Eglesbrech

It amuses me that the only people who appear to think that the current system is fine and defend it to the hilt are those who don't actually have to wait.

Perhaps if they did not embark until late and after a wait well beyond the "allocated" time they would have a different view.

P&O need to move with the times, people don't like waiting in queues when there is no good reason that they need to do so with a little better organisation.

We walked into the centre of Hamburg as there were long queues for the shuttle. Walking as the crow flies it was not too bad but I do tend to walk at quite a pace.

And face it Celebrity/ RCI also do it for the profit margin. Customers who are leaving do not spend money. Those who embark usually start to spend.

By the way the proper name for the pass is a Set Sail Pass, I called it fast pass in an earlier post in error.

1. They disembark earlier so the ship is cleared quicker. The arrangements for self disembarkation are less rigid so a lot of people DIY.

2. As described above security is done first not after you are called so there is a steady stream of people being cleared through security rather than fits and starts.

3. If you do the on line check in before going to the port you can print a fast pass. If you have a fast pass you can go to one of the checkers with an ipad devise and they just scan you in. - no queue needed. That means you can board immediately. The online check in includes you scanning a passport photo, your card details etc. All the I-pad person does is check that you are the person in the picture, passport matches etc but they don't have to type in anything so it takes under a minute. They use the picture you scanned for ship security (with the advantage that you can pick one that looked half decent!)

4. The time saved is with all the information gathering and advance input that the staff then don't have to do. If there is an issue with the fast pass or if you have not completed one then there is a conventional check in que.

In all my Celebrity / RCI cruises I have never had to wait to late afternoon to board and neither has anyone else unless that time suited them. I like Travelling with P&O and they have many good pints but embarcation is not one of them.

Originally posted by Mewat

 

One thing I can recommend in the Glasshouse is the wine pairing dinner. They only hold a few on each cruise and it is restricted to between 20-30 people each time. It costs £30.00 per person for a 4 course dinner with a glass of wine accompanying each course. We have done this every time we've cruised on Ventura and Azura.

Michele

 

Originally posted by Eglesbrech

I second this recommendation. We booked the day we boarded on the advice of a poster here as these sell out quickly.

 

We had an interesting dinner with some unusual matched wines and lovely food.There were only about 16 guests and the attention from the waiting staff was second to none.

 

Can I ask whether the food was what you would call fine dining or was it more a vehicle to showcase the wines?

Many thanks.

The food was very pleasant and well presented but not what I would call "fine dining" as such eg the main course was a lovely fillet of beef with a nice sauce and decent selection of well cooked veg on th side.

With the caveat that the ship may sometimes dock further most of these ports are doable on your own with a map from the ship, here are a few DIY suggestions.

Hamburg - the main town hall, square and Christmas markets is about a 20 minute walk from the port (or shuttle available). You can also pick a tour on a river boat tour from this area. There are lovely shops, cafes and of course the markets.

Oslo - Again you usually dock 1 of 2 ports both of which are close to the centre of town. If you are lucky and get the closer one then you are right in in the centre and only a 5 minute walk to the Christmas market (not big but interesting)' the noble Peace centre which has interesting exhibitions, shops, HOHO bus stop etc. The HOHO bus takes you round to the Viking museum and the sculpture park etc but if you have not been before there is more than enough to see in the city centre.

Copenhagen- about a 20 to 30 minute walk to the town centre via the little mermaid, Gyfen fountain, embassy's, Royal Palace (parade and changing of guard around 12 noon) , Harbour and then the shops! Most things here you can do on your own. Once you hit the main shopping street it goes on in a straight route right up to the other main square where you will find the Tivoli Gardens (beautiful little pleasure gardens with some rides). To get to Tivoli walking is 45 minutes to an hour depending on your pace. The shops on the Main shopping Street are amazing, big department store, Georg Jensen, Royal Copenhagen, design centre - all well with a visit. Also next to the ship is a fortress and some tourist shops.

Amsterdam- if you are in the main city port then again you can walk in. Pick one thing you really want to do and get there early as the ques build up even in December.

The stops for the canal tour is on the way up to the town and it is the same cruise of the city canals that the ship offers but for a lot less cost however you have to get there early as it books up really quickly. This is a good basic orientation.

The Anne Frank house is walkable.

The museum/ gallery district is further out so you would need a tram or taxi, trams are next to the main station which you can't miss from the port. The Van Gough gallery is extrordinary and if you go on your own you can enjoy the paintings as long as you want to.

If you are feeling less cultured then the brewery is an easy walk as well! Become a beer bottle for a day.

Also nice shops to browse and buy.

Brugge we usually take a tour or "Brugge it yourself" bus from P&O. You can get a shuttle to Blankenburg ( which is an nice little place to wander) or then the train to Brugge but when it is cold and gets dark early personally this is one time where I prefer the security of getting back to the ship on an official tour as we have had snow and travel disruptions in December.

Hope that helps.

Around here we would call a 25ml measure a dirty glass! 🍷

The official line from UK gov is:

"Either 25ml and multiples of 25ml, or 35ml and multiples of 35ml (not both in the same establishment)

While I don't like the free pour as you never know how much you are drinking in units or how strong it will be from drink to drink I do think 25ml is a bit small and mean.

I shall follow the good example of the knowledgable posters on here and order doubles. :D

One thing I can recommend in the Glasshouse is the wine pairing dinner. They only hold a few on each cruise and it is restricted to between 20-30 people each time. It costs £30.00 per person for a 4 course dinner with a glass of wine accompanying each course. We have done this every time we've cruised on Ventura and Azura.

 

Michele

I second this recommendation. We booked the day we boarded on the advice of a poster here as these sell out quickly.

We had an interesting dinner with some unusual matched wines and lovely food.There were only about 16 guests and the attention from the waiting staff was second to none. Every table had a personal talk from the sommelier as each course was served.

While I would not have chosen some of the paired wines it is always interesting to try out something different.

Thanks for the info and I will read your review with interest.

I looked at these cruises as something different for the winter months but then I read the cultural guide that P&O kindly provided and it put me off a bit.

I knew that as a woman I would need to dress modestly (as I have done in Morrocco etc) but the cultural guide seems to imply that I would really need to cover up in some ports. If my memory serves me correctly it even suggested buying a fashionable abaya.

For those who have been was this their experience?

We had a time of 2 30 pm last month and arrived about 2 10pm and went straight down Priority Boarding to the check in desk. Quite a few people were sitting waiting. We whizzed through security etc and straight to our cabin in no time at all.

That sounds more promising, great if that is what happens.

My experience of the new system was turning up at the (very late) embarcation time I was given and being made to wait even longer to board, the whole process was a farce and I was not a happy camper. I don't see why the embarcation needs to be so late but I adhered to my slot and that got me nowhere except a very long wait on uncomfortable seats.

I hope it has improved a bit from last year and yes RCl and Celebrity do start to embark before lunch time for all passengers, they just shut of the cabin decks until the cabins are ready but you can use all other facilities.

For those who have traveled more recently has it got any better? there were a lot of complaints last year s may have improved?

I had exactly the same problem, red warning and box turned red but went ahead with the online booking and at the very last section the discount was applied.

The confirmation came back with the PODM number on it.

It is however extremely off putting.

The ships get a professional decorator on to do the decorations and they are lovely, sometimes they are up when you arrive and other times it's a few days later. Over the week they normally build something as well eg a gingerbread village or snow scene.

Every Christmas cruise we have been on there has been port entertainment as well, usually in Copenhagen however this year we are in on a Sunday so it may not happen.:( Won't spoil it by telling you what.

They change what they do from year to year and it has been about 3 years since we did this but some entertainments have included Carol singing in the pub, a carol concert led by the Captain, a pantomime etc. They also have festive things like buttered rum or mulled wine on offer, cake decorating classes, cracker making etc

It's fun and add to that the lovely atmosphere in the ports and you should enjoy it.

Gexto (would not have remembered the name but remember the place) is a nice walk. Out of the port and turn left along the promenade, half way along you will see a random lift on the right hand side in the cliff. It's cost a euro and takes you right up into the town. There are some quaint little shops and tapas bars. Nice if you don't fancy the shuttle in to Balbao.

Tip if you go to the Gugenheim, don't take a large back pack as they will take if off you and the que for that is longer than for the actually getting in.

For this cruise, In my opinion no significant benefits.

We usually book a balcony or deluxe but having done the Christmas markets cruise several times, (again on the one you mention), we now go for an inside cabin in a location we like for these particular cruises. The reason being it is very, very, very cold and so you will only be on the balcony for short periods of time unless you are a penguin or polar bear. Add to that the fact that it is dark for longer than it is daylight and the benefit of a view from the window is gone as well.

Also the Christmas markets are amazing in every port and there is so much festive fun on the ship that you will rarely be in the cabin if you like to join in. In our experience these are always great cruises.

Just my view. Ps pack the thermals.

We are just off the Spirirt last week and I did not like the new gel dispensers they were using as you actually had to push a button to get the gel to dispense rather than just sticking your hand under for an automatic dispense. Don't know if it is the same on the other ships but they just looked like the soap dispensers which were in the cabin bathroom, taped to a stand, not great.

We carry our own anti viral gel as well and take reasonable precautions eg I never use the public toilets etc.

Just back from what was overall an enjoyable holiday on the Spirit. Hope some of this information is helpful if anyone is going on this itinery next year.

Great weather for late October and very calm seas, we only got rocked about on one night and as I was in bed it did not bother me.

The cabin was ideal, we were on deck 9 with a balcony, the cabin was fairly spacious with lots of storage and a resonanble size bathroom with shower over bath (Elemis toiletries which was nice). There were a few perks with the cabin, quick checkin, quick delivery of luggage, free safe key, breakfast and pressing service. Cabin staff kept is clean and topped up the ice, there was room in the fridge for your own drinks as well ( got a bottle of gin in the duty free at the port in Malaga and Tonic from the shop next door so only a short step back to the ship with supplies). They also did nice towel sculptures every night. The balcony was spacious with chairs and a table, the partitions between cabins kept the wind at bay when the ship was moving.

Overall the food was fine, nothing special but perfectly acceptable. They did some different events, a BBQ for lunch one day and a "pub" lunch with a quiz and music which was fun. Service was hit and miss with some staff very efficient and others down right slow and miserable - the first time we have been on a Thomson ship and had grumpy waiters, several passengers commented on this as it is so unusual.

We ate in the main restaurant for the majority of meals as, in my opinion, the lido was a bit grubby, too many people using it and not enough staff to clean the tables in between.

We bought the wine package at £99 for 7 bottles, reasonable selection though they kept trying to push the cheaper ones on the list but if you just re stated what you wanted it was fine. Good value for money as some of the bottles were 19.95 if bought individually. Had the odd beer, San Micheal which was fresh.

Entertainment was fine, we went to a couple of the shows and enjoyed the easy listening music in the Horizens bar. Some good films on the cabin channels as well.

We were a bit annoyed with the berths the Spirit was in as for the majority of the week we were at the back of beyond and too far for most folks to walk.

Malaga - new port area further out so shuttle required (£5 pp)

Palma- very, very noisy industrial port with a cement factory ship on site and lorries being filled with cement every 10 minutes, beyond the navy base 1 hour and 45 minute walk from Palma (all the other ships including the Majesty were in the normal Palma dock across the bay). Shuttle required £6pp

Barecelona- shuttle provided by the port at 3 euros each way pp or 4 euros return (a 30 minute walk away)

Ibiza - shuttle provided by Thomson at £5 pp (a 40 minute walk away). There is a local boat service which takes you across the bay as well if you prefer.

Not only did the shuttles cost extra there was the inconvenience of queuing for timed tickets and then waiting for the bus etc. The only one you usually need a shuttle for is Barcelona and that is only if you get the outer port. Lot of complaints on the ship about this as there were lots of families on for the school holiday week in England, one chap had his wife and 4 children so it added an unexpected cost to of his holiday.

Almeria and Ceuta were walk off ports which was nice.

I was not keen on Malaga as an airport, on the way out our luggage took over an hour to come onto the carousel for some passengers (others got theirs in just a few minutes) and way back they changed the gate 3 times and we were an hour late departing (then the plane ran out of all food after the first few rows of people so a lot of unhappy campers - hunger does that).

The Spirit is showing her age but we still had a fun cruise, Spanish Sunsets is a nice selection of ports for that time of year.

See you both in Sunday and bring along your brolly as the weather forecast is for heavy rain all day unfortunately:(. It gets better after that thankfully:)

Thanks Sheila, I will make a point of looking out for the label person.

Great, that explains it. I knew I had never seen a desk.

Many thanks

"Important information about MALAGA

To check in your bags in the UK you'll need to visit the TUI Cruises stand. We'll attach your cabin number your bag to speed up the process at the other end"

The note above is part of our flight instructions. Does anyone know where the TUI cruise stand is as I have never seen this before (and know Glasgow airport pretty well).

Thanks

We have done stay and cruise and next time are going to do cruise and stay: there is nothing more that takes the shine off a brilliant holiday than having to go through the bag pack/early start/hanging around until airport transfer to hang around for another few hours. I know it's still not brilliant leaving a hotel but at least you don't get kicked out of your room at 8am or have to have your suitcases ready at 1am the night before.

Shows you that we all have different preferences, as I said above we prefer having a last day on the ship for a late flight home as the ships tend to still make you feel welcome, provide a lunch and some entertainment. Up to reading Cloudyrains post I had also always assumed that you were more likely to get to a Thomson flight on time from a Thomson ship, as there would be fewer pick ups - straight to the airport from the port.

At least the OP has some food for thought and can consider their own preferences.

Hebridean cruises from Greenock or Oban start from March. Not too far to drive or get a train from your area.

We have done both and the way we choose depends on how late the flight home is. If the flight home is early we cruise then stay so that we can relax for a week after a busy cruise and because I hate hanging about a hotel for a late flight.

If they flight is late we stay then cruise as you have all the ship facilities to enjoy for the last day and still feel welcome there.