Megabear2

Despite Britannia being my favourite P&O ship I've never stayed at the aft. I'm now looking at her 4th and 18th August Mediterranean cruises with my friend. Last year we stayed in an aft wake view cabin on Celebrity Edge and my friend is keen to have a similar position this year if possible. I know the cabins on deck 15 have the canopy which makes them totally shaded. Are the lower decks also completely in shade as well? 4th August available decks are 8, 10, 11 and 15 18 August available decks are 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 Any thoughts on these much appreciated. Obviously they are school holiday cruises so we anticipate using the balcony a lot and my friend is a sun baby! Thank you.

The trouble with Dubrovnik is not just the ships or size of them. It's also Game of Thrones which is why they are looking to limit the numbers visiting. There are restrictions being planned. I love Dubrovnik even when it's crowded, much the same as I love Venice. It will be a very sad day if the former goes the way of the latter although I do see why. The problem isn't limited to the ships unfortunately or even the number of them, a lot of the problem is the Snapchat generation and travel guides making things in Europe "must see" and fashionable. We are all the problem as we want to see these sites, it's just different as far more people have access nowadays with cheap flights or cruises.

What's it like in the day on Iona?

Two recent posters on the boards have reported noise issues on Deck 15 of Arvia, both for balcony and insides cabins. It might be wise to avoid that deck just in case. Try to get a cabin with cabins above and below you whichever position you choose. Personally I love high up forward but many hate the movement. Also aft facing cabins are fabulous but you will hear some noise and vibration there, and again if you aren't sure of your sea legs something to consider.

Is that planned or was the roof stuck like it apparently was on the transatlantic crossing?

Ironic to say the least, surely you were helping doing the "ruining"?

The £869 saver fare inside and is for the repositioning cruise for 14 nights I believe. The other cabins aren't reduced so much and its over £1000 more for the select fare. The headline figures sound good, the reality of select fares is a bit different.

After all the discussions on food supplies a couple of months ago I searched wholesale suppliers in a 50 mile radius of Southampton supplying wholesale food to ships. There seem to be a lot. Who were the food supplier that collapsed? Surely that was some time ago. A quick look at the internet shows a lot of food supplies companies with the P&O cruises logo listed so assumedly they are now sourcing food elsewhere. Is the problem of shortages because the UK has more shortages than other companies? I have even see a specialist seafood wholesaler offering fish to cruise lines exclusively so prawns and things should be available. I think that keeping the headline price down has become more important to P&O rather than raising them significantly as other cruise lines have done. If it works and people fill the ships with the product as it is we won't see any changes.

Thank you. Yes, I checked it out and saw no observatory. I'm looking into the same trip I booked previously but this time independently.

Imports from Italy I was told on Celebrity. I wanted to know why they were called escargots if they were Italian but the waiter didn't know what la lumaca was. They were in the French themed restaurant as well, perhaps I should write a review complaining about it.

The prawns of course would most liked be unavailable there either as they are coldwater prawns not warm water. In the supermarkets cooked and prepared prawns are either Canadian or Greenland for cold water or Thai or Vietnamese for warm water (King prawns etc). Uncooked prawns are all from the latter two. Unfortunately the UK has a pretty appalling agreement with the EU on fish despite all the promises to sort it by 2021 or at least that's what the Brixham fishermen tell me. As an aside on shellfish: approximately 10,000 tonnes of whelks are caught annually in the Bristol Channel and exported to Asia. Whelks and cockles are apparently on the list of the UK's top exports. Sadly as a result we can't even suggest P&O offer whelk salads as a substitute for prawn cocktails.

Excellent prawns and by jove I spy a pretty white coaster there as well! Great result.

Thank you, no I haven't. Only thing I've done outside the main town was a trip to see the Spanish Riding School many years ago, is Jerez the home of sherry?

For all the jokes about prawns I did get the Glass House ones in the first week of my cruise and very nice they were too! However by day 7 they'd all gone swimming never to be seen again. Perhaps they went to find the lobster from Epicurean who apparently never made it onboard either...

Yes we are! How exciting. I've tried three times to go to the observatory, twice cruises cancelled by covid and then the business with my aunt last year. I shall get straight on it! Thank you.

Well that's interesting. Presumably the first of the responses on feedback that Moley referred to a couple of weeks back.

Are you on 18th March trip? I haven't looked at the sailing time for Tenerife so didn't realise there may be an evening trip.

Thank you. I assume then it's walkable as Fionboard says above? I'm hoping to do something in the evening so walkable sounds ideal!

Thank you. The berth for Lisbon is something called JTab on What's in Port which rather confused me! I assume it is called something else.

Not having sailed Iona nor having been to the Canaries for 13 years I wonder if anyone can give me an idea what to expect! First thing: itinerary is Madeira, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Cadiz and Lisbon overnight. Question: which ports will I need a shuttle for - I'm on a saver so need to pay. Question: When I booked for Canaries last October (cancelled due to my aunt's situation) there was a trip to the solar observatory on a day trip. This doesn't seem to exist via P&O on my trip. Has anyone done this independently and if so how difficult is it to do? Question: No idea what to do I Gran Canaria and Lanzarote, any ideas gratefully received! Question: Cadiz, never been at this time of year, what should I expect weatherwise? Suggestions for where to go for something other than a stroll around which I normally do would be great. Question: Lisbon. I love this city but have never stayed overnight. As I'm travelling alone any suggestions on something to do there that's both safe and uncomplicated - I'm fine for daytime activities. If anyone has ideas or can point me to information which might be useful I'd be extremely grateful. Thank you

You can download an app from your mobile phone providers store. Most are compatible on all smartphones and are free. They are useful in supermarkets as the QR codes often carry excellent health and nutrition details if the labels are a bit vague.

Thank you for the explanation. Just to note again I do not have social media accounts and my comments on reviews refer only to CC reviewers and P&O's direct link to Feefo. I totally agree with your observations about how many trivial and downright wrong things are listed on social media - that's why I have no accounts myself, preferring to read more reliable sources.

I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I'm not sure why you've decided to quote me though?

I'm not suggesting that everything is wrong. I am however pointing to Cruise Critic reviews recently posted which have a common theme of the food quality and selection being the let down. I do not use social media, I do however read the reviews on this site (not just on the P&O boards), Feefo and via the travel trade press to get an overall feel for cruise passengers experiences. Most of the reviews over on the Cruise Critic review section are currently 3* which is nowhere near where they were previously and I'm sure would be worrying to P&O who are strithing to be 4* plus. Likewise Moley has said P&O are operating below standard. That acknowledgement is not me or anyone else stating they are not as happy as they could be with the product. It is the unofficial P&O mole who kindly updates people here of what is being discussed in Carnival House. Frankly there's nothing to be gained by turning on me for asking if it is known which of the issues P&O are hoping to address first. I'm just one individual and I doubt that the acknowledgment of slipped standards has anything at all to do with me! I appreciate that a great many don't wish to query if this is the best that can be expected but others do have opinions and it is clearly those unknown parties who are writing the reviews. For my part I've booked three P&O cruises, two of them in recent days. I therefore have an interest in what if any improvements I might see in the immediate, near and further future.

Thank you for that information. I note the hope we can expect improvements in time which appears to be an acknowledgment that many of the things we have been discussing here are facts rather than us just being nitpicking. Is there an order for addressing the issues, ie the supply issue is presumably more urgent than say finding and training staff. The new menus onboard are clearly quite contentious for instance, are the passengers being listened to - there is a repeated reference in reviews of the lack of choice and quality. Whilst appreciating all lines are adjusting menus to save food costs, P&O really do appear to be at the bottom of the pile at present, words like bland, repetitive, tough and stale make uncomfortable reading on the review pages and social media. It's not a pretty picture. The customers would I'm sure appreciate honesty and possibly a proper statement by Paul Ludlow or someone high up to let them know how things are going to improve and most importantly by when.