Grumpy100

Looking at different options after disembarking the Oriana on March 18, 2017. Train not good for us. Express Coach we might miss our flight as it leaves Heathrow at 12:30pm. Any suggestions on reliable taxi for trip to Heathrow. Middle priced but for 2 adults and we will carry our bags off the ship ourselves. Thanks.

We are cruising in March of next year and leaving from Southampton. We will arrive a day early and I was wondering if anybody could recommend a hotel near the docks that is not too expensive but still clean and safe. Thanks for any input.

We always tip extra for the room steward and well as our waiter and the assistant waiter. However I am from the US.

These people work so hard and if you can afford it why not since they make so little. If you can afford to cruise you can afford to tip.

We are sailing on the Oriana next March for the Northern Lights Cruise.

I sent a couple of questions directly to P & O about formal nights and they said that the gentlemen have to wear a coat and tie to be admitted into the MDR. However if you do not want to bring all of that stuff then you can eat in the buffet. You will not be limited to any place on the ship except for one or two bars.

I do not like to dress up especially since this cruise is going to require a lot of winter clothes as well as coats, etc.

They also said that jeans were allowed in the MDR on casual nights which I will be wearing along with my husband.

If he wants to eat lobster on the formal night then he will have to adhere to the formal dress policy which I also will but prefer not to dress up.

I will just be brining black pants and dressy blouse but no cocktail or long dresses for me. Too much already to pack.

Thanks for all the advice. As you can see we have plumped for Thomson this time as a cruise and stay is more convenient, but will definitely be looking at Oriana in future.

 

Does anyone know when Oriana is going in for a refurb? Nothing for her in my brochure after December this year, but the new brochure is not out yet is it?

We are sailing on the Oriana next March to Norway for the Northern Lights cruise. I heard she was going to be refurbished end of this year.

There is one earlier cruise in February the same as our cruise.

We have actually done a British Isles cruise out of Southampton a few years ago so I am familiar with National Express. We might just get the bus from the airport and then go down to Southampton right away and enjoy our day there before we get on the ship. I just have to figure where the bus is and what time it leaves.

Can you prebook that on the internet?

Well we decided to go for it. I put the deposit down and also paid for the insurance. I don't care if the ship is old, so am I.....

As long as it is clean and decent and refurbished than that is fine.

A few years ago we went to Australia on a Princess cruise and that ship was about the same size and was now new either and it was.

Thanks.

I will look up what to buy for the cruise as far as warm clothing. I am retiring from Florida in May of this year and moving to the mountains of North Carolina so I can reuse whatever we get for North Carolina and the cruise. We are building a log cabin. Can't wait....

It will be our first winter this coming December in North Carolina so it will give me a good taste of the cold weather for our trip to Norway.

What is the best way to get from Heathrow to Southampton for a cruise.

I would of course fly in the day before.

I was thinking that we could stay overnight at the airport and then catch some type of transport to Southampton in the morning.

Or fly in and go directly to Southampton and stay the night there and then catch the ship in the morning.

There will be only 2 of us so wondering what you all think as I am from the US and have only been to England one time but don't want to go to London this time.

Thanks.

Hi Grumpy100

Im afraid the deposit is non- refundable ...its to do with English law. There are (apparently) quite a few differences between English and US laws in as much as they relate to holidays.....not fully conversant with the details ...

Travel insurance is compulsory with P &O - but you certainly do not have to buy it through the Travel agent. If they (the travel agent) insist on it it tell them where to go as it is illegal! You can arrange your travel i surance with whoever you wish.

Finally, you might confuse a few people with your thread title! Many of us do indeed realise that in the US you use a different date format to us...so be aware you may get some strange comments!

This particular cruise is popular and will be getting booked up already so if you havent booked yet and do want to go , dont leave it too long - especially if you want a balcony or outside cabin.

A friend of mine went last year and said the trip was amazing!

Hope that helps....

Thanks for your prompt reply. This is really a dumb question but I am from Florida so I wonder if I am going to be too cold. I guess if I dress right I should be warm. Right????

All the excursions seem pretty cool so probably will put down the deposit soon but will just go for the outside cabin and no balcony as I think it will be too cold most of the time.

Thanks.

I am located in the US and was looking into going on the P&O cruise on the Oriana on 3-6-17 out of Southampton.

I finally found a travel agent that could handle this for us and discovered that after you give the initial deposit it is not refundable.

I have never heard of this before as we have cruised about 30 times but never with this P&O before.

Then they require you to purchase their insurance based upon the age of the people going?

I am new to this but I think that is a little strange. I can get my own insurance from insuremytrip.com.

Has anyone gone on this cruise before?

Yes we will stay in the us. Thankfully we have been yo Europe 5 times.

I got an email from carnival advertising a new cruise to Cuba. Did anyone else and is anyone going.

I read somewhere that there was a beautiful place to take pictures at one particular place on the island? Can anyone tell me where that is.

We go there in January on Celebrity Silhoutte and want to just take a leisurely excursion and take some nice pictures.

We have been on 26 cruises and have never gotten sick.

Four years ago we did a British Isles cruise out of Southampton with 8 in our party. 6 out of 8 got sick and luckily I was not one of them. My husband did get the norovirus this time but only lasted one day and was ready to go after that.

I don't mind using the "washy girls" stuff that comes out of the machine at the entrances to the dining rooms. Better safe than sorry.

Happy sailing.

People who have late afternoon flights do not want to be the first ones off of the ship so wait till last call. The latest time would be around 10 AM. Not that big a deal.

I think they are talking about embarkation not disembarkation.

We did the same cruise about 5 years ago and we used our credit cards and also exchanged currency for Australian and New Zealand money.

Used all of it especially for the cabs in Australia.

I got the same letter, with the exception of the time: Your assigned check-in time is from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM.

 

Sorry, Carnival, I will not arrive at the peak boarding time. I prefer to miss most of the crowds when boarding the ship. I do not deal well with being in the middle of a crowd. It tends to make me feel a tad claustrophobic. If I have to wait, I wait.

I will be glad to wait if they give out free beer :eek::eek::eek:

I got both an email and a phone call from Carnival. I missed the first one so the system called again to tell me.

 

I'm driving in, so I'll get there when I get there. If I have to wait, so be it.

We too are driving in and plan on getting there early. If I have to wait that's fine too. I will bring some snacks and water just in case. :eek::eek::eek:

We leave Saturday on the Carnival Conquest and received an email and phone call to come between 2-3. Going at 11 am.

Yesterday we got the email telling us to arrive between 2-3 and then yesterday afternoon I got the same call from Carnival telling us to arrive between 2-3. I am still arriving at 11 am.

We got an email saying to come from 2-3 but I am going at 11 am.

Ignore it everyone else is too.

What cruise are you going on?

May 18, 2015

Hi there:

Betcha can't wait for your cruise aboard the beautiful Carnival Conquest. So, we'd like to take a moment to provide you with some important information.

To ensure a smooth embarkation experience, we will be implementing staggered check-in windows for your cruise. Your assigned check-in time is from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM. We kindly ask that you make plans to arrive within this time frame as guests arriving outside of their assigned window may be asked to come back later or experience a longer wait time.

We highly recommend you check-in at least one hour prior to our scheduled departure time of 4:00 PM. Please keep in mind that you may not be able to embark if you arrive later than 30 minutes prior to sail time.

Lastly, if you have not yet registered for your cruise online, please take a moment to do so now as it will speed up your check-in at the pier. Visit us at www.carnival.com/BookedGuest to register and print your boarding pass.

We can't wait to welcome you aboard for a fun and memorable cruise vacation.

See you soon!

Sincerely,

Arlene Marichal

Sr. Director, Solutions and Special Services

This is the email we got about our boarding time yesterday.

May 18, 2015

Hi there:

Betcha can't wait for your cruise aboard the beautiful Carnival Conquest. So, we'd like to take a moment to provide you with some important information.

To ensure a smooth embarkation experience, we will be implementing staggered check-in windows for your cruise. Your assigned check-in time is from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM. We kindly ask that you make plans to arrive within this time frame as guests arriving outside of their assigned window may be asked to come back later or experience a longer wait time.

We highly recommend you check-in at least one hour prior to our scheduled departure time of 4:00 PM. Please keep in mind that you may not be able to embark if you arrive later than 30 minutes prior to sail time.

Lastly, if you have not yet registered for your cruise online, please take a moment to do so now as it will speed up your check-in at the pier. Visit us at www.carnival.com/BookedGuest to register and print your boarding pass.

We can't wait to welcome you aboard for a fun and memorable cruise vacation.

See you soon!

Sincerely,

Arlene Marichal

Sr. Director, Solutions and Special Services

We are going on the Carnival Conquest on Saturday and got an email asking us to come between 2-3. This will be our 5th cruise and if we board that late probably will not have a good choice of parking.

We have been on about 25 cruises and this is a first for us asking us to get there later on.

Has anyone else ever gotten an email on any cruise line, or Carnival, asking to come later and board last.

I plan on getting there at 11 am anyway and hope we won't be denied boarding at a later time. I would be really pissed. I feel that since this is out 5th cruise we should be allowed to board anytime.

We will be driving down to the port.

Thanks.

That's fine

Thanks for your answer. That is the one that I wanted to hear.

I see you are from Royal Palm Beach, FL. We are from West Palm Beach, FL