CocktailPrincess

Since booking I have read on forums/reviews that costa charge a service charge of 11EUR a day per person.

Is this true?

If this is the case for my cruise the service charge would cost almost as much as the cruise! we booked a re positional cruise 15 nights for £250pp the service charge would be  165EUR pp

i have tried looking on the website and it doesn't mention Fortuna, does this mean i am in the clear?

thanks in advance

7 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Exit the tub, head back to your room.  Easy.  No need to complicate it.  

Why would anyone change clothes near the hot tub when every cruiser has a private stateroom within a 5 minute walk?  

Because it will be freezing cold.

Because I thought walking back wrapped in towels would look worse than a bathrobe

Because on a summer cruise I would sit outside till dry enough to slip on a dress.

6 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Is a dressing gown the same as, or different to a bathrobe?

Well now we are getting into the Knitty gritty lol

40 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Very few people wear bathrobes outside their personal cabins.  Don't be that person.  Obviously no one will "confront you", but people will look and judge.  Bathrobes aren't for public view.  

I'm just not sure how to use a hot tub in 12degree weather without something warm to put on... what would you suggest instead?

Obviously I don't want to do anything that is bad ettiquette, but equally I want to use the facilitys.

It wouldn't be an issue in summer as you would just wear a sundress or a cover up over swimwear.

Looking at the deck plan there are no changing rooms near many of them, as there are 24 hot tubs dotted around the ship

10 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

I totally appreciate and thank you for saying that. 
 

Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but I haven’t seen too many people in bathrobes in food areas. Maybe that’s why I was so taken aback a few years ago during our first HAL cruise when I was getting lunch in the buffet and a guy walked up to the serving station in a bathrobe. I was stunned. It was so inappropriate. 

Yes very inappropriate, i wouldn't dream of it.

I think I can see a route from our cabins to the pools where we pretty much just in lift or cabin corridors.

5 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

Just please not in the dining room or the buffet area especially at breakfast.

I did say not dining areas 

20 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

If someone questions it just say, "Its not a bathrobe, it's a cover-up."

Good Idea

we are going on a Norwegian cruise and its going to be a bit chilly on deck, but would like to use the hot tubs, would it be acceptable to walk from our cabin to the hot tubs in our robes, to stay cosy outside?

I would not walk through any food areas. 

Thanks

On 8/11/2023 at 10:49 PM, bronzevernis said:

Thank you! We've been holding off going to see Mission Impossible and Barbie in the hope that its showing in the cinema on Iona

Go watch Barbie now! its brilliant

On 8/11/2023 at 10:47 PM, ParisHilton said:

WE sail tomorrow, I'll pop over to the cinema and let you KKnow. I think the films change so I'll try to check daily.

My other half is a film fanatic so im following this thread with interest!

14 minutes ago, FangedRose said:

Theme nights were massively in decline prior to covid. Passenger participation was negligible. I have not known any since cruising recommenced. On my most recent cruise my table mates all commented on the lack of theme nights in recent years. I wouldn't bother doing any special packing.

Thanks, its good to know. A bit of a shame, but I just wanted to know in advance.

My first & only previous cruise was Jan 2020, in the Indian ocean with Costa, almost every night was a theme, and I hadn't packed for this, which was a shame as we felt a bit left out- so I was trying to be ultra prepared this time.

What really annoys me though, is p&o wont actually just give me an answer, i am so grateful for these forums to actually get the answer, but ive sent three emails and they just skirt the question!

17 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Pleased to hear that you enjoyed reading the blog. No, there were no theme nights. There seemed to be quite low participation in the Celebration night as well, when it came to dress code, not that this bothers me as much as it does some others. We went to the 710 Club after dinner on Celebration night and I was the only gent in a dinner suit and there was only 1 in a lounge suit. 

Thanks, i was starting to guess this was the case, P&Os my cruise site, pretends to be personal to your cruise, but seems to generic, they should delete that section for Iona really, as its obviously not applicable. 

I love to get dressed up, as so little opportunity in life these days, our party will be suited and booted on Celebration night for sure! 

But good to know I don;t need to pack my flares or Hawaiian skirt for any themes lol

Thank you for a great post, I really enjoyed reading it.

Am wondering if you can answer a question for me, before I board in 16 days....

Were there any theme nights?

(not celebration night) its mentioned several times on P&0 - see pic but I have tried asking them via email which exact theme will be on our cruise, but they won't give me a direct answer and just tell me to look at my itinerary, but its doesn't say anything, and even though i asked again i got the same answer- so can you help- as i don't want to pack for all possibilities!

So thankful to everyone's help, but especially @Spike11 adding the word Havn, was a game changer, i now have exact times for each port- Thank You.

Do you know how long after docking you can usual get off the ship? do you get given specific times, or can everyone try and the same time- which i imagine would take some time?

15 minutes ago, Spike11 said:

According to the port website Alesund.havn.no you are in port 8am to 6pm on 20th September. The port websites generally have more uptodate information than the generic websites like cruisedig and whatsinport - though it takes longer to find each port website. For Norway if you search for “port name” then “havn” - the port website will usually come up! 

Omg! Thanks so much.... That word 'havn' was the missing link

5 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

You are better looking at each actual port websire,  then looking for cruise ship schedules.

I tried to find them, Google seems to show so many sites and none look that official .. I have  thought maybe marinetraffic.com, but that only shows past and today's arrivals.

Am I being totally dense, I am searching 'olden port schedule' alesund port schedule' etc

3 minutes ago, thornegirl said:

Ive checked for Olden, arrives at 9am leaves at 6pm.  Stavanger 8.30 - 5pm, Hellisylt 7 - 4.30, Haugesund will probably be 9am arrival and leave 4.30.  

thank you so much for taking the extra time to help me- where and how did you find this??  do you have a link?

although is this actually for Iona departing 16th Sept? as we aren't going to Hellisylt , we are going to Alesund

Just now, CocktailPrincess said:

thanks, but all is says for Iona, is morning arrival - afternoon departure...lol

not helpful when trying to book things

or early morning - early afternoon, or morning to early evening, but what i class as early evening might not be the same as them... I am getting so stressed out 

9 minutes ago, thornegirl said:

whatsinport.com should have the information you need.

thanks, but all is says for Iona, is morning arrival - afternoon departure...lol

not helpful when trying to book things

7 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

If you E-mail P&O they will provide the times, but it's unlikely you would get a reply in time.

However if you google the cruise terminal for all the ports you are visiting, you should be able to see the schedules for the day you are in that port, and that will have arrival and departure times.

I have had a google, do you recommend any sites?  They all seem a bit hard to navigate, or lacking in much information.

Best seems to be cruisedig.com but even that has no further information on times for Iona, even for dockings this week, under times its just got n/a.

Thanks, ill google the ports, cos as i said I have emailed p&o already and just told to look on my cruise.

Thank you, I will try that with one.

The others involved us getting a taxi or a bus to the place we wanted to go.... So I don't know what to do on these.

So weird that they know the times, but p&o...won't tell us!

This is my first cruise with P&O and only my second cruise ever.

I have planned out all the things I want to do on port days and they are all with third party company's, however with only 19 days till departure there are still no timings for arrival/departure of our port days, without this information I cannot book anything. 

I'm sad as one we wanted to do, has now sold out.

I've tried contacting P&O, it takes days and days for a response and is always the same-  just check your itinerary on my cruise, but there is no information.

(we also wanted to know which theme nights there would be- as it just says a general note on 'my cruise' about tropical/black& white/70's/80s etc, but I know it wouldn't be all of them and want to pack accordingly-  again told to look on itinerary, but there is nothing there)

Hoping someone can help me out

thanks in advance

We are going in Sept, and have booked our excursions with 3rd partys in advance. 

Do you know what our rights will be, if we then don't end up going to the ports...