Slugsta

@Lucysnan Welcome to Cruise Critic. I hope you have a wonderful time, first cruises are always special.

Well, to be fair, 3035 is quite a long way off . . .😉

I didn't get one after either of our last 2 cruises (which were the only ones we have taken since the start of the pandemic).

We live an hour or so from Southampton so are happy not to be first onboard, but would still not be happy with a 4pm boarding time as it leaves so little room for manoeuvre. As it is, we have a leisurely morning, collect our house/cat sitter and then are ready to leave. Any boarding time much beyond lunchtime leaves us sitting around at home, twiddling our thumbs, looking at the clock every 5 minutes and getting restless.

We have 4 in 16 days on Queen Vic, departing in 8 days time 🙂 We both enjoy the formal evenings and are sad that they seem to be reducing even on Cunard.

I'm also looking forward to a break from hay fever. Also to having a couple of weeks without cooking, washing up or other chores.

Post #16 probably explains why!

Thanks for the update. I'm glad that you enjoyed your cruise after all the aggravation.

One cruise on Oriana, there was a glitch with the door which would almost close and then swing open again. It made things 'interesting' but, fortunately, was easily fixed.

This seems to have passed me by, had I not read this I would probably have thrown away anything I might have found!

No, gratuities are currently $14.50 per person per night in the Britannia restaurant (ie, basic cabins ).

The other thing I would urge is using whatever assistive devices you need before you become too exhausted/sore/etc. I would rather use my chair to get somewhere and then enjoy myself, rather than wearing myself out getting there and being in too much pain to enjoy myself.

We are back in Helsinki in May and our ship is overnighting there. We have been to the church in the rock and the island fortress so are looking for something else to do - especially in the evening. We don't really want to take out a mortgage for an evening meal and are not into clubs ( my hubby is in his 70's, I'm in my 60's and we both like classical music). Any suggestions please?

I am so sorry that some of us are still subjected to prejudice simply for who we are 😥 @ged1967 Your story reminds me of my mother when we were on a coach holiday together - On the coach behind us were 2 men and across the aisle 2 women, all of similar ages. Mum had assumed they were 2 straight couples travelling together, the women sitting together to natter and the men relegated to the other seats (I confess that was also my first thought). One day, the men were on the coach but not the ladies. 'Oh' says Mum, 'The wives are not here today'. I replied that we had been mistaken and the gentlemen were travelling together (after all, I had no idea of their actual relationship). 'Yes' says Mum 'Their wives are not here today' so I repeated that the gentlemen were travelling together. It took about 4 of these exchanges, Mum - being a little deaf - not speaking quietly and me trying to make myself heard (in both senses) before the penny dropped. She blustered a bit and said that what other people do was not her business. The gentlemen concerned just smiled quietly . . .

I certainly found both Arcadia and Iona to be quite chilly.

We are doing an overnight in Helsinki in May (onboard Queen Victoria) and are wondering what to do in the evening. We are not into clubs etc and don't want to spend a fortune on dinner. Does anyone have suggestions please?

What is a 'snowy nova' please?

I wondered whether the lack of a post-cruise survey was because I hadn't given 10/10 on the 'first impressions' one!

I was a bit concerned about the 1920's theme as I don't have the figure for a flapper dress. I'm glad to hear that I won't be out of place in an ordinary evening dress.

I get my correspondence from P+O via email. I haven't had a post-cruise survey for either of our cruises since the restart (and they didn't go into my spam folder either).

Sounds like a rather different game from the Chinese rules that we play!

And how about a hot summer in the UK and northern Europe? . . .

I've found it quite chilly in the public areas on our last couple of cruises!

One thing to consider is that P+O charge a flat fee for adult passengers which takes no account of reduced admission for those who are older or disabled. We did the aquarium in Barcelona and zoo in Valencia for much less than the P+O price (even allowing for taxis in Valencia) as my OH got in free as my carer. Even without this, we would both have had concessionary entrance as we are retired.

Was the 'lurch' in Southampton related to the money spent in the bar?? 😂