pete14

The FAQ section on the P&O website has pictures taken from inside most obstructed view cabins to show the extent of the obstruction outside (usually lifeboats). Obviously this does not yet include Britannia but for other ships it is useful provided you are booking select fare which offers cabin choice. Click the 'how can we help' tab, select 'meet the fleet' and search for obstructed views.

I know the minimum amount of shares you require for shareholder OBC is 100. My question is do you have to hold these at time of booking, departure or both.

 

I have two cruises booked Nov 2014 and Aug 2015 and was considering purchasing shares so I could get the OBC.

You need to apply for the OBC about 6 weeks prior to departure and once the balance is paid. You can buy shares any time before that date, after booking the cruise is fine. Just be aware though that share price is quite high at the moment so may fall over the next few weeks/ months (or rise) and that OBC offer has to be agreed annually at AGM.

They do it the first few nights on Oceana. A good idea to encourage people to use the speciality restaurants early in the cruise when they are perhaps less busy.

Clivep. The free shuttle bus issue is a bit of a red herring. Some ports have to provide a shuttle bus to take people out of the dock area safely. This is usually ports where cruise ships dock in commercial berths. The port authority provide these shuttles without charge, although presumably they are included in the fees that P&O pay for use of the dock. No charge can be made for these shuttles as they are purely for reasons of health and safety. If shuttles are provided by P&O, they are for the convenience of passengers, not just for their safety. It is these that saver fare passengers are being asked to pay for. I can see no attempt to mislead in this instance.

It could be argued that offering saver pasengers the chance to express their dining preferences without the guarantee that they would be met could be misleading them by making them think their preference will be met.

It appears that P&O cannot win whatever they choose to do. Are people really suggesting that they should have just one price, probably higher than select? This will remove cruising as a holiday option for many and ships would sail half full and be exclusively for the wealthy. What we have now is not perfect but it is greatly preferable to this scenario.

Hi, doing just a week in the fjords I know we won't want much in the way of currency and am just debating what to do. Can anyone tell me whether the ship makes a charge for each exchange? I am thinking of just getting a small amount on board and then topping it up as I need it. Will only want money for coffees ashore etc. Anything larger I will pay by card.

 

I realise that the exchange rate won't be the best, just think it might be the easiest option. The other question of course, is are there likely to be long queues for currency? I guess it is done at the Customer services desk.

 

Many thanks

Sue

I have never encountered a long queue at reception, possibly because it is manned constantly. Exchange rate is fairly competitive and there is no charge for the service. They do buy back unused currency in the denominations they sell onboard. Please be aware that if you want to buy coffees in Norway, you will need a lot of Norwegian krone.

Some may 'look down their noses' at those on saver fares but I don't think there are many who do. My next 3 cruises are select because the deal at the time of booking was good. I have been on Getaway fares and never felt as though I was thought of as a second class passenger. As Dave says, how do other passengers know unless you yourself tell them.

It makes great sense to give benefits to those who pay the most, after all, for simple economic reasons, P&O prefer people to pay full fare. Possibly the reason popular cruises such as Britannia maiden tend to be reasonably priced is because they sell out to full fare paying passengers with no saver passengers to 'subsidise'. It does appear though that some are happy to pay the least but then want equality of opportunity with those that pay more. Nothing wrong with P&O trying to help people out but they cannot do it in every case.

I agree that the issue is one of personal taste. I don't like the Headliners so rarely will I go to one of their shows. I know a lot of people like their show containing Queen songs, I hated it and quietly slipped out from my seat at the back. One of the best singers I have seen onboard was Rebecca Storm who I thought was excellent (some others didn't) and surprisingly the Bachelors (or what is left of the original group) who were slick, professional and easy to listen to. I agree that Tom O'Connor does an excellent show although I probably would not choose to watch him on TV.

I have been to Bergen a few times and do not recall there ever being shuttle buses provided. It is a 10 -15 minute walk from the commercial docks. There is a hoho tourist bus that picks up at the docks but it is quite expensive and apart from the Bryggen and fish market which are worth further investigation, the round trip is a bit uninspiring.

 

We like late seating and I know this is in less demand than early. If we get assigned early then I'll try to request a change. If they won't allow it I'll try to swap with a couple who have been assigned late but want early. There is no reason under the t's & c's applicable when I booked to prevent me swapping my table allocation with other passengers. However, if they try to apply the "AND CANNOT BE CHANGED" bit retrospectively to disallow table swapping then there'll be trouble.

 

I can imagine that if the restaurant managers are not allowed to accomodate changes for those on Saver fares then there will be many people who think their dining experience has suffered and will withhold their gratuities.

 

I disagree with much of what you have written clivep. Going round passengers asking them to change their dining arrangements to suit you sounds faintly ridiculous and I think it is unfair to put them in an uncomfortable position of having to say no. I cannot imagine what you mean by saying 'there'll be trouble' if you cannot change.

As for suggesting that many people will withold their gratuities to the waiting staff who serve those allocated to their tables just because they have opted to pay a saver fare thereby not being given a choice of sitting, I only hope this doesn't happen because it would be hitting those who have done nothing wrong.

What next? Demanding a suite because you prefer one to the saver fare inside cabin you have booked? Removing gratuities from your steward if you don't get your own way? As I said, faintly ridiculous.

I really don't know the answer to your question but I would have thought either a prior phone call to P&O or asking Cruise Director once on board would help you to find out. I suspect that if anybody has had the experience you want for your niece, it may have been a favour and not normal practice and therefore dependent on the cruise director / theatre group onboard.

I agree that stair and lift allocation is important.

One on my few gripes about Oceana concerns this very thing. From Aft cabins, the lifts and stairs only go to deck 7. To access the MDR and the Atrium, you either have to go down to deck 8, walk past cabins and through either Winners bar or the casino to access the 2 lifts and stairs down to decks 5 and 6 or get out on deck 7 and walk through the photo gallery and Magnums to the two atrium lifts or stairs. Not a problem (but an irritation perhaps) for able bodied people but for those with mobility issues it causes undue difficulty, especially having to manoeuvre wheelchairs in and out of two lifts.

Britannia has to be right otherwise it could be a financial black hole for P&O. Hopefully the central lifts (6 of them) will be properly programmed to make them easily accessible from all decks so stairs become less of a necessity

Hi . Thanks. I feel awful now. I have tried to delete all my post. But can't. I'm not going to mention upgrades anymore. I am happy with my select and early saver fare.

No need to feel awful, nor to delete posts. Comments making reference to 'boring' were made about the proliferation of posts, not about you. I have chosen select fares for my future booked cruises because at the time of booking, this seemed the best option. I have however booked getaways when they existed and had great cruises at great prices.

It would appear that for Ventura cruises in November, which is what OP is enquiring about, cheapest select balcony for 14 nights from Nov 8th is £2099 pp. On that grade, they are offering free airport parking, transfers and £240 obc plus the other select benefits including choice of dinner sitting. The early saver price is £1899 for at best a similar cabin with no benefits. Outside are £1849 select (£160 OBC) and £1679 for early saver. It is possible that saver fares will be available much nearer the time of departure but this is not guaranteed, nor is the amount of discount the saver fare offers.

I know £4000 is a large amount of money, but to be honest, for a fortnight in a balcony cabin in the Caribbean including flights, with the added benefits both financial and the guarantee of cabin and time of dining it seems to be great value.

I completely agree with the above comments regarding the many similar threads asda has started over the last few weeks. Book and pay for the grade of cabin you want. This is the only sure way to get this grade (or higher) and if choice of dining is important, choose the select fare that guarantees this option. Sure it costs more but you are getting a better product with the other benefits thrown in.

Asda, do you have some sort of agenda behind your postings?

If there are valid medical reasons which in this case there are, if you don't get first sitting or freedom dining you should see maître D in main dining room once you are settled onboard. You shouldn't need a £10 note as previously suggested. Alternative dining areas are available. The Plaza is a buffet that usually has themed nights where you just turn up and help yourself. Great views of the sea as it is at front of the ship. Cafe Jardin is excellent and good value at £5:25 I think. Also good for light breakfast and lunch for free. Horizon grill is also great and again good value at £8:50. In good weather, you eat outside, in poor weather, they use a separate area of the Plaza. You will need to book the 2 speciality restaurants so best to book early.

If your car parking has been booked with P&O it will be with CPS. You turn up at the terminal and they will unload your car, take your luggage to be loaded onto the ship and drive your car away. It is a short walk to check in but if you have a wheelchair there should be no problem.

Have a great cruise.

The answer to both questions is no, at least it didn't last week. A mini cruise may be different but I doubt it. That said, it is a great place to eat and the £5:25 cover charge for the evening meal is great value. The chocolate mousse is to die for!

You don't need to claim loyalty points, they are added automatically once the cruise is completed no matter how you book.

When you book via phone with P&O do you receive documentation stating the cost of the cruise and payments made?

 

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They send an email usually within minutes with the booking confirmation which includes cost, payment made and balance due amongst other things. The system has always worked well for me and the agents who answer the phone are always helpful, professional and UK based.

We returned the day before on Oceana and there were absolutely no problems. This was at about 8:30 though.

Apart from some reservations about the ability/need to book tables in all restaurants (how will it work in practice, Celebrity get around it by putting a limit on the number of tables that can be booked in advance leaving some capacity for impromptu diners, will RCI?) it all seems good to me. I have long believed that in the era of multiple choices Club dining would eventually be discontinued; it seems wasteful of resources to leave tables empty, reserved for diners who have chosen to dine elsewhere. It is also logical to discontinue mandatory Black Tie evenings in favour of restricting this code to certain restaurants, leaving those who wish to dress formally able to do so in the company of like minded people and those who do not to dine elsewhere; this is effectively the case at present.

It seems a little silly to radically change a system that does not seem to be broken. Unless this new system is fully thought through, I can see people wandering around looking for a restaurant that has a table, loads of people sitting in bars with pagers waiting for their table to be ready, diners rushed in order to free up their table for somebody else and people having to use restaurants they would not normally want to use because there is nothing else left. All in the pursuit of choice!

It may be slightly wasteful to have empty tables in club dining restaurants but in order for this new system to work, there will have to be extra capacity built in which means empty tables. If there are 3000 diners, I guess there must be at least 3500 covers needed across the restaurants as a whole to allow it to offer a realistic choice.

I only wear formal dress on cruises. One of the great things about formal nights is that the large majority are dressed in this way. If this becomes a small minority, it won't be long before it disappears completely and take away one of the traditions of cruising.

I completely agree that internet charges are high but do recognise that if they were not so high, more people would use the internet on board and the system couldn't cope. O2 have started a scheme to opt into that gives a certain amount of data for £1:99 (about 6 minutes on P&O). You don't get a huge amount of time (but much more than 6 minutes and less frustrating) but it is good for checking emails and looking at a few websites. They let you know when you are reaching your limit in case you want another £1:99's worth. It can only be used in port when a land based mobile signal is available but it is certainly a better deal than P&O and much quicker. I guess other providers have similar schemes so it is worth investigating.

I phoned them to discuss something else related to the booking and asked whether cabins had been allocated yet. She said yes and told me cabin number. emails should go out today but not a promise.

I have to say the system has worked for me. Been allocated an excellent cabin for the maiden cruise, probably one of the best positioned in the cabin type. Only problem is I have a year to wait.

Oops! Just realised we haven't been given a deck. It just says GUAR. As long as I get a balcony I don't mind. C deck would be nice tho! ;).

If you have paid for a balcony, you will get one - if not, you won't. The deck it is on is completely down to P&O's choice. Let's hope you are lucky.