Mickb

Thank you everybody for your invaluable advice. In the light of this and a bit more thinking on our part, I think we have decided on a CS on the port side of the ship. This will have access to the Michaels Club/Grill restaurant and we take the point about the possible poor weather on the first leg to NYC .

For the autumn transatlantic in Nov 15 we have been offered an S1 Sky suite 7307 1198 or 1666 or a Celebrity suite 1622 1237 1112.

Does anyone have experience of sang of these cabins or is able to offer any advice?

The cost is not the major factor in our decision - its the comfort of the cabin and the balcony

We have sailed with both lines and more recently on Eurodam in an SA suite and on Celebrity Eclipse in a sky suite. Although Eclipse carries many more passengers we felt more crowded on the Eurodam. It is a very personal thing but I think that despite being long term HAL fans, we are converted to Celebrity. Certainly I felt that the MDR food was better on Eclipse. Tamarind on Eurodam was simply outstanding - better than all 3 extra tariff restaurants on Eclipse.

The lack of a walk around prom deck is noticeable on Eclipse but the layout of the ship is better and certainly the pool area is more spacious. I'm not a fan of the lawn area but many are.

I am sure you will enjoy which ever you choose.

PS - At suite level, Celebrity give you a butler - ours was outstanding - HAL have a concierge lounge - adequate but not so personal!

Unquestionably - if you can afford - take the PG upgrade.

It turns a mass market experience - albeit a good one - into something really special.

Good luck in whichever you choose

Thank you Keith - our TA forgot to tell us that!!!!!

My sentiment is that I like the idea of the smaller ship but still think the QM2 grill experience is way better than Seaborne or RSSC.

The trouble for me is that there are just too many people on board!!!!

We have sailed twice in the Princess Grill and would wholeheartedly agree with your comments.

We are contemplating the first sector of next year's world cruise on QM2 or Crystal Serenity

One transits the Suez Canal and the other Panama - so the itineraries

are equally attractive.

So it boils down to the ship - which would you recommend?

We are possibly planning sail on Statendam in early 2015. I have been reluctant to book because the ship is now 20 years old and had some negative reviews.

Our choice is Statendam or Island Princess. I heard rumours that Statendam was to be transferred out of the fleet in 2015.

We have cruised with both.

This is just my opinion ( before I get shot down!!!)

In my opinion Cunard wins hands down.

The food was better - wider choice - more international dishes

The cabins and bedding are better - I spilt coffee on the sheet on Oceana ( in a suite!) and the bed was remade with the dirty wet sheet!

The entertainment is probably slightly better on P&O.

The Oceana buffet restaurant was like a motorway canteen with people pushing and shoving as if it was the last meal they would ever eat.

..never again!

We have done 2 transatlantics in aft cabins and there is no doubt that the aft cabins get get more sun. But they also experience considerably more movement - both in terms of pitching and also a sort of jerky flicking from side to side as the stabilisers counteract the roll.

If you are good sailors this will not matter and you will soon get used to it, - if not I would get a starboard lido cabin.

Thank you so much for your entertaining and insightful reports.

Although many have said this - you really did make us feel that we were on the cruise with you!

It's a real labour of love to write in this detail and we, your many readers, really do appreciate it.

Enjoy your summer!

2 hours is more than enough time for a European flight from Gatwick

We returned from Oceana 3 weeks ago

You don't need cash on board unless you want to give extra tips at the end of the voyage. You sign for everything even small purchases in the ship's shop.

Re Dining - if you get put into 2nd sitting - go and see the maître d'hôtel in the dining room

Tip him a £10 note and explain your wishes. I m sure you will get what you want. We found everybody in the mdr exceptionally helpful.

Cafe Jardin is very nice but the portions are very substantial.

The Plaza is a nice room but remains a self service buffet.

Horizon only really works when the weather warms up.

Have a great cruise!

We were on the last Oceana cruise and it was flat calm going out and a bit bumpy coming home.

If your husband suffers - maybe its worth him having the injection from the Hospital on board. I think that they inject Phenigan or something like it. He will feel sleepy for about 4 hours but afterwards will be as right as rain however rough it gets.

Not sure how much it costs on P&O - it was £80 on Celebrity last year and made a rough crossing very tolerable

Happy sailing!

Absolutely agree Presto but I thought the question was -would it be too English for American tastes.

In my opinion P&O deliver a very English orientated product. It does not particularly suit me but that is my preference. As you say - going to Italy - you expect things to be Italian - technically Cunard is an English line but delivers an American orientated product.

IMO, P&O is resolutely English

We have just returned from our 14th cruise and first on P&O. Previously, we have cruised with Cunard, HAL, celebrity etc. - North American style lines.

I think you will find a big difference on a P&O ship. Most cruises these days are formulaic and P&O are no exception, however the food and entertainment is totally geared to English tastes.

It is very good and tasty but unadventurous and does not feature many salads or entrees of the type founds on US type ships. Life on board is quite formal and there were 3 black tie nights on a 10 night cruise. Although we were on a family ship - there were no teenagers aboard - although it was term time.

Whilst we enjoyed the cruise, after all it's difficult not to enjoy a cruise - we wouldn't sail with P&O again.

We have from 8am to 2pm in La Coruna and want to organise a private tour to Santiago de Compostela. Can anyone recommend a reliable local tour operator? We shall be 3 people.

annieuk - thanks for your comments - very encouraging.

Spanners710 - Only put that to demonstrate that we are not first timers. Prefer to do that than list previous cruises and ships!

I thought that I asked a perfectly valid question - sorry if it offended you.

We are new to P&O and for our 14th cruise are booked on a cruise to Iberia in mid March in a suite aboard Oceana ( after some very helpful encouragement from posters on this board.)

I recently purchased Douglas Ward's Berlitz guide to cruising 2014 and was dismayed to find that since the 2013 edition Oceana had dropped nearly 100 points and is now rated 3*+ and not 4*.

Does anyone have any idea why things have changed so much during 1 year that the rating should drop by nearly 100 points?

Thank you everybody for your advice

I shall advise my anti P&O friends that they are mistaken.

I shall equally look forward to the cooked breakfast that we ever only seem to have on holiday - hang the cholesterol and the calories!!!!!!!

Graetly looking forward to the cruise and the Orissa suite!!!

I know this sounds precious but we like to have to have a full breakfast in our cabin rather than at the buffet or the MDR.

We have booked the Orissa suite in March and I am due to pay the balance within the next few days. I cannot find anything on the P&O website other than we have butler service so it seems logical to assume that one can have a cooked breakfast in the cabin. Several anti P & O friends tell me that P&O only serve continental breakfast in the cabins.

Can anyone enlighten me please?

Maggie

Have a great time - please pass on our good wishes to Alex if he still the butler. He will make your cruise - nothing was too much trouble for him.

Re the movement - it was strange - there was a jerkiness as well as the roll and pitch. I think that maybe the superstructure is quite light and like aeroplane wings is designed with flexibility.

I think these ships are quite lightly constructed

Any other questions - please ask?

Please let me preface this post by stating that these are my personal views and I hope that I will not be shot down for some of what I am going to write - however perception is reality!!!!

We had a good time on this cruise - after all it is difficult not to enjoy a cruise!

About me - this is my 13th cruise, I am in my early 60s and am British. I travel a great deal for my job all over the world and am lucky enough to have stayed at some of the best hotels and eaten at some seriously good restaurants.

We stayed in 1667 which is an S2 on deck 11 overlooking the stern. The cabin was spacious and well laid out and we found the bed supremely comfortable. The bathroom, whilst compact was well designed and very user friendly. The decor was perhaps a bit sober but was tasteful.

A word of advice - being high up and right on the stern, this cabin does experience a considerable amount of movement in heavy seas. On this trip there were 4 'roughish' days where there was quite a bit of wobble and roll in the cabin. For us this was outweighed by the pleasure of the large balcony and the views over the wake. Breakfast outside in the warmer weather was a delight. However if you are not a good sailor or the weather is likely to be rough, I would suggest avoiding these cabins

Our Butler, Alex, was simply outstanding. He could not do enough for us as well as being discreet and personally charming. He was a huge asset on this cruise. He has I'm sure a great future in the hotel world.

The ship is very attractive, well laid out and tastefully decorated. It is easy to find your way around. In the main the crew are charming, friendly and eager to please. They obviously work very hard but they smile and are cheerful.

I was disappointed with the food in the Moonlight Sonata dining room. Our waiter Marjon was excellent but since our last Celebrity cruise some 6 years ago, I thought that there had been a marked deterioration in the choice and quality of the food. The food served at dinner was generally rather bland and inconsistent in its quality - a serving of Turkey was so dry as to have been inedible. I realise that they are feeding 2000 people per night but other lines manage to be more consistent.

The Oceanview cafe was well laid out with separate serving areas and the salads were fresh and appetising, however the food was not varied much over the 13 day cruise and became a bit repetitive. The burgers from the Mast Grill were superb!

The extra tariff restaurants were generally good. The food in Murano was perhaps a bit rich but we found Qsine a refreshing new take on tapas type dining. The enthusiasm of the staff for their products in Qsine was infectious. Tuscan Grill produced a first class steak.

The 3 stage shows were excellent and made all the better by an excellent 7 piece band. How much better than the ubiquitous prerecorded tracks. However the other solo acts failed to excite.

The arrival in St Thomas and the subsequent immigration fiasco has been covered in another thread so I will not dwell on it here except for to say that the process of making passengers queue in lines for 3 hours is simply unacceptable for a premium line. Celebrity were either caught on the hop ( surprising as they mainly cruise out of US ports) or someone clearly had not done their homework. To be told by the cruise director after queuing for nearly 3 hours that she has 'sore feet luvvy' did not fill me with sympathy for her. Particularly as on the dock in Nassau she said she did not know whether we would have to do it all again in Ft Lauderdale!!!

A cruise is always a delightful and relaxing experience - in this case we found Celebrity Eclipse a bit like the curate's egg - good in parts!

We arrived at this line at 07.45 as requested. At that time the line stretched from the Theatre all the way down the starboard side of the ship round the back of the lifts and back down the port side to the shops. We eventually got through at 10.30. In hindsight we should have gone on deck and come back later but were anxious to get ashore.

In the end, as neither of us is in the first flush of youth, - and there was nowhere to sit down

during the queuing process we gave up on St Thomas and stayed on the ship.

It was not a pleasant experience and certainly was not well handled by Celebrity.

13 cruises with HAL Cunard RSSC Celebrity NCL

Hi Hickoryshampoo

We shall do our utmost not to trash it!!!!!

We have booked an S2 cabin, number 1667 for the Nov 3rd Transatlantic cruise.

This cabin overlooks the back of the ship and is located over the pods.it is located on deck 11.

Has anyone who has sailed in one of these cabins experienced any vibration? Also can anyone confirm that the balcony is not shaded?

Any advice will be gratefully received

Thanks