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Should we book P&O?


mondas42
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1 minute ago, wowzz said:

No Brainer - balcony everytime. Why go all the way to the Carribean and not have a balcony to enjoy ?

Given the reduction in flights,  I'm somewhat surprised that there is any availability at all !

Well there seems to be, or at least they are still taking booking.

 

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Just now, mondas42 said:

Well there seems to be, or at least they are still taking booking.

 

I totally accept that there must be availability, but as you know, they cancelled all flights to St Lucia, so that leaves a greatly reduced number of seats.

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On 9/21/2021 at 10:40 PM, wowzz said:

I totally accept that there must be availability, but as you know, they cancelled all flights to St Lucia, so that leaves a greatly reduced number of seats.

Well we booked it, 14th January 2022, Britannia, flights from Manchester on a TUI charter flight.

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20 minutes ago, mondas42 said:

Well we booked it, 14th January 2022, Britannia, flights from Manchester on a TUI charter flight.

Excellent - I'm sure you will have a great time !

Out of interest,  did you go for a balcony? 

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13 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Excellent - I'm sure you will have a great time !

Out of interest,  did you go for a balcony? 

Yes, we paid for a obstructed balcony but picked room G420, which looks out onto The Glass House and is isn’t obstructed, despite been labelled as such.

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22 minutes ago, mondas42 said:

Yes, we paid for a obstructed balcony but picked room G420, which looks out onto The Glass House and is isn’t obstructed, despite been labelled as such.

Excellent- hopefully you won't regret it.

Perhaps you could report back and let us know your thoughts.

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10 hours ago, mondas42 said:

Yes, we paid for a obstructed balcony but picked room G420, which looks out onto The Glass House and is isn’t obstructed, despite been labelled as such.

Good choice, these cabins only have obstructions below and down the sides, but a completely clear view straight ahead. 

Nothing that would bother most people, but that's apparently why they are graded as obstructed. 

Andy 

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On 9/17/2021 at 11:46 PM, mondas42 said:

We have cruised with p&o a number of times but we haven’t had a holiday in over 2 years cos of the pandemic. I’m shattered and was thinking of booking a Caribbean cruise in the new year to recharge the batteries. However I’ve just seen a load of very poor reviews for the customer service with p&o recently, not something we have encountered in the past. This has made me wonder if I should book with p&o or wait for things to improve? Any advice?

Hi, I'm a great believer in how you view a cruise. Whilst it's nice to be able to access other peoples opinion on their experiences onboard whatever P&O ship they sail we all like different things. I started cruising in 2002 mostly on P&O and I would be the first to admit things have changed quite a bit. When I first cruised onboard Victoria you received  toiletries in a nice P&O bag. If you didn't want something on the menu you could ask for a steak, now it's on the menu, but not as good. If you want a decent steak you have to pay extra at a Speciality Restuarant. Drinking chocolate was served late evening with a supper. Tours of The Bridge and Galley were free. The upside of todays cruises are the quality of ships, grab and go and burgers, fish and chips and pizzas available. I guess we have moved on somewhat. I personally prefered the old style cruising. But reviews will tell you 33% didn't like the cruise 33% thought it was acceptable and 33% thought it great. The other 1% spent the cruise at the bar and couldn't care less.

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On 9/21/2021 at 10:21 PM, mondas42 said:

Not offended at all, everyone is entitled to their view. Been busy looking up deals on various online TA’s hoping to book 14 nights in January on Britannia in the Caribbean. Just trying to decide on large inside vs obstructed balcony and if it’s worth the grand and a bit more.

In the unlikely event you have to quarantine in the cabin due to Covid for yourself or others on board I think having a balcony might be more valuable than ever 

 

Normally we would never consider the extra cost. But it's hard to imagine how unpleasant it might be quarantining in an inside cabin. 

 

This all assumes you are allowed to use the. Balcony still if you are ever asked to stay in cabins on a cruise ?

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20 hours ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

Hi, I'm a great believer in how you view a cruise. Whilst it's nice to be able to access other peoples opinion on their experiences onboard whatever P&O ship they sail we all like different things. I started cruising in 2002 mostly on P&O and I would be the first to admit things have changed quite a bit. When I first cruised onboard Victoria you received  toiletries in a nice P&O bag. If you didn't want something on the menu you could ask for a steak, now it's on the menu, but not as good. If you want a decent steak you have to pay extra at a Speciality Restuarant. Drinking chocolate was served late evening with a supper. Tours of The Bridge and Galley were free. The upside of todays cruises are the quality of ships, grab and go and burgers, fish and chips and pizzas available. I guess we have moved on somewhat. I personally prefered the old style cruising. But reviews will tell you 33% didn't like the cruise 33% thought it was acceptable and 33% thought it great. The other 1% spent the cruise at the bar and couldn't care less.

All true

 

The one thing I will say is cruises on P and O are better value for money than ever compared to a non cruise holiday

 

You simply cannot beat what you get on a P and O Cruise for your money compared to a normal flight and hotel holiday now

 

And we all have the option of spending more on board for extras and higher end dining if we want

 

 

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3 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

In the unlikely event you have to quarantine in the cabin due to Covid for yourself or others on board I think having a balcony might be more valuable than ever 

 

Normally we would never consider the extra cost. But it's hard to imagine how unpleasant it might be quarantining in an inside cabin. 

 

This all assumes you are allowed to use the. Balcony still if you are ever asked to stay in cabins on a cruise ?

If you are unlucky enough to contract Covid, you will be moved from your cabin to the designated isolation area on the ship, so it makes no difference at all as to what cabin you originally booked.  

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7 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

In the unlikely event you have to quarantine in the cabin due to Covid for yourself or others on board I think having a balcony might be more valuable than ever 

 

Normally we would never consider the extra cost. But it's hard to imagine how unpleasant it might be quarantining in an inside cabin. 

 

This all assumes you are allowed to use the. Balcony still if you are ever asked to stay in cabins on a cruise ?

My understanding is that if you have to quarantine you would move to a special area of the ship, so that you are away from other passengers, and can be served by a segregated group of staff. All designed to prevent a single case becoming a major outbreak.

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On 9/21/2021 at 10:36 PM, wowzz said:

No Brainer - balcony everytime. Why go all the way to the Carribean and not have a balcony to enjoy ?

Given the reduction in flights,  I'm somewhat surprised that there is any availability at all !

 

Interesting reply

 

When do you use your balcony?

 

We are early risers. Like to get up early and walk on the decks and use the gym to keep fit.

 

We literally only use our cabin for sleeping and getting ready 

 

And we are always of the opinion you can find way better places on the boat to enjoy the view than in the cabin

 

So we get lowest cabin price available every time giving us more to spend on cruises in general and more to spend on speciality dining and excursions etc

 

I say all that despite my current concerns that whilst Covid is a factor a balcony cabin would be WAY more preferable in case you were ever confined to cabins

 

That's my only reason right now for considering the extra spend

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1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

My understanding is that if you have to quarantine you would move to a special area of the ship, so that you are away from other passengers, and can be served by a segregated group of staff. All designed to prevent a single case becoming a major outbreak.

There's only a limited number of quarantine cabins though?

 

And im more thinking of the very worst case scenario of entire cruises being told to stay in cabins which certainly happened in the past

 

On a two week cruise with Covid spreading its a potential risk and it's come into my thinking being honest

 

Not only that we read of people having to stay on ships far longer than their cruise length etc

 

I could handle that better knowing we could sit on a balcony at least (if allowed)

 

I have no idea in a quarantine situation if they allow you on balconies or not ?

 

Anyone know ?

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3 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

 

Interesting reply

 

When do you use your balcony?

 

We are early risers. Like to get up early and walk on the decks and use the gym to keep fit.

 

We literally only use our cabin for sleeping and getting ready 

 

And we are always of the opinion you can find way better places on the boat to enjoy the view than in the cabin

 

So we get lowest cabin price available every time giving us more to spend on cruises in general and more to spend on speciality dining and excursions etc

 

I say all that despite my current concerns that whilst Covid is a factor a balcony cabin would be WAY more preferable in case you were ever confined to cabins

 

That's my only reason right now for considering the extra spend

I can't speak for Wowzz, but we use the balcony a lot, so we can get away from the riff raff ! 

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Ps to the original thread question having enjoyed a staycation on Britannia recently I would trust P and O to do their very best to keep you safe on board in current circumstances

 

They will have learnt a lot from the staycation cruises albeit a longer length cruise with multiple ports gives them lots more logistics to deal with

 

I wouldn't want to be on the first Caribbean  cruise they run for sure

 

They will need a while to figure it all out

 

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2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

There's only a limited number of quarantine cabins though?

 

And im more thinking of the very worst case scenario of entire cruises being told to stay in cabins which certainly happened in the past

 

On a two week cruise with Covid spreading its a potential risk and it's come into my thinking being honest

 

Not only that we read of people having to stay on ships far longer than their cruise length etc

 

I could handle that better knowing we could sit on a balcony at least (if allowed)

 

I have no idea in a quarantine situation if they allow you on balconies or not ?

 

Anyone know ?

You seem to be over thinking the potential problems. There are now hundreds of cruise ships back in operation, and you can be sure that any covid incident on a cruise would have been "done to death" by the media.

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10 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

You seem to be over thinking the potential problems. There are now hundreds of cruise ships back in operation, and you can be sure that any covid incident on a cruise would have been "done to death" by the media.

14 Night Caribbean cruise in winter is a lot different to cruises happening now

 

They've not even started the Caribbean cruises yet

 

In an ideal world my first choice cruise by far is 1st January brittannia Caribbean 14 nights from barbados

 

Great price including flights at the moment £1420 ish per person

 

We love the Caribbean and my wife is desperate for some sun and we know Britannia well

 

But I can't help thinking it's not going to go to plan

 

And as a result considering Iona for a 12 night Spain and Portugal cruise without the sun at a similar time from Southampton and back for £700 ish per person

 

I've far more confidence that will go to plan

 

Either cruise we don't mind if we can't get off the boat. 

 

But would love the Caribbean weather

 

Ps I think most people will be thinking long and hard what to do for the best for winter holidays this year

 

It's going to be far from normal still

 

 

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19 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

You seem to be over thinking the potential problems. There are now hundreds of cruise ships back in operation, and you can be sure that any covid incident on a cruise would have been "done to death" by the media.

A britannia staycation cruise for 4 nights - everybody is on and off the boat before they even have time to test positive for covid

 

Plus you are close to UK hospitals etc for any treatment

 

Big difference the longer the cruises get  and the further away you travel and the different level of medical care and expertise in those countries

 

I think I'm just being careful weighing up best thing to do

 

One way or another we need a good holiday !

 

I know that !

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

14 Night Caribbean cruise in winter is a lot different to cruises happening now

 

They've not even started the Caribbean cruises yet

 

In an ideal world my first choice cruise by far is 1st January brittannia Caribbean 14 nights from barbados

 

Great price including flights at the moment £1420 ish per person

 

We love the Caribbean and my wife is desperate for some sun and we know Britannia well

 

But I can't help thinking it's not going to go to plan

 

And as a result considering Iona for a 12 night Spain and Portugal cruise without the sun at a similar time from Southampton and back for £700 ish per person

 

I've far more confidence that will go to plan

 

Either cruise we don't mind if we can't get off the boat. 

 

But would love the Caribbean weather

 

Ps I think most people will be thinking long and hard what to do for the best for winter holidays this year

 

It's going to be far from normal still

 

 

£1500, saver fare, inside cabin, economy seat on flight. Is that a great deal?

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2 minutes ago, zap99 said:

£1500, saver fare, inside cabin, economy seat on flight. Is that a great deal

4 minutes ago, zap99 said:

£1500, saver fare, inside cabin, economy seat on flight. Is that a great deal?

 

£2,840 for two people full board and entertainment with return flights to Barbados 14 nights

 

Try pricing up flying to Caribbean and 14 nights in an average hotel with no meals included at same time

 

Or Dubai.

 

Or even the Canaries

 

It's a great deal for winter sun guaranteed

 

Compared to non cruise options at least 

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I can get cheaper flying to Miami and 14 nights Caribbean princess same time

 

By about £500 in total

 

But it's not a package and more risky if either flights or cruise gets cancelled 

 

Plus need privately booked overnight hotels and transfers etc 

 

Its normally very simple in and out of Barbados on Britannia as a package

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