Caribbean flights

[Fossie13]

We are hopefully COVID permitting going to the Caribbean on Azura 10th Dec for 14 nights and I am wondering which airlines P&O use.When should I see this info on the cruise personaliser?

[chrisg1uk]

Before recent events they mostly used TUI using 787's. They had previously also used Thomas Cook A330's but following TC's demise they had to look for extra capacity so purchased some seats on both Virgin & BA scheduled flights.   What they do when cruises restart remains to be seen but a minority of London flights might now be Heathrow rather than Gatwick since Virgin have currently relocated all their fleet. No one knows when these details might appear - it would be pure speculation. 

Edited June 7, 2021 by chrisg1uk
grammar

[PORT ROYAL]

9 minutes ago, Fossie13 said:

We are hopefully COVID permitting going to the Caribbean on Azura 10th Dec for 14 nights and I am wondering which airlines P&O use.When should I see this info on the cruise personaliser?

Sorry to interject 

As this is a PO flight possibly an uncomfortable Charter flight

Do immediately, contact your booking company and arrange for a charter flight upgrade to premium.  Or upgrade to a premium  seat on a scheduled airline, say WT+ On BA

 

Edited June 7, 2021 by PORT ROYAL

[wowzz]

19 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

As this is a PO flight possibly an uncomfortable Charter flight

A TUI flight in economy in a 787 is far better than a BA flight on a 777.

I agree with you about upgrading if possible, but I would be more than happy with TUI premium compared to BA WT+.

[PORT ROYAL]

16 minutes ago, wowzz said:

A TUI flight in economy in a 787 is far better than a BA flight on a 777.

I agree with you about upgrading if possible, but I would be more than happy with TUI premium compared to BA WT+.

To assist the OP make an informed decision.

BA WT+ luggage is 2 off @ 23 plus generous hand pp, but what is PO Premium luggage allowance?

Edited June 7, 2021 by PORT ROYAL
pp

[chrisg1uk]

I believe the TUI premium allowance is 28kg.  I certainly don't rate BA at any class in comparison to their competitors.  If its important to the OP (not aware that it is) I would suggest doing your own research on the various cabin offerings - basically TUI, BA or Virgin) and making your own mind up as there are many different opinions on these boards. 

       

[wowzz]

9 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

To assist the OP make an informed decision.

BA WT+ luggage is 2 off @ 23 plus generous hand, but what is PO Premium luggage allowance?

Normally 23 kg. In all honesty, for a 14 day Caribbean cruise, that is ample.

[wowzz]

4 minutes ago, chrisg1uk said:

I believe the TUI premium allowance is 28kg.  I certainly don't rate BA at any class in comparison to their competitors.  If its important to the OP (not aware that it is) I would suggest doing your own research on the various cabin offerings - basically TUI, BA or Virgin) and making your own mind up as there are many different opinions on these boards. 

       

I'm not sure that you actually get much chance to pick your carriers, only the choice of cabin. And if you fly from a regional airport your choice is virtually nil, as normally it will always be TUI. 

I am, of course referring to Carribean flights.

Edited June 7, 2021 by wowzz

[chrisg1uk]

Just now, wowzz said:

I'm not sure that you actually get much chance to pick your carriers, only the choice of cabin. And if you fly from a regional airport your choice is virtually nil, as it will always be TUI.

Very true actually unless you do as some and remove the included flight form the cruise and purchase your own.  Have known some do it although can't see the need myself.

   

[PORT ROYAL]

Just now, wowzz said:

I'm not sure that you actually get much chance to pick your carriers, only the choice of cabin. And if you fly from a regional airport your choice is virtually nil, as it will always be TUI.

On Cunard, one can pick the airport, airline, flight time, seating grade.  So why not on PO?

[wowzz]

Just now, chrisg1uk said:

Very true actually unless you do as some and remove the included flight form the cruise and purchase your own.  Have known some do it although can't see the need myself.

   

And if you do this, you get no reduction on the cruise price, so you are paying for two lots of flights!

[wowzz]

Just now, PORT ROYAL said:

On Cunard, one can pick the airport, airline, flight time, seating grade.  So why not on PO?

Price!

[chrisg1uk]

1 minute ago, PORT ROYAL said:

On Cunard, one can pick the airport, airline, flight time, seating grade.  So why not on PO?

I suggest you ask them as have no idea.

[PORT ROYAL]

Just now, wowzz said:

Price!

Are the flight upgrade prices on PO higher than Cunard?   If so, that’s wrong.

 

[Fossie13]

I understand as I am flying from a provincial airport(Manchester)] that I would not have a choice of airline and certainly would not swap to a scheduled flight as WOZZ says P&O would not reduce the cruise price.

[PORT ROYAL]

33 minutes ago, Fossie13 said:

I understand as I am flying from a provincial airport(Manchester)] that I would not have a choice of airline and certainly would not swap to a scheduled flight as WOZZ says P&O would not reduce the cruise price.

Think BA and others fly from Manchester, so could you just upgrade to scheduled without a total swap?
 

[wowzz]

8 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

Think BA and others fly from Manchester, so could you just upgrade to scheduled without a total swap?
 

No direct flights from Manchester with BA. 

And you cannot upgrade to a scheduled flight.

[terrierjohn]

58 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

On Cunard, one can pick the airport, airline, flight time, seating grade.  So why not on PO?

P&O fly cruise customers are primarily UK based, so they can negotiate better prices by using charter flights, but as others have said this does not necessarily mean sacrificing quality. Cunard customers are a mix of Brits and Nth Americans, so charter flights are not practical.

[terrierjohn]

13 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

Think BA and others fly from Manchester, so could you just upgrade to scheduled without a total swap?
 

A one off swap as you propose is always going to be higher priced, and it might not be direct, and it would need you to do your own immigration and would not deliver your luggage direct to your cabin after check in the UK.

[BrianI]

If you travel on a scheduled flight to Barbados, then you have to go through immigration and collect your luggage in the terminal.

If you travel on a P&O charter flight you come straight of the plane onto a fleet of buses to take you straight to the ship. You do not enter the terminal. Your luggage follows behind and gets delivered to your cabin later. This is one benefit of a charter flight.

Brian

[kalos]

13 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

A one off swap as you propose is always going to be higher priced, and it might not be direct, and it would need you to do your own immigration and would not deliver your luggage direct to your cabin after check in the UK.

Correct you end up spending a few hours at LHR  if you opt out of the P&O flights to 

Grantley Adams which is the better option as Wowzz has pointed out 

[BrianI]

1 hour ago, PORT ROYAL said:

Understand now, there is a two tier system and a PO Fly Cruise is a totally packaged package, with a package price and no flexibility.  Basically it’s a take it or leave it, with a basic charter luggage maximum of 23 kilos pp, which just about covers foot ware.  I’ll stick with Cunard… 

“Unfollowed”

 

 

 

 

If you want to go to the Caribbean with Cunard then you have to fly or cruise via New York. Not very attractive in the winter season. Cunard don’t have any sailings from Barbados to compete with P&O.

Brian

[Denarius]

2 hours ago, BrianI said:

If you travel on a scheduled flight to Barbados, then you have to go through immigration and collect your luggage in the terminal.

If you travel on a P&O charter flight you come straight of the plane onto a fleet of buses to take you straight to the ship. You do not enter the terminal. Your luggage follows behind and gets delivered to your cabin later. This is one benefit of a charter flight.

Brian

And similarly on returning home. On a P&O charter flight your luggage goes separately to the airport, you put it outside your cabin the evening before disembarkation and do not see it again until your reclaim it at your destination. And whilst you do have to go through emigration you are shepherded by P&O staff from your ship to airport coach to a special priority lane, avoiding the general queues. All very civilised!

[Peanut006]

I would appreciate going on my hols on any plane to anywhere right now!!!

Michelle

[kalos]

6 hours ago, Fossie13 said:

We are hopefully COVID permitting going to the Caribbean on Azura 10th Dec for 14 nights and I am wondering which airlines P&O use.When should I see this info on the cruise personaliser?

 

Hope this link help you Fossie  if you are travelling on a scheduled flight you should receive this from 300 days prior. 

 

https://www.pocruises.com/frequently-asked-questions.flights.FAQ259.summary