Help needed

[clarets]

Three of us are booked at the end of may for the Baltic(p&o) this is my wife and I and a widowed friend.

 Our problem is we have picked out various excursions with p&o but with us having different booking references

 we have been told they can not guarantee us being on the same coach or even leaving at the same time,anyone

 know if there is a way round this?. Just to add we have been to tui who booked the holiday for us and they gave us

 cruising excursions as their preferred choice but we don't like many from here and find them expensive also to add

 this is our first p&o cruise.

[AndyMichelle]

I would say book on board as the excursion staff are very helpful, but you do run the risk of your preferred choice being sold out.

I did think that they do not allocate the coaches until you arrive for the excursion, but I could be wrong.

Perhaps call P&O direct, I have always found them helpful, you won't be the first asking this question.

Have a fantastic time,

Andy

[john watson]

Each party should contact P&O and tell them they wish their booking reference to be linked with the other booking reference.  If you do not do this you are considered random strangers who have booked independently.  You will likely not dine together on the same table/sitting (club) or all be allocated Freedom Dining (self selection of time /table size each night).

 

When you think about it if a couple booked a cruise with a child and an elderly relative too, it would all be on one booking with one person paying the whole account.  As relatives get more, distant they book independently and the above system is how extended families and friends can be considered as a larger group by the cruise line.

 

In the same way booking excursions, no way would the cruise line split a married couple from their child or put the husband and wife on different coaches, as it is a single group!

 

Regards John

Edited March 11, 2019 by john watson

[clarets]

Thanks Andy, I have spoken to p&o and the lady said more or less the same as you in the fact that this is a recurring problem and needs sorting but at the moment to be fully sure we are together we would have to book on ship but by then our choices could be limited, it looks like we may have to take our chance as the ones offered by tui do not look as good and most are out of our price range.

[BrianI]

You are not allocated to a specific coach when you book. If you ensure that your group all arrive together at the designated meeting point you will be put on the same coach.

Brian

[happy v]

5 minutes ago, BrianI said:

You are not allocated to a specific coach when you book. If you ensure that your group all arrive together at the designated meeting point you will be put on the same coach.

Brian

I would tend to agree with this. You just turn up and get on. If there is more than one coach they fill as you arrive.

[AndyMichelle]

45 minutes ago, clarets said:

Thanks Andy, I have spoken to p&o and the lady said more or less the same as you in the fact that this is a recurring problem and needs sorting but at the moment to be fully sure we are together we would have to book on ship but by then our choices could be limited, it looks like we may have to take our chance as the ones offered by tui do not look as good and most are out of our price range.

I would take my chances, there are always plenty of options available onboard and I would suspect they may have offers if they are not sold out.

There are always local options available in port as well that will be cheaper than P&O.

Just to reiterate what the other lovely people have said, if you turn up together for the excursion, you will be allocated the same coach, regardless of booking.

Relax and enjoy.

Andy

 

[john watson]

41 minutes ago, happy v said:

I would tend to agree with this. You just turn up and get on. If there is more than one coach they fill as you arrive.

 

Yes, they count people on to the coaches sequentially, then at the end they need a group of two or three to complete the fill of each coach.  My experience is that if you have an infant, without a seat booked, wait at the end of the queue as the last bus is sometimes only 95% full leaving a few empty seats.  Pushchairs etc. go in the coach boot. I have found the last coach is the only one likely to be a bit spacey.

 

Regards John

Edited March 11, 2019 by john watson

[majortom10]

It must have changed since my last P&O cruise as you were told in the daily programme that you receive the night before where excursion congregate at a certain time and which lounge. When you arrived you were given a sticker and as long as you all arrive at the same time and make sure you get the same sticker by telling them there are 3 of you then you will be on the same coach.

[kruzseeka]

47 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

It must have changed since my last P&O cruise as you were told in the daily programme that you receive the night before where excursion congregate at a certain time and which lounge. When you arrived you were given a sticker and as long as you all arrive at the same time and make sure you get the same sticker by telling them there are 3 of you then you will be on the same coach.

They use this system for tendering, otherwise you just go with your tickets dockside at the appointed time.

[majortom10]

44 minutes ago, kruzseeka said:

They use this system for tendering, otherwise you just go with your tickets dockside at the appointed time.

It has changed then because many times we have been to the theatre or other lounges to collect stickers for excursions and then called in stages.

Edited March 11, 2019 by majortom10

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

It has changed then because many times we have been to the theatre or other lounges to collect stickers for excursions and then called in stages.

 

Thats been our usual expierience as well, go as a group and collect the tickets as a group to get them on the same coach.

[BrianI]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

It has changed then because many times we have been to the theatre or other lounges to collect stickers for excursions and then called in stages.

It used to be the case to meet in the theatre but on recent cruises we have been asked to meet on the dockside at the designated time. Exact details are given in Horizon.

 

Brian

[Caravan 37]

On Azura in December all excursion groups were asked to meet ashore - no stickers issued at various points on the ship. 

[Tikka234]

For our Belgian cruise we had 3 adults 2 cabins and always went on same coach for excursions as others have said turn up together they give us a sticker and tell us which coach to go to.

 

[NoFlyGuy]

On all our P&O cruises (since 2016) we have been told to meet ashore in non tender ports unlike RCI where you usually get a sticker in the theatre and wait to be called.

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, NoFlyGuy said:

On all our P&O cruises (since 2016) we have been told to meet ashore in non tender ports unlike RCI where you usually get a sticker in the theatre and wait to be called.

Yes I wonder if some people are confusing their Princess cruises with P&O?

[jh1809]

ISTR that on my P&O Med cruise on Arcadia last autumn, there were one or two non-tender ports where they used the sticker system. I think that was because the area on the dockside where you waited for the coaches was a bit cramped, and so they didn't want a great scrum of people there.