Megabear2

Interestingly there is a weather front in the Balearics yesterday and today with weather warnings for shipping. The hotel normally retails itself at around £75 per night but tonight if you need a room it is around £145 and on a couple of third party sites it is over £160 for tonight. Profiteering, probably, but that's assumedly fluid pricing in action. If £200 is considered the "reasonable" cost if this pricing kicked in last week it would presumably have been very near the ceiling.

This is the website for the "dump". Whilst not the lap of luxury it should have been clean and relatively useable. Presumably P&O expected their passengers to be put in accommodation of the type/standard shown here. If the hotel did not provide this type of accommodation then presumably they will take relevant action with the hotel. Perhaps those who were in the hotel who are kindly telling us of their experiences clarify if the accommodation provided by the hotel was as per the ones shown here? https://bellevueclub.bluebayhotels.net/en/rooms/

It really isn't that bad on the inside. The cabins on the two modern ships are actually very nice and comfortable with a good design. Which deck are you on and what cabin number?

Hi, when you say New Year which cruise you sailing on? Is it the January 13th Canaries sailing where it's the "offer of the week" at the moment starting at £849. I ask because the current special offers on Mediterranean and Canaries cruises ends today. Generally with the ending of an offer there will be a price adjustment at the same time. I note you wanted the coach travel and on looking the current offer gives only that not reduced OBC and the coach as often happens. When did you book your cruise, was it recently under this offer orvquite some time ago under a different one? I assume that as you are select you had the option of choosing your benefits, do you only have the coach or some OBC as well, at the moment the offer for OBC is £360 for inside and £640 for outside. I know nothing about coach travel but would it cost £640 for you to travel down to Southampton. As far as I know when I changed my booking on Britannia for an upgraded cabin in May I received the current offer not the one at the time of booking and my price was based on what it was the day I booked. As has been suggested by others ask your t/a to check the price at booking date. If the price is indeed considerably more in the next few days after the double OBC offer ends you may well see the price fluctuation leading to a reduction in fares. Presumably your balance isn't due until October so if you can not sort it today watch the price force few days in case cancellation and a new booking turns out to be better for you.

Sorry that you are having sleepless nights, hopefully now you have highlighted it they will ensure the noise is reduced. If you have time could you expand on your comment about tatty? Comparisons between what has changed condition wise between October last year and now would be extremely helpful. Recent returnees from Britannia cruises who post here have stated they found her in good and excellent condition but they are people who have not sailed on her for a number of years. As a recent return visitor it would be extremely helpful to know what you have seen deterioration in. I sailed on Britannia last December and she was in fine condition so any deterioration you have noticed has presumably occurred during 2023. I hope you start to enjoy your current cruise more than to date. Thank you.

We have a video conference with our GP tomorrow- they run zoom ones regularly regarding vaccination and health initiatives. The text invite states as we have our flu vaccination booked for 20 September we will be hopefully having our covid one on the same day as the vaccine is due to arrive on the 18th. We apparently as under 70's are now going to be offered the shingles one too, hopefully not on the samy day!

These letters are for your insurer. Full cruise cover with missed ports will pay per person hence two letters - some people have separate insurance policies so that's why it's a letter per passenger. P&O do not offer compensation for missed ports and have no obligation to do so hence telling you to claim on your insurance. Some people do not have missed port insurance on their policies so they will get nothing at all. That is the choice made when buying insurance I'm afraid.

Assuming that they shoreside staff were waiting on details for the flights I'm guessing keeping everyone together was for expediency once flights were able to be sourced and the air traffic situation was clear. Reading various reports about the stress people were experiencing with the flights changing destination etc it would assumedly been difficult to locate 300 people in separate hotels and transport them. Logistics would seem to br the main reason for the choice.

Thank you for telling us your experience. I hope things are soon settled for you. May I ask do you have any idea how many paying passengers (as opposed to staff family members etc) were moved to the hotel? I assume P&O kept you all together in order to maintain easy contact however was that the case? Did you get "selected" and was there any option if you didn't wish to "volunteer"? I also assume you were free to come and go as you wished and not just left in the hotel awaiting news but perhaps you could confirm that was the case. Once again thank you for sharing your experience, I hope all goes well for you.

How many on-board this sailing?

What was there before? I thought that period is usually a Canaries cruise in previous years - it seems to be in 2025 as well.

Someone on FB reporting a few moments ago that their parents are onboard and have sent them a video of the lifeboat being replaced. Anyone seen this happening?

I'm sure they are great for some. On Arvia on a supposed sun cruise- we didn't get much - they were a bone of contention with the family groups particularly where people wanted to bundle the kids up and sit them around the pool. Comfort wasn't the issue from what I saw (although personally I wasn't keen), more suitably for sun bathing for families and younger people.

I like upright chairs too but found Arvia's to be a sort of half way house which reclined leaving your feet dangling. Just seemed a strange chair to me but I realise they are space saving as well.

No idea just repeating what P&O spokesman said in interview on BBC and as now reported on BBC website.

Personally I disliked that a very large number of the "sunbeds" were in fact reclining chairs rather than sunbeds. The number of actual "real" sunbeds around the two small family pools were very limited in number. I got the impression the relaxer chairs as I called them were to encourage people to not use them all day.

P&O confirmed lifeboat removed for repair and ship sails 20:00 this evening.

BBC South lunchtime news going to have an interview with two passengers off her shortly.

Britannia I believe!!

I assume all the offloaded flyers are safely home now?

I think yesterday was a nightmare on the trains. Since May we've been cut to one an hour, not even a connection at Southampton as we used to be able to do. My OH who was in London with me on Wednesday night caught the 12.20 train back to Salisbury and called told me that it was rammed and standing room only so to make sure I got to the station earlier for my train that evening. I duly arrived at 8.30pm for the 9.20pm, bought a coffee and luckily got a seat on the forecourt. Come 9.00pm the train from Exeter arrived (they are very distinctive as the only diesel train out of Waterloo) so I moved across towards the gate just in case. Train cleaning over we were allowed to board 8 cars splitting along the route. Within 5 minutes of my boarding my carriage was full, 10 minutes before departure an announcement of limited seats at the front. Pulled out on time I counted 16 people standing in my compartment. Next stop Clapham Junction another 10 people joined and were standing. I was shocked as for 9 years to travelled this route in and out if London 5 days a week in peak time and never seen the like. I'd like to think it was a day before strike rush to get home but although not so bad I'd experienced much of the same coming home from York and Newmarket in the past couple of weeks. Train travel is no longer a pleasant experience in and out of peak times in the UK. It's very sad as I travel within Europe even between countries and yes a few delays occasionally but never rammed all day, dirty and badly planned. I feel for you Damian, I couldn't do it for work anymore.

Thank you.

Nos 1 and 2 Courtesy of our friends Walkingdude and Bazrat from last year's Britannia transatlantic crossing October 2022 No 3 Same area on Regal Princess

This is something we debated last year. The mysterious "little extra" comment appeared on the website September/October last year. As I had recently been on Regal Princess where these "poshend up" cabana areas are indeed charged for - and at quite a high rate - I asked P&O who vaguely told me the area was to undergo "refreshment". Various passengers including myself monitored these "refreshments" whilst onboard and we concluded they were just adding some cover to the strange open shelters. No charge was introduced but the "little extra" comment remains. The Princess offering is set in the same place but includes a fancy cushion on the sunbed, matching towels and a food and beverage offering and is supplemented at around $100 a day. I have a feeling it was being considered to do similar on Britannia but P&O didn't go through with it.

Not used them personally but a friend cancelled a booking with them following this thread and another on parking appearing. Unfortunately Parkopeadia no longer link to them so I have a horrible feeling about this. I'm afraid that the sister company the link took you to when booking has a string of negative Trustpilot reviews through July and August for cruise passengers having multiple parking fines. Sorry to hear of your problems.