Fatchemist

Rather unhelpfully, the flights FAQ in the personaliser says you need to contact the airline directly to purchase extra baggage, but doesn't give details, even for Tui, never mind Maleth.  Not much use I'm afraid!

Well, I endured the hour long wait on the phone to  P&O and finally have the details. Just in case anyone else has been looking for this, those on Tui flights wanting to book extra baggage allowance need to call Tui on 0204 578 0995, 3-5 days before departure quoting their booking reference. No indication on cost though. 

We have a confirmed Tui flight for our Arvia cruise departing 11/11/2023. We want to book additional baggage allowance and the information on the personaliser  says we have to contact Tui, but gives no number. All contact numbers I can find on the Tui site relate to direct bookings with Tui and don't get me anywhere.  Does anyone have the correct contact number for this? 

On 6/19/2020 at 8:45 PM, john watson said:

I tried to cancel my Holiday Inn Herbert Walker Avenue but was on non-cancellable.  The lady advised me that because I had another cruise booked I can transfer my booking to a night before the new sail date.  However because it is over twelve months ahead of now it is not possible to book.  She advised phoning to transfer within 12 months prior to the new date but before the old date was due to occur. So I have a specific time frame to phone within to facilitate this.

 

Regards John

I also had a non-cancellable booking at the same hotel for April 11th.  Once my cruise was confirmed as cancelled, I assumed the money was lost, but contacted them on line to confirm I would be a no-show. However, the hotel called me a couple of days later to say they were closing to all but essential worker bookings and said I would be refunded. Money was back in my account shortly after.  I'm guessing there was a policy change at some point. 

14 hours ago, Son of Anarchy said:

 

I tried a dummy booking earlier today.  The FCC didn't show up, would have had to have provided credit card details.  I'll be setting aside a morning as well....

No joy for me either when I tried a dummy booking.  I've sent an e-mail to P&O asking the question, just in case someone there might provide clarification, but I'm not expecting a quick answer under current circumstances.  So, it's on to the long hold on the phone sometime soon...

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll try both. If the dummy booking doesn't work, I'll set aside a morning to hold on the phone, just in case!!

Someone can correct me (it would be most welcome!), but I feel the situation regarding FCC is unclear. I'm affected by the latest round of cancellations, and would like to re-book.  I know the full details of what I want to book so could easily do this online right now, but its not clear to me that if I go ahead whether the FCC is there straightaway.  I'm just wary that if it isn't, my new booking is classed as an existing one that I cannot use the FCC against. 

I see Arcadia has now berthed in Durban harbour. I too am supposed to be on the April 12th cruise, but it's beginning to look more and more unlikely she will be back in time, even if P&O still had some vain hope the cruise could go ahead. 

Our concern is that with a fairly long drive south, we'll need a couple of stops, and leaving cases unattended in the car is a bit of a concern, especially as they won't all fit in the boot, so will be visible.  Secondly, we're staying overnight in Southampton, and this will save us lugging cases in and out of the hotel.  I agree with others about creasing - we did a trip a few years ago where we visited a couple of cities in the US, followed by a cruise out of New York. We had a separate case for the cruise leg which was packed before and left unopened until we were on the ship. We had no major issues with creasing, even my formal suit was fine., and that case had been on three separate flights and in and out of various cars, trains and hotels.

Thanks to all for the replies. I'm also in the North and can probably live with up to a week in advance so sounds like I should be OK. I do like the idea of travelling light down to Southampton, and we're usually ready to pack early anyway.

We're thinking of using the Baggage Handling Company for our forthcoming cruise. Can anyone advise how many days ahead of the cruise they typically pick up the luggage? Their website doesn't seem to provide this information, and they indicate the actual pick up is only confirmed nearer the departure date.  

I had issues with it last night, it was not available for several hours, same "we are preparing your holiday...." as mentioned before. I was trying to book our flight seats, along with those for friends on a separate booking. Access to their personaliser was also problematic.  I finally got access on both accounts much later on, and fortunately managed to book our seats. I have sent a message to P&O who have got back to say they're investigating, so we shall see what they have to say... 

Has anyone any experience of booking flight seats for linked bookings? We're travelling with friends and have linked our cruise bookings, but does this means one of us will be able to book all the plane seats in one go? I'm rather hoping we don't have to resort to pot luck to we can get seats together if we have to book separately.

I've often wondered (but never tried!!) if you could leave a heavy hand luggage bag with someone whilst you checked in, as the hand luggage checks often only happen at the check in desk.

As an additional point, my hand luggage bags have always been checked for P&O charters, and I did witness a solo traveller checking in at Manchester for a Tui flight to Barbados last year having to re-arrange lots of items from hand luggage to check in bag and then, to add insult to injury, being charged excess baggage as the check in bags were then over whatever allowance they had. 

Just been digging around the P&O Q&A sections on luggage allowance for fly cruises, and noted the current page (link below) concerning the direct transfer of luggage to the ship says details of the system are NOT confirmed for the 2019 Mediterranean and 2019/20 Caribbean seasons.  One of the nice benefits I find, but perhaps a potential victim of Brexit or has this always been confirmed closer to the season?

https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/flights/baggage_transfer 

I note if you want to buy excess baggage allowance with Tui the P&O advice says to call 3-5 days before your flight. Has anyone managed to book extra baggage before this time? I like to be organised and this is a bit last minute for me!

We booked this on the Britannia transatlantic last year, but due to VERY strong winds after leaving the Azores it had to be cancelled. Slight upside was that we got a refund and the offer to visit the bridge when things had settled down. Even just a visit to the bridge was fascinating, Capt Brown very informative and there's so much you don't realise just about this aspect. My favourite is that there's a backup bridge on board should disaster strike the main bridge. We also still got a free photo. I'm definitely going to try the full tour again next time!

Look at this another way. We all agree that having adequate travel insurance is essential. However, travel insurers may refuse to cover some aspects of a claim if part of the cost could have been covered by the EHIC and you didn't have it with you. If you have suitable travel insurance (including cruises) and you find the EHIC is not valid then your travel insurance will cover you. For that reason, I'd always take it with me just in case.

Admittedly almost two years ago now, so hopefully this has not changed, but we got to know someone who required gluten free on Britannia. Like others have said, each night they showed her the following days MDR menu so she could choose. I seem to recall they even adapted items where possible so that they would be gluten free. I recall she was most impressed by the way this was handled - they even managed to find her when we chose to dine in the Beach House one night - and she easily found gluten free in the buffet as well.

Slightly late to this, but, due to the current improvement works at Manchester Terminal 2, there can be considerable delays on the roads around and into the terminal. It's worth allowing for this.

As for check-in, it was open at the three hour mark when we used it. If you're concerned about queues through security, consider the fast track pass. More money I know, but they did have an offer of 2 for £7.50 via the Airport website (its £5 each normally).

I've booked to go on the Transatlantic cruise next year A805. I'm told by my TA that there is a coach transfer included from Southampton back to Manchester and that this will be sorted out once on board Azura. Can anyone who has done this in the past confirm this or should I contact P&O directly to confirm this?

My understanding is that you need to confirm before you sail that you need the transfer. We certain!y did for the TA we did earlier this year. I'm surprised your TA didn't realise this. Sometimes P&O won't deal with you if you're booked through a TA but you can at least call customer services to check if you do need to book this in advance.

Something like this?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Syncwire-Interchangeable-Adaptor-Lifetime-Warranty-Bank-White/dp/B011KPRE1G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500307247&sr=8-1&keywords=usb+charger

 

Brian

Not the exact one I bought, but looks like the same thing. They're not a surge protection device as far as I know, just a multiple usb outlet version of your typical device charger, converting mains to the usual usb charging output.

I've read that but I used to take an extension lead without any problem. Only used it when we were in the cabin. Now we take a multi-charger with the CE logo and it's within the rules and much quicker anyway

For those with multiple ipads, phones, tablets, cameras etc., I'd back this suggestion up - I've started using an adapter with 4 USB charging sockets, even at home, plus you can get them with different interchangeable adapters for different countries. Much smaller than a 4 way extension socket and last time I looked only around £10-15.

We had a champagne waterfall on Britannia last year, although it was her first birthday and they made something of the occasion. There was also a cake in the form of the ship. We didn't get any of the champagne or cake though! Back on her this year and no champagne waterfall, so my guess is that they're reserved for special occasions.

Hi, we flew on the 767 out of Gatwick to Barbados in March.

 

Perfectly happy with the seating, especially as, travelling as a couple, the 767 has the benefit of 2-4-2 seating, so no need to share with a stranger, as you would have to in economy on the 787.

 

We were lucky to get economy seats in the front portion of the plane just behind the PE seating, so was relatively quiet, and made for a quick disembarkation upon landing. The PE seats did not seem any different to the economy seats on the 767, and so you appear to be paying for the extra service rather than anything fancy with regards to seating.

Just to add to this - we flew Thomsons 767 out to the TA on Britannia in March and sat in the same area. Someone sat near us asked a member of the cabin crew about something on the entertainment system and was given a reply along the lines of "what do you expect from a 16 year old plane?" The response said as much about the cabin crew (who, apart from one, didn't seem overly bothered) as the plane itself, which I found just OK.

Having experienced the Dreamliner last year, I'd say I found it a little better but wouldn't get over fussed if it wasn't available for any future flights.