paulatsea

Sincere condolences Bazrat.

I have enjoyed your posts.

Fionboard - did you get a resolution to your insurance issues ? I would have thought a second all clear scan would mean your premium should not be affected - or was it ?

thanks

50 minutes ago, Mick B said:

Hi all,

I have done a few TAs and so far both have been from the UK to the USA with the dreaded night flight home, but only after spending a few days in NYC first.

 

I have now booked a TA next April from Port Everglades to Southampton on the Jewel in order to get the long flight over with first and then to simply sail back home.

As with my other 2 TAs I have booked an Interior. Not just because its the cheaper option, but because the weather can be unpredictable at any point during a TA no matter where you are in the ocean, so we always book a room that is centrally based to avoid bad movement. I always research my room and make sure it is close to the aft lifts but not right close and not near any noisy machinery or under anything like the dinning room where tables may get moved around first thing etc.

I know having a balcony or JS is nice, but you really need the nice weather and calm seas and find these a better option for Caribbean or Med cruises.

Some balconies may face the sun but that can get blocked by things like the deck above sticking out etc, so choose wisely!, Always research your cabin and check the surroundings. Don't forget, you can always enjoy the sun up on the top decks!

 

Another more important thing here before attempting a TA is to check what your ship has to offer as if you hit stormy weather then the top decks with the deck chairs may be closed and if your ship doesn't have a Solarium with a roof, then you may find yourself stuck indoors with limited things to do.

 

Things like the outdoor pool may be roped off or drained for days on end. Even indoor things like Bumper Cars can be off limits and even the shows with dancers can be cancelled along with Ice shows etc for obvious reasons, so you MUST be prepared to find things indoors to do.

 

I enjoy the TAs because they normally offer a chance to unwind and relax as opposed to getting off the ship every day at a port. It is nice not having to get up at 6am to cram breakfast down your throat because you have to be off the ship at 8am because you may only have six hours in that port and don't have the time to visit all you wanted to visit whilst there.

 

Lastly, depending on how many stops the cruise has, means that entertainers may have remain on board for the duration (or most of it), so you may end up with the same acts performing over and over for 14 days. Not too bad if you like the Beatles and one of their good tribute bands are performing around the ship throughout. But, be prepared for slightly less varied entertainment than say a 7 day cruise with lots of ports.

 

Hopefully if you bear all these factors in mind, and are prepared beforehand, then you should enjoy a nice relaxing holiday.

I can tell you this, my wife would not have done a second TA if she did not enjoy the first and she certainly would not be wanting to do a third next year.

 

regards,

Mick.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Totally agree re getting the flight over first then enjoying the journey back.

We hated the flight back.

54 minutes ago, zap99 said:

That's if P&O are ok with booking a cruise ,switching cabins half way through. I guess the rich folk could book 2 cabins on different sides of the ship, a bit like 2 sunbeds.

Swap with someone who likes shade

18 hours ago, zap99 said:

I thought " POSH " originated from the India days, so that the cabin gets lots of shade. 🤔

It does !
The OP used it in this case to ensure sunny side both ways transatlantic  - so its the reverse of the original meaning.

14 hours ago, Aulanis said:

 

Ambassador pester you to leave a review on trust pilot - I recommend you read some

of them.  Interestingly they dont respond to bad reviews .

 

For me it is so far so bad, we have no experience of cruising with Ambassador but the recent round of price cuts has meant we have paid well over the odds as a reward for booking early.   Also mentioned in reviews on TP

We have been away on a cruise and on our return thought we would get up to speed with
Ambassador.

Have to say I was shocked to find we paid around £400 each more for our standard plus inside cabin than they are now offering it at although the category is showing as wait listed???   So why still advertise it?

That is more then I have ever seen in a price drop on our 30 previous cruise.

I understand the price paid  is contractual so as I have seen other lines sometimes
cover the price drop with OBC  or an upgrade  I have asked our TA to see if anything is available.

They say it is unlikely but will try- could take 7 days for an answer!  Having since read TP

I think I know the answer.

Moving on from that I have been trying to find out when embarkation time is and find that the web site is pretty abysmal.   3 differing suggestions as to that!   Not our exact time but just an indication of when embarkation might BEGIN would help.  I have emailed them.
Auto response suggests 14 days for a reply.   Daft thing is it says I can request a callback
within 2 days??   go figure!   I might even try that.

More great news  Guest act  ” Mr Showbiz ”   Jimmy Nairn  been in the entertainment business  for 50 years .....   never heard of him,  anyone else?

So no good points so far including "for my convenience and comfort they are fixing the inside temperature on the ship at 21/22 deg " so doesnt sound ideal for sleeping.

Anyway its not true according to several reviews of winter cruises.   I think it must be

ambassador speak for  if its hot you cant cool it and if its cold you cant make it warmer.

   I am going to use this as the start of my review tho it will end up  TLTR.

Thanks for this - look forward to further reviews from you - very useful.

7 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

Turn down may become a thing of the past as more lines seem to be moving away from turn down. I know some people like it but not a big deal for us, we had been on Arcadia for 3 days last December before my other half realised. It would be interesting to see how many would take it up if it was an added priced extra, as extra priced services seem to be the trend these days.

Maybe a “select price plus”  - includes : 

turn down

full breakfast in the cabin (n times)

priority boarding

I would pay extra for that. 

18 minutes ago, happy v said:

This won't be of any help if you just want to go to Amsterdam. If the tulip festival, Kuekenhouf is your main focus we went from Rotterdam and it is almost equidistant between there and Amsterdam. The drive went passed a lot of tulip farms so was very nice. 

Thanks - good to know as kuekenhouf is on my list.

47 minutes ago, thornegirl said:

Ive sent the email, I'm expecting a 28 day response time! I'll keep you updated of the outcome.

Thanks - sorry your Holliday was ruined. Horrible thing to do.

Did 3 cruises on ocean village but nothing transferred to p&o - is it too late now  ? ! 
Really liked ocean village - wish I had done the last one when it went to Australia - just missed out as fully booked when I asked.

15 hours ago, Son of Anarchy said:

We've also received the offer to bid for an upgrade.  Minimum £450 pp to go from standard balcony to deluxe.

 

I phoned up to get a price on simply upgrading.  £625 pp. 

 

Decided to put a minimum bid and see what happens.  We're on an Early Saver fare anyway so location not a issue.

Good luck 🤞 

1 hour ago, tim_london0 said:

Why do people even expect a turn-down service?

 

this is 2020, not 1920.

 

Thanks for the review BTW 😀

 

 

It’s 2023 !! I like a turndown very much - part of a special service - but I don’t expect it anymore though. Marella still do it.

36 minutes ago, paulatsea said:

I have holidayextras - they said that if the condition was being treated with medication or in hospital or as an outpatient then you need to declare it.

if it does not require medication or hospital or outpatient treatment you don’t.

Also if you had been referred for tests or investigation. I asked this in relation to a new condition.

I have holidayextras - they said that if the condition was being treated with medication or in hospital or as an outpatient then you need to declare it.

if it does not require medication or hospital or outpatient treatment you don’t.

52 minutes ago, paulatsea said:

Not perceptions - based on facts and personal  experience over many years.

 

Fact - my car has never been damaged or broken into in a secured cruise car park.
It has in public car parks.

 

Fact - Most Car Insurance will not cover loss/damage if car left unattended overnight / for several days in a public car park - reason ?  actuarial statistics on theft damage from public car parks.

 

And peace of mind (perceived or real threat ) is worth a premium - to me.

 

 

 

My mistake re insurance . Out of date and no longer correct . Fact !! 

44 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

Statistics are relevant if it never happens to your car.

 

 

Care to give an example of a car insurance policy that contains such an exclusion, because I have never seen one (and I consider it would be impossible for any insurance company to actually write such an exclusion that wouldn't fail to meet the expectations of the ombudsman).

My mistake - apologies - it was from policy years ago. I am not up to date.

11 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

Perceptions - you perceive that something bad will happen to a car parked in a public multi-story car park, I do not.

 

What are the actual facts - what proportion of cars are broken into, vandalised, or stolen when parked for a week or two in a public multi-storey car park? 10%? 1%? 0.1%? 0.01%? 0.001%?

 

If it was 10% then paying a premium to park in a secure car park might be worth it, but at 0.001% it likely isn't.

 

And then what is the risk of damage to your car by the secure car park driver that you only notice after you get home so they won't cover? 10%? 1%? 0.1%? 0.01%? 0.001%?

 

Fear of risk is a subject exploited by every company, whether it is a secure car park company, a high street retailer selling you an extended warranty, or a cruise company offering to mitigate the risk of a dodgy cabin or unsatisfactory MDR allocation by paying extra!

 

Some people are happy to accept the risk that most often does not materialise, and some are not.

Not perceptions - based on facts and personal  experience over many years.

Fact - my car has never been damaged or broken into in a secured cruise car park.
It has in public car parks.

Fact - Most Car Insurance will not cover loss/damage if car left unattended overnight / for several days in a public car park - reason ?  actuarial statistics on theft damage from public car parks.

And peace of mind (perceived or real threat ) is worth a premium - to me.

55 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

Your 'perceived' risk.

 

Whether there is actually an increased risk is a matter for debate.

Not really - it’s a matter of fact .

its obviously safer in a dedicated secured cruise car park with no public access cctv and staff than a public multi-storey car park.

1 hour ago, NightWoman said:

Yes you can have breakfast and lunch in the Buckingham restaurant and it's a combination of self service and waiter service. 

I tried to be as objective as possible and the public areas are nice however this a ship that's over 20 years old and the infrastructure is not as good as the newer ships and I agree they should have made a point of refurbishing certain areas especially the Borough Market, after all Ambassador made a fortune from the Scottish Government. 

There isn't anything that would prevent me cruising on Ambition again but I would only cruise if the ship was sailing from a Scottish port. 

I'm sure if you decide to cruise on Ambition you'll enjoy it. 

Thank you. 👍

Thanks very much for the review  - I’ve been looking forward to a review of Ambition.

It sounds similar to Ambience with the air conditioning / lack of repair issues.

The buffet sounds dreadful - can you have breakfast / lunch in the main dining room ?

Its a shame they haven’t done a better job refurbished these 2 ships.

1 hour ago, Goosebear Mum said:

Removal of the children’s play area, when Aurora became adult only

Thanks - that was a long time ago !

How have they made room for the new cabins and how many are there ?

When were they put in ? 
I didn’t know about these.

3 hours ago, KforKitty said:

We have stayed at Elizabeth House Hotel but not pre-cruise.  The room and breakfast was fine but was not impressed with the parking.  When there was a space, some were really difficult to get into as there was a mature tree to avoid and cars parked at different angles and even double parked (blocking in cruise parkers).  

 

Catherine

 

 

Thanks - yes I also read about the parking issues in some of the reviews on booking.com.

We have decided to try the pilgrim inn in marchwood/hythe.

Just now, jeanlyon said:

No I haven't but someone else on here recommended it a while back.  Looking forward to it.

Thanks - think we will try it for Aurora end august cruise.

17 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

Not sure if OP was asking about parking for the cruise.  We are staying at Elizabeth House Hotel.  Parking on site and not that expensive.

Have you stayed here before jeanlyon ? I’m looking for a alternative to the holiday inn and Leonardo royal where we usually stay - Elizabeth looks nice.

thanks