Barbados flights

[torty]

Can any recent cruisers give accounts of P&O Thomson/Thomas Cook charter flights to Barbados for a Caribbean cruise. Are the negative reports regarding seating allocation, paying for seats etc and stringent baggage allowance rules really true?

[Elaine0138]

Yes you can opt to pay for seats on the P&O charter flight and the baggage allowance of 23kgs is adhered to

[ROSEBASKETS]

If you are on a plane with 2-3-2 or 3-3-3 configuration theres a lot bigger chance that you can be split up than on the 2-4-2 configuration. Split between the isle counts as sitting together in the airlines eyes and this can occur when seats are in 3's.

 

Thomson have introduced a scheme where NO bag over 23kg is allowed in the hold. So if you have one case weighing 25kg and another weighing 20kg you will be made to remove 2kg from the offending case. This happened at EMA. 4 of us used 3 cases which weighed well under our 92kg limit but were over the 23kg each limit. We spoke with P&O customer service prior to going and they said that provided we didn't exceed our limit the cases could weigh up to 30kg each, which is what we did, but at check in we were made to balance all cases to less than 23kg. Fortunately we packed a large holdall just in case (pardon the pun) because we don't believe a word P&O customer services say!

 

Oh and if the outbound flight are thirsty there's very little to drink on the way back! Thomsons philosophy is get them there happy and let them complain on the way back!:mad:

[cruiseanywhere2]

We paid to upgrade on a Thomson flight (not a cruise) and the service on the way home was dreadful, flight attendants reluctant to answer the call button and serve a drink, they were surly and miserable. As Rosebaskets says great on the way out but couldn't care less on the way home. I'll neverpay to upgrade again. I always pay to ensure we sit together but that's because I hate the whole checking in process and get really stressed out.

[cruiseluvva]

We got so fed up with the dreadful flights we decided to always fly with scheduled airlines. It means we can choose to upgrade to have decent seats and service and fly when we want. But it does come at a cost.

[BrianI]

We got so fed up with the dreadful flights we decided to always fly with scheduled airlines. It means we can choose to upgrade to have decent seats and service and fly when we want. But it does come at a cost.

BA economy seat pitch is 31", Thomson is 33".

Last time I flew with BA, two of our cases went missing.

Brian

[cruiseluvva]

BA economy seat pitch is 31", Thomson is 33".

Last time I flew with BA, two of our cases went missing.

Brian

 

You're right Brian. But we don't fly BA nor do we fly Economy. :D

[cruisebore]

Can any recent cruisers give accounts of P&O Thomson/Thomas Cook charter flights to Barbados for a Caribbean cruise. Are the negative reports regarding seating allocation, paying for seats etc and stringent baggage allowance rules really true?

 

Given that the average cost for 2 weeks cruising in the Caribbean at £2000p/p in a balcony cabin including flights. I think we get excellent value. We sometimes fly Emirates which is somewhat superior but not that much in their cramped 777 .

We have no problems with paying an extra 50 quid to book our seats in advance

Over the years flying to the Caribbean both Princess & P&O with TCX and Thompson we have noticed marked improvements as regards to comfort. The baggage rules are not a problem if you use the new lightweight cases and use a rucksack for hand luggage.

 

 

 

Cb

[dreamweaver767]

This is a post fom on of my airline forums, will give you a brief overview on a Thomson flight Dec 2010, make you own mind up!

 

Date was Dec 4th 2010 and we were flying from Manchester out to Bridgetown Barbados to join P&O MS Ventura for a 15 day cruise round the Caribbean. No choice in airline so to speak but 1x Thomas Cook and the other Thomson, we were on the Thomson flight.

 

At check in had 3 bags to go in the hold, bags over weight by 3kgs, told to pay £140, had a heated discussion with this pleasant girl at check in, she then snarled at me and told me if I don’t pay then leave the bag here, nice girl!, I was then was told as a special will charge you £70. We were then sent to a stall to pay and other people on our flight were over by 20kgs and were told £340 and then reduced to £70, what a con, mail sent to Thomson regarding this money making scam.

 

Fligth delayed 4 hours due to??? Well nobody told us why, great start. Finally on-board G-PLJO ex First Choice 767-300 non WL, plane quite roomy but shoddy inside, dirty, broken seats, and seat trays and the food was nasty don’t think one person in our vicinity ate anything, and to cap it off IFE was broke, told to amuse yourself oh and the flight time was 10 hours, boy was this going to be fun. One passenger asked which museum they got the plane from which was quite amusing

 

Hardly any word from up front, crew were miserable and sorry to say scruffy looking, P&O state complementary drink on the flight “Thomson say not” 2 drinks only. Was a sure relief when the Dunlop’s hit the deck in Bridgetown.

Return same plane same faults, only plus side was 8 hours on the way back to blighty.

 

All in all Thomson did not impress and a far cry from their origins did the same trip last year but with Thomas cook A330, 100% better airline all round.

[cruisebore]

This is a post fom on of my airline forums, will give you a brief overview on a Thomson flight Dec 2010, make you own mind up!

 

Date was Dec 4th 2010 and we were flying from Manchester out to Bridgetown Barbados to join P&O MS Ventura for a 15 day cruise round the Caribbean. No choice in airline so to speak but 1x Thomas Cook and the other Thomson, we were on the Thomson flight.

 

At check in had 3 bags to go in the hold, bags over weight by 3kgs, told to pay £140, had a heated discussion with this pleasant girl at check in, she then snarled at me and told me if I don’t pay then leave the bag here, nice girl!, I was then was told as a special will charge you £70. We were then sent to a stall to pay and other people on our flight were over by 20kgs and were told £340 and then reduced to £70, what a con, mail sent to Thomson regarding this money making scam.

 

Fligth delayed 4 hours due to??? Well nobody told us why, great start. Finally on-board G-PLJO ex First Choice 767-300 non WL, plane quite roomy but shoddy inside, dirty, broken seats, and seat trays and the food was nasty don’t think one person in our vicinity ate anything, and to cap it off IFE was broke, told to amuse yourself oh and the flight time was 10 hours, boy was this going to be fun. One passenger asked which museum they got the plane from which was quite amusing

 

Hardly any word from up front, crew were miserable and sorry to say scruffy looking, P&O state complementary drink on the flight “Thomson say not” 2 drinks only. Was a sure relief when the Dunlop’s hit the deck in Bridgetown.

Return same plane same faults, only plus side was 8 hours on the way back to blighty.

 

All in all Thomson did not impress and a far cry from their origins did the same trip last year but with Thomas cook A330, 100% better airline all round.

 

We were returning home from Ventura that day. During the previous 3 days the southern airports had experienced heavy snowfalls and we were told that many planes were out of position. There was much speculation as to when we would get home. Our experience was that P&O and the airlines moved heaven and earth to get people out to this cruise and to get us back home. We actually flew home in an old TCX767 configured for short flights. There was little leg room and some broken seats. However all I remember was that I was back home safe and sound and not hanging around Barbados airports like many BA & Virgin customers.

 

Cb

[darknightsdespiser]

Had very pleasant flights Newcastle - Barbados in November, all aspects better than BA. One point to watch for however:

Barbados airport is too small for the numbers and is quite crowded and chaotic, possibly made worse due to delays due to snow in UK etc. I constantly check screens for gate info and discovered that a couple of dozen of us had been standing checking one which was broken and not updating! Only discovered when we heard our names being read out as plane was waiting. (None of us had heard any announcements as most of them were unintelligible and there was too much noise generally.) As a pathologically punctual person this this made me really embarrased and angry, so please make sure you keep checking all the screens, don't have conversations with anyone in case you miss something vital and don't expect anything like "normal" airport refreshment facilities.

[AmoMondo]

I'm considering booking a Caribbean cruise on the Azura late this year and was looking for information on the flights they provide. I can't decide whether to go with their fly/cruise package or just book cruise only and arrange my own flights.

 

This thread has been really useful to me. I gather that the flight will be either Thomson or Thomas Cook. Does anyone know how much it costs to upgrade? Also I note the comments about how strict they are with checked baggage, is it possible to buy an extra allowance in advance and if so, do they charge a flat fee per bag or by the kilo (I'm hopeless at keeping to 23kilos when I'm going for more than a week!).

 

Finally, do P&O let you add on a pre or post cruise stay in barbados?

 

Thanks

[darknightsdespiser]

Just remember that if you book your own flights the ship won't wait for you!! (had almost very nasty experience like this with a coach tour once). Have also noticed there is an Edinburgh departure for Azura!!

[cruiseluvva]

I'm considering booking a Caribbean cruise on the Azura late this year and was looking for information on the flights they provide. I can't decide whether to go with their fly/cruise package or just book cruise only and arrange my own flights.

 

This thread has been really useful to me. I gather that the flight will be either Thomson or Thomas Cook. Does anyone know how much it costs to upgrade? Also I note the comments about how strict they are with checked baggage, is it possible to buy an extra allowance in advance and if so, do they charge a flat fee per bag or by the kilo (I'm hopeless at keeping to 23kilos when I'm going for more than a week!).

 

Finally, do P&O let you add on a pre or post cruise stay in barbados?

 

Thanks

 

AS far as I am aware, you can't buy excess baggage in advance, nor can you arrange a pre or post cruise stay. It is for these reasons, plus being able to upgrade to the seats my husband needs for his medical problem, we choose to continue to fly with a scheduled airline.

 

In March we are going out to Barbados a few days early, allowing us those extra days in the sun and avoiding the issue of the flight being late and the ship sailing.

 

I hope you have a great time whichever airline you choose.

[yorkie1]

We were on ventura 4th dec flew with Thomas Cook out of Manchester flight on time crew worked their socks off all the way there.Didn't upgrade ,did'nt pre book seats we were sat together there and back seats a bit narrow but seemed plenty of leg room didn't eat meal but don't do airoplane food had a breakfast before we got on plane ,free headphones ,free drinks and a complimentary bag with eyemasks lotions toothpaste and brush etc.On the way back we were delayed 11hrs our plane was stuck at Gatwick the airports fault not P.O or even Thomas Cook[ invest in some proper snow clearing stuff Gatwick].We stayed on board so we could eat and drink until the Captain was sure that the plane was well on it's way We got to Barbados airport one shop has stopped open so you could get water etc were'nt very long in the airport till we boarded to fly home .Don't think the crew were overstretched as most people were fast asleep but if you woke they brought you tea coffee drinks etc .Had a look at the upgrade seats personally couldn't see a lot of difference and the people who payed for extra legroom had people stood in front of them all flight queueing for loo or stretching their legs.Save your brass for more drinks:D

[yorkie1]

Oh by the way,yes they do stick to 23kgs on the way out ,don't know about the way back seeing as you don't handle your luggage till you get back home .The girl at the check in just looked at our cabin bags [only small ones]and said ok didn't weigh them.

[annieuk]

Our last two fly cruises with P&O have been on a Thomson First Choice plane. These were the best two charter flights we have been on. We did upgrade to premium but even in economy the leg room looked ok. This was before the ability to book seats online was available. We found the service was really good. We had some fizz before take off (as we were in Premium). We were given menus for the food choices for the main meal. Hot rolls were brought round in a basket and the wine was poured from a bottle (not the little ones) into proper glasses (not stemmed) and the steward came round several times to top up. The food was ok for airline food and we had a choice of beef or chicken. Prior to the main meal a breakfast was served and then later on drinks came round - you could have more than one if you wished.

 

We had the chairback tvs with individual remote controls so we could choose what we watched and when we watched it - you could pause the films too if you wished.

 

Quite honestly we couldn't have wished for a better flight, being a charter. Ok it wasn't BA business class but we would find it difficult to justify spending the extra money involved. As I say, this was Thomson. In a couple of months we have a Thomas Cook flight to Barbados, so I'll see how that compares.

[Nervous cruiser 2]

I'm considering booking a Caribbean cruise on the Azura late this year and was looking for information on the flights they provide. I can't decide whether to go with their fly/cruise package or just book cruise only and arrange my own flights.

 

This thread has been really useful to me. I gather that the flight will be either Thomson or Thomas Cook. Does anyone know how much it costs to upgrade? Also I note the comments about how strict they are with checked baggage, is it possible to buy an extra allowance in advance and if so, do they charge a flat fee per bag or by the kilo (I'm hopeless at keeping to 23kilos when I'm going for more than a week!).

 

Finally, do P&O let you add on a pre or post cruise stay in barbados?

 

Thanks

We flew to Barbados from Manchester on the 3rd December, our flight was with Thomsons and we had upgraded to premier seating at a cost of £199.00 each for the return journey.

Only 35 seats in premier so it was fairly quiet and felt a lot less crowded than the main body of the plane, I don't think you got a lot of extra room but the service we received there & back was excellent & we felt the upgrade was good value & worth the money.

We also paid the extra £50.00 to reserve our seats together, to be honest I would have been really disappointed if we hadn't been given seats together so for us it was worth the money to pre book.

We were told we could not buy extra baggage allowance in advance by our TA.

[AmoMondo]

Thanks all of you for your responses. All the information is really helpful and helps me make up my mind on what to do.

[laurakdy]

We are going on the azura flying from edinburgh in november and all I know is, its either with thomson or thomas cook...

 

Well if its with TC, I will be more than happy...We flew with them to florida last year and although we had a few hours delay, they couldnt have been more helpful and service was second to none...The delay was already up on the board when we arrived at the aiport and as soon as we checked in we were handed vouchers for food and drink imediately, with a letter of apology...

 

We didnt do premium but by all acounts didnt really need to...Seats were 33 in with seatback TVs, also with your own remote control...Food was more than adequate plane food, followed by drinks and also a snack with ice cream later on...

 

Very comfortable and pleasant flight...

[themommy]

Thank you for very informative posts on this subject.

We are due to fly Thomas Cooke on Saturday 8th Jan

Can anyone please confirm that only one case per person is allowed. I know that the limit is 23kg but some on our roll call are under the impression that 2 cases can be taken as long as they don't exceed the 23kg.

[jacari_ja]

Thank you for very informative posts on this subject.

We are due to fly Thomas Cooke on Saturday 8th Jan

Can anyone please confirm that only one case per person is allowed. I know that the limit is 23kg but some on our roll call are under the impression that 2 cases can be taken as long as they don't exceed the 23kg.

Gail

It is only one suitcase per person at 23kg and one cabin case at 5kg.

Enjoy your cruise.

Mary

[themommy]

Thank you Mary

[goodyearbaggieboy]

Hi sorry not 1 case 23 kg max but any amount of cases max 23 kg according to the p ad o website and confirmed by p and o this evening very confusing I know!

[themommy]

Good Morning Paul

I still cannot believe this - I am on the phone whilst I am speaking to you and the P&O rep Andy has just confirmed strictly only one piece of checked luggage per person not to exceed 23kg - I would hate you to get to the airport and lose a case