Sumdumgi

16 hours ago, dronnygirl said:

We did this cruise on Discovery early July 2018 

We did this too. It was our 4th time in the last 10 years as we’ve done it with P&O twice and Princess albeit each time has been slightly different ports in Norway.

We’ve never had any really poor weather other than once on a sea day, the sun very often shines in Norway during the summer. It’s a fantastic itinerary, highly recommended, take something for showers, something warmer for sea days - it will be great !

And as said above  Fire and Ice on Discovery in 2018 was brilliant. We considered it this year too but opted for the Baltic trip on Explorer in June.

I’ve seen lots of discussion around trips and the merits of Tui and other guides, my question is a little different. I don’t really want to sign up for a 2 day extravaganza, it looks a little too much. Alternatively I don’t want to do one 3 hour trip and spend most of the day on the ship. Is it possible to do two shorter trips in one day ?  Are they timed so this is practical ? It’s mainly the second day that this applies (22/6 sailing). We would like to visit the Church of the Spilled Blood. Only one Tui trip includes this on the second day.

We sailed late, They have problems loading the cases however they have a new loading cage first used on the present cruise so that should speed things up.

The current Baltic trip was the one we watched sail on 23 June - it left the Tyne at 7.50pm :D

I'm not massively bothered, its just with being local we have friends/family who intend waving us off from Souths Shields Pier, once we're on board we are happy (y)

We are on Discovery this weekend. We've been down to see her off 3 times over the last couple of months. Twice she left the Tyne near 8pm, the other about 7pm. We've seen them twice doing the safety drill at around 6pm so I'd guess that the chances of it happening at 3pm are pretty much non-existent unless our experience is not typical. Sure I've read other posts where those on board have indicated early evening departures.

Can’t let it spoil our holiday, we’ve worked too hard for that. Leaves a sour taste but can always go back to P&O next year at least our loyalty is valued more there with on board discounts and free upgrades.

You are just as likely to suffer the same fate with any other cruise company including P & O with whom I've cruised many times. Pricing for cruise holidays is very fluid, can and does go up and down depending on demand. Book when you are happy with the price, don't look at pricing subsequently. As you won't have paid your full invoice you could consider cancelling and rebooking at the cheaper price if the savings are really worthwhile.

I hope not otherwise she'd be going up river. Lol:D

Guess which subject wasn’t my best at school :)

Thanks for the info mtt very useful. What time were you due to sail? We should be 1600 hours, not that it matters really.

I think all departures are stated as 4pm. On Sunday last the Discovery didn't leave the dock until after 7pm, we saw her leave the mouth of the Tyne at around 7.45pm. It seems there were some issues around getting luggage on board (again) which accounted for the delay.

The ship was berthed pointing towards Newcastle which meant it had to do a 360 before leaving which also takes time.

I am travelling to Newcastle the day before the cruise and staying in the Premier Inn Whitley Bay, using the Metro to get there. Which is best, board the Metro at Central station or walk to Monument?

It's not that far but given you will presumably have luggage and the Metro Station is within the Central Station I cannot think for the life of me why you would walk to Monument :confused:

Here is a radical thought, scrap the whole loyalty system altogether. In some way we all pay for it anyway. Use the money saved for other purposes eg to improve the embarcation system or reduce the bar prices or bring on big name acts to the theatre.

 

How many of you would immediately stop cruising with P&O if they removed your loyalty benefits, such as they are? I would suspect precious few as you sail with them for the product not the paltry benefits.

 

Loyalty benefits had their place back in the day when people took one cruise a year or every few years. Now many people that you speak to on ships (and indeed can gather from on this forum) can take several cruises a year so loyalty grades that used to take years of cruising to reach are reached much more quickly. Then they have to move the goalposts again and again - that annoys customers.

 

Go for the Big Bang, get rid of the whole system.💣

I agree. None of the loyalty benefits are free, it's simply a redistribution of costs. Lines that offer free WiFi and what have you are simply bumping up base prices across holidays to cover their costs.

If I had a gripe, it would be about the breakfast buffet bun fight where passengers were pushing and shoving and running to get their breakfast and find a table. Better organisation is needed here.

Some of this is down to poor design and has been a problem on Azura and Ventura since they were introduced to the P&O fleet so don't hold your breath for improvement unless there is a wholesale refurbishment and relocation of serving areas. It's particularly bad on sea days. Since her refit the buffet area on Aurora is very good, spacious and even on the busiest of days not too much evidence of 'bun-fighting'. It's a pity Ventura hasn't been refurbished similarly.

Of course what P&O cannot do is remove the self-centered rudeness and lack of manners inherent in a minority of passengers, nor cater for those who ignore the fact that anyone else is entitled to obtain food and seating. 4 years ago someone literally knocked over my wife rushing to bag a table next to the window before we got there. No apology, no assistance to help my wife up or even an acknowledgement of what had happened :mad:

We are doing the 17 day Ventura cruise leaving 14 May. We do use the buffet occasionally for breakfast but generally quite early before the rush when it's less challenging !

Overall I don't mind the ship, like most it has a range of better qualities and some shortcomings but both positives and negatives are very much down to personal preferences.

Free ! I'm afraid not - https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/life-on-board/access_internet

We're just going to chance it. We've sailed without checking before but my wife for some reason weighed the cases this time ... Anyway it's done, all locked up and ready to load in the car tomorrow morning for the long drive from the north east and a relaxing Saturday night in Southampton before boarding on Sunday.

P&O website says cases must be 20kg or you will be recalled to the terminal to repack ! When did this come in ?

Just checked and our 3 cases for Sundays 17 day Aurora trip are each 22ish kgs - should we expect to get summoned by the ship's staff ?

I know we could take another bag but .....

If you book up the restaurant on port days then you will find that they are not formal nights. If you book the restaurant on sea days they might be formal or not because not all sea days are formal nights but formal nights are scheduled on sea days and not port days 99.9% of the time.

 

Regards John

Thanks John I was aware that almost inevitably that formal nights are sea days. My question was principally that on this cruise we have 9 sea days and consecutive days at sea on more than one occasion. It would be helpful to know in advance which nights are formal whilst we are at sea. Cannot understand why this information doesn't seem to be freely available - surely formal nights follow a standard programme related to the itinerary ?

You should be able to see if you log on to your Cruise Personaliser :)

Where on the Personaliser does it show this ? Ours is a 17 day on Aurora, I have found the number of formal nights elsewhere on the P & O site but although it's clear when sea and port days are I cannot see anything that specifies when the formal nights are.

Wives are like lunches - no such thing as a free one :D

Wifi is certainly priced as a luxury item !

In the major towns and cities like Bergen, Oslo and Stavanger we found free wife locally in most eateries, likewise in Alesund and Gerainger. Even in Olden I came across a small house with about 30 crew sat outside as the owner opened her connection to all the days ships were berthed :-)

Whilst berthed anywhere in Norway I've never had a problem getting a mobile signal for calls - even in Svalbard !

I usually take a data package from 02 which is £1.99 for 24 hrs - it has a reasonable use proviso but for emails, Facebook and the like is fine. On board wifi is so expensive and generally very slow - personally would never bother as your own provider and free wifi in ports is fine for most people.

We went on the Aurora in January shortly after its refit and we loved it, we had a short cruise to Bruges and Amsterdam. I have done a review of the ship and the cruise and there are a couple of links to videos that I did whilst on the ship, including a video tour of the ship which is at the bottom of the review.

 

http://www.productreviewhelp.co.uk/Holidays/pando-cruises-short-break-cruise-aurora.html

 

Enjoy your holiday, its a lovely ship.

Thanks for that, very useful for me as we've just booked on a 17 day Aurora next month after deciding against a Med Strictly cruise

Thanks folks. Those inner balconies don't appeal after looking at the 360 view on the P & O website, it seems the outside space is too compromised to us so Deck B looks a better bet.

Are the glass fronted balconies Deck B on Aurora with the Deluxe Cabins ? Seen pictures of some with what look like big picture windows and some with glass fronts which we would prefer. It looks from the deck plan we'll have to go deluxe - has an one compared them please ?

We are looking at Iceland in June 2016, so it will not exactly be a sunbathing holiday and for most of the views, we will be up on deck.

There is every reason to have a balcony on a northern waters cruise. We've done Iceland on Ventura and Azura as well as the North Cape and Svalbard on Grand Princess and had a balcony each time, it's well worth it.

On each occasion the weather has been fine - especially on shore - and sea conditions good but on the top decks and open areas when the ship is sailing can be cool if you are not sheltered from the wind. Also remember that in June it will be almost 24 hours daylight. We spent quite a bit of time sat on our own balcony on sea days scanning the sea with binoculars and regularly saw porpoises, dolphins and whales so there is a distinct advantage to have access to your own balcony and if the price is anywhere near an outside cabin you would be mad not to consider it.

Thanks folks, we've decided to plump for Ventura on the 28th. Now just the decision to make on when to book as we're happy to go Guarantee ...

We went on a "strictly" cruise last year on the Azura. Yes there were lots of strictly things - costumes on display in the atrium, a couple of shows in the theatre a question and answer with the dancers and Craig Revell Horwood (worth going to even if you are not a fan as he has a very interesting life!). There were, however, things going on in other venues which were non strictly so plenty to do if you are not a fan.

I had one adamant non strictly person in the family and they found plenty to do.

If the dates and route appeal I wouldn't worry about the strictly theme.

Thanks. That cruise offers some good ports that we haven't done before and we do have a strong preference for the itinerary. The same ports are available on 28 June but I don't want to wait that long ! - of course it will be rather warmer in July which can be a disadvantage whilst out sightseeing.

Hi, I've never been on a Strictly cruise but I've read a few reviews and it seems like it wouldn't encroach on your holiday. I've read reviews from people who are big Strictly fans and they've said there's not a lot of "Strictly" bits going on. They only come onboard for about 3 days I believe and do a couple of shows/talks so it sounds like you could easily avoid it if you wanted to.

 

I would say - go for it :)

Thanks. I've just been watching a P & O promotional video with one of the judges and was horrified :eek: I'd sort of guessed that the 'stars' were not likely to be on for the whole 2 weeks (or maybe that was a hope :D). I'll have to see if I can find a review or two.We've done some of the ports before, they are worth revisiting and a couple of the others do appeal.

Also looking at the 17 day Arcadia one that leaves on the 30th. We've done all of the ports before but never been on Arcadia. There are a lot of sea days but that's not a problem for us. Decisions, decisions ...

Looking at the Ventura Cruise on 28 May which is badged as a "Strictly' cruise. Now neither of us have ever watched the TV show nor want too. I know people enjoy dancing and have seen plenty of it on previous cruises and we've been on Ventura twice before. The itinerary and timing suits us and we like the ship - however - How much of a theme will be going on ? Will it impinge on everything else in terms of entertainment, we're not big theatre goers but do pop in to the other venues on board from time to time. Just don't want to be swamped with related activities and events. Any idea ?