Eglesbrech

The alert provides very little information and the replies on Facebook aren't much better.

Financial regulations and incryption requirements are pretty tight and they should never retain or be able to access this kind of information after a transaction is complete. It also begs the question who the third party is that has customers bank and credit card details? I thought we were dealing with P&O.

I think the PR department are going to be very busy as there are issues here beyond the money removed illegally from accounts.

Lots of very unhappy people.

Exactly , Eglesbrech. Really enjoy all of the planning.

This is my first ever cruise. Have to say that I am brushing up on my Swedish and Russian.Looking forward to the whole experience.

I'm impressed if you can master even a bit of Russsian. That's one I never even attempted.

And yes as others have pointed out, obviously the absolute joy of the cosy discussions we have on here about embarcation, tipping, dress codes etc.

I also enjoy looking up the individual port authorities to see which other ships are in and if I havnt been there before to google earth the area (some ports are greyed out) to see where it is in relation to the town.

In the same circumstances we found the insurance company pretty helpful.

The sooner they do the surgery the better so it is well worth cancelling. Moving beyond the surgery and any follow up treatment, once the time is right, your wife's oncologist should be able to assist you by providing a letter of comfort to help you get insurance cover to go on a holiday at a later date.

Every good wish.

I enjoy reading the ship and port reviews in anticipation of a cruise. It helps me to plan what to do / problems to avoid.

I also try to learn / brush up on some of the languages in ports of call. In reality it is just enough to say please and thank you, ask where the toilet is and order food etc but it's fun to do.

Bee-ess, amen to that. I am always happy if the evening clothes still fit!

It would be a shame if they stopped selling the full bottles for your cabin, for those who consumed reasonably. It was always nice to have and most cabin staff were happy to provide the ice etc and this probably generated greater tips for them if they we providing this small service.

Hopefully just a blip and business as usual.

While you can at present bring alcohol on from ports etc there have been odd comments recently about people who are overdoing it and bad behaviour onboard. Perhaps this is one way to ensure that people have not "pre loaded" I think the term is, before going out and about on the ship.

To be honest I would not be surprised if P&O eventually go the way of other lines and restrict/ stop people bringing alcohol onboard as well. It's fine if people use it for the odd drink on the balcony or while changing for dinner but it must bite into their profit margin if pax bring on copious amounts and then rarely use the bars.

Never mind P&Os profit margins are quite safe with me :)

Thanks for posting the information, I might have been tempted until I came across the following part of the information about the new river cruises

"All holidays featured in the new ‘River Cruising by Fred. Olsen’ brochure are based on fly-cruises, and include return flights from / to a London airport and transfers to / from the boat. Cruise-only options are also available."

Why do all of these companies think that the south of England is the centre of the planet and only offer flights from London, one of the most difficult (M25) and expensive places to get to / stay in a hotel the night before.

Yes they offer a cruise only option but then you don't have a package holiday with all that that implies and you then have to arrange transfers etc as well.

Given that a lot of Fred's customer travel with them from regional ports to avoid a long journey south why could they not offer London and for example Newcastle or Liverpool or Edinburgh? There are flights from these airports as well.

Yip, agree but for its clientele - the worst CHAV experience ever.

Never on any other ship have I seen such loutish behaviour that we experienced. P&O must reduce their prices to such a level that it attracts the most undesirable and most objectionable people that we have ever met. Never again..... risks are too high.

How do you know that those causing a disturbance were those attracted by reduced prices? That's a rather large assumption to make.

Money has nothing to do with how people behave so reduced pricing has no real bearing on predicted behaviour. I have seen extremely unseemly behaviour from clearly wealthy, £250 a bottle champagne swinging individuals on cruises and good manners from young couples / families who saved for a last minute, low cost inside cabin.

I know we all make generalisations, me included on occasion but having originally come from a fairly poor background, it always annoys me when people equate money with class and lack of it with loutishness.

While I agree with the maxim to book a price you are happy with then don't look at the prices again, it is easier said than done.

Cruise companies have a habit of sending out e-mails and snail mail shots highlighting the reductions. We just received one this week for another line that shows both the early booking prices and the significantly lower late ones. That is adding salt to an open wound.

Yes, I would certainly pay to see someone well known that I liked. How much, I wonder, would it cost to see them at such close quarters, on land?! Quite a lot more than £50 I suspect!

 

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I don't know about them but we just went to see a band of the same era a couple of weeks ago and we were £160 for 2 tickets so the price on P&O is very, very reasonable.

Isn't it Boyzlife rather than Boyzone? Which I think is one ex member of Boyzone and one ex member of Westlife.

 

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You are absolutely correct it is Boyzlife, must have autocorrected as I copied and pasted but I have autocorrect on for my (numerous) spelling errors.:)

As I was not a fan did not know any different.

Don't know, never followed any of them. Now Take That and I would be there in the front row, reallt gives my age away!

"Boyzone will be performing in Britannia’s Limelight Club on 12-16 August 2017, the first five nights of Britannia’s 14-night Spain, France and Italy cruise, departing from Southampton. Tickets for each show cost £49 per person and include a three-course meal."

P&O are currently advertising the above shows. While Boyzone may not be my personal choice I really like the idea that P&O are bringing original artists onboard

and I would be more than happy to pay for an act that I liked. This would definitely attract me to a cruise as an added bonus to the ports of call.

Cunard had James Taylor and RCI had Brian May (no charge and amazing) but if I could have a cruise and a really good show then I would be more thanhappy to pay for it.

There has been a lot of discussion about "unbundling" cruises and while much of it related to food etc I don't approve. A really good show, for me, is different.

Would a big name attract you to a cruise and who would it be?

It does if you go up and pop one down over the rail from deck 10 LOL

Wish I thought thought of that! There would only be room for one though, ah well that would be me sorted, hubby could get the fresh air from the sofa inside with the doors open:)

With all this "illegal" bed shuffling,sounds like a job for the FBI (federal bed investigators).

Now if someone came into this thread at this point without reading the rest they might just think that it is a whole lot more interesting than it is.;)

The first thing that would spring to mind would not be moving two singles together.

We stopped off at a service area on the way in and the way back, the toilets were not brilliant but any port in a storm.

On the all day trip when lunch is provided there were lots of nice clean toilets at the hotel.

Take your own toilet paper as there was seldom any (and a sanitising gel)

Yeah, we better call them fast before it gets too much!

 

Seriously.. This forum is so full of entitled people that it puts me off coming here, Almost every thread ends up with at least one person like this! I am sure I am not the only one that avoids visiting too much because of it.

Is that entitled to get what a travel agent promised?

Entitled to get what the brochure said?

Entitled to decent service, food etc?

Lots of types of entitlement and some are just fine:)

And of course the other large clans on this forum are

The moaners- that includes anyone who says anything that is not in constant praise of P&O (think I belong to that one on occasion;) but only as an amereur ). There are some real professional moaners in this clan.

The Musn,t grumbles - those who smell roses all around all the time and would never complain regardless of what happened or how ridiculous it was. When anyone else does they defend their cruise company to the hilt

The Stirrers - yes you know who you are, just keep winding everyone up.

I am sure that there are more I have missed out but the Entitled group was a new one to me.

All of the above does however keep things interesting, imagine how boring it would be if we all agreed all the time. There would be nothing to talk a out

Take lots and lots of pictures. I speak from experience when I say that there may come a day when they have more value to you than almost anything else you possess.

Have a wonderful holiday.

No the balcony does not have sun beds. You get a table and fairly comfortable chairs.

Have a great cruise.

When we were on Britannia, they would not move an older couple in an interior with pullman beds that did not retract into the roof but were up against the wall, causing the husband to bang into it when getting out of bed. However, after he drew blood they found another cabin.

This was a superior deluxe balcony and they had an extremely bad "plumbing" issue (eg sewage) but they said the ship was full so they just cleaned, put in de-humidifiers and dryers. We also had the plumbing problems but at least our carpets were still dry!

Just got a shiny brochure in from Fred highlighting all the Anchor Fares for the next few months. It also shows the original Freedom Fare prices and some of the discounts are massive! The benefits of a Freedom Fare don't justify the huge price differential of the Anchor Fare.

If I was going on one of these cruises and had booked a Freedom Fare I would not be a happy bunny at all. I have cruised for a long time and know this is just the way it is (so I try to avoid looking at prices after I book) however to get it neatly laid out in black and white and through your front door is just adding salt to the wounds.

Do Fred ever offer early bookers the chance to (pay for) an upgrade before they sell off cabins at these bargain basement prices?

Does the (complimentary) upgrade fairy ever visit?

On long cruises most people willwear an outfit more than once and nobody really notices so mix and match and recycle. Enjoy.

 

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Good advise and very true.

Th extra case would make life easy and the tips above re shoes and toiletries are spot on as they add considerably to the weight.

Buy an ultralight case, some can be just over 2 kilos.

Wear any heavy / bulky items when travelling so heaviest shoes on your feet, carry jacket with you etc.

Go for a capsule Wardrope if you can with the same colour schemes and tones to mix and match. Don't know what your evening wear is like but I have a floor length skirt and take different silk jackets for formals when flying which means the same shoes etc and less weight

If you are a standard size then there is always the option to buy additional clothes on the ship or in port, shopping is always fun and if you would be over your allowance for the way back then you can always post back some items to your self. (Sometimes less than the excess baggage cost)

Lastly a friend of ours buys cheap daywear for on holiday / a cruise and throws it out as he goes along leaving room for the new things he buys so that he can ring the changes. A bit wasteful l in my opinion but it works for him.

Depends when you are sailing and if the ship is full. If a double bed is an essential requirement for you then I would try to change before you go.

Our last Ventura cruise the ship was full to the extent that they could not move ours neighbours who had a plumbing issue.

The coulor for men is not an issue. My husband wears very bright colours depending on which kilt he takes with him. His hose, flashes and cravat can be bright red to sky blue.

I have also seen men in some lovely coloured DJs.

You will see a lot of huge differences between the product provided by Disney and P&O but having travelled on both I would say that they will both offer you a good holiday. Go and have fun.

Moving fro one of the "string of Pearls" villages to Kent is a long way.

We are over at the other side of the Forth.