molecrochip

1 minute ago, galeforce9 said:

@molecrochip hmmm.  Bit OTT.  

It’s been a tremendous success for Princess.

16 minutes ago, posford said:

Makes me wonder how they will police this change.

So will the Southampton security people, I believe will not.

Will the ship have their own scanners? Don’t think so.

Good luck with getting 5000+ passengers on board scanning them all on the new ships.

P&O, please don’t cheese off even more passengers, you have put off enough already.

Practically it will be difficult. P & O have normally only policed in exceptional circumstance and booze cruises.

You’re right that Southampton security staff don’t see it as their job.

21 minutes ago, galeforce9 said:

@molecrochip what is a plus/premium package?  Unaware of princess offerings.  Seabourn/P&O only for me.  Is it a drinks package pitched above P&O’s deluxe?

Plus is drinks + single device internet + gratuities

Premium is Plus package plus deluxe drinks and 4 device internet plus signature deserts plus multiple speciality restaurants plus prize draws.

I believe this is true but the document shared online is not from P&O. Its been created by a travel agent based on the information their P&O contact has provided them. P&O tend not to let their contact centre / socials team discuss price changes until the day of change in the same way they don’t advertise the change publicly.

There is a price update coming - not unusual for P&O to review their prices at the start of the peak season. I suspect, but don’t know, that the prices are accurate. Also bearing in mind that bar menu prices are likely to rise on the same date.

Please remember that you are not required to buy a drinks package and if it does make financial sense at the new prices then buy drink by drink. For heavy drinkers, it’s likely to still generate a saving. e.g. 15 drinks x £5 is £75 so still a saving.

The removal of the 1 Ltr of Spirits aligns more closely with the rest of the Corporation. Indeed some cruise lines don’t permit any alcohol being taken on board.

Boarding limits on alcohol are not part of the booking Ts and Cs so it doesn’t matter if you’ve been told or not, or if you’ve paid in full or not.

Yes it is a policy change but one that impacts by less than £10 per person (onboard purchase for cabin less supermarket price) unless you were planning on taking a Malt. P&O have no obligations to announce price rises, after all, when you nip into the Supermarket you pay the price in the shelf.

If you want to lock in the current prices, you have a couple of days to buy online.

Finally, please bear in mind that P&O still has some of the lowest bar prices at sea, and no service charge.

I still say we will see a P&O Plus/Premium package before too long. It’s worked so well for Princess.

It’s possible on all ships.

The industry standard definition of sailed capacity is ALB. Available Lower Berths.

So ship has 100 lower berths and 20 upper (additional 3/4th person berths). 107 berths are sold (doesn’t matter the mixture) then sailed capacity was 107%. Sofa beds are upper berths.

3 minutes ago, jaydee6969 said:

 

I also note the lack of reasonable F&F offers too.  The current offerings are not tempting at present, obviously a sign of good bookings from regular pax.

Not sure I would agree there. However that’s not a public conversation.

Guess it depends what your looking for.

There is so little cabin availability across the fleet that there is no need to offer late deals.

Same for Princess in Europe.

I believe that Carnival Corp may hit a new record for Q3 for having average global capacity sailed above 109%. Noting this industry measure is based on lower berths not ship capacity.

1 minute ago, Solent Richard said:

In line with my update at # 52  @molecrochip .

I know - just sharing the updated Cunard viewpoint timings which Cunard announced in the last hour or so. This confirms beyond doubt that she is coming in via the Nab Tower.

Note: times are subject to change.  

Ryde and Gosport                                                                  1745
Lee on Solent                                                                         1810
Cowes                                                                                   1810
Calshot                                                                                  1820
Hamble                                                                                  1830     
Royal Victoria Country Park & Weston Shore                         1900
Hythe                                                                                     1915
Mayflower Park                                                                      1930
Mayflower Cruise Terminal                                                     1945

The old process involved staff in each brand validating as best as they could. It was not outsourced, the process was slow, open to manipulation and errors occurred.

With Stockperks standardised data is provided to the staff in each brand. If the evidence meets the rules, Stockperks can provide a validated result which allows the staff member to just add the credit if the booking is an eligible tariff. If Stockperks can’t validate the rule, it’s passed to the staff member to do in full.

Where Stockperks is clever is that if connected to a broker account, it can check share ownership in real time. There is some debate internally about this however I believe that the Ts and Cs will be tightened the next time they are issued to require ownership at point of application and departure. This  will enable validation to be redone at the time of departure (or shortly before).

For anyone updating evidence manually, you may be told to take a copy of your evidence to embarkation/check-in.

To add, Marine Traffic also has its own calculated ETA. This is purely distance between last port and next port pilot station dividend by average speed since last port.

This is currently showing 1am on the 1st May. This should slowly come back towards the reported ETA as more hours spent at full speed thus increasing average speed since last port.

Southampton port advertising 14:45 arrival at berth however latest AIS update from ship suggests Nab Tower at 14:15.

Currently advised timings from Cunard Press Office are:

Note: times are subject to change.  

• Ryde and Gosport – 12:45 
• Lee on Solent – 13:10 
• Cowes – 13:10 
• Calshot -13:20 
• Hamble -13:30 
• Royal Victoria Country Park & Weston Shore -14:00 
• Hythe -14:15 
• Mayflower Park – 14:30 
• Mayflower Cruise Terminal – 14:45 

I expect these formal timings to nudge back slightly.

New show is called Unbelievable.

A new show is coming to all ships this year - it’s replacing Astonishing.

A new show cycles in every couple of years. Slowly, each ship has been upgraded with respect to video screens on stage which make it easier to roll out shows.

When shows change, it’s in conjunction with the headliners cast as they learn the routines etc in Southampton. Therefore, it will take 6 months to cycle the new headliners casts across all ships.

If you’re getting free coach travel from P&O then let them know someone is travelling with their chair and discrimination laws would require P&O to ensure that a suitable transfer is provided.

I like the cabins and would happily take one if it’s similar in price to highest grade deluxe balcony.

52 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Arcadia....probably the oldies who think they know best. I don't know how many of the ' new audience ' go on Arcadia. Not many I suspect.

Very much this I believe. Part of the ‘don’t tell me what to do - it’s not been a problem since Southampton’ brigade if my info is correct.

Captain has tried very hard to restrict the travel of the virus but some passengers have been very abusive to crew when asked to maintain standards. I believe a couple of people may have also been disembarked because of it.

Many of you will remember Captain Charlie Carr who retired around 2015. Sadly, he passed earlier this month.

His last full time ship was Ventura before he was promoted to Fleet Captain. As Fleet Captain he popped up on random ships, shared his knowledge and covered for other captains who were unexpected unavailable.

He regularly travelled with his wife "Mrs Captain" and both would be seen around the ship chatting with passengers.

As he sets off on his travels in the sky, I imagine he will "put another twist in the big elastic band" and suggest he "pours himself a G&T".

RIP Captain

Certainly merchant responsibility i.e. cruise ship.

Holds clear after 7, 14, or 28 days depending upon banking company.

Some hotels and Petrol stations do the same.

The contact centre should be able to sort/cost this for you. 
 

You are likely on a charter flight so extending your holiday is likely to have a flight cost attached. I would suggest costing your own flight back with BA/Virgin first so that you have the comparison handy.

Specifically, cruises are selling well with expectations that most will sell out - so no need to sell cheaply.

Demand exceeds supply therefore prices increase.

4 minutes ago, laslomas said:

 

Surely an option in this instance would be for P&O to offer storage facilities for electric scooters / wheelchairs and get them out for port days. The passengers could then book into any class of cabin and get about the ship with the help of sticks or folding walking aids if required on board. Does anything like this happen?

I’ve suggested this many a time. It’s something Saga offer.

7 minutes ago, david63 said:

Would you happen to know that with the change of emphasis on accessible cabins/suites if there are any plans to increase the numbers when ships go in for refits?

There is a limit on the number of fully accessible cabins based on evacuation requirements.

Additionally, every 2 accessible cabins take up 3 standard cabin spaces. When ships are already sailing fairly full, there is little commercial argument to reduce capacity.