothes are purchased new. The most expensive being a Crombie coat I paid £600 for in their January sales. Mind you the same coat is now £800 or maybe a bit more.

Seconds out, ROUND TWO. Formal or no formal. Where people have stated the cost which can be restrictive there are ways around this. My first cruise back in 2002 I didn't know whether I would like it or not. So I hired a tux. Suffice to say I fell in love with cruising and bought a very good quality tux jacket from the ship we were on. Have to say the quality of one's available on the ships now are nowhere near the quality. Whilst some will say " I don't do charity shops" which I have already had aimed at me by another forum writer you can get very good tuxedo's from charity shops. I have a black one which cost me £15. My wife has picked up several cocktail type dresses costing new several hundreds of pounds for £20-£30. I have bought brand new shoes for a fraction of their original price. In fact probably 8 or 9 years ago I got a pair of Loakes brogues for £69. Retailing at just under £200 and recently bought a very smart blue suede jacket with black lapels which still had the price on it for £80. Cost the seller £149. I have also bought cumberbands, patent shoes etc for a fraction of their original price. So cost really shouldn't come into it. Which I see is isn't the case with everyone. Some just either don't want to or cannot be bothered with the hassle of getting something that's going to be worn a few times on a cruise and dependant on whether you cruise more than once a year, maybe only a few times per year. Some obviously would be content for formal to be scraped, but then many still enjoy the chance to look dapper.

I do believe if you have a dress code that there should be a level of smartness required for a formal evening. I have absolutely no objection with regards to this. If you, meaning anyone prefer to wear jeans and a tee shirt then there should be areas within the ship to cater for those that wish to dress down rather than dress up. I don't want an us and them situation, but have myself been in places where I have been quite smart and felt out of place because others have come in wearing boilersuits and jeans. So I see it as working both ways. Although I suppose there are those that don't care either way.

I do agree. I like formals, although not too many. If you have them, then enforce them in the areas deemed necessary. But have read on this forum of many instances where people are turning up in chino's and are allowed in. This is obviously a case of whoever is in charge not wishing to upset the individual but being prepared to upset those that have made the effort in the belief that this is the requirement.

I think it's a sad state of affairs when those cruising have no idea as to what to expect when turning up at an MDR on a formal night. It appears to be a wishy washy policy where those responsible for enforcing the rules that P&O state in their literature or online in some cases allow passengers in to certain areas and some don't. I don't necessarily see the wearing of formal attire as being a generational thing as some young and some old either prefer to wear it or not. I like a mixture myself of formal and informal. It seems because of this diversity with regards to the wearing of formal or not that P&O seem stuck between to stools. Do they do away with formals and alienate those that like them ? or do they continue with them and have those that prefer not to dress formally going elsewhere for their cruises/holidays.

On the same cruise. Hope to see you around the ship. If not have a great time. I am sure we will. Have been to most ports except Roatan and Belize. have been very surprised with regards to the number of excursions either sold out or limited availability. I booked ours well in advance. But haven't booked many as a lot of the excursions like the Everglades, Great Universal, have done before. Current temperatures at around 22C for Bermuda and between 25 and 29C Cozumel and Miami.

Hi, have received a further email after the first one which I flagged up as trying to be helpful and this one said I don't need proof on covid jabs, but recommend that I have had them and I don't have to do a covid test no longer than 3 days prior to cruise. Except as you say J301.

To be quite honest I think it's best to wear a mask in say a packed lift and maybe the theatre as I have often found even prior to covid that coughs are rife in the theatre. Once one starts it goes around. We both have underlying health issues and on the last but one cruise my wife contracted Norovirus on the last night prior to disembarkation.

I was really making the point of there being no need to fill in the online Health Declaration. This has only just come up as I went to my emails this morning expecting to find the form. Apparently some countries like Spain still require masks to be worn in some shops ? Does seem as you say that proof of covid negative test doesn't apply every cruise. Also many are stating that no one is asking for proof of certain things despite P&O website stating checks will be made and requirements for such documents are necessary. We will ire on the side of caution and take all current requirements according to the P&O website. The last thing we want is to be turned away because we haven't got all the paperwork.

Caribbean and USA on Ventura

Whilst not trying to seem insensitive as my ex Mother-In -Law passed away some years ago. I really did have a soft spot for her. It was a bog down the bottom of the garden. She used to say "Your effeminate" I'd answer " I am compared to you". When I got married to her Daughter she asked " What sort of wedding would you like " I said "Just a quiet one " She turned up with a silencer on the shotgun.

Hi Everyone. Just a heads up on P&O latest protocols. Received an email from P&O today. It states that " You no longer need to fill in an online Health declaration 3 days prior to your cruise". You do however need proof via a Lateral Flow test no longer than 3 days prior to your cruise showing a NEGATIVE covid test, plus either a driving licence or passport (Up to date, of course), date and time test taken.

We did a cruise some years ago on a P&O ship and they had a phone in quiz at around 5 p.m. If you knew the answer you phone in and there were some very nice prizes. I think I won either 3 or 4 very nice photo frames and I didn't cheat. But believe the guy who was running this quiz was maybe pulled up on it for giving away so much. I can't recall that happening on any cruise since. We did a Mr & Mrs thing another time where we were on stage and had to answer questions about each other. We won, but the wine we were given was only good for cleaning the sink in the cabin bathroom.