CRUISENSNOOZE

Hi. We have just come off a b2b on Iona. We never booked on the app and never had to wait for a table. Early sittings were always very quiet. Don't use the app and just turn up 10 minutes before you want to eat at one of the 4 x MDR. I think the 2 larger ones at the back would seat you quicker. We always said we hadn't booked and willing to share etc and we went in straight away. The people who turned up seemed to have priority over booking on the app....they don't want passengers littering up the entrance! The Olive Grove was easy to get into early evening as it opens from about 5.15pm...only pay for some of the dishes. Another tip. When you come out your restaurant, ask them to book you in for the following evening. As for chaos everywhere...that's a bit of a tall tale!. We had 195 children on board over the 28 days and must say hardly saw any of them. They love their clubs. Most kids were well behaved when we saw them, and it is a family ship, not adults only. We are 70's and love the size of the ship, but saying that, we love any ship if it means we are cruising!!

Hi, The train station is about a 5 minute walk from where the ship docked. We did buy our tickets on line and were glad we did, as many people were disappointed as couldn't get on the train. NB..if you are doing a return and not walking down!, don't leave much time at the top as there is nothing really to do. I think we got the train up about 11.45am...after all the tours. Ours train was not too full. At the top, we had 40 minutes to spare and as it was drizzling, we had waffles in the station restaurant. Try to sit on the left both ways....and halfway up at one of the stops, on the left, look out for the singing girl!!!

So was ours!. She took our booking on board 2 days before the launch. We then went back on the day at 9am to sort out our cabin.

The £50 deposit is only on certain cruises. We just booked select fare while on board for R501 - 65 day Amazon and Caribbean cruise. The deposit we had to pay was about £1100. We also booked another cruise on Britannia for next year and the deposit for that was £50.

Ridiculous isn't it?. The front of my phone shows the time and date, so will put that next to the PLF stick, along with my drivers licence to prove its me. Surprised they didn't ask for a video of doing the test!.

We are on the R301 cruise - South America. The following is for our cruise: Testing requirements for your holiday All guests aged five years and over must take a self-administered COVID-19 lateral flow/antigen test in the three days before, or on the day of, departure. You will be required to declare your negative test result and may be asked to show appropriate proof at the terminal. What is acceptable proof of my negative COVID-19 test result? One photo which shows, all together, the negative result, a government-issued photo ID (such as a driver’s licence), a clock displaying the time (a watch, mobile phone or wall clock, for example) and the date of testing (this can be written on a piece of paper). Please ensure you have this photo with you as you may be asked to show it at the terminal. Over-the-counter COVID-19 tests meet the requirements. While NHS tests are now only issued for those in medical need, if you have any remaining, these would also be accepted.

Just done a b2b. We had £640 OBC on one and £430 OBC on the next. We were not allowed to transfer any left over from the 1st cruise to the 2nd. For once we had trouble spending it...but we did!

Or send the CEO an email if that doesn't work in the next 7 days..... P&O Cruises UK President Email address contact and Telephone number format (Sture Myrmell) at Carnival House, 100 Harbour Parade, Southampton, Hampshire, SO15 1ST - UK (ceoemail.com)

Just off Iona. Complimentary cans were in our cabin 4 cushions also present Still Shampoo and Shower Gel in the bathroom No turn down service, but we are not worried as being on freedom dining, it means we can leave the cabin when we want and not hold the steward up.

Sold out, means sold out.......but. We have found when you arrive on board, go to the Tours Dept asap and ask to be put on a wait list for the tour you are interested in. They do get cancellations, but also if enough people are on the wait list, they usually will arrange an extra tour bus

So do we!. We have a cruise booked on Aurora for 2025..R501.

Applied 26th October at 11pm and had reply at 10.30 on 27th Oct!! This was for a sailing on 6th Jan 2023. I scan a copy of my pdf to them along with the following in my email.. Hello We have xxx Carnival PLC shares and would like you to apply the shareholder benefit to the following booked cruise: LEGAL NAME: xxxxxx RESERVATION/BOOKING REF: P&O: xxxxxx BOOKING AGENT REF: xx CRUISE REF: xxxx P&O CUSTOMER NUMBERS xxx DAYS: xx SHIP: xx SAILING DATE: xx OBS: £xxxSHARES HELD THROUGH: xxxREFERENCE NUMBER: xxxIN THE NAME OF: xxx I have done an attachment to show proof of shares from our xxx account, in the name of xxx This might look like a bit of a overkill but have always had a reply within 24hrs.

Same dates as us. I hope they let us know by 1st April as they could use the excuse they have booked our flights, therefore no refund. Also leaving it so late doesn't give us time to find an alternative. 2nd time let down. Our TA was very off hand and just told us we are listening to gossip!!. Will wait and see...

Also interested in this as taken £1100 from us as doing a B2B in March 2024..............

Hi, We are on a b2b this weekend. We have free parking for both cruises. Does anyone know if this is a problem. I thought I might leave a note on the seat to say we are on 2 cruises, to stop them bringing the car back to us. Chris

Yes. We apply about 6 weeks before the cruise. We do a scan of the Shares (done through Barclays) and attach to the email. They require name of person the shares are held by, quantity number of shares held (this is new), date of cruise, cruise number and your reference code for the cruise.

So are we!!. Went on Iona in March and was very impressed. My husband came kicking and screaming saying things like block of flats, cargo ship etc etc!...now he is hooked. So much so, we are doing a b2b on her from this Saturday. Just back from an MSC 6 day cruise, to give them a go. Like all lines and ships there are fors and against, but all in all, just glad to be on holiday again! Chris

Thank you!!...I can breath again.

Now you are all panicking me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What test and why???. I have had 2 Covid injections and 2 boosters, Flu jab, Typhoid etc etc. Just come off another cruise company ship and nothing was needed. This Saturday we are doing a b2b around the Med and Canary Islands. The original poster has not mentioned where they are sailing. So, is this thread panicking me for nothing!

THE FOLLOWING FROM MSC FOR ALL CRUISES AROUND EUROPE.......... ( I also checked for PLF (Passenger Locator Forms) required in Europe. At present only countries requiring these is FRANCE, ITALY, MALTA, SLOVENIA) Chris Excerpt from MSC............................... The below requirements are valid for cruises starting from 1st October 2022. Vaccination requirements All Guests embarking are strongly encouraged, but not required, to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. When a Guest is considered "fully vaccinated"? - Guests who have received at least two doses of vaccine - except in the case of a single dose Johnson & Johnson - including those not conisdered up-to-date by EMA standards. - Guests who have recovered from Covid-19 with one shot of vaccine are considered fully vaccinated (they must provide a QR code or alternatively a validating documentation). Testing requirements For vaccinated Guests it’s not required (but strongly recommended) to present a negative test. Unvaccinated guests, guests without a vaccine certificate, or guests who have recovered from COVID-19, ages 5 and older are required to present a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR or Antigen test taken 48 hours prior to embarkation. Tests must be laboratory certified. A rapid antigen self-test is not valid for travel purposes. All guests are recommended to travel with their COVID-19 vaccination status and test results. While the vaccination is not required for boarding it could be requested in various ports of call and at local attractions. The original test results certificate and vaccination certificate must be presented at the terminal (paper or electronic format) and must be in one of the following languages: English, Italian, German, French or Spanish. The COVID 19 test certificate must contain: guest’s personal data (verifiable with the other travel documents), date of the test, identification / contact details of the centre that performed the analysis, technique used and negative test result. All Crew members are required to be fully vaccinated and regularly weekly tested according to MSC Cruises Health & Safety protocol.

You then missed the end Imoji..it was winking. I believe he was joshing!...well hope so.

MSC Vaccination requirements from 1st October 2022: All Guests embarking are strongly encouraged, but not required, to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. When a Guest is considered "fully vaccinated"? - Guests who have received at least two doses of vaccine - except in the case of a single dose Johnson & Johnson - including those not conisdered up-to-date by EMA standards. - Guests who have recovered from Covid-19 with one shot of vaccine are considered fully vaccinated (they must provide a QR code or alternatively a validating documentation). Testing requirements For vaccinated Guests it’s not required (but strongly recommended) to present a negative test. Unvaccinated guests, guests without a vaccine certificate, or guests who have recovered from COVID-19, ages 5 and older are required to present a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR or Antigen test taken 48 hours prior to embarkation. Tests must be laboratory certified. A rapid antigen self-test is not valid for travel purposes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have also checked the requirement for a PLF (Passenger Locator Form) in Europe, The countries that still require at this present time are FRANCE, ITALY, MALTA AND SLOVENIA.

We always put our phones on Flight Mode while on the ship, even if we are on the top deck moored in a port. When we go ashore, I wait to get out the port before turning on my Mobile Data (only can in Europe). On our return to the port, we usually use their WIFI. You can always tell where it is as there are many of the crew hanging around the area!. After the normal 30 minutes free WIFI at the port, we turn back on the Flight Mode before returning onto the ship. The P&O App works perfectly well with the phone on Flight Mode.

Hiya, We have done 30+ cruises on 17 different ships. Maybe we have been lucky as only once have we had a bad cabin. We have booked last minute and let the cruise line choose our Cabin, without any problems. You say Deck 2 is not what you want. It has some plusses as people have said in the previous posts. If either of you are feeling seasick, it is far better to be low down on the ship. We were told the saying...'more you pay, the more you sway'!!. Another warning. If you do choose your Cabin, do not tick the box that says you will take an upgrade. Upgrade to you will no doubt be very different to the Cruise Line's upgrade. Yes, you might end up with a bigger balcony, but your Cabin could be below the swimming pool or gym etc.. Also once they assign your new Cabin, you cannot get your old one back, as by then that Cabin has already been assigned to someone else. Regards Chris

I would pick Rotterdam, if it was my choice. Quieter, fewer children. Also lowest cost, which I find amazing. Chris