Cloudyrain

Thank you for taking the time to write a great report - I am glad you had such a good time 😊

In theory they may do a spot check and ask to see proof of insurance, but if you have it on your bank you should be able to access the details via your banking App: if not you can get a letter from your bank confirming your coverage. 
 

18 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

As non-smokers we avoid any of the smoking areas on any ship that we sail on.  I think that the first cruise line to bite the bullet and designate a ship to be non-smoking will be inundated with interested passengers.

The last P&O cruise that we were on there were heavy smokers in the cabin next to us and they made the balcony unusable for us because the smoke drifted over the balcony separators.

Smoking isn't allowed on balconies: I would (and have, albeit on NCL - I haven't encountered it on P&O) reported it.

I am an ex-smoker who happens to not at all bothered by the smell of smoking, but the safety/mess factor makes me report it. 

We were on the Iona last April and last June and the beds were put away every day. They asked us if we wanted them putting away and we did due to having restricted space with the bed out.
 

In 2022 on the Britannia they left the bed out due to the extra issues witn Covid cleaning etc. There was no choice in it that time.

6 hours ago, P&O SUE said:

Since 2020 I haven’t found the deals so good. Add on the dollars onboard as well. I was looking at one that went to Malaga and I wanted the excursion to the Alhambra- nearly 300 dollars each! 

I think it seems really variable: I found that the Sky Princess was £200 (total) more than the same week on the Iona, but that was with Princess Plus and a better balcony cabin. In effect it made the Princess cruise cheaper for more. But, other times I have priced it up and P&O are noteably cheaper. It seems to be that Princess are cheaper than P&O during the school holiday weeks, and then at othet times it's roles reversed 😂

Thank you for sharing: I love the Ventura and always like to read a report 😊

I'm looking forward to your opinions as we are going on our first Princess soon (albeit on a different ship).

19 minutes ago, Thedonkeycentrehalf said:

On Britannia in February there was an Adele tribute (not our thing) but who people said was very good.  There was also a George Michael one who was very poor, sounded nothing like him and had a weird song choice.  We walked out part way through but we’re by no means the first to leave.

I think everytime I've seen a George Michael or Robbie Williams on a cruise I've never lasted more than 5 minutes. People seem to really over-perform them, and George Michael music especially is destroyed by the characature style. 
 

I think in general I mostly prefer people just singing songs as themselves, rather than the whole tribute style. 

11 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Our Paloma was Sammie Lomax from Southampton, a good singer in her own right and came across as a very nice person too, taking time to chat to some audience members after the show. 

We like some modern music, but unfortunately, the modern stuff being played was a bit too 'out there' for us... 

Andy 

Oh, different one - same star. Yzzy was very good and personable too. We had Ariana Grande on Ventura last and she was brilliant and great with the kids and did a brilliant One Last Time performance, quite emotional actually.

9 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

Oh we would have loved some 70s disco and I would bet most of the other people in the Live Lounge when we were there would have too. 

I think the problem was there was no 'mix', everything was this type of modern music that I can't even describe, but it wasn't any sort of dance music. 

Our tribute act was Paloma Faith, I am not a fan, but she was very good and we knew a few of her songs, but on her last show, ( 3 shows on 1 night) it was empty. 

Andy 

We saw Paloma (well, Yzzy as Paloma) on the Ventura a few yeara ago and thought she was incredible. I wish they would do a few more modern tributes, just to add a bit of variety.

I agree, there seemed to be no variety when we were on Britannia: it was all older, despite it being a very multi-generational vibe on the ship. They need a good mix to get the party going so to speak. Having said that, the first time we went on Ventura 10+ years ago it was very "old" music, but the last few times I have found it much more diverse in music years and genre. 

23 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I don't think I have ever heard Doris Day on P&O, although Move over Darling was quite good, but maybe not for dancing, and only the odd Elvis track.

However if Pulse or the DJ wants to fill the dancefloor, then a selection of songs from the best of the 60s 70s and 80s always proves the best option.

It was pretty bad the whole cruise to be honest. Even the tributes were uninspiring (Rod Stewart or someone like that), and the newest lively music they played was awful 70s disco. No-one really danced and the bars were pretty quiet: there was a great woman singing ballads, but there's only so much romance/heartbreak I can cope with 😂 There was one formal night when it was a bit more lively, but it was like a ghost town by 10pm most nights. 
 

It's funny because on the Ventura and Iona we've always been quite lucky with them having some diversity in their entertainment and music choices, so maybe we just had a bad lull on Britannia: it was a covid-cruise so maybe they didn't want everyone bopping and breathing germs all over each other 😂

On 5/3/2024 at 9:53 PM, 555 said:

What is a PEC sign?

Picture exchange cards which are sometimes used by those with communication difficulties, and sometimes for those with difficulties with reading or learning difficulties. In the instance I saw them used it was just icons for family members, and open and shut doors, and a image of a key. 

As a Brit, I find the whole door decorating thing mind-blowing 😂

On P&O (which is mainly British passengers) I have seen the odd “Happy Birthday” banner, and once saw a PECs sign on the door, but that’s about it. When we cruised out of NYC with NCL I felt like I was in a modern art gallery walking down the corridor to our cabin with some of the elaborate designs and decorations. 

I like new music (rap, EDM, a bit of a part-time Swiftie etc) but when we last went on the Britannia it was Elvis and Doris Day 😂 It wasn’t even decent old “retro” - just old. I think my exact phrase was “even my Nan would have thought the music was old fashioned, and she’d be 120 if she was alive now”. Maybe they took my feedback too far 😂

57 minutes ago, happy v said:

Just to counteract no.7. We were on Ventura a month ago. We really felt cruising was now back to normal. Food, entertainment, staff etc. all great 

I agree with you: we had a great trip on the Ventura last year and are going again this year. My son chose it above any other ship 😊

Kids club is great: it’s my son’s favourite 😊 He prefers it to the Iona and Britannia - in fact it’s his favourite ship. He’s been on from being 2 and now 7. 

There is an arcade, which I can’t remember being there when I first went on it 10+ years ago. It’s quite reasonably priced as arcades go and has a good selection of games.

The entertainment is relatively family-friendly too, and the indoor pool is usually open and useable a bit later in to the evening (which can be handy if you have children if there isn’t anything on in the evening that you want to do: there is also a bar in there and it’s near the buffet so you can have a drink and some food while the children swim (depending on their ages and abilities etc) 😊

I don’t really think it’s all that much different: we booked last May for a June cruise and it was a bargain. If I book now for the same week it’s about £300 more on the mock booking I’ve done, but per person that’s £100 each so relatively low for a week. 

I have noticed land-based holidays have gone up a lot. Our last one for the same time of year, booked around the same time, at the same hotel, is now coming up at £5,500 for bed and breakfast with coach transfers - it was £3000 two years ago for half board and private transfers.

1 hour ago, memoak said:

We never ask them to whip up anything. Our allergies are peanuts and ocean white fish. So pretty easy to tell ingredients from the menu. I do wish the would keep the peanut butter cookies away from the others at the IC

You might not need to, and that’s great, but some people do need modification’s making due to the nature and impact of their allergens (especially if they are multiple and also co-exist with other food or dietary restrictions). It’s also why I said some allergies are easier to avoid than others, and therefore the need to advance notify depends on the specific allergy, or type of allergy, in question. For our dairy allergy it requires more effort as they often put butter on the veggies/potatoes, so we do ask they provide some without butter as it’s an easy thing to amend if they know in advance as it isn’t easy to do on the night. Plus it’s an ige allergy and therefore we couldn’t risk just eating around food containing dairy.
 

However,  he also has a non-ige allergy to beef, and therefore it’s really easy to just take the beef off a plate, or order a non-beef product. 
 

Not everyone with an allergy needs to notify them if they can generally work around their allergies, but some people do need to pre-order and modify menus to be able to eat anything at all. Especially when on a ship, at sea, where medical help isn’t as readily available.

1 hour ago, memoak said:

We don’t do anything pre cruise or upon boarding. We can look at menus and see what is in the dishes. We then ask questions about what ingredients are used   We are not going to be bound to ordering a day in advance when we have no idea how we will feel the next day. Also many servers and managers have no idea what is in some dishes. For instance the chocolate sauce for desserts often contains peanuts 

I mean do you actually go through this process in land based restaurants ?

 

By advising them before you go they ensure that they have the resources to accommodate any specific requirements/replacements. Also they ensure that you can discuss your needs with someone who does know the ingredients etc. 

It’s different for land based restaurants: they tend to be smaller venues, not serving several thousand customers on one night in a closed-environment. So we go to restaurants which have generally the same menu every day, with a full book indicating all the allergens and which items can be modified etc. On a cruise ship they make a few hundred dishes, prepped in advance, and often the specific substitutions/alterations need advance notice as they can’t just quickly whip up a dish without risk of cross contamination etc.

But I appreciate it varies depending on the severity and type of allergen: we have varying allergen requirements, and for one it’s very easy to avoid/substitute, for the other it’s very difficult and therefore we need to advise everyone and closely asses options. 

41 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I'd be worried about noise and shenanigans in the hot tubs if it was me allocated this.  I note the OP doesn't seem to have spoken to P&O so it might be worth a word to see if there is an option to go elsewhere?

We were on deck 9 directly above a hot tub and to be honest the noise didn’t bother us at all, and the reviews of this cabin don’t seem to reference it.

It looks like the person who I responded to (who is not the OP of the thread) has booked Select Fare, but then chosen (possibly inadvertently) the “Let P&O choose” option - or it’s one of the quirks where they allow a Select booking but not room selection unless you “upgrade” (which happened to me last time I booked direct - hence I use a TA now). The person I am responding to has spoken to P&O and they have said they can’t change the cabin - they can only cancel it.

2 hours ago, bestoflife said:

Thank you for this thread. I took am worried sick about our 8322 cabin allocation on Iona, with shower obstructed view for our upcoming Fjords cruise. 

 

We booked a balcony and paid extra to have the select package, trusting P&O would allocate a good (or possibly better) cabin. However, we feel cheated! I called twice already (overseas calls cost encured) and sent 2 emails and was told they did not downgrade us as it is not an obstructed cabin, where it's written back on white in my ticket that it's 'Shower obstructed'. They just said I am free to cancel my booking, but it's not fair as we have flights, hotels and excursions all booked and paid.

 

Any suggestions on how I should go about this unfairness, please? What is the benefit of a select fare in this case, apart from the onboard credit?

I have just read reviews of people who have been in the same cabin and they were happy with it and would stay in it again: there are photos which show it’s not obstructed in a traditional sense as the hot tub is on the prom outside the balcony of the cabin. 
 

I really wouldn’t let this ruin your holiday or be worried sick about it: it’s a great location for the amenities, and when you are in the Fjords and sailing you are generally looking upwards, not downwards. I would also suggest sitting in different areas of the ship to appreciate the views from different angles 😊

Honestly I wouldn’t worry, every time I’ve slaved for hours to get a photo where I don’t look like a complete state, they just replace it at port and take one where I look like a confused meerkat who’s been dragged through a hedge or 4. 

Actually if they could just put a proper cinema on the Ventura, occasional entertainment in the covered pool, and a Keel and Cow somewhere, I would be happy 😂

I love a covered pool area and think the Skydome is amazing - but I know others really dislike it, but they can all go in to the atrium and I can have the skydome to myself 😂 Although I prefer the Ventura covered pool area size-wise, I do like that there is entertainment on the Iona Sky Dome.

I also vote the Ventura Glasshouse.

And I probably will be the only one voting for the Ventura arcade - but as a parent of a young child, it’s a great venue to use when bribery is required 😂

I feel similar about the Iona: love the ship, but I just can’t handle the prospect of watching the bloody birds again 😂