loobs40

We're off on a P&O cruise around Caribbean in Feb. We will be taking a stash of US dollars for general spend around the islands, but since Covid I've been using contact less payments (Google Pay) with my phone for the vast majority of purchases in the UK

Is contactless widely available in the Caribbean for example in restaurants, bars, shops etc or is it advisable to take a physical payment card too? 

I left a credit card in the safe on one cruise. Didn't realise until I phoned up Amex for something else and they told me it had been returned to them!

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Our itinerary this year for the Caribbean had numerous 'possible tenders' marked against islands, but in the end there were none. I was a bit hacked off about that as I was unable to book a private tour on Grenada as I could not guarantee being able to get off the ship by 9.00pm.

We prefer Azura over Britannia, though the latter does have improvements, including the buffet

My mistake 4.00pm to 4.45pm

Afternoon tea is also served in one of the main restaurants with waitor service for no extra charge. We often make use of it when coming back from an excursion. Usually from 4.00pm to 5.45pm. Not many people know about it. Finger sandwiches, crumpets cakes, teacakes, etc

We have a travel Bluetooth speaker which will connect to our phones. We have created an offline playlist in Spotify for our music, so that will do the trick. We have chosen music from Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Take That, Dido and Johnny Cash.

We are so looking forward to the whole day. It's going to be like our wedding day all over again 😊

PS. thanks Bacardi for giving a useful response relevant to the title of this thread ��

Google is your friend.

It's a celebration of our marriage and our love for each other, that we will share with our friends. We get to dress up, read out personal messages and then have a party. Nothing more than that

Bluetooth , USB and streaming are not black magic! I can guarantee every member of staff on the ship knows what they are. And I'll guarantee that there is plenty of technology aboard ship that relies on these newfangled concepts.

Additionally many new laptops, mine included, no longer have cd or dvd disk drives. Most software is downloaded using the Internet theses days. As for streaming, no it would be expensive , not impossible to stream on a ship, however we stream onto our laptops, Pcs, smart phones and then play the music, audio books whatever offline in with no Internet connection

For the price we are paying for the Renewal of Vows it is not to much to expect a simple Bluetooth speaker to be available.

We cannot create a CD so will bring a Bluetooth speaker instead.

Hi. We have a renewal of vows on Britannia when we sail next week. The RoV blurb insists that for music we must bring a CD disc with our music and they can't play music using a smart phone or ipod or similar.

I find that astonishing as CDs are very old technology and everyone now uses mp3, streaming etc via Bluetooth or usb

I was hoping that someone reading this has been to one of these ceremonies and might have noticed the music setup to confirm or deny that CDS are the only method of playing music

Thanks.

We have been looking forward to our next cruise, Britannia in Feb, for months now. We work damm hard the rest of the year so just simple things like a sitting outside on deck sipping a cup of coffee with friends early in the morning watching the sunrise are very special. I cannot think of a single thing to complain about.

Hubby wants the sunny balcony so we'll stay with the upgrade

Has visited us unexpectedly given we ticked the don't upgrade box and selected that cabin to be close to friends. We were on Britannia A702 and now E532. At first glance there is no major difference except we are more mid ships.

The only thing that may be an improvement is that I hear that deck A balconies have more shade than deck E,.

Can anyone say whether that's accurate ? Hubby would prefer lots of sun on the balcony.

Are you sure that Azura doesn't sail till the following day? When we have cruised on Azura we have arrived Friday and sailed Saturday evening.

I think there will only be a certain number of day passes available and you can only get get them on the day you want to use the retreat. You have to be quick off the mark and get them first thing. I think I was able to phone from the cabin (This was on Azura)

I have generally only used day passes on sea days. There is probably more availability on port days

We use a Halifax clarity credit card and withdraw US dollars from ATMs in the Caribbean. This gives us the best rate possible. See moneysavingexpert.com for detailed info on how to get the best rates

What everyone else said! We live about 1.5 hours from Gatwick, but I will never take the risk of driving round M25 on a weekday. We stay overnight near the airport and regard it as part of the holiday. Book hotels early. I have booked Premier Inn At Gatwick for a very good price for next Feb, £40, tho I did book it in May!

We go to the Caribbean with P&O and our cases have been getting lighter and lighter each year. Swimming costumes, summer dresses and a couple of nice outfits. Anything I forget or need I buy out there at the markets. The thing i struggle with weightwise is the number of paperbacks i want to take!

We took two teenage girls the same ages with us a few years ago. We decided on adjoining inside cabins. Thank God we did. We couldn't get into their cabin for clothes, makeup, hair accessories etc littered all around the room. How the steward managed to make beds and clean is beyond me

We did Herculaneum a few years ago and chose a guide at the entrance. They basically wait until they get a group and take you around. As someone said earlier it is absolutely the best way to see these sites, without a guide its just walking round a bunch of ruins

My husband starts to pack and fret three weeks before we leave. I pack the night before. Inevitably we pack too much, especially shoes!

Hi all, i have bought a spa package for myself which includes three Retreat passes. I would like to book the days in advance for those passes to make sure I get a space.

Can I only do this when I board, or is there a number I can phone to arrange? When I booked the package, the phone agent said she couldn't book the days, but quite honestly, she seemed a bit unsure of the whole process.

Has anyone got any experience of how this works?

I'll be booking The Retreat on Azura for that stop!

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We are paying $65 p.p for the day pass at the Rendezvous which includes buffet lunch and all drinks.

"Thank you for your continuing interest in Rendezvous, we are please that you are interested in revisiting. Our passes remain under the same conditions as follows.

Half day pass (Morning) Includes Breakfast, Drinks and use of resort facilities from 8:00am to 12 noon. Cost US$49.00

Half day pass (afternoon) Includes Lunch, Afternoon tea, Drinks and use of resort facilities from 12 noon to 6:00pm cost US$65.00. We will be happy to amend the time to meet your requested time. You can settle the charges at the Reception on arrival after we have confirmed the passes.

While we endeavour to serve all our customers in the best manner, we are a couples only hotel and offer the Rendezvous experience in a tranquil environment of peace and relaxation. To this end we wish that all groups enjoy the hotel whiles keeping others guest in mind."

The hotel is located 5 minutes from the ports via taxi and cost US$10.00

Passes exclude use of scuba facilities and motorized water sports.

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We had a day at Rendezvous last Feb and loved it. We have booked again for next Feb as i discovered there are at least three large cruise ships in at the same time as us, so the island will be rammed!

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