Maime

We did Freedom dining on Azura and never waited even for tables of two. Three nights out of the four we used MDR we got a table near the window.

However we were in early on formal night but when we came out at 7.30ish the queue was huge, all the way to the atrium.

It was a short cruise so maybe people were trying the other options with the limited time on board.

P&O need to think carefully about this. People are strange. There are kettles in rooms (which is a USP) and free hot drinks in the buffet but Costa still does a roaring trade. It's not just about the cost of things but what you perceive as adding value to your holiday.

I brought wine onboard as I knew I would have to spend time in the cabin of an evening (looking after my son). However I happily paid for a pint of freshly poured draught beer to enjoy in the sunshine and a glass of wine that matched what I was eating. I wouldn't buy too much more as I feel it a waste of money but I wouldn't have enjoyed the cruise so much without a drink on the balcony.

It's warm enough for a strappy dress in the resturants and bars without a cover up. They had air con in the dance show I noticed but it was still pretty warm.It was noticeable the difference in temperature outside as lots of the smokers found out. We were Amsterdam so not somewhere warm.

Actually whilst I can't see you missing the boat it would be nicer to have a snooze on the way down or meet some people. Also much better on the way back and not having to worry about having a drink or two on the last night.

Realistically that is loads of time to drive down. I drive to the Scottish boarders frequently from Portsmouth and it takes 8hrs on a bad day including all the usual jams and delays on the M25 and M6.

How long does the AA say it will take - 6-7hrs tops ? So you should arrive at 11am. That gives you at least two hours to be stuck in a bad jam and two more if you need it before you need to worry. And any coach will be held up too so the ship might be waiting for them if it's something really bad.

Make sure you have onward travel roadside assistance and go for it.

Normal bar prices _£5.00 ish a pint, £6.00 a cocktail etc. You are allowed to bring your drinks for the cabin. Ask the steward to clear the mini bar and put yours in to drink whilst in the cabin. I loved Azuroa had Perioni beer on draught - hard to find and expensive in the uk despite being much nicer than Stella etc

We were two hours waiting for a taxi this morning because nothing could get into the Mayflower docks due to roadworks. There were five ships in and the traffic lights were only letting 10 cars ( or one oversized slow dock vehicle ) before changing. I'd check and see if how busy it will be with other ships.

You don't want too much waiting around but nothing worse than feeling rushed.

Myself and the three people behind me in the taxi queue all used Park on My Drive or similar. We all seemed to be off Regents Park Road and paid about £25/30 and the taxi was £8 in and £7.50 back.

It was a long wait for taxis today (nearly two hours!) but the driver said it was down to road works. We were disembarked an hour and a half early so we didn't lose or gain much a time wise.

I really can't see the problem with formal dress for women. Plonking on a dress is dead easy! Much less hassle than finding tops, bottoms and shoes to match. Covers a multitude of sins too.

No so much fun for the men whose outfits are more constricting than they would normally have to wear.

If you chose to book direct you can go through TopCahBack or other cash back sites. Currently offering 4% and applies to any fare including Early Saver and Saver. It takes a few weeks to come through but I have just got my £35 ( whoop whoop) paid into my bank.

Well that's ok then. Don't do the ships Anne Frank tour - £35. Was only 13.50€ for myself and my 13 year old! We're doing the ballet one night .Hope you have a lovely trip.

Oh sorry, see you have been a few times...probably done Ann Frank then!

I was a bit disappointed at not getting a Med cruise but now actually delighted that we have time to see Amsterdam a bit longer. We can do day trips out as well without worrying about the ship sailing off. A proper city break with the perks of a cruise thrown in!

If you haven't already got tickets for Ann Franks house then you can join a queue to enter after 3pm. It's open till 10pm. Before 3pm it's advanced tickets only.

Look at the website I AMsterdam which lists all the entertainment shows and concerts on for your dates.

It's great not having to rush back either night.

Club Med, Mark Warner? They don't have 22 pages over the ins and outs of tipping. How is a floating version different? Small charter, tip expected. Mass market holiday - do what you feel happy with.

What no idea at all? I can see why this has run on 22 pages.

This thread is frankly ridiculous. You are arguing about who is right paying tips or not for a bog standard widely marketed AI holiday.. Non of this matters to someone who is worked on less than minimum wage. They would rather better standard pay and more importantly better conditions. Not the crumbs from its customers.

Independent privately hired yachts are where tips are important. They are an indication of the personalised service you receive,

Mass marketed ships, not so much. Just pay your back workers a decent rate and let frontline staff -people who make a difference to your customers - get tips if warranted.

I think the travel agent agent booking must distort the prices though as none of it seems to follow a pattern. Don't they get reduced block booking prices which they sell on? Although October half term has gone down from the beginning of the summer which is the same time period my August cruise dropped. That's on the P&O website though

We went on our first cruise when my son was 4 and we found the ones where you could just get off the ship ( or tender) and see something local were the best. I did try and do my own trips but we got pushed out of queues ( literally hundreds of you disembark at the same time remember) and missed a bus. We did two on our own Villefranche and Corsica one which have nice beaches both walkable and cute towns to walk round. Villefranche has very easy acess to Montel Carlo. Wejust looked round the port in Livino as we couldn't get on the bus for Piss and two used the ships excursions ( Pompeii and Tunisa). Good choices as it was too hot and the air con coach after walking round was great.I am on my own so slightly different ( less brave!). I haven't done Greece/Turkey by cruise but I would guess the Greek islands are easy to do.

Barcelona is dead easy but most of the Italian ports are a fair distance from their sights.

No one spends that sort of money without reading further than the price. If you are correct some people, buying on price alone must end up on any cruise line, any ship going anywhere. Do people wanting to go to Andalusia end up in Benidorm because it's a bit cheaper. It's fantasy.

 

David.

Well actually that's pretty much how I ended up with a P&O cruise! I was looking at Eurocamp but the price of flights, transfers and five nights for two of us was £700. This was the same price as the taster cruise which includes food of course. I paid extra for a balcony but probably no more than a few meals out. I wouldn't normally pay to go back to either Amsterdam or Le Harve but the whole package was appealing.

I would have gone on any ship if they had it for the same price. I looked at Costa as they were also extremely cheap and had a better itinerary but reviews were not good and especially the amounts of extras you need to pay for.

Can I ask if you had cruise specific insurance? I had thought this was supposed to cover ship excursions if you got ill?

I agree with the person who said it was about value not about the price. £84 on a £2,500 cruise isn't much especially with OBC. However on my small saver cruise tips it's almost 10% extra. This definitely decreases the value of my holiday against alternatives. P&O are clearly trying to attracti a broader market share than just people with a healthy budget.

Seeing as pricing seems very opaque for cruises ( TA giving extra perks, pricing going up and down, two types of fares which don't correlate to each other) , expecting non mandatory tipping to work seems insane.

How much is it? It has it's own pool right?

I think prices will go back down for a limited period.

The prices in June when I started considering a cruise was low for all sailings in August and for all cabins. Then prices went all over the place. Insides the same price as balconies, prices up by £200, Savers and Select at the same price. Everyday prices changed.

I booked in mid July as suddenly the balcony went back down to June's price! It stayed at that price for while then iwent back up and stayed up as has everything in August.

I can't see many couples wanting to spend 17 nights and at least £3,200 ( for the cheapest inside) on a ship in the school holidays at the last minute. And the chances of a family having that much time off and that bigger budget aren't going to be looking at a cruise last minute are they.

Reckon you've got away with it!

Probably sea days and the fact it only gives you the weekend before the school children go back ( and the Scottish ones will already be there).

Also the cheapest price is £1599 for an inside which is a lot for a last minute holiday.

Looks fabulous though. Hope you get a peaceful cruise.