lebreos

Not done the 2 newer ships yet but have done Ventura and Britannia during school hols. Ventura was more formal than Britannia with 95% to about 90% on our sailings. Arvia will be my next 2 but I will be dressing up as usual. Normally a jeans and t shirt guy but don't mind the tux.

just booked one for 2025, we are lower down so hopefully water will have landed by then, but closer to music from below - will follow this with interest, booked 10745 as need a sofa bed..

We had 2 cruises about 2 years apart on her - the first of the 2 the food and service in MDR for second sitting was rubbish. the second trip it was back to good - change of crew and head chef had made a huge difference.

unfortunately with a youngish son - we have to book early to get child places guaranteed - cant wait till he doesn't need that. Early indications very little OBC so parking will be better value, will just have to use my shareholder perk to get some OBC then..4kish for august 2025 with the 3 of us on arvia from Southampton, balcony cabin, cheaper than Florida is going to be in 2024 though. So TA will try to book us a nice cabin on release

having stayed in E725 x2 and E729 on Ventura - they do have a roof over them , so you are not overlooked however you do get sun on them if the direction is right and vice versa they can be shaded. never had any noise issues from "havanna" below on Ventura either

it also depends on ages of the kids - 49 and 99 tend to be for under 2 only and not fly cruises if they take a seat expect to pay 1/2 to 1/3 of your cost. If round trip southampton then you have access to the cheap cruises for kids. But their pricing varies so much get a travel agent to do the work for you..

not sure what extra kids activities they are referring to tbh. the kids club which you have registered to is great and keeps my boy very happy, he's just gone 8 now. He hass always just gone in the club and that's it. Now kids excursions may be different - there is a limited choice of what are suitable for kids or aimed at kids - but this has never bothered us.

We have had this - basically they come onboard last sea days and you all troop down to one of the MDR and present yourselves and your passports in a 1 way system. your given an allotted time to arrive and it was fairly routine and painless for us..

If you want to and are able to take your own luggage you can disembark between 7ish and 8am latest - self disembarkation option. you keep all your luggage - goto breakfast early - dash back to cabin b4 745 and be off by 8am The times otherwise are suites and loyalty first then working down the tiers. they give you the times on the last couple of days of cruise. We have started doing the self option - off ship by 8am - in car by 830-9am - home by 2pm after a 3 hr drive. So if you want a definitive time you will be off, this is the way...

Cant remember where I saw it about marking driving licences - I think it was dropped pretty quickly and they went back to issuing veterans an ID card - still currently afaik service leavers are only getting them - they have promised to roll it out beyond that several times - i think they want us to all die off first...

At least it wasn't a sewage leak, a whole different smelly problem...

Not sure on the newer ships but if you dont like MDR then shorts of an evening will be fine for buffet and pub, some of the other bars will ask for smart casual or formal attire on the relevant night, crows nest and metropolis bar comes to mind. Smart casual is just dark denim and polo shirt and not obvious white trainers - opens up more options for you to enjoy the ships. Personally I like to be served a portion size and like the formal nights but we all want different things on a holiday. I'm a jeans and trainers man normally

As long as onboard laundrettes are open, take some washing all in 1 pods in a container to do any washing you wish to. If you can manage it self disembarkation by 8am in the morning gets you off the ship nice and early for trip home - unless you are going by arranged bus. study ship map so you dont miss any things you may want to do. tea and coffee available all day in buffet and water. Soft drinks you can buy a package but it depends how much you drink. you can take concentrated squash to add to buffet water, or soft drinks onboard with you. You will have 2 formal nights and dress code is enforced or you will have to use buffet those nights. They now use a smartphone app with ships wifi free to use just for the app for booking any freedom dining and shows. If shows are full the day before check last minute to see if any seats become available...

that's changed with the reduced staff and no wine waiters anymore then.. Shame I liked having the actual wine waiters although as their numbers dwindled the service got a bit patchy, ( ie tables they looked after increased)

Sent a picture of my HL statement showing date and number of shares and my name - account etc redacted. auto receipt, then about 4 working days that it had been applied. this was a few weeks ago ready for my july cruise

Can only answer from PandO cruises - self disembarkation starts at 7.15 and finishes at 8am normally, not arrived late etc. The first off slots are usually for suites then they work their way down the loyalty levels and cabin grades I believe. Not sure what happens if you miss the 8am end time..

they also supply bottle warmer and steriliser but you have to book them before the cruise, your not allowed to take your own.

They either give you a slot - colour coded , you can ask to see if you can change it - no guaranties, or in Southampton you can self disembark by 8am as long as you can carry all your luggage off unaided by 8am..

Hi there I can answer some for you, 2. toilets are available in the terminal before check in 4. the restaurant or reception should be able to check this for you 5. deluxe balcony only give you a bottle of champagne, fresh fruit on arrival, not sure if they still bring canopies each evening, some extra in cabin stuff and a slightly larger cabin. Ive had the starboard side deluxe a few times deck E just above havana, no problems with noise from below and going to be in same in july. Found them to be fine - & year old son will be on sofa bed. 7 daytime activities, quizes , deck sport, talks , music, cinema, no whist still unfortunately. 8 son has always found sofa bed to be okay - cant say ive tried it yet. 9 have seen others have vegetarian food and they have had choices and not just smelly cheese. yes some mushroom dishes but speak to restaurant manager an i'm sure they will try to help 10 depends on demand, but sometimes even on 14 day cruises