Megabear2

That will still rule me out then as my boarding time is 4.00pm!!

I've had this passport problem for years. I'm nearly 9 years into my current one yet P&O put in the number of the one before that and ironically they tell me it probably came across on the computer from Cunard account! In recent days I've lost my access to my cruise history as well, since I checked in my two soon departing cruises. Re the label issue, since the restart I'd been using my travel agent friend and the labels remained grey until 48 hous before sailing due to something internal in P&Os system stating there was a balance outstanding. These two last minute bargains I did direct with P&O on an impulse and labels appeared for printing immediately after I checked I. Could be coincidence but possibly the blitch is still there .

That's very interesting, I'll look into it. I had assumed following speaking to P&O last year they had just dropped out. My aunt was Ligurian as they'd done 10 World cruises but as she'd not sailed P&O for 9 years when my uncle became ill and they lost a large world cruise deposit when I checked on her behalf I was told she'd gone back to Caribbean and her history shows exactly like mine with "not eligible" beside a swathe of sailings. Strangely her Princess status still counts everyone of her P&o cruises and she still ranks as one of their highest nights onboard guests. I cannot currently access my history on my account. Clicking past sailings just takes me to rewards page. Once it sorts itself I'll screenshot it and speak to them, it's not a crises and I'm not too worried about the status although the extra discount would be welcome on my excursions, having just forked out £305 for one in La Spezia!

Red card, you naughty boy

I believe Moley stated somewhere that single to single should only be one fee. Mind you looking at how many cruises are showing inside cabins unavailable there's either been a stampede of people taking them because they are being offered at silly money or lots of people are planning on trying their luck.

Unfortunately I lost 2 years cruising in my six years like everyone else so really its 4 I suppose. At the moment if I cruise on My History I just get taken to the Rewards Page so nothing shows. However I know from a couple of weeks ago that I had six 7 night cruises not counting where it says not eligible - they go back about 13 years - but I think the points were lost when Portunus became Peninsular. If I recall rightly you got thrown out of the club if you didn't sail P&O for x amount of years and as I say I was sailing mostly with Cunard (I was my mum's cruise companion for 8 years) at that time. I also do a lot of transatlantic crossings on QM2 and use her as my bus home from visiting friends in Texas and Florida via lots of shopping and a show in New York! Most of my P&O cruises are 14 to 25 days with the odd 7 nighter nowadays so I'm making inroads now the pandemic is hopefully past us.

Thank you for your confidence, however I'm not yet Caribbean, my next cruise ticks me over. A very large amount of my cruise history with P&O is marked not eligible I assume because my earlier cruises were 7 days under Portunus and as such didn't accumulate points. Most of my cruising until 6 years ago was Cunard and I am diamond with them.

That's a very sweeping statement! How many were actually onboard, was this the cruise with the 800+ children over Easter on the one which ended Saturday 22nd April? The ship has two "capacity" loads officially so I'm assuming you are referring to the extra bunks etc being in use as the ship wouldn't legally be able to sail "over capacity". I guess I'll find out myself very soon as I'm due on both Iona and Arvia in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for your review, were there any positives to cheer me up.

Thank you, that's very good to know. I've spoken to P&O this morning and the lady is sending the form which takes 24 hours to get here so should be in the timeframe. I felt a bit guilty so good to know I can cancel if not needed - fingers crossed no overlong queues. She did mention they are being very strict on boarding times but noted as I'm getting a lift and live nearby she thought arriving just after 3.00pm woukd be okay. She also said even if it's not a mobility issue per se they'd rather know in case of a real emergency as I might have a problem in queuing for muster which I'd never thought of, apparently even things like partial deafness is best to tell them. As a matter of interest how do they allocate times once the "posh" have boarded? My Iona real cheap very late booking inside deck 5 I have 12.30 time, yet this one select and upgraded to deck 9 I've got 4.00pm.

Look in your itinerary. Apart from internet it will show day by day, time place etc. Underneath it says My Orders and a summary shows of everything you've paid for, including payment details.

Might have changed this year but there was a massive shortage of taxi and chauffeur drivers last year with many bookings cancelled at very late notice including my own from central Rome to Civitavecchia to board my cruise on Celebrity. As most on here know I had cause to be in Rome a lot between July and September and taxi transport was the big bugbear every time either cancelling or turning up late. I didn't fair too well with prebooked trips from the airport to central Rome either with three no shows and one advance cancellation. Uber was good, I prebooked with them several times and they always turned up at the agreed price. However short notice on the day bookings were always at the premium rate, eg from the main station area to the Vatican would be almost treble the price in a taxi! I'm in Rome in September and prices are still extremely high at around €200 each way to Civitavecchia by taxi with the airport company suggested elsewhere in this thread at €350 return. If anyone is going to use this company please be aware there are already messages about book now for August/September due to capacity issues.

Have just been allocated 4.00pm, last boarding 4.30pm boarding time for my Arvia May cruise. Not a major problem with that but currently I have some problems standing for periods in excess of 10 minutes or so as I get dizzy and start to feel sick - a side effect from my recent head injury - I've currently got a hidden disabilities tag from my GP to assist at the airport when I fly. I have seen previously reports that check in has on quite a few occasions over run considerably and people have had to queue outside for very long periods which I would have severe difficulties with at present. Has anyone experienced any of these problems on the recent cruises departing Southampton and if so were people able to use seats for the waiting period or just left to get on with it? It was suggested I call P&O as possibly i could get assistance which would ensure a seat while waiting but I'm unsure if I'd qualify? Any information/ideas much appreciated. Thanks p.s. just discovered the "wonderful" new AI voice assistant on the telephone at P&O. My goodness that's scary and can't answer anything! Has my friend ICF been asking P&O to add a new upgrade for those who love apps???

I'm afraid they've been deleted, see above they couldn't be merged without the whole thread. I'll try to give you my figures again on bargain offers.

My husband or I vacuum every day, steam weekly and carpet wash every six weeks. My hard floors and bathroom are mopped every other day with the Flash speed mop every day. My cleaner deep cleans the whole bungalow weekky as well. I would expect my cabin floors to be vacuumed at least every other day and from my experience they normally are.

That's apparently not the case on every cruise though! Seems to be a cunning plan ...

In Brodies fighting for a chair for the latter! Isn't bingo in the afternoons, I'm sure I saw someone yesterday asking about it on one of the recent threads. I was going to direct him to Yorkypete but thought better of it!!!

I was very interested in this information as last year I was virtually commuting from Rome to Civitavecchia while my aunt was hospitalised. There was a severe shortage of taxi drivers/chauffeurs and prices were as I say around the €200 each way. As I am in Rome once more in August I've just checked your suggested company. They are cheaper but unfortunately prices are very much increased on your experience as the attached shows.

I'd say the complete opposite of Selbourne (sorry it's becoming a habit today). When you say flexibility you presumably mean if you aren't ready by 6.30 you can go a little later or earlier. With the flexible dining you can actually book a table for the same time in the same restaurant on your first night if its timed up to 6.30pm. Therefore if your parents wanted to dine early every day at a regular time they could and you could join them as and when. Obviously you don't all have to eat at the same time every day if you don't wish. By doing this everyone can be flexible - assuming you're all happy to be a unit. Of Britannia's three dining rooms only one is club dining nowadays so the flexibility option would in my experience offer you the easiest opportunity to drop in and out time wise. Of course your parents may prefer the club dining as they wish to dine with others, but they could also have the option to share in the freedom dining rooms when you do not wish to dine together. The staff on Britannia are in my experience very welcoming to young children in all the restaurants and will bend over backwards to help where they can.

From Civitavecchia to central Rome last year in July was €200 each way. I had to pay it following a medical emergency. Incidentally Uber charge was coming in at just under €400 in June when my pre booked transfer let me down. Luckily my t/a sourced another transfer which came in around £150 paid by her in UK. The journey depending on traffic is between 1 hour and 1 1/2 hours.

Yes, I was referring to those. The suite guests and Yacht Club etc have separate venues, including deck space etc. In my opinion far more "class" driven than Cunard who get a very bad press about separate areas. The whole of the front of Celebrity Edge open deck was handed over to Retreat guests.

Yes, it works like RCL. There's a very big upselling of the speciality restaurants though and unless you reserve a time bu buying before boarding you may well not get in the speciality restaurants. Some on Edge had dining until 10.30pm

Same for me, even on Christmas day last year. Lovely food and wine but not a spot on the years before.

ICF without wishing to sound rude your dining in Michelin starred restaurants etc is a personal choice, you pay your money and take it. Unless you cruise extremely high end like Ponant or some of those lines its totally irrelevant in this sphere. I'm sure that very many on here can boast about their high end hotels, restaurants etc but choose not too. And yes, I've dined very high end in the Middle and Far East so appreciate the cost. Re Orient Express it's great but more an experience to spend pots of money on if you want what you see on the films. There's pleb class on their and also on the trains across Australia, Canada, US etc. I shared a toilet/washbasin (no shower) for 4 days whilst travelling on one of these "luxury" trains! When I said traditional on Cunard I meant orchestras, big bands, opera singers, book festivals, board games, jigsaw puzzles, harpists, violins, lectures etc not the food. Burgh Island is great. I've stayed there three times for my birthday, the last two times in the covid Summers as I like to call them.

On the Edge class vessels there are four MDRs, these are small intimate spaces not great huge affairs. Each of these four restaurants has a different menu/food type ie Italian, steak house, Greek and French. On top of this there are 5 additional restaurants you can buy a dining package for or buy on a single basis. There is also the Dinner on the Edge which utilises the Magic Carpet and Raw on 5 which are not available as part of the package. They aren't cheap, I recall around $60pp if booked individually, but the packages work out to around $45 a meal. If you took the package the gratuity which Celebrity charge at 20% is included. However the dining package is very often given away in your booking along with OBC, wifi and the drinks package. We had this last year and have it for Christmas as well. The lead price is however far higher than P&O. Cruising with my husband or a friend I'd choose Celebrity over P&O for the food, cruising alone I'd choose P&O. That said I'd return to Cunard alone or with my husband and the food there is very good at the included level. Unlike Selbourne I've sailed with Cunard for many years and don't really rate Club Britannia for value although it remains to be seen what it offers on QA. If I was going to spend lots of money based on the dining experience it would have to br the Grills every time. You need to remember the current three Queens are dignified older ladies offering a calm and traditional experience and I have a feeling most definitely not your cup of tea.

Depends on which ship and itinerary. I monitor a lot of cruise lines for bargains as I book at short notice on a whim (always have done!) and my experience is the biggest price drops normally occur 6-8 weeks before sailing. Depending on the popularity then you can see odd decreases/increases. For instance I booked Arvia for mid May on 31/3 to ensure I received my welcome back OBC. Fares were from £849 on that date, earlier this week they dropped £50 to £799 but overnight Thursday they went back up to £849 and remain there, today advertised at over £1,100 for the last odd cabins. Over the years I've found a good way to gauge the fares is to look at the lowest prices the similar itinerary drops to, I do this for several months if I have something in mind and I also look at which cabins remain until the price drops begin, normally I do this fortnightly to judge how sales have been going. For instance once Iona/Arvia aft cabins are all sold the odds on a saver fare being deck 8 multiply at week 10 because normally the number of "decent" cabins on select fare have reduced to clusters here and there. The lowest price this year has been around £599 inside saver on 14 night Arvia cruises but as we are moving into more desirable times weather wise so £799 seems to be the near norm lowest offering. Iona 7 nights are hovering between lead price £399 and £449. The remainder of the fleet are not so easy to gauge but on the whole Britannia comes in around lead prices of £449 upwards for her 7 night fjords to £1,299 upwards on her 14 night Med and Scandinavian cruises. Ventura, Arcadia and Aurora are rules to themselves but definitely the Azura fly cruises of 14 nights are not the bargain basement offering they were last year, assumedly due to flight costs and the airports being more organised. It's not a precise measure but has stood me in good stead over the past years. I have, however, noted this year that although the headline saver fares are often hundreds and even thousands less than the select fare once you move up cabin type the bargains tend to be fewer and also the select fare cut off price drop remains the same. Using J307 as a random example a deluxe balcony saver is currently from £2,598 whilst the select is from £4,398 with £480 OBC so still a minimum £1,320 more for select. If you choose a better location the price rises accordingly with a mid balcony on a preferred floor generally rise by around £200 to £300 more. So in answer to your question, depends on how much I feel like taking a gamble on location, if it's a sudden desire to get away to anywhere and if I don't mind which ship or where it's going.