Marmaduke

Just complete the survey,  whilst I enjoy background music such a pianist in the bar, piped music around the ship is a definite No from me.  I also found this aspect of Celebrity so awful I am reluctant to cruise with them again.

I agree mid ship and low down is best for crossing the Atlantic.  For maximum sun on that route, book the starboard side.

When I was last on  P & O the MDR lunch menu had changed to a new and some what messy format spread across the page, with small dishes , large plates, vegetarian dishes etc.  Is the MDR dinner menu now in the same format or is it still the traditional menu layout of starters, soups, main course desserts etc?

Last time I was on a P & O cruise was Feb 2020 , the MDR Lunch menu was poorly designed and  consisted of large plates, small plates, light opitions etc, all very confusing.  Has the MDR Dinner menu changed to this format as well, or is it still a traditional layout e.g starters, soup, main course, deserts etc.

Thanks Megabear for your reply regarding Allianz insurance and the work you are doing researching other insurance policies, all very informative.

22 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

As I am going to be in the market for a new travel insurance policy in November I am going to start speaking with a lot of insurers today - I have a ski holiday booked for Christmas time and need to add winter sports to our policies so it's not just about the cruise issue. However  I intend to ask the question of the insurance companies about offloading someone who does not have a positive Covid test from a cruise ship into quarantine at the same time and will post any relevant answers here later if it would be helpful?

It would certainly be very helpful to know what answers you receive from the various insurance companies.

In a previous post you mentioned that the insurance you have though your bank account is changing in November so I guess that you, like us are with Lloyds.  I would certainly be interested to know what Allianz  have to say about Covid and cruising in general as I can find no specific mention of cruising anywhere in the details we received from the bank.

What toiletries are currently provided by P &O ?  Are they still The White Company brand and is the hand & body lotion still included ?

Look very closely at the included tours that  Viking are offering.  There is usually only one included tour per port and it is often a walking tour.

Is the refunded OBC from the cancelled excursions able to be refunded to your credit card at the end of the cruise ?  

I can see how submitting your details in advance to a company and paying them to complete your locator form for you at the appropriate time might work for a foreign land based holiday but not for a cruise.  The  itinerary can change at any time, only this week Italy seems to have decided to ban cruise ships and extra Spanish  ports have been added to Britanina's itinerary.  I also expect that every Caribbean cruise will suffer some itinerary disruption during the couse of its 14 day journey around the islands.

Personally I would not trust anyone else to complete and submit the form,  as it is your responsibility to ensure it is correct and received in advance of arrival.  

I am not P & O's greatest fan, it does not have the best food and we prefer a mix of nationalities rather than all Brits, but we always use them for a Caribbean cruise every year (Pre Covid) purely for the convenience.  The charter flights are not that bad and they keep the costs down.  Also if the flight is delayed the ship, is more likely to wait for a plane load of passengers that a dozen people on a shedule flight.  You fly out and get on the ship the same day, no need for an overnight hotel.  The transfer is literally direct from the aircraft steps to the ship , no queuing for immigration, customs or baggage pickup.

Coming home,   you put suitcases outside the cabin the night before and you do not see them again until you pick them up at your UK airport.  You get lunch on the last day before being transfered to the airport in the afternoon.  If the flight is delayed you are kept on the ship for as long as possible and transfered to a hotel if the delay is over night.  Whereas if you are cruising from Miami you will have to be off the ship by 9.am. and either take a tour or hang around the airport all day until your evening flight home, plus you will have  your suitcases with you.

This is why we choose P & O for the Caribbean. It is worth alot.

11 hours ago, Dgtrainer99 said:

The situation is starting to sound like either pay a fortune for testing, giving access to limited excursions or floating in a tin can 😢. It’s starting to sound like the time to pull the plug on the January 22 cruise.

I share your concerns.

We booked in April 2021 for February 2022.  We don't normally book the Caribbean that far in advance nor pay as much as we have done for this cruise.

I can live with inflated cost as I appreciate that there is probably pent up demand  but I don't think we are going to get anywhere like our previous P & O Caribbean experience. 

Thank you once again Huntingdon 1701 for taking the time out from your cruise to post on here.  You will have reassured many people that foreign cruising is still possible in these Covid times.

Please let us know how your flight home went and how you fared getting back into the UK.  I believe you are flying  BA to LHR (terminal 5?)  Apparently the airport was chaos with long queues on Friday so I hope the situation has improved by the time you arrive.

I have just been reading over on the Celebrity Board that their 12 night Southern Caribbean cruise, due to depart from the US tomorrow 5 September has, of last week had to cancel their calls to Barbados and Greneda.  I suppose a lot can happen in a few months but I don' t feel this bodes well for P & O's Caribbean season this winter.

5 hours ago, Huntingdon1701 said:

I had a quick look last night and there is an alcove that was dedicated to Greek products - pottery, carved wood, some jewellery and skincare products.

 

Wasn't a huge selection and prices felt high for me, based on the pottery shop we visited on one of the tours. That said, I am not the target audience for this. 

This reminds me of a cruise around the Baltic with Princess about 25 years ago.  The on board shops were stocked with Russian Matryoshka Dolls priced at  over 100 $ US.  From the very start of the cruise they were being heavily promoted with flyers etc.  As soon as the shops opened on sailing away from St Petersburg there were near riots on board with people trying to get refunds on these dolls having discovered that a similar set of dolls could be bought for 1O$ US from the tourist vendors in St Petersburg.

The onboard dolls were probably of better quality but not 100 $ better!

Thank you Huntingdon1701 for the very detailed report of your cruise.  Its great to know that Azamara is back and what we can expect of a cruise in these uncertain times.  I too have stayed at the Athens Gate and found it a good pre cruise hotel in an excellent location.

 Did you book your cruise package through a travel agent or direct with Azamara?   The reason I am asking is that I normally like to book a tailor made package through a travel agent so I can choose my flights and, if necessary  pre cruise hotel  but with the current travel complications I wonder if it is better to book everything direct with Azamara.

In answer to your question,  No we have not yet recieved any flight details.  We are due to travel in late February  and normally by now we would have been notified of the flights.   Our balance in not due until November but I am becoming increasingly uncertain as to whether we will go ahead and pay or just take a hit and loose the low deposit.  There are currently too many unknowns regarding these cruises and I can't see the situation improving in the next few months.

As a matter of interest, is Viking providing a tour of Portsmouth for those of you on the Back to Back or are you going to be allowed ashore independently on Saturday.

Very disappointing for those passengers remove from the ship just because they had travelled on the same coach.  However I can understand P & O  position, but how are they going to handle the charter flights for this winters Caribbean season.  Pre flight testing tends to be carried out at least 48hrs prior to  the flight. If one or two passengers test positive on arrival at the ship are they going to stop all 300 from boarding. 

Thanks to everyone on the current UK cruise for posting about your experiences, it is very helful for those on the up coming cruises.  Please could somebody let us know what the current menus are for the Chef's Table. Many thanks.

Go ahead and book it.   It looks like a good offer for single travellers and it is probably one of the best, safest and hassle free cruise experiences you are going to get at the moment during these covid times.On small ships it is easier to meet people although as previously pointed out due to covid people may be more cautious.  I believe that on the UK cruises in June you could ask to share a table in the main dining room.  I think that they were available for up to 6 people, so that is one way of getting to know others.  Many ships organise events especially for solo travellers , don't know if Viking do but if they are promoting these cruises for solos there could well be some.

On our UK cruise in June there was a different red and a different white every day, a rose was also available and as was, I believe a white sparkling.  On the whole we were very happy with the quality of these wines and found them far superior to the daily Azamara offerings.

Just tried to make some dummy bookings for both ships during January and February and it would seem that for many cruises the London flight option is listed as sold out.

On 7/30/2021 at 11:56 AM, Bin man said:

Just seen Brttania cruises cancelled to St Lucia lack of charter flights as expected 

Frustrating  for those already booked, many who will have already had their plans changed many times and very disappointing for those that can't spare the time or the money for a 14 nt holiday.

16 minutes ago, arlowood said:

That raises a bit of a conundrum. Having checked the cruise schedule for Portsmouth, the Viking Star looks to be departing on 28th August after the last UK Shores cruise but intriguingly it returns again on 3rd September before departing again on the 4th but no evidence of any arrival on the 9th September

 

https://www.portsmouth-port.co.uk/cruises/cruise_schedule

 

So possibly Viking are sneaking another UK cruise into the programme but have not yet announced it. Also maybe they haven't decided on what length it is going to be (7 night or 12 night) hence  the disconnect between the port schedule and the parking

Just looked at the Port schedule,  it doesn't  mention Viking Star's cruise on 21 August.  Very odd.