Megabear2

You clip your access card or the card from the organisation to it. I recall Vampiress mentioning she has the access card, she could therefore use the lanyard although it's a choice. The lanyard is acknowledged worldwide. Obviously they are not printed as they represent dozens of illnesses and disabilities. One use for instance is access to disability lavatories for people with bowel issues to save embarrassing confrontations. https://hdsunflower.com/uk/

It's been in existence since 2016 when Gatwick first adopted it. It is extremely well advertised particularly on transport. P&O apparently issue it and support its wearing. Not new or badly advertised, in a lot of cases (not yours) assumed to be irrelevant.

And there in a nutshell is my point. Not many lanyards with cruise cards are like these, which are officially recognised throughout the country. Sadly many say they don't know they exist.

????

So you ignore the lanyards then?

You try getting the ignorant people to move their suitcases because I can assure you they don't. In fact they are more likely to rudely announce there's stairs over there mate. I can't speak for others but standing in a cramped crowded space with lifts stopping at every floor isn't actually a good thing with what can be chronic low blood pressure early morning. I do have a lot of sympathy for the wheelchair user (I've said before my mother used one) but at least it is visible to all. As I said we no longer go for breakfast as the problems cause too much anguish.

My husband wears a lanyard and also carries a card. Basically he has two valves fused in his heart. He has an extremely strong heart muscle but a restricted blood flow meaning his heartbeat and blood pressure can at certain times of the day be very poor. Walking up and down stairs restricts the blood flow leading to a high chance of collapse. However other strenuous activities have no effect. Basically three rules: don't get cold, don't carry weight and avoid stairs unless a matter of emergency.

It is very difficult. Obviously you can see a wheelchair/mobility scooter but in my husband's case you can't exactly show your two missing heart valves. Everyone unfortunately is very judgmental and unfortunately nowadays it's all too easy to cause hurt and embarrassment. I cannot walk upstairs but I always walk down. The truth is lifts are for everyone and when large numbers are moving around such as at disembarkation it is inevitable there will be problems. The large suitcases take up an awful lot of room and often the people in control of them just park them to gain maximum space. Personally I'd like to see the self disembark period ending 30 minutes before cabin release time but no doubt those who use the facility would say that's unfair. It's a very contentious matter but I agree the amount of people who do not believe someone has a hidden disability has grown in recent times.

Well there are apparently over 100 on Arvia so you never know you might find out. If the ship is full no one can move, you're stuck with it. During my fiasco the cabin steward and deck manager didn't need telling of the problems. They knew already from the previous cruises and were actually waiting for me when I came out if my cabin. They could do nothing with the best will in world. If the ship is full, that's it.

I totally agree. Never able to access lifts on disembarkation day due to every lift being rammed with people with large suitcases. We encounter the "you should walk" brigade on every P&O cruise which is nigh on impossible for a man with fibromyalgia, ME and a myocardial bridge! The hidden disabilities lanyard holds no sway with these guys, so goodness knows how a wheelchair user gets on. We used to try to go up for breakfast in the buffet but the strain over getting two lifts quite simply became too much. Now we skip breakfast, full stop. I simply do not believe Jean has never encountered lifts where they see wheelchair users etc unable to get in.

I'm sure you'll enjoy yourselves, in fact I think even if you absolutely hated aspects of it you'd have a wonderful time. I wasn't suggesting you won't merely pointing out that on a 35 night cruise the whole affair will be a different vibe. The long cruises are calmer, more laid back. To give you an idea there are a large number of contributors to this forum on that cruise so a lot of them are the very people you're banishing!

Well I cannot think of anything worse than being forced to only travel on adults only ships and as a 68 year old assume you are telling me that's where I belong! There's also the cost, not every pensioner has pots of disposable cash but with your thinking they aren't going to be catered for on non adult only ships - entertainment etc. You tell me constantly your very budget conscious is that now only exclusive to your age group and below then? Iona and Arvia are multi generational. They need entertainment for all age groups. You seem to be living some pipe dream that your younger generation are going to fill these ships on their own which is complete garbage. If you actually make it to Iona for 35 nights you just might be in for a shock.

One swallow doesn't make a summer though ... the problem seems to be you overthink everything when it comes to cruising. That lady's had her experiences but they aren’t reflective of everyone else who may have sailed those two ships. Everyone is different, every crowd is different, every group of passengers is different ... you can't put people in pigeon holes because it simply isn't possible. Age, like everything is not relevant. If you try to stop overthinking what your fellow guests are experiencing you might actually find it is quite simple. Everyone wants FUN but in their own way.

Is this Arvia Caribbean? If so which date.

I believe it's to try to prevent partisan arguments. We had a lot on our last Britannia cruise which coincided with the World Cup final and the boxing day fixtures. Unfortunately some very inebriated people in the face of others (me included) and picking arguments. I am a very passionate football fan but most of the pubs and bars I frequent in central London away from the immediate ground areas have a ban on football shirts just for that reason.

The problem is they also say further down the page. Talk about confusing Evening Dining dress codes For our non-formal evenings, we have an Evening Casual dress code. Smart-casual is best - we recommend dark denim, trousers, skirts, shirts, or dresses. No tracksuits, football shirts or trainers please.

Yes, she's on Britannia.

My friend sails on 30 December and still nothing there either!

There's usually a list in the main menu but I always ask the sommelier and he/she produces tye correct page. Generally they are at the back, never had a cruise on Cunard where there hasn't been any.

The bin ends are always good value too. We have had some superb wines that way.

I was indeed above the club house. It was an upgrade despite my stating jo upgrades and I was told take it or leave it.

I'm delighted you aren't considering cancelling based on others experiences. I get very nervous of mentioning my experience since at the time I received comments that upset me greatly and was accused of making people cancel, it was a horrendous personal experience made worse. I hope you have a great New Year cruise.

I can confirm my deck 9 aft small balcony was horrendous and the noise unfortunately on occasion did not end until 1.00am. I was not alone with the complaint, witnessing very many people complaining vociferously including a family who went in their pyjamas complete with their children to stand in reception at 12.45am. They were lucky as a cabin was found for them the next morning. My battle continued for four days and at one point I was going to leave the ship at the second port when my promised move did not materialise. Eventually on the fourth day I was moved at 11.00pm to an inside cabin 9n deck 4 forward which was thankfully quiet. During in my many meetings with managers and staff I was told there are over 100 cabins onboard Arvia which have noise issues ranging from niggling to totally unacceptable. Certainly I could not live with the noise but obviously that is a personal thing. I will add my complaint on return was dealt with exceptionally well by P&O but I do think that was most likely to the fact the voyage in question had numerous problems (not all noise related but disorganisation with shuttles etc) that were not handled at all well onboard. What I would say is if you are someone who is out and about late you lost likely would be in a different situation to myself. I am particularly noise sensitive and spend a fair amount of time in my cabin and on the balcony and also retire relatively early. Sandancer regarding your September cruise could you perhaps consider moving your cabin rather than cancelling? You may find you are fine with the location as you stated you had no issues previously. It may not be wise to cancel based on others experiences and also I found it very upsetting to deal with people suggesting my experience was causing them to do that. I do however believe people should be aware there may be potential noise issues but we are all different and have different tolerances.

It was a genuine question. I'm a fairly new arrival to P&O compared with many on here, only since 2009. All my cruises prior to that were on Cunard so I've always taken the wine list as the norm so to speak. I had thought that prior to the "modern" P&O perhaps they too had wine lists like the one posted. We sail on Celebrity next week and they claim in their blurb 300 wines although I've not seen the list as we aren't that into wine and on this occasion have the benefit of a free drinks package so will be drinking by the glass. It will be interesting.

The question probably should be when did P&O offer, if ever, a 50 page wine list? I notice the Indian wines still on the Cunard list including one I had the pleasure of trying in the Glass House on Britannia in 2021. Unfortunately come 2022 and the much reduced offerings even there it was sadly no longer available. Even if I do not want to pay for it personally I welcome the vast choice.