sandancer

I’ve seen and indeed taken part in silent discos but they are usually far from silent. You might have four different songs being played and most people sing along loudly. It’s a lot of fun and popular on many cruise lines now.

Smiths have ceased trading. We have used them many times and would be so glad to see them back in business.

While we are not up there yet we did see people on our recent Iona cruise going to the special lunch and all were nicely dressed with many jacket and tie outfits and ladies who definitely looked like they lunched.

And us. We have been cruising since 1990 but didn’t take our first cruise with P&O until 2018. We compared it with other cruise lines and decided never again. However when cruises to nowhere were offered during the pandemic we were so desperate to cruise we went on Britannia. Since then we have been on Azura, Arvia, twice on Iona with 3 more P&O cruises booked. We have a Princess cruise this year and reading some of the comments on the Princess CC forum, there are just as many moans on there.

As per Selbourne. Certainly needed for medical reasons, but also lost luggage or passports, missed ports or indeed missing the ship and getting to the next port. I think I would be inclined to check that with P&O.

Fortunately in this instance our great TA was able to get us a cabin which is exactly as we had requested. We gave her a choice of 4 and we are very happy with the one we have been allocated.

No, nothing else. You won’t usually have to show insurance details but best to have them to hand.

Anxiously awaiting a response from our TA. I’ve looked online and already there are lots and lots of cabins greyed out on the deck plan on our chosen cruise. Fingers and everything else crossed.

No, you only submit a statement once. I’ve been granted obc on two cruises. One Princess, one P&O. Only had to submit a statement for the first one. Just go to PERKS on the app and choose which cruise line, fill in the booking ref etc and a few hours later the second one was granted. Same day had an email from P&O confirming the obc.

Once you have registered though, any other requests for future cruises are dealt with almost within hours. I can’t believe how easy it is now.

We have bought 2 different types over time and found the heavy duty ones to be more versatile. I use them to hang necklaces to stop them getting tangled in a drawer. Caps, and best of all, right by the door our lanyards. I also have a couple of magnetic bulldog clips - one for the Horizon and the other for tour tickets. Please feel free to mock me, I’m well aware that at my age I’m constantly forgetting where I’ve put things and a bit of a “tidy” freak as well.

I chanced my arm and tried for the Jan leg as well. That was refused as expected.

Yes. It’s been applied to our Dec cruise on Iona. Applied on the app yesterday, confirmed this morning and a new invoice from P&O arrived this afternoon. Impressive.

Impressed with Stockperks. Downloaded the app and applied for obc on an August Princess cruise and it was confirmed 3 days later. Then I applied for a December P&O cruise yesterday and today confirmation arrived. I was really wary of the new arrangement but I have never had it applied so quickly. In fact the first time I did it through my stockbroker and it was not applied until 2 days before the cruise and that was due to the intervention of our TA.

We have pre registered for the 21 night Britannia in June. We need an adapted cabin and it’s a big birthday cruise so we will be very happy if our TA comes up with the goods.

We did this same cruise in 2023. It was our first “big ship” in the P&O fleet. Since then we have been on Iona twice and the Arvia TA was certainly the least busy. In the interests of clarity I should say that we don’t eat much in the buffet or MDR and these are generally when you would notice the crowds. There were a lot of young families on our recent Iona cruise, many with under 5s so school holidays were not an issue. Being realistic, if you choose a ship with that capacity you are looking at a busy cruise.

I thought of that Phil but our first P&O cruise was in 2018. Before that we cruised only with US cruise lines.

No. Just a balcony.

Definitely Tiger. On Iona in March a guest was trying to book the Olive Grove and was kicking off big time because he would not accept that there were no tables available and he refused to book in advance. He got nowhere and I am certain the staff would have been much more accommodating if he had not raised his voice. By the time he left the queue was about 10 deep with people who had booked.

Yes, it can be cancelled and it will be refunded to the cc on file. However, cancellations within 24 hours carry a £10pp cancellation fee. Someone posted that they had been charged the full £10 for the Beach House even though they didn’t pay that much. They will allow changes once on board but tend to tell you what time rather than allow you to choose. Understandable as they can only fill empty slots.

There are some items on the Beach House menu that carry a supplement and you will be charged for those at the time. If you eat from the standard menu then then the cover charge is all you will pay and that will have been charged to your cc in advance.

All pre booked restaurants are charged to your credit card on booking. That includes the Limelight Club.

Sorry if this subject has been raised a 100 times before. It is some time since we cruised with Princess (all recent have been with P&O who have black tie nights) and not sure if Princess still have formal nights. This is a British Isles cruise so not a casual Caribbean where you would not expect to wear anything formal.

I always take a photograph of the port agents details printed in the Horizon. Also have photos of passports, emergency contacts for travel insurance and prescriptions for both of us on both phones. There was a time when it would never have been thought of but as circumstances change with age and health it’s reassuring to have this information to hand.

I know the OP is querying the Beach House but worth mentioning that when pre booking Sindhu you pay a £10 pp deposit. When you get the bill there will be a 20% discount taken off in line with other restaurants you are able to pre book. Definitely worth booking Epicurean in advance as it is £30 pp on board (that is if you can get in).