New to P&O. Help please!

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, Burgmeister said:

Thank you for your response but I'm not quite sure where you got the idea that I was signed up to a 35 night cruise? We have booked  a 7 night cruise

 

Disappointed to hear that kids run riot - that can absolutely ruin a cruise.

It is not the norm in my experience.

We were on Ventura in August and rarely saw any kids being noisy.

We have been on Ventura 5 times and always enjoyed the experience.

The lunchtime buffet is the only negative for us on Ventura so we often eat in the restaurant.

Epicurean speciality restaurant is a nice treat.

Graham

Edited February 6, 2020 by grapau27

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, Burgmeister said:

Couple more questions.

 

1. Are any of the MDRs open for lunch on embarkation day?

2. Can you get access to your cabin as soon as you board (as on Princess) or do you have to wait until a certain time (as per RC and Norwegian)?

 

Thanks

The buffet is usually the best choice on embarkation day.

On most cruiselines  P&O,RC and Princess the cabins are never ready until 1pm at the earliest.

[Suebiker]

1 hour ago, Burgmeister said:

Thank you for your response but I'm not quite sure where you got the idea that I was signed up to a 35 night cruise? We have booked  a 7 night cruise

 

Disappointed to hear that kids run riot - that can absolutely ruin a cruise.

 

I wouldn't worry - I have been on Ventura many times and never seen kids running riot!!!!!  

[Burgmeister]

9 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

The Glass House etc are open for lunch on embarkation, don't think the MDR is. 

As for cabin availability, depends what time you arrive. 

We have been lucky most of the time, but our last cruise we had about a half hour wait. 

Most are ready by 2ish.

Andy 

Ah, shame about the MDR. On RC and Princess they have one of the main MDRs open and, as everyone else normally heads straight for the buffet, it makes a lovely start to your holiday to be served a nice lunch in a serene environment.

 

Oh, well, I'll just have to join the hoards in the Glass House.

 

Princes is the only line that we have been on where they let you get access to your cabin no matter what time you arrive - even if it hasn't been finished yet. Really handy to be able to dump your hand luggage prior to heading to the MDR for lunch. Have to say that was the only cruise where we have been able to do that. RC make an announcement around 2pm to say all cabins are ready and, IIRC, Norwegian was the same.

 

Thanks everyone for the answers to my queries.

[Jennizor]

I don’t think there will be hordes in the Glasshouse. You will enjoy a lovely meal served  at your table but there is a small cover charge for it. Enjoy.

[DamianG]

Last August we cruised on Ventura for the 3rd time but it was the 1st time during August school holidays. My onboard blog is here:

 

I don't expect you to trawl all the way through it (unless you want to!) but I have to say that we didn't witness hordes of kids "running riot" and on a couple of occasions I complimented the behaviour of a group of teenagers enjoying themselves responsibly in the evenings.

I did have some reservations about Ventura beforehand but know that each cruise is different depending on the clientele onboard and I also know that people are more likely to bother to post a negative review than when everything is fine. Of course we had a few niggles here and there but it was still a good cruise which we have some great memories of. 

Keep an open mind and make it work for you.

All the best.

Damian

 

[Suebiker]

1 hour ago, Burgmeister said:

Ah, shame about the MDR. On RC and Princess they have one of the main MDRs open and, as everyone else normally heads straight for the buffet, it makes a lovely start to your holiday to be served a nice lunch in a serene environment.

 

Oh, well, I'll just have to join the hoards in the Glass House.

 

Princes is the only line that we have been on where they let you get access to your cabin no matter what time you arrive - even if it hasn't been finished yet. Really handy to be able to dump your hand luggage prior to heading to the MDR for lunch. Have to say that was the only cruise where we have been able to do that. RC make an announcement around 2pm to say all cabins are ready and, IIRC, Norwegian was the same.

 

Thanks everyone for the answers to my queries.

 

We have always taken our hand luggage straight to our cabins and dropped it off before going to lunch. Never had an issue or been told off for doing this.  Obviously we don't stay in the cabin but it is handy to be able to drop stuff off.

 

The Glasshouse  is a speciality restaurant and charges for meals - so I wouldn't think it would be busy.  The Beachhouse is the buffet and will be busy!!!!!!!!

 

 

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Burgmeister said:

Ah, shame about the MDR. On RC and Princess they have one of the main MDRs open and, as everyone else normally heads straight for the buffet, it makes a lovely start to your holiday to be served a nice lunch in a serene environment.

 

Oh, well, I'll just have to join the hoards in the Glass House.

 

Princes is the only line that we have been on where they let you get access to your cabin no matter what time you arrive - even if it hasn't been finished yet. Really handy to be able to dump your hand luggage prior to heading to the MDR for lunch. Have to say that was the only cruise where we have been able to do that. RC make an announcement around 2pm to say all cabins are ready and, IIRC, Norwegian was the same.

 

Thanks everyone for the answers to my queries.

P&O do not have fire doors closed to keep you out of the cabin as do RCI and Celebrity, but you might get black looks from your steward if you want to stay in it and he has not finished preparing it, but dropping off your hand luggage should not be a problem.

We have never seen an MDR open on RCI on embarkation day though, but we have only sailed with them out of Southampton.

Edited February 7, 2020 by terrierjohn

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, Burgmeister said:

Ah, shame about the MDR. On RC and Princess they have one of the main MDRs open and, as everyone else normally heads straight for the buffet, it makes a lovely start to your holiday to be served a nice lunch in a serene environment.

 

Oh, well, I'll just have to join the hoards in the Glass House.

 

Princes is the only line that we have been on where they let you get access to your cabin no matter what time you arrive - even if it hasn't been finished yet. Really handy to be able to dump your hand luggage prior to heading to the MDR for lunch. Have to say that was the only cruise where we have been able to do that. RC make an announcement around 2pm to say all cabins are ready and, IIRC, Norwegian was the same.

 

Thanks everyone for the answers to my queries.

We have been lucky on our 27 Royal Caribbean cruises that the announcement that rooms are ready is just after 1pm.

Often the fire doors are closed until 1 pm to prevent access to the cabins.

Royal usually only open the main Restaurants on sea days but on Voyager class and above the Royal Promenade has several places to get food.

On our 19 P&O cruises we have often walked to our cabin around 1pm and put our hand luggage in the cabin.

On our Grand Princess Hawaiian cruise in November from San Francisco we got into our cabin after check in around 12.30.

The buffet was good and we carried our food outside most days which was very pleasant at the aft of the ship.

We also had some pleasant lunches in the MDR on Grand Princess.

[KnowTheScore]

@Burgermeister

 

1. Are any of the MDRs open for lunch on embarkation day?

 

Yes but they are only available to high tier Portunus level passengers who get a special "Welcome On Board" lunch with free drinks.  One of the loyalty benefits.    For everyone else it's the "smash n grab" buffet I'm afraid. 

 

2. Can you get access to your cabin as soon as you board (as on Princess) or do you have to wait until a certain time (as per RC and Norwegian)?

 

No but just as you have highlighted regarding other cruise lines you can pop to the cabin nonetheless, ideally find your cabin steward who is likely prepping a nearby cabin and ask if you may leave some of your hand luggage in the cabin before going to lunch.   We have done this very regularly on our P&O cruises with no problems whatsoever.  If the cabin steward is nowhere to be seen then we just go into the cabin and dump the bags anyway as your key card will work.  

 

2 points to note here

 

First and most obvious do not under any circumstances leave anything valuable in those bags.  Remove your passport wallet and all your Euros or other spending money and anything else of value.

 

Second, leave the bags inside a wardrobe if there is one or neatly well out of the way on other ships so that they won't interfere with the stewards preparation duties.

 

I have to say that these days we make a firm point of travelling extremely light in terms of hand luggage.  Where we used to bring a rolling small suitcase we now just take a small shoulder back and make sure everything else is in the main luggage.  Our bag contains only the passports, money, valuables and laptops nothing more.  It's then a much less stressful process checking in and walking on to the ship and getting lunch imho.

 

 

 

Edited February 7, 2020 by KnowTheScore

[majortom10]

14 hours ago, grapau27 said:

The buffet is usually the best choice on embarkation day.

On most cruiselines  P&O,RC and Princess the cabins are never ready until 1pm at the earliest.

When we have boarded Princess at usually about midday in Southampton the cabins have always been ready to occupy straight away.

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, KnowTheScore said:

@Burgermeister

 

1. Are any of the MDRs open for lunch on embarkation day?

 

Yes but they are only available to high tier Portunus level passengers who get a special "Welcome On Board" lunch with free drinks.  One of the loyalty benefits.    For everyone else it's the "smash n grab" buffet I'm afraid. 

 

2. Can you get access to your cabin as soon as you board (as on Princess) or do you have to wait until a certain time (as per RC and Norwegian)?

 

No but just as you have highlighted regarding other cruise lines you can pop to the cabin nonetheless, ideally find your cabin steward who is likely prepping a nearby cabin and ask if you may leave some of your hand luggage in the cabin before going to lunch.   We have done this very regularly on our P&O cruises with no problems whatsoever.  If the cabin steward is nowhere to be seen then we just go into the cabin and dump the bags anyway as your key card will work.  

 

2 points to note here

 

First and most obvious do not under any circumstances leave anything valuable in those bags.  Remove your passport wallet and all your Euros or other spending money and anything else of value.

 

Second, leave the bags inside a wardrobe if there is one or neatly well out of the way on other ships so that they won't interfere with the stewards preparation duties.

 

I have to say that these days we make a firm point of travelling extremely light in terms of hand luggage.  Where we used to bring a rolling small suitcase we now just take a small shoulder back and make sure everything else is in the main luggage.  Our bag contains only the passports, money, valuables and laptops nothing more.  It's then a much less stressful process checking in and walking on to the ship and getting lunch imho.

 

 

 

Portunus has not been around for years it is The Peninsular Club and has been for a long time.

[grapau27]

1 minute ago, majortom10 said:

When we have boarded Princess at usually about midday in Southampton the cabins have always been ready to occupy straight away.

Cheers,

We got straight into our cabin on Grand Princess in San Francisco in November at 12.30

[grapau27]

4 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Portunus has not been around for years it is The Peninsular Club and has been for a long time.

They also changed the tier names when it was charged from Portunus to Peninsula club.

We got access as Suite passengers on Oceans to a special boarding meal with a glass of champagne.

Edited February 7, 2020 by grapau27

[emam]

9 hours ago, grapau27 said:

After 6pm you are expected to be dressed formally and certain bars and restaurants will not let you enter if you are not dressed appropriately and I have seen people asked to leave.

In my experience probably 95% of people dress up for formal night.

 

Graham, I have seen it mentioned a few times now about being formally dressed after six pm. Is this a P&O rule or people's opinions. I have two reasons for asking, as we don't eat until hours later, we have either sat at the outside of the Tamarind Club (Ventura) watching people walk by in all their finery or on Britannia still been on deck. Presumably the rule doesn't apply to the lido deck.

[Burgmeister]

4 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

P&O do not have fire doors closed to keep you out of the cabin as do RCI and Celebrity, but you might get black looks from your steward if you want to stay in it and he has not finished preparing it, but dropping off your hand luggage should not be a problem.

We have never seen an MDR open on RCI on embarkation day though, but we have only sailed with them out of Southampton.

We have definitely used the MDR on departure day from Southampton. The staff don't ever tell you that they are open - unless you ask.

[Burgmeister]

4 hours ago, Suebiker said:

 

We have always taken our hand luggage straight to our cabins and dropped it off before going to lunch. Never had an issue or been told off for doing this.  Obviously we don't stay in the cabin but it is handy to be able to drop stuff off.

 

The Glasshouse  is a speciality restaurant and charges for meals - so I wouldn't think it would be busy.  The Beachhouse is the buffet and will be busy!!!!!!!!

 

 

Ah, that's good. All we would want to do is dump the bags.

 

Sorry, I meant Beach House - see how new I am to all of this P&O stuff!! 😄

 

I guess we'll just have to face the chaos that is all Cruise ship buffet restaurants on embarkation day. A minor inconvenience but it certainly won't ruin the trip.

 

I understand tha there is a "Costa" on board where you can buy coffee and get snacks. Would this be open as an option to avoid the Beach House?

 

Thanks again everyone - really good info and feedback

Edited February 7, 2020 by Burgmeister

[Burgmeister]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

When we have boarded Princess at usually about midday in Southampton the cabins have always been ready to occupy straight away.

We boarded shortly after 12 and were told that we could access our cabin straight away. When we got there the steward was just finishing off our room. We dumped our bags and, by the time we had done that, the steward finished and left.

 

Edited February 7, 2020 by Burgmeister

[AndyMichelle]

38 minutes ago, emam said:

 

Graham, I have seen it mentioned a few times now about being formally dressed after six pm. Is this a P&O rule or people's opinions. I have two reasons for asking, as we don't eat until hours later, we have either sat at the outside of the Tamarind Club (Ventura) watching people walk by in all their finery or on Britannia still been on deck. Presumably the rule doesn't apply to the lido deck.

I think it is mentioned in the Horizon. 

We too have sat having a drink watching the world go by before getting dressed up for the evening, and the only time it felt like a problem was in the Atrium as we hadn't realised it was the Captain's welcome party... We left as soon as the penny dropped... 

Andy 

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, emam said:

 

Graham, I have seen it mentioned a few times now about being formally dressed after six pm. Is this a P&O rule or people's opinions. I have two reasons for asking, as we don't eat until hours later, we have either sat at the outside of the Tamarind Club (Ventura) watching people walk by in all their finery or on Britannia still been on deck. Presumably the rule doesn't apply to the lido deck.

 

In Metropolis on Ventura I have seen several people asked to leave after 6pm on formal night if they weren't dressed.

They are also strict in the restaurants and advise you to go to the buffet if you don't want to dress up.

You are advised of this in the daily newsletter (Horizon).

The rest of the ship is okay but probably 95% of passengers do dress up anyway.

Edited February 7, 2020 by grapau27

[KnowTheScore]

11 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

 

The rest of the ship is okay but probably 95% of passengers do dress up anyway.

 

 

Every ship has multiple venues which enforce the dress code of the day.   Metropolis is only one such venue on Ventura, there are a number of others such as the Red Bar (Blue bar on Azura) and so on.   So one has to be aware of which venues are dress code venues and respond accordingly.  P&O put lecterns out at the entrance to all such venues so it is clear to passengers.

 

Worth noting for newbies who don't want to participate in Black Tie nights on Ventura or Azura that they can go and dine in the Glass House without having to conform.   There will be a mix of people in there some in Black Tie and some not.   It's an excellent venue as an alternative to the Smash 'N' Grab buffet.  There is also the BeechHouse which is situated in the buffet area but which is a segregated served area pretending to be a separate restaurant for the duration of the evening.  Singhu and the Marco White restaurants enforce the dress codes of the night.

Edited February 7, 2020 by KnowTheScore

[grapau27]

1 minute ago, KnowTheScore said:

 

 

Every ship has multiple venues which enforce the dress code of the day.   Metropolis is only one such venue on Ventura, there are a number of others such as the Red Bar (Blue bar on Azura) and so on.   So one has to be aware of which venues are dress code venues and respond accordingly.  P&O put lecterns out at the entrance to all such venues so it is clear to passengers.

Yes, red bar was also mentioned in the Horizon newsletter for formal night on Ventura.

Fortunately most people are dressed for formal night anyway.

Horizon daily newsletter advises everyone of the dress code of the day and where formal wear is expected.

[emam]

We dress up just not till later and have only been in the walk through room for about ten minutes after 6. Wouldn't dream of going into the special rooms in shorts.

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, emam said:

We dress up just not till later and have only been in the walk through room for about ten minutes after 6. Wouldn't dream of going into the special rooms in shorts.

There are plenty of places you can be on the ship without being dressed up after 6pm on formal night.

[KnowTheScore]

6 hours ago, Burgmeister said:

I understand tha there is a "Costa" on board where you can buy coffee and get snacks. Would this be open as an option to avoid the Beach House?

 

You are correct Burgmeister.  All ships have a coffee bar somewhere but most have far too little seating to cope with the number of passengers on board.  The food they offer there is free (provided you are buying a drink) and varies at different times of the day.

In the morning they start out with breakfast items which include various types of croissant, Danish pastries or pots of yoghurt and fruit etc.   By late morning this all changes and is changed to one or two types of sandwich (on very nice rolls) and various cakes.

 

During embarkation it may well be a more relaxing option for you provided you don't want much to eat.  A sandwich and slice of cake with a latte or tea might be enough to put you on until evening meal.   Seating is sparse though so you may find it difficult to get seated.