Megabear2

I love a bit of movement!! Normally book front or mid front whatever I sail on so deck 17 holds no fear for seasickness. I assume then the set up you describe is a bit like the Arvia deck 17 cabins for accessing the pool area. The pool set up on Arcadia was the attraction for an autumn t/a going on the northern route as I thought might get inclement. My transatlantic crossings have always been on QM2 with a couple on Allure from Barcelona. When I say to occupy me QM2 offers an onboard itinerary very much geared to long seadays with multiple lectures, art classes, foiling lessons etc and Allure has multitudes of entertainment venues so never weather reliant. I've never done a "cold weather" or autumnal cruise on P&O or Princess, only Cunard so I wondered if the day time activities on these long voyages differ from the offerings I've experienced in the Med and Caribbean on these lines.

They told me Princess Plus is not on 2023 only 2024. Is that incorrect? I've looked at $60 per day, at $30 it would be great.

Thanks. Very true, I hadn't looked at the daily gratuity cost. I assume like everything else it's increased since last year! Just looked at today's exchange rate gratuities would be around £306 and wifi £190. Thanks for the tip. Their wifi is much cheaper than P&O so the package does make sense if I go that route.

Did you send your email to the executive office or just customer relations. Executive office is as follows just in case. Executive.Correspondence@carnivalukgroup.com

On a different thread regarding visa issues I came across Terrierjohn's post "Some very good prices on Princess for this Sept US and Canada 24 night cruise are being offered at the moment." Despite my reservations on sailing again with Princess I have been tempted to look and am thinking about the 24 night sailing to Canada on 23 September. I'm quite taken with one of the Premium Oceanview deck 17 forward cabins and have been quoted £3036 for single occupancy. This is their standard fare so gratuities not included, £3936 for the one with drinks etc but as I drink virtually nil onboard I think it would be a waste - unless someone know differently ... My original choice was Arcadia 24 nights sailing 26 September. An outside cabin on her for solo is £2429 saver or £3029 with £265obc. I also have a returning guest P&O obc offer for £50 on a select booking so I'd get £315obc in total. I've never sailed on Arcadia or Sky Princess but I know quite a few on the boards have so any opinions much appreciated. My Princess cruises have all been on Regal. Anyone sailed on both, hopefully might be able to give me plus and minus points for each ship on an autumn transatlantic, ie things to do in inclement weather etc. Apart from my problems in Rome I enjoyed Regal, how do Sky's facilities compare with her, are they the same. The deck 17 forward cabin on Sky sounds interesting, I've never seen one of these elsewhere, assumedly that space is used on other ships in the class though, any ideas of which ships and where I might find details. Any thoughts much appreciated. Thank you.

Sorry to revisit an old thread but cannot find any upto date feedback on these cabins. I'm considering one for 24 night ex Southampton to Canada cruise departing 23/9/23. How did those who have sailed in these rooms find it please - I have a choice of two s104 or s105. Thank you.

Congratulations. Which ship are you sailing on and when? Did you get a cabin number at the acceptance or do you find out later? Is that £1,200 for 2 or per person? Thanks, sorry for asking so many questions but trying to understand the mechanics.

They also offered a boat option in May to help ease queues. This arrived behind the university in the cathedral area and was about 8-10 minutes walk to the harbour area. I believe shuttles were £5.00 each way.

When dining solo in Epicurean I was asked to join two people when I arrived on my recent Arvia cruise but the restaurant refused stating tables had been allocated as per reservations. There had been a table for 2 next to the mum and her daughter who asked me to join them but according to the restaurant manager it would mess up his table allocation going forward. Based on this I'd say if you want to join someone it is best to arrange in advance.

Fine, another topic I shall withdraw from

I do not assume anything, as I say the On Boards Need Guide is trying to be all things to all men and is very broad in definition, however page 9 is as follows (bold added by me). As the article suggests the ladies were onboard apparently for some time and were not refused boarding but asked to disembark it would suggest something alerted or triggered P&O into actioning one or both of these terms in bold. Quote Care, assistance and travelling alone Guests who require assistance with daily living (such as washing, toileting, eating, mobility) must declare this and must travel with a companion or a personal assistant or carer who is responsible for you at all times. The ship’s crew cannot assist with these tasks. If you have dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, you live in a care home or you have a carer at home, you must travel with a companion or a personal assistant or carer to ensure your safety whilst on board. You will need to provide details in advance. This will be assessed on an individual basis. If you’re travelling alone and it becomes clear that you are unable to manage safely and independently on board without assistance, we will discuss the situation with you to resolve a course of action. You may be asked to disembark the ship at your own cost. Unquote In other words I believe boarding and sailing is at P&O's discretion and if they felt there was a safety issue no matter how unfair it may seem to individuals they have the right to say you cannot sail.

I'm rather confused about this story, as the problem would appear to be not P&O's actions in refusing to allow them to sail but rather why they accepted the booking in the first place. If, as stated, the t/a did discuss the ladies' disabilities in full with P&O before making the reservation then the training of operatives in the booking centres of both companies would seem to be questionable. No doubt the travel agent would have been extremely nervous of being accused of discrimination if they had said a straight no way is this possible, however they should have gone into the detail of how much sight impairment the ladies actually had and checked with P&O the requirement to have a non disabled travelling companion (of course they may have done this, the article doesn't go into any detail). The wording in the article about braille on the lifts and the orientation tour are virtually word for word as written in the Onboard Needs Guide, however without expanding on the two ladies actual personal sight the P&O operator would not realise they were completely sightless. It is apparently possible to be registered "blind" but actually not be completely without sight, I once worked with a lady in this situation, and it could be P&O recognise this in their "blind" guests terminology. On the other hand the P&O call handler would have been relying on information provided by the ladies to the t/a and they were at the end of a telephone line. Under those circumstances it is very easy to see where the problem could come from. The question to P&O would seem be when t/a contacted them in the first instance did they actually have a firm policy in place that their operator could refer to. With such strict anti discrimination laws and the opportunism of some people (not these ladies I hasten to add) to scream foul I'm guessing the individual operator would also be nervous of being accused and just recite the information in the Needs Guide. Assumedly once t/a were satisfied that the booking could be made with P&O they presumably filled in the disability form but that doesn't actually get mentioned in the article anywhere that I can see so the question then becomes was it even completed? Having completed one of these forms recently for hidden disability related issues it is very much based on people with mobility issues and wheelchair usage. I personally found it unclear in terms of issues unrelated to mobility and ended up emailing in considerable detail my symptoms alongside the completed form. The Onboard Needs Guide is long and covers many forms of disability - pages 10 and 11 cover blindness - however adopting many of these disabilities into the form is actually quite difficult and needs some thinking outside the box, this latter of course being something that takes time and a travel agent with all the will in the world may not have time or understanding of. How, for instance, would a totally online t/a complete this form when they never see or speak to their clients? Ridiculous as it sounds someone might not even mention their sight issues to them, what happens then. I have a great deal of sympathy for all involved in this matter however I do think the issue really lies with provision of full details at the booking stage and how they are conveyed between parties. A very interesting subject. On Board Needs Guide-1.pdf

At the moment OBC is worth considerably less than the parking (after the "adjustment" today) so I would imagine for anyone travelling a distance the parking is a far better option showing on a lot of cruises. Currently OBC appears to be back to minimum levels and there is currently no split parking OBC option. That of course will apply more pressure on parking and is perhaps the trigger for all the emails. The good news is prices haven't fluctuated this time round, just the extra benefits. The gap between saver and select seems to have increased again though.

Was that because he was encouraging people to do them, or just in passing

I would just like to say that I have never stated that everyone on a sailing I have been on has had the same experience. I have referred to "many" in as much as these are the people I met having daily meetings and discussions with staff in the same area as myself. I also stated quite clearly in my postings that most people would be having a totally different experience. As you are aware I was writing a live experience from my own perspective based on what was going on with me. It was an individual's record on a daily basis which I chose to stop because people were holding me personally responsible for their decisions on bookings they held. I was shocked that people would actually read a report or review of an individual and suggest they were formulating an opinion based on that one person's experience. That was extremely unnecessary and unkind and actually caused me personal distress. However if those comments had not been made and the report had continued it would have continued in a much more positive vein as once the continual meetings about rooms, noise and failure to show ended the cruise although not perfect developed into a more normal experience. I agree wholeheartedly that no one should read reviews good or bad and take them as what will happen to them, but again it goes both ways. I booked a cruise on Arvia based almost entirely on ICF's great experience in February but it didn't work out that way for me sadly. No one's fault and I most certainly wouldn't blame him for my experience. The noise issue was something I was unaware of, certainly not from any reviews by anyone on these boards. However I'm now aware it's a possibility and comments are feeding through in reviews elsewhere, I do not think therefore it is negative to let people know they exist and to be careful in cabin choice if noise at night would be an issue for you. Personally I've grown tired of trying to discuss issues that arise and will not in future write reviews or reports.

I've had three surveys since I returned from my 14 May Arvia cruise. One Feefo request, one complete survey and then an onboard survey. For good measure I received a survey regarding the sale of the cruise I booked onboard as well. All received within 48 hours of arriving home.

The review by Presto is very balanced and is by someone who we personally know gives honest opinions. Before the thread disappears down a rabbit hole perhaps it should be considered in it's own context, ie it was a good holiday much enjoyed but things like the dinner reservations etc which have kindly been highlighted left some parts a little wanting. As someone with three future cruises now booked on Britannia I found the points very helpful as the changes from my previous cruise on her in December are quite clear from the review and I can now go better prepared. Regarding positive comments being dismissed on these boards we could turn that on its head and say anyone who makes a negative comment also gets shot down in flames. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle but the reluctance to accept someone else's experience/opinion seems at present to be prevalent be they making a positive or negative comment.

My friend tried a couple of months ago to book on to Arvia on an early August cruise with her husband and 10 year old daughter and was informed there was insufficient capacity for her child so they were unable to book. I took this to mean either there were no cabins left available with the extra berths or the reduced price child's places had all been filled and in the same way they shut down sales of solo cabins at a certain number they were doing the same for children. They are now booked for August 2024.

As Feefo review has replaced in most cases the after cruise survey I do complete them. This has in the past led to a call from customer service to clarify why certain things have happened or been changed. As it is P&O instigating the Feefo request I assume they do actually monitor and read what people are commenting on as a result. No doubt they raise their eyebrows at such trivia as the case you highlight but my experience to date has been they are grateful for you taking the time to record your experience Incidentally on the subject of review sites, I came across this on Trustpilot a couple of days back in regard to a person complaining about a noisy cabin on Arvia. P&O seem to have a social media team reading these reviews and replying. In light of my experience I found this replying enlightening: We are sorry if you were disturbed at night due to the location of your cabin, as I am sure you realise a certain level of noise is to be expected on such an active ship and it is therefore not possible for us to isolate cabins that may experience noise at certain times of the day or night. However, the noise experienced should not go beyond acceptable limits and we are sorry that you were affected by this.Best wishes, P&O Cruises Social Media Team I wonder who determines "acceptable limits" and what they actually are.

Do we know of anyone who has bid? Can't find anyone to date who did so.

The fridge on Arvia was cold enough for the ice in my ice bucket to stay frozen for 48 hours. I had to remove the shelves to get it in but it was a great fridge. Water in my bottles chilled in a couple of hours as well.

It will most likely be a TUI charter flight from Gatwick. Usually two depart Friday and two Saturday. Earlier flight generally around 10.15-10.30, later one around 11.30. These have been the times in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 so doubt much different. I just booked for January 2024 whilst onboard Arvia with premium economy and the sales team told me it would be TUI. Hope that helps.

So far this year the biggest reduction in prices has generally occurred 10 weeks before sailing. There was a big flurry of price cuts in April, some of which dripped down to a few later sailings. A quick look at the current state of play shows overall prices are no longer going down to the "silly" levels that were occurring 6-7 weeks ago. Iona, as an example, was offering entry fares of £399 for saver insides on a fair number of Norway 7 night cruises. These are now £599. Arvia 14 night Med cruises have maintained their entry level price at between £799 and £899. These cruises currently look the only non movers at present. Arcadia has one or two longer journeys at bargain fares but overall her prices are remaining stable with no drops on her European voyages since the beginning of May when the 21 night Iceland/Norway price became the bargain. Aurora has good lead prices for Norway 12 nights, everything else remains more or less stable. Britannia has had little price movement on any sailings apart from her upcoming Caribbean season. Overall for the quality of the offering her Norway sailings in particular look good value at the moment as do her three Med sailings in July and August. Most of the prices for Britannia appear at entry level to be good value. Ventura prices are very stable and have been for several months. She is offering the very popular Canaries cruises and the Spanish/Portuguese itineraries and these have been selling well all year, presumably to sun seekers and families. Since April not seen many changes in price for her save the odd £100 either way. Azura well the big difference here has been the extremely well booked voyages which were at one point around £2800 entry price have dropped out and the normal price starting at around £799 for 7 nights ome the norm again, with one or two cheaper options in June. The good news is everything on sale is now back to including flights whereas as previously some were cruise only. For 14 nights £1,099 is now the lowest entry price. The Azura pricing fluctuates enormously dependent on the itinerary as those sailings to the more "interesting and rare ports" in Greece/Croatia/Italy carry a premium which since they went in sale appear to be driven by passenger demand, presumably those looking for a variety of destination. Tomorrow is the last day of the current OBC special offer. Generally as one of these ends there is a price correction, often of several hundred pounds. It will be interesting this time as availability is definitely shrinking in the next 3 months or so.

What is a breast of chicken wing bone? Sounds a bit odd although I'm sure it's very tasty.

Thank you. Not sure if I should move to club dining for the one with my husband, he has to have a regular dining time every day, generally around 6.00pm to 6.15pm for medical reasons. We changed to freedom dining a few years back because it was easy to arrange. Even at Christmas we were allowed to arrive between 6.00pm and 6.15pm. An app booking with no indication of how long the wait is certainly won't work, so I'll have to see what can be done. I'm the glad the rest of your holiday went well and look forward to your report you mentioned.