nellydean

8 minutes ago, Harryjacobs said:

This has now changed.  You cannot book 710 club untill after everybody has boarded.  If I remember correctly I think it was 6pm they released the 710 club.  This is much improved over the previous free for all.  

Good news. They have obviously listened.

On 3/29/2024 at 7:37 AM, GOQ said:

Before embarking on my recent Azura cruise I received an email from P&O informing me there was Norovirus onboard. And there were precautions being taken in the form of the buffet waiters serving food and drinks.

 

Then about two thirds of the way through the cruise they reverted to self service, then I got ill with diarrhea and vomiting.

I rang 999 and reported it and was promptly told to self isolate in my cabin, they asked me about my symptoms, phoned me up a few times to check my symptoms and that was it, on my own for 2 days. The only visit I had was from a nurse? Not to ask how I was or if I needed anything, only to deliver a questionnaire and a sample bottle and quickly disappear. I am in my seventies and a solo cruiser, sick and alone in my cabin for 2 days.

 

Throughout the cruise there were many passenger coughing and sneezing, mainly over me I seems. After I started to get through the Norovirus symptoms got these as well, a cough, sore throat and runny nose.

 

I don’t know if I had Norovirus and a heavy cold at the same time, but it’s certainly putting me off cruising.

Very sorry to hear this, and hope you have made a good recovery. It must have been a lonely and concerning time for you, and it seems a bit cruel to have left you to fend for yourself, especially at your age.

We were informed of a similar outbreak on Arvia in March and, to be fair, the crew - and passengers - were steadfast in their hygiene, with many using the wash basins at the entrance to the buffet.

I didn't catch this, fortunately, but I did pick up a nasty respiratory virus, which I am still trying to get over. I went to the ship's doctor twice, and she said that the gastro problem - presumably due to good hygiene practice by all - was under control, but that there was an epidemic of this virus in the UK and people had brought it onboard. 

It's the first, and last time, I will cruise in the winter months again.

I hope you have made a good recovery.

This happened us in March in the Caribbean on Arvia. We were sitting up front next to the driver in one of the very small, cramped and run-down buses the islands use. Our guide was also the driver and, at some point early on, he took a call and then balanced the phone on his lap while he steered,  constantly looking at it while steering with only one hand, sometimes at speed, and around tricky corners on hillsides. He also spent a great deal of time fiddling about with various things by his side, including a large drinks container, which I eventually offered to hold so it didn't fall over and distract him further. He was a nice guy, but it was unnerving and, if it hadn't been for the fact I was suffering from a virus picked up in the first few days, I would have complained - we did complain about another trip in an open sided safari bus, where we couldn't hear any commentary from the driver/guide for most of the tour, as the speaker bust. He wasn't interested, but we did get a small amount of compensation, and the satisfaction that the problem had been verified and corrected so no-one else missed out knowing where they were going and what they were seeing.

There were LOTS of problems with ship's tours on that particular cruise, including one that we witnessed, where a large number of people crowded around the excursions desk and were shouting very loudly. P&O charges a lot of money for its excursions, and it is their responsibility to make sure people get what they pay for but, most importantly, that they are not exposed to any danger on the roads.

You should complain to them.

5 hours ago, david63 said:

For some inexplicable reason P&O appear incapable of organising dining unlike their sister cruise lines who are all far better.

We had absolutely no issue with getting a table on our March cruise around the Caribbean, however, we do like to eat from 7.30 if possible. Only a couple of times did we book on the app (one of those beeped within 2 minutes even though there was supposedly a long queue), the rest of the time we just showed up at whichever dining room we wanted to eat at - usually the Zenith - and we never had to wait for a table for two.

My complaint was the quality of food, specifically in the buffet (but also sometimes in the dining rooms), which was often bland and mediocre. You were fine if you liked roast spuds and meat, but there were no sandwiches we we know them - not at lunchtime anyway - just bits of roll with a dab of something in the middle. Maybe it will be different in the Med. 

Club 710 - no chance of getting in here unless you had pre-booked before boarding. Which was fine for cruisers in the know, but not for anyone else. Shows were booked out for virtually the entire cruise, and there were a lot of complaints.

Thank you Selbourne, just what I wanted to hear (too late to do anything about it anyway!).

My Caribbean cruise is coming up soon. 

 I have not cruised that area with P&O before, and was wondering what kind of clothes people wear in the dining rooms on casual evenings? Will I look out of place wearing my usual black trousers and nice tops/dresses, like I do when sailing the Med, or is it a much more colourful code, seeing as it's in the Caribbean (lots of bold colours/flowery patterns etc)?

Many thanks.

H

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

No they are not the only ones Cunard are the same. Also if you have cruised with P&O for the past 25 yrs you can remember when they did give port time arrivals and departures. We first cruised with P&O in 2000 and for quiet a few years they used to give times in the brochure.

Have only cruised with P&O about 4 times in the 25 years, 2 or 3 from 2014 and once last year so, no, I don't remember the times being given. But I was really referring to last year, when they weren't given. Much prefer it when they are (beforehand, I mean).

25 minutes ago, carlanthony24 said:

 

What a star you are!! Many thanks.

Just now, terrierjohn said:

You and several thousand other people!!!

Probably the best bet for accurate info is to check out the port websites, I realise that will be fiddly, but although there are so websites that pull together the data for each cruise, but many just follow P&Os early morning late afternoon terminology.

Having cruised quite a lot over the past 25 years, I think P&O are the only line I can recall that don't give the times in and out of port. Weird.

2 minutes ago, carlanthony24 said:

P&O don't supply times but some others sites do show them. Can't name them without the post being deleted. You typically get around 8hrs in port if you can tell me date of cruise I can check the site I use.

March 1st.

Can someone please advise where I can find arrival and departure times for my upcoming Arvia Caribbean cruise, as I am looking at independent excursions at several port (plus, I would just like to know how many hours we are going to be in port!)

Thanks in advance.

Helen

I have tried to be organised and pre-book what I can as regards dining

I assume that later dining times (after 6.30pm) can only be booked once onboard?

Thanks in advance.

Helen

Many thanks again, door, and P&O Sue. Very helpful. Fingers crossed!

Thanks for all your replies

doog442, we are leaving from Barbados airport

A further question - do P&O supply shuttles at all the ports - Barbados, Tortola, La Romana Dominican Republic, Phillipsburg St Maarten, Antigua, Basseterre, Fort de France Martinique and Castries St Lucia - or, are the towns within easy walking distance? 

Many thanks,

H

3 hours ago, Leomins said:

Yes, only one a week

Where did you find out which nights the formals were, please?

On 2/10/2024 at 4:09 PM, Interestedcruisefan said:

It's a big ship (as you know) but we just use the smaller/quality places on the ship so it doesn't feel so big

 

(Also will help if you aren't travelling in school holidays)

 

So our favourite spots are as follows

 

710 Club - need to book slots immediately you board

Anderson's bar for cocktails (no booking necessary)

Crows Nest for cocktails (no booking necessary)

Swim up pool bar for frozen cocktails (no booking needed of course but if you want sunbeds near it on a sea day you will need to be early riser

The sushi restaurant (needs pre-booking)

Epicurean (needs pre-booking)

The Gym - top quality

Limelight Bar (def needs pre-booking)

One of the smaller MDRs book on the app

Theatre - pre book so no need to arrive mega early to queue (big theatre but that's theatres for you)

Cinema - small cinema

 

If you are someone who is happy to eat 6.30pm or earlier - everything is easier to book

 

If you are in any of these places at any stage you won't feel the hustle and bustle of being on a big ship

 

If you are in Brodies, The Clubhouse, the Atrium or round the pool in the Dome area you WILL know you are on a big ship

 

Walking to all these places that are nice and calm - the distance you walk will remind you that you are on a big ship

 

That's my tips

 

We are on Arvia for 2 weeks in the Caribbean from next Friday

 

Lots of good info there. We are due to go on Arvia at the end of your cruise, and I have two questions if you can answer them please:

1/ Do you know how many formal evenings there are, and when?

2/ How do you know what the entertainment is going to be if you pre-book?

Thank you. Have a great cruise!

Helen

Many thanks doog442, that's very helpful.

One further question please: Were you able to use the buffet before you left, or, if you didn't use it, do you know if you could have? And which other facilities were open to disembarking passengers?

Hi,

Have a Caribbean trip booked for a few weeks' time. We wanted to take a ship's tour and airport transfer on the last day but, if we decided not to, what time would we likely be transferred to the airport from the ship? Our flight back is not until after 7pm, so don't want to spend all day at the airport beforehand if it can be helped.

Secondly, there is a possibility we might not be able to make this cruise because of a health issue that has cropped up. If that was the case, and we have prepaid for dining and tours, are we still refunded even if we decide at the last minute that we can't go, or, do we need to cancel these dining and tour bookings by a certain time beforehand? If so, how do we do it? On our online booking? Or, with PO by phone (which is almost impossible to get through to at the moment). 

Much obliged for any advice, thanks.

5 hours ago, Thedonkeycentrehalf said:

 

In answer to your question, a nice smart lightweight jacket (Don Johnson Miami Vice style) and trousers should be fine.  I haven't seen ties being enforced myself in recent years.

 

As a fairly well built gentleman myself, having to take either a suit or jacket plus accessories is quite a chunk of my luggage allowance when it comes to a fly-cruise.  Going from Southampton it is never an issue as I just take a separate suit carrier.  My wife's nice dresses for a formal night take are much lighter and take up far less space. 

 

I'm off on Britannia in a few weeks but we have booked PE so have a few more KG to play with.  I'll also probably use my hand luggage allowance to supplement this so will take my monkey suit as all I need when flying is my MP3 player and some water.

 

However, while I get the arguments some have around "you know the rules", there should be some common sense around the practicalities for fly cruises and the locations these cruises go to.

Many thanks  about the Don Johnson jacket suggestion - just need a Don Johnson husband to fill it!

On 1/19/2024 at 6:56 PM, terrierjohn said:

A smart,  preferably dark coloured jacket should be ok, whether or not a tie need be worn is a matter of personal choice, but plenty of posters on here will disagree with me.

Thanks, but if he needs to take a dark jacket then he may as well take his suit - or, I suppose, he could hire a tux for formal nights, and just take a summer jacket for other evenings?

On 1/21/2024 at 3:58 AM, Sausagedogs said:

We just arrived back in U.K after 2 weeks on Arvia . Formal nights were a joke . we booked a table for four ( paid ) and told trousers and shirt is ok . I wore a tux friend wore said trousers and shirt and we got denied entry as friend had no jacket . we ended up in the buffet !! ( we did get a refund though ) .

 

Overhaul the cruise was ok P+O seems to of gone downhill since our last one 4 years ago on the AZURA . the food was average ( meaning we want hot food not luke warm at the booked restrauants ) and service ok we we're told the ship had 200 staff down . Thats not having a go at the ones that where there they worked extremley hard . 

 

Not sure if it was due to Aircon but alot of Pax got sick and ended up confined to cabin i myself ended up in bed for 3 days with fever and missed out on 2 paid trips ( 1 they said i couldn't get refund ) in St Kitts !! 

 

I'll think long and hard about booking the Caribbean for next year with P+O . 

 

Just a side note . Its the little things that matter . When disembarking / embarking onto a redhot quayside . Norweigen next door offered there passengers glass of cold water and face flannel  i'm sure P+O did that last time ? 

 

On departure day couldn't they offer free WIFI so passengers can organise any last minute departure changes .( the poor folks who flew with Maleth Aero had extremly long delays and one flight got cancelled !! ) 

Without coming across as stupid, could you tell me why the AirCon would cause people to be ill?

20 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Apparently these are standard late cancellation fees.  I had the first two bookings on the day I fell ill and the following day, one Epicurean the other Limelight Club.  When my husband cancelled he was told we would be charged so £40 deducted from our account.  Rather stupidly I thought I'd be well before the next booking which was several days away (today).Unfortunately I'm still very rough so my OH cancelled yesterday evening but we are still in the late notice range so another £20 coming out.we know they took people of the wait list as the restaurant managers called to say thank you for advising in time someone else could go.

 

We have now made a block cancellation of our remaining reservations for the remainder of the cruise just in case.  My OH wanted to have an argument but I asked him to leave it as I'm so unwell I just want peace and quiet. I might query it when we get home but as this is our last P&O cruise currently booked I'm not sure what it would achieve.

Hope you are feeling better soon, and can enjoy at least some of your cruise.

Could somebody please answer this question: We are doing a Caribbean fly cruise in March, with a 23lbs baggage flight limit so, if my husband decides not to take his suit (that he will only wear twice in a fortnight), what other smart clothes can he wear on formal night that will be deemed acceptable for the dining rooms - or, would he be expected to dine at a casual venue?

Thanks in advance.

3 hours ago, Red Ray said:

The boys & girls outside the MDRs are called Podium Hosts.

3 hours ago, Red Ray said:

The boys & girls outside the MDRs are called Podium Hosts.

Many thanks!

2 hours ago, funinhounslow said:

I was on the same cruise and I think I know which dessert you’re referring to. It was ridiculously good! Made rather a pig of myself wirh it I’m afraid much to the amusement of my companions…!
 

This was also our first cruise since Covid and we were curious to see how much has changed. The short answer is “not much”, it’s probably 90% as it was. Staff seemed rushed and under pressure in the MDR I’m afraid but apart from that very little to moan about. 
 

We ate in Sindhu twice and Glass House and they were wonderful as always. Thoroughly enjoyed an evening in the Epicurean too. 
 

All the things we like P&O were present and correct- “fair” bar prices, enjoyable quizzes, decent variety of entertainment and the itinerary- in particular the overnight in Lisbon. 
 

The self check in greatly speeded up embarkation too - it took us about half an hour from leaving the car to getting to our cabin which is a record for us!

 

On the basis of our experience with this cruise we looking forward to booking with P&O again 

We didn't try Sindhu, but probably will on Arvia (assuming it's there), nor the Glass House, but we did patronise the bars quite a lot!

Glad you enjoyed the cruise. I'd happily sail on Ventura again. We've cruised the most with Royal Caribbean, but I do have a soft spot for P&O, having enjoyed two lovely cruises on Oceana, some years back.