Mickb

If you are over 50 - Saga only charged us an extra £20  for an extra 20 days over our 60 day allowance.

For max sun during the day  - If you are travelling east - try a starboard cabin

westbound  - port

How unfortunate. Maybe you could ask them to come you a private cabana for the time that they are working in the space you thought was yours? Worth a try!

We did an Athens to Venice cruise in PG on the QV a couple of years ago and it was the best cruise we have ever had. Just one of those times when everything worked perfectly. The sail in to Venice in the pink washed dawn light is a memory that will stay with me for ever. The ports were Santorini, Kotakolon and Sarande. The first 2 were great but we didn’t get off in Sarande. I have had some very unmemorable experiences in Sarande during my career so was not anxious to revisit.

QV for us was just the right level of luxury and informality. Would go again in a heartbeat.

enjoy your cruise!

Another vote for Southampton Harbour Hotel. Packages offers good secure parking and transfers. It’s like being on board a night early!

If it is a southern TA, the chances are that the weather will be warm and fine - at least for most of the time. Go for it!

We were in P Grill suite and needed this service.  We asked our steward upon embarkation. Someone came to pick them up about 6pm that evening and they were delivered back ( beautifully done) after breakfast the next morning.

Outstanding!

Prinsendam from Lisbon to Fort Lauderdale. Pluses- wonderful long sunny sea days - good weather the whole way across. You feel relaxation washing over you. Great personal service

Minuses - Rattle in the bathroom that they couldn’t fix. Thought the food was very bland.

Celebrity Eclipse from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale.   Pluses  - excellent food, beautiful sky suite.

minuses - poor rough weather for first 5 days. Thought ship  was too big.

Shame you didn’t get a chance to visit the Titanic Museum - it’s amazing!

1.

Westbound Transatlantic on the QM2. We spurred on Grill Class and revelled in fine food and good service. A transatlantic on QM2 is a travel experience not a cruise!

2.  Lisbon to Fort Lauderdale  on Prinsendam. A wonderful relaxed sunshine filled cruise on a lovely ship with a great crew. The ship was beginning to show her age with rattles in the cabin etc, but it did not detract from a magical cruise.

It also depends on the culture in your country. In the USA - I am always shocked when the bill comes I am given multi options to chose to tip from 17.5% - 22.5%. In the UK, if one tips at all no more than 10% is expected.

in Australia tipping is not expected nor in rural France where the bill often comes with ‘service compris’.

Personally, I would prefer that the fare included an element of service charge. The Carnival Group already do this in the UK where the the following email 

In an email sent to passengers, P&O Cruises said: “From May 2019 (cruises A911, B912, E911/A, J903, N910, R907, X907 and all thereafter), the discretionary daily Service Charge on board will be removed so you can relax knowing it's all taken care of. Tipping is not expected in the following countries

• China.
• French Polynesia.
• Japan. Tipping under any circumstance in Japan may seem rude, because good service is standard and expected. ... 
• Korea. ... 
• Hong Kong. ... 
• Switzerland. ... 
• Australia. ... 
• Belgium.

Have used Smiths and South Coast Chauffeurs. Both are excellent and have modern ,comfortable vehicles with courteous and helpful drivers. 

I think Maasdam will always have a special place in my heart because we took our first HAL cruise aboard her. I remember going on holiday to Fort Lauderdale and watching the parade of cruise liners out through the cut in the early evening light. Maasdam was one of the ships and I thought she looked lovely in comparison to all the other large ugly ships that passed that evening. I vowed that one day we would cruise aboard her - and 2 years later we did.

The other ship was Prinsendam - we sailed a transatlantic aboard her and I thought she was the perfect size as well as being a very pretty ship. Walking round her promenade deck in the mid Atlantic on a beautiful fresh morning is a memory that will live with me for ever.

Understandable but nevertheless a shame. Sailing into Venice at dawn is one of the most amazing experiences that I have ever had. The vista of the stunning buildings washed in the early morning light will remain with me as long as I live. I consider myself blessed to have had that opportunity.

Amazing Photos! Thank you 

We have sailed Celebrity Eclipse in a suite and also Voyager in an ‘ordinary’ veranda Suite. Celebrity was very good, but of the 2 ships we felt Voyager was significantly better in terms of space, quality and variety of food and service. Celebrity’s entertainment programme was better though. Voyager is however a much smaller ship and we had some bad weather which Eclipse would have dealt with much better!

I think you will be fine. Sure, there are always some passengers who complain about noise, people enjoying themselves etc etc. These tend to be ‘the early to beds’ so you probably won’t be upsetting them anyway! These ships are big enough that you can always find a spot to have fun without upsetting others. 

We had the Orissa suite at the stern which was large but very dated, certainly not u to the standards of other ships upon which we have cruised.

If you like Epic - I would not think this is the ship for you. The ordinary cabins are very small and storage is poor. Think Norwegian Sun before her recent refit!

Our only P & O cruise (out of 18) was on Oceana in a suite. I asked our Butler if he could organise just this. He said that he was off duty in the afternoons and suggested we get ordinary room service. Not quite what I had in mind ! I wish you better luck.

I think one of the problems is the number of bed nights P & O now have to sell. Probably around 15000 per night. The only way they seem to be able to do that is by discounting the entry level price. Unfortunately this can attract a clientele which is new to cruising who might previously have chosen a lively Mediterranean resort. Alcohol packages do not help this. I suspect that Iona will only exacerbate this problem.

..........If you are minded to give them another chance!

Like all main stream cruise lines HAL is not what it was. The USP used to be smaller more intimate ships, beautifully decorated with smiling attentive crew. 

Economics now dictate larger ships (with more garish decor) which make for better returns for the company.  The crew are still pretty good. Head Office and the website leave a lot to be desired. Many of the old service perks have now disappeared ( not unique to HAL)

Tamarind restaurant ( on the newer bigger ships only ) is probably one of the best extra tariff restaurants at sea. 

We have sailed 6 times with HAL however we now believe Cunard suits us better.

What a crock! Really bad luck added to crass handling by HAL

it would be very interesting to know what the final outcome is?

good luck!

During the last 20 years I have stayed at most of the better hotels in Southampton. Imo the Southampton Harbour Hotel is streets ahead of the others, but as ever it comes at a price.

Great pictures but I cannot help commenting on how small the portions are. It is several years since we cruised with HAL but there seems to be a very distinct diminution in the amount of food on the plate!

Maybe that’s a good thing?