john watson

On P&O (UK) the top two tiers have a set number of nights for each of the two tiers relating to the last three years. On top of this you need to have an overall number of nights sailed. The latter relates to all tiers but the cut off date is quite a while back. Regards John

If you need to change terminals at Heathrow. Studying the London Underground map should help. All the terminals are linked on a loop with T5 on a spur. The easiest way to work out the route is on the Transport for London website London Underground Map. Regards John

One of the basic rules which the cruise line advise is that parents are responsible for supervising their children while they are in the pool. It might have a few swimmers in the pool but other cruise lines have experienced tragic outcomes where children were not directly supervised. Regards John.

You cannot be serious. Regards John

The greatest superstar who carried off the mock turtleneck genre of dress brilliantly was Wilfrid Wimble. He was a major star for many years in the Beano with the Bash Street kids and was highly respected in the United Kingdom. "Don't stick your neck out, you don't know what's out there" was his motto. Regards John

When you say Victoria Station, most Londoners are thinking you mean the railway station. Victoria Coach Station is the place where long distance buses run from. They are quite a distance apart and it is important to say "Coach" to any taxi driver to prevent misunderstanding.. Regards John

I should arrive more that one day prior to sailing and stay in London. Travel to Southampton and stay overnight in Southampton for one night. This gives you some touring in London and peace of mind by being within a few minutes of the ship on the day of embarkation. Regards John

They can add another level above Elite and then the passengers who qualify for the new higher than Elite level could then have future benefits that current Elite people enjoy. The nonqualifying for promotion Elite passengers would assume the current Platinum level benefits. Similarly the current Platinum level people would assume the fewer benefits the Ruby passengers get and so on. The cruise line would likely be thinking along these lines as it would save a bit of revenue. Regards John

The two most dangerous places for children are the Balcony of your cabin and the Promenade Deck. In cabins a high bolt can prevent the doors from opening. If parent is on balcony and comes in to make a drink etc. all children need to come in from the balcony for the duration. Until you can confidently let your children cross a 40 mph road I keep them from being alone on Promenade Deck. In my opinion you need to monitor what they are doing and the time of day etc. Comparing this to how they are at home in and away from the house alone. Regards John

I have not taken children on cruises for a while but had a fifteen year period of doing so on various lines, P&O, Princess and Cunard. My experience is that typically first day of joining, the Youth Team go through the rules with parents and children. As far as I recall P&O's rules include. No children allowed to enter cabins other than the ones their family are booked into, no unaccompanied children in lifts, adults are not allowed to disembark leaving children alone on board (they must be supervised on board by someone eighteen years or older who is a relative or adult friend who knew them prior to embarking). Nobody under eighteen may disembark alone. P&O have a policy of parents need to sign children in and out of the club until they are thirteen. The theatre, first three rows do not permit children to sit there, even with parents. Youngsters cannot leave the club on their own decision. There is no specific age at which children can walk about the ship alone as far as I know, the same as in UK leaving children alone on your house at home. Princess has a mobile Youth Security team usually a man and woman with a walkie talkie who patrol the ship in response to any incidents reported to reception. P&O do not. The main risk of unaccompanied children about the ship is not that they might have a negative affect on other passengers cruises. It is that as vulnerable people the children are at risk from inappropriate behaviour from adults. Stranger danger is a problem because the cruise ship is not a totally safe place. Regards John

The thing which has the biggest influence on one's cruise is who is in your sailing group. I have sailed with my parents and brother, or with wife and child, or just with my daughter or with daughter and her fiance or just a male friend or a female friend and alone. This makes cruises totally different and if you are sensible other passengers have very little impact to be frank. I think a lot of people often sail as a couple of different ages and expect things to be pretty similar to the last cruise by comparison. Things have changed radically over the years with ships and I do not like comparing them either as you cannot get better and better cruises they are just different and you need to focus on the positive. Some cruises I have been on were technically disastrous but I see the funny side of things. Regards John

The main problems Carnival currently have is postCovid debts and lower market growth thought to be around 3%. There are two major ships coming for Princess 4,300 pax each. They might want to redistribute a Grand Class ship to P&O UK, similar to when they allocated them to P&O Australia. They would get cash back from selling off a P&O ship. Regards John

All cruise ships have a useful life before leaving service. If you examine the ages of ships within fleets many seem to be withdrawn which were built around the year 2000. If people think these ships will be with P&O in 5 or 10 years it is very unrealistic. Regards John

I am just pointing out the focus of the thread. Related issues are interesting, no problem. I think Aurora will be the first to go. I base this on the design of the balcony cabins and proportion of them available relative to number of cabins. This is what the cruise industry predominantly sells. If they need two Adult Only ships, and I think they will go this way Azura is my best guess .Regards John

Yes this is currently true but one or both might be withdrawn from the fleet and experience should tell you this has not always been the case. The designation of Adult Only tends to shift from one ship to another and one would think will remain the P&O policy. It is possible they might withdraw one and redesignate another from the rest of the fleet. The important part is will one go. Regards John

Modern ships have modular cabins where the entire cabin is manufactured on shore and put through on to the appropriate deck slid into position in a big row. All the electricals and plumbing are fitted and just need joining together. What parts would be able to be removed and replaced I suspect would depend on the exact construction system. Regards John

I was thinking it is a thread about which would be the next P&O ship to be withdrawn and Arcadia and Aurora were cited .Regards John

It would be interesting to find out which years comprised the good old days. I think many would be at variance of which particular years were the pinnacle of their cruises. Regards John

This would suggest to me that P&O are trying very hard to fill their ships. This might not be going down very well with some older passengers. The problem seems to me is trying to get greater numbers to book cruises in larger and larger ships whereas it might get harder to fill an adult only megaship year round. Regards John

In that case you need a dedicated ship or ships. The problem then being from a cruise lines perspective is ensuring financial viability. If it is then fine but my experience is that the older group tend to dislike the mega ships. I am thinking that over time it will get more awkward. Regards John

True but are we not wanting to minimalise the number of children on board not eradicate their presence? The school holidays also vary regionally and by UK country. Regards John

Micealangelo did some absolutely brilliant works and is generally agreed, not just in Italy but throughout the world as the finest turtle. Regards John

I suggest that if you want to run an adult only cruise it would make sense to be during school holidays. During term time very minimal number of children will be on board anyway. Regards John

I think it is synonymous with roll neck sweater. The term "mock" seems a bit superflous as it would never be the genuine creature about one's neck. Regards John

I think it is of no importance whether people perceive you as first time cruisers. It is helpful on your first cruise to work out how to navigate the ship. Often there are three sets of stairs; forward, mid-ships and aft. Then the decks are just like floors on a building. Everything takes place on the ship in relation to these. Once you can keep track of these you can get anywhere rapidly walking directly to where you need to go. Regards John