AchileLauro

Page 192 of 2014-15 cruise brochure. Paragraph 40;

 

Alteration or cancellation by P&O prior to departure.

 

[my interpretation] if P&O have to make a significant alteration after a booking has been made (I would think that a change of departure day is significant in this context) then the passenger shall be offered an alternative holiday or shall be entitled to a full refund of all monies paid

 

Something doesn't sound right.....

I would consider this to be a significant change in the circumstances and would suggest that you should confirm the facts and consult trading standards with a view to cancelling and obtaining a full refund.

The holiday starts for me when I roll up (hopefully without a queue) at the terminal and a pleasant man takes the cases away and another pleasant man takes the key and parks my car in a secure compound for me :)

Same for me. No fuss, no bother and I know that the car is secure and immediately available when I return. We've never had a problem with CPS in fact we've always found them to be very good, so while not cheap (if we have to pay) I don't see the need to penny pinch in this area and cause extra problems and worry for myself.

It's rather nice to pull up at the terminal open the tailgate pull out the cases and simply hand over the key and walk away. Knowing that you are not dealing with some chancer who isn't fully insured.

I agree 100% with that statement ;)

 

Anyway I get the impression that the original poster will have been put off trying P&O :(

I'm not trying to put anybody off or deter them, or for that matter cause offence. I just ask that they consider the feelings of their fellow passengers who enjoy the P&O experience which is probably slightly too traditional for some tastes.

Yes I probably would be in favour of P&O enforcing the dress code more strictly in some areas of the ship on formal nights e.g. lounges and theatre. This is coming from someone who dresses as a slob when around the home but was forced to comply with a strict uniform code for all his working life.

My personal preference is for SMART casual of an evening but I am quite happy to dress appropriately on formal nights. After all that is the expected standard of dress that I knew about when I was signing on for the cruise.

I'm afraid that I simply don't understand the logic of someone booking a cruise with a company that has recognised standards and then tries their level best not to conform and in the process spoils the occasion for everyone else. It's like turning up wearing saggy jeans with the knees ripped at a wedding . Why don't they just book with another company that is better suited to their requirements and life style. :confused:

Non alcoholic wine was not available on Ventura last year. I don't know if things have changed since but I can tell you that my wife was quite disappointed that they didn't have it on board and she told them so in the end of cruise report. She was actually told by the wine waiter that there was no call for it.

I've enjoyed quite a few cruises with P&O over very many years and while I have had the odd moan about something, usually because the company has changed things that have previously been absolutely fine or the design of a particular ship, the one thing that I have never complained about is the staff. The staff have always been absolutely first rate and have always done their very best to make your holiday as pleasant as possible. The only exception to this has been the odd member of staff on reception who hasn't known one end of the ship to the other or has been just plain unhelpful. Thankfully it has only ben the odd member of reception staff and in any case your interaction with them is normally minimal anyway.

I wish I that I could say the same about the Carnival H.Q. staff. The company certainly has some issues with communicating with their loyal customer base. Perhaps this is because most of the land based staff are British and not from a country where courtesy and good manners seem to come as second nature, values that traditionally the British have cherished.

Like your comment AchileLauro - perhaps we can change that as there are a number of sea days on this one!

 

As I thought, the self service could well be closed from 17.00 to 18.00 which would be a good time to have an early meal before going off for the northern lights trip and will be when we get back from the afternoon trip - we may have to queue to get into the restaurant at 6pm, but I would prefer not to eat just before we go out. We were hoping for a brunch/early lunch about 11.00 or 11.30 ish but the restaurant may close between brunch/lunch, unless times are changed as they have trips leaving at 12.30.

 

Never mind we will not starve on a cruise ship, we are now thinking of taking some cupasoups to make in the cabin as required which could be a tad better than just a hot drink and good if we have spent time out in the cold at any stage. That is something we always take on half board hotel hols and they work very well. Some oatcakes are my staple holiday fodder to go with them.

 

Thanks for all the replies.

I wouldn't bother with the cupasoups, as I've yet to hear of anybody starving to death on a cruise ship yet. :) If fact you might even be glad to miss the odd meal or two. I generally get back from a cruise having added a stone in weight due to all the additional meals and lack of exercise and look forward to getting back to my normal routine.

We did the Baltic with Balmoral a couple of years back. As far as the cruise went we have to say it was the best of the many cruises that we have done (mainly P&O) over the last twenty six years. We were fortunate in that northern Europe was going through a heat wave at the time so spent most of our time on deck and in the pool. The ports of call were all excellent and the food and entertainment very good indeed.

Our cabin was the most comfortable that we have ever had on any cruise ship though a tad scruffy around the edges. Day time entertainment was good with just the right balance of the various activities for us. The only real downside was the main dining room layout but we understand that you can elect for one of the other dining rooms that are probably less confined. The other problem was the poor children's facilities as our 8 year old daughter has been used to those offered on P&O which greatly excel Fred in this respect.

Overall while P&O have the newer ships and do some things quite well, Fred does some things much better and if I could repeat this cruise again I would go for it.

Late night snacks are no longer served in Al Fresco and are served in the Conservatory and close at 1am or 1-30am.

I take it that's because of the change to adults only resulting in mainly older passengers. Once they have had their Horlicks it's off to bed with them, not many night owls any more. :)

The self service restaurant (Conservatory) opens at 0630 for continental breakfast followed at 0700 for full breakfast, then brunch at 1030, lunch at 1200, afternoon snacks from 1430 till 1700. Then themed dinner 1800-2030.

I don't recall the self service restaurant being open for late night snacks but Al Fresco is open all night for this purpose.

Brian

That's exactly as I remember it also but I haven't been on this ship for a few years now and am unlikely to since it went adult only. Such a pity that they decided to change things as Oriana was the favourite of all the family.

I doubt that things have changed as it worked well.

I cannot honestly say I see people who are that bothered by what others are wearing mainly because most people do dress well in my opinion. I have seen people in DJ's taking off jackets and indeed bowties in the MDR and nobody looks bothered. I only notice because I'm nosey. There can't be many people who pack old scruffy clothes and go on a cruise. If there is then my eyesight must be failing.

David

Your eyesight is failing. :)

I'm not the most elegant dress wise but I do try not to embarrass myself and my wife, or make others feel uncomfortable. On one cruise on Oceana there were several people dressed on formal night in old clothes that I wouldn't wear in the garden. I felt a little sorry for one couple as I thought that perhaps they had fallen on hard times but the way that they were downing the drink and smoking made me wonder if they simply had other priorities.

It makes no difference if you are on club dining or freedom dining you can ask for automatic tipping not to be added to your account and deal with tipping personally.

Smart shorts are allowed at breakfast and lunch though I wouldn't want to submit anyone else to the sight of my battle scarred hairy knees at meal times. It would only put people off their meals.

The problem is that so many are eligible for/requesting priority boarding that occasionally their queue is often longer than normal boarding. That was certainly the case last year with Ventura.

Correct.

 

 

 

I think Select fare passengers should get more rather than appear to give Saver fare passengers less. I say appear because as usual with P&O the fine print actually reads a bit different than the impression they want to give in order to get people to book at the Select fare price.

 

I know these have been covered before but to summarize the main drawbacks that appear to apply to Saver fares we have:

1. No choice of cabin number.

2. No cabin upgrades.

3. No dining choice.

4. Shuttle buses at addition cost.

 

In actuality:

1. Agreed. No choice of cabin number just a guaranteed category.

2. What it actually say's is "upgrades not applicable" hence they can give you any grade they like and it not be called an upgrade. e.g. last year our Adonia sailing was booked at an HC grade on a Getaway and we later got upgraded to a GC grade. On our upcoming Adonia sailing with a Saver fare I no longer had a choice of cabin grade as it simply said "balcony guarantee". (If you book it via a travel agent it does quote it as an HC grade). I'm not at all bothered about an upgrade but I can say that the vast majority of Saver fare passengers will get a higher grade cabin as there are only 6 HC cabins on the ship. It may well be that Saver fare passengers are allocated better grade cabins than Select fare passengers without the Select fare passengers being offered upgrades. This is still in line with the t's & c's as the Saver fare allocations are NOT upgrades according to the fine print.

3. As discussed, no choice before boarding but not against the t's and c's for the restaurant manager to use his discretion.

4. But not the majority of the time. If you look at P&O's ports of call shuttle bus info you'll see more than 50% of shuttle services are still free for ALL passengers.

 

Do you think it's P&O's policy to deliberately mislead? It certainly seems to have worked for some on this forum as I have been accused of wanting benefits not available to me on a Saver fare when all I've ever wanted was for P&O to keep to their t's & c's.

 

 

Of course you meant "b) wont chose a saver fare as I want a dining choice". I think there'll be few potential Saver fare passengers prepared to pay the inflated Select fare to secure their dining choice compared to the many that will jump ship to other lines. This will cost them more in the long run as they have to bring the late prices even lower in order to fill the ships.

P&O do seem to have a bit of a history of changing things after you have booked but I'm not sure if this also applies to terms and conditions. Perhaps it is worthwhile keeping a copy of the T's & C's that were relevant at the time the booking was made.

They tend to be stricter in Venice and Genoa because large numbers of illegal immigrants have congregated in those centres something that hasn't happened to any significant degree elsewhere.

Supergran you still have freedom of movement but as I mentioned earlier most European countries require everyone to carry photo I.D. but as we don't have that in the U.K. the nearest thing is your passport. You might not like carrying your passport but it is a requirement in the absence of a suitable alternative personal I.D. card.

I believe that many European countries require their citizens to carry an identity card or some other form of photo I.D. the U.K. being one of the exceptions. Why should it come as a surprise then that the security denies access to a controlled area like a port if you can't provide any form of official photo I.D.

I agree though that perhaps the shipping line should have warned or reminded passengers of such.

Relatives were supposed to be cruising on Aurora in May and they were to be on Freedom dining.

The only name as such that I've seen on a P&O cruise was Phil Daniels (Paul Daniels son) & he was very good, having said that I saw him again two years later on Royal Caribbean & it was virtually the same set so was a tad disappointed.)

 

Was the crude comedian a Cuban by any chance ? we had one on Ventura for New Year 2010/11 and he was pretty rubbish.

 

Saw Tom O'Connor on RCI and he was brilliant.

Are you sure it isn't Martin Daniels and not Phil?

That's because the weight that lift designers work to is an average of 12 stone per person.

Very good indeed. It reminded me of the Achile Lauro in 1968 and not too different to the Canberra in 1986.

I loved Dad's bow tie and cardigan when he went to the ship's shop. I bet he doesn't get frowned upon for letting down the dress code in the buffet. LOL.

I agree that stair and lift allocation is important.

 

One on my few gripes about Oceana concerns this very thing. From Aft cabins, the lifts and stairs only go to deck 7. To access the MDR and the Atrium, you either have to go down to deck 8, walk past cabins and through either Winners bar or the casino to access the 2 lifts and stairs down to decks 5 and 6 or get out on deck 7 and walk through the photo gallery and Magnums to the two atrium lifts or stairs. Not a problem (but an irritation perhaps) for able bodied people but for those with mobility issues it causes undue difficulty, especially having to manoeuvre wheelchairs in and out of two lifts.

 

Britannia has to be right otherwise it could be a financial black hole for P&O. Hopefully the central lifts (6 of them) will be properly programmed to make them easily accessible from all decks so stairs become less of a necessity

I agree slightly irritating but not a major drama. Probably not the best ship design but seems to be popular with many who have sailed on her for some reason which escapes me.

The problem with "clever" lifts is that they are defeated by selfish unthinking/ uncaring passengers who get on a lift going down when they really want to go up just for the ride knowing that the lift will eventually go to the floor they require. They don't consider that they are taking up space in the lift that could be occupied by someone who really wants to travel in the direction that the lift is travelling. On top of that they then usually blame kids for playing with the lifts. The best of systems can be defeated by man.

I wouldn't say that it is a major flaw. There will always be design limitations that inevitably end up in some sort of compromise on the design from that the naval architects initially desire. Not forgetting that they will have already studied extensively the population flow dynamics on the passenger decks as well as having to meet strict travel distances and exit widths on escape routes. All this is very much compounded with the larger ships which now appear to be in vogue for reasons of earning potential per square metre.

I think it just goes to show how important it is to select your cabin carefully. Our last cruise was on Ventura. The location of the cabin we chose worked out very well for us but may not have suited someone else. I did think on occasion that the ship was perhaps just that little too big for my liking and that personally I think a cruise ship around the size of Oriana or Aurora is quite large enough.

I agree with you Dave about there being plenty of space for those that decide to opt out, and most of us have done it at some time perhaps because we have been feeling under the weather. However I do find it slightly irritating that the "slobs" as you refer to them should try to worm their way into those venues where the majority are enjoying smart company. Either in or out as far as I am concerned.

I am saying this as someone who has had my dress strictly regulated for all of my working life and most definitely prefers casual to formal attire. I would actually feel ill at ease if I were to dress as slovenly as some that I have seen.

Sail on one of the smaller ships and you may transit the Kiel Canal, that we found most enjoyable. Sailing between Copenhagen and Sweden you will certainly see a fair bit of the coast.

The Baltic is most definitely the most enjoyable cruise that we have ever taken but there again we haven't tried Norway yet.