P&O not publishing port arrival and departure times?

[Sheltonbaytree]

Hi, P&O on both Arvia and Brittania do not appear to be publishing prt arrival and departure times - anyone know why? I have been on various cruise mapping websites and have found the odd port time if that port is publishing it but do not have a full list which isn't helpful when trying to book trips - help!

[davecttr]

A general opinion may be that they want you to buy their excursions, not independent  ones

[kruzseeka]

It's been discussed at length on here for some considerable time - it seems to be a deliberate move by P&O (Cunard too) as it's clear that they have this information as the port must be notified of arrival/departure times when the berth is booked.  

 

As Dave says one could speculate on the reason!  It makes it much more problematic in respect of planning your own DIY.  But don't be deterred.  You've obviously tried individual port websites seeking schedules and discovered some more details yourself but I can't suggest how you might unearth further info having researched this issue myself in the past.  Perhaps if the itinerary is repeated you may get feedback on here from others who have done the same trip before you go. 

 

However on the plus side generally port times do allow you to DIY - their advertised trips will give you an idea.  If they are advertising long full day trips of 8/10 hours then you have a good window for DiY.  Even shorter stops depending on the port and if you have to travel to where you want to go, can allow plenty of time to explore.  Some ports are easy DIY with good local transport (go armed with timetables) and local tours will often coincide their timings to suit port times too.  So check out what they are offering too. 

 

Perhaps you have experience of your ports of call, but I'm sure there would be lots of help forthcoming if you have ideas of what you want to do at each port - or would like suggestions. 

 

Good luck! 

[Megabear2]

2 hours ago, Sheltonbaytree said:

Hi, P&O on both Arvia and Brittania do not appear to be publishing prt arrival and departure times - anyone know why? I have been on various cruise mapping websites and have found the odd port time if that port is publishing it but do not have a full list which isn't helpful when trying to book trips - help!

Which area are you cruising and when?  If it's the Caribbean ports they have been pretty standard with early arrivals and all onboard by 5.30 except Barbados and St Lucia.

[purplesea]

Have you tried googling the various port authorities? They sometimes have the arrival and departure times. Venture Ashore as well as Shore Excursion are  companies that organise tours and show the arrival and departure times when you imput your cruise details, but how accurate they are I don't know! 

[carlanthony24]

I use a site and you can find timings for P&O and Cunard on it.seems alright to use to get a rough idea from it. Find it quite accurate.

Edited January 4, 2023 by carlanthony24

[jeanlyon]

They never have published them.  Only Early AM, or late AM, Early PM, or Late PM etc.

[carlanthony24]

Can’t post the site but you just search for your cruise on it and it will say what other ships are due in and the rough timings

Edited January 4, 2023 by carlanthony24

[majortom10]

They used to publish times arriving in port and departure times but was stopped many years ago.

[bee-ess]

18 hours ago, Sheltonbaytree said:

Hi, P&O on both Arvia and Brittania do not appear to be publishing prt arrival and departure times - anyone know why? I have been on various cruise mapping websites and have found the odd port time if that port is publishing it but do not have a full list which isn't helpful when trying to book trips - help!

Email P&O and ask for them, they don't reply quickly but you will get them. I always do this about 3 months before the cruise and they always send them to me. Be sure to ask for the ACTUAL times otherwise they will send the vague Morning, afternoon etc ones

 

They send them in this format

Edited January 5, 2023 by bee-ess

[kruzseeka]

1 hour ago, bee-ess said:

Email P&O and ask for them, they don't reply quickly but you will get them. I always do this about 3 months before the cruise and they always send them to me. Be sure to ask for the ACTUAL times otherwise they will send the vague Morning, afternoon etc ones

 

They send them in this format

Very useful tip.  Thanks.  If lots of people follow your advice, they may decide to publish them in the first place.  I suppose it depends on what 'benefit' they perceive relates to not supplying them in the first place.

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, kruzseeka said:

Very useful tip.  Thanks.  If lots of people follow your advice, they may decide to publish them in the first place.  I suppose it depends on what 'benefit' they perceive relates to not supplying them in the first place.

You would then have the return of people queueing at the Pursers desk demanding compensation because the brochure states arrival of 8-30am and we are 15 minutes late. I know because I have seen it with my own eyes in "the good old days" when P&O used to print arrival and departure times in their brochures for every port of call.

[bee-ess]

21 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

You would then have the return of people queueing at the Pursers desk demanding compensation because the brochure states arrival of 8-30am and we are 15 minutes late. I know because I have seen it with my own eyes in "the good old days" when P&O used to print arrival and departure times in their brochures for every port of call.

They do include a disclaimer in the email though

 

Thank you for your email.  Please accept our sincere apologies for the delay in our reply. 
As requested, please see below an itinerary schedule for your A303C cruise. Please note that these times could be subject to change and will be confirmed once on board. 

    Itinerary           Date    Day Arrive Board  Sail 
 TENERIFE               21JAN23 SAT        0100 P 1000 

[kruzseeka]

5 minutes ago, bee-ess said:

They do include a disclaimer in the email though

 

Thank you for your email.  Please accept our sincere apologies for the delay in our reply. 
As requested, please see below an itinerary schedule for your A303C cruise. Please note that these times could be subject to change and will be confirmed once on board. 

    Itinerary           Date    Day Arrive Board  Sail 
 TENERIFE               21JAN23 SAT        0100 P 1000 

That is eminently sensible and to be expected.  How can they legislate for delays for weather, other ship movements in port, unforeseen issues?  Anyone expecting compensation are either very naive or cynical trying to cash in.  Other cruise lines manage to provide this information without being asked for it.  

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

You would then have the return of people queueing at the Pursers desk demanding compensation because the brochure states arrival of 8-30am and we are 15 minutes late. I know because I have seen it with my own eyes in "the good old days" when P&O used to print arrival and departure times in their brochures for every port of call.

Other cruise lines seem to be quite happy to give out timings. The timings for our Princess cruises this year have been available on the cruise planner from the day I booked.

Are P&O cruusers more liable to complain than those on other lines?

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Other cruise lines seem to be quite happy to give out timings. The timings for our Princess cruises this year have been available on the cruise planner from the day I booked.

Are P&O cruusers more liable to complain than those on other lines?

Cunard don't publish times either. With regards Princess many Americans arrange their own group excursions and not book with Princess so I suppose it is what their market demands.

[Somerset Cruiser]

6 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Cunard don't publish times either. With regards Princess many Americans arrange their own group excursions and not book with Princess so I suppose it is what their market demands.

We should demand the same, there is no good reason to hide this information. Of course it's subject to change but it is useful information that costs them nothing to provide. 

[yorkshirephil]

4 hours ago, kruzseeka said:

  I suppose it depends on what 'benefit' they perceive relates to not supplying them in the first place.

Maybe it is a ploy to put people off arranging their own trips, makes it harder if you don't know when you are docking.

[kruzseeka]

1 minute ago, yorkshirephil said:

Maybe it is a ploy to put people off arranging their own trips, makes it harder if you don't know when you are docking.

I agree. And it may well work for inexperienced or nervous cruisers. 

There must be a (business) rationale behind it - they used to provide it and I very much doubt complaints about late arrival is the reason given their disclaimer.  Well folk may try complaining but they aren't going to get anywhere are they? 

[Sheltonbaytree]

P&O very very quickly sent me the full schedule for my cruise - so thank you for the tip.  If anyone wants it here is the schedule for the 4th Feb 23 Arvia cruise

[galeforce9]

On 1/4/2023 at 7:52 PM, jeanlyon said:

They never have published them.  Only Early AM, or late AM, Early PM, or Late PM etc.

They used to publish them but it changed a long time ago

[molecrochip]

A number of reasons why they are not published so widely anymore...

 

a) the actual arrival and departure times are usually only confirmed a couple of weeks in advance once the port knows exactly what ships (cruise or otherwise) are in, what order the ships come in and pilot times etc.

b) actual arrival/departure times do change depending upon weather.

c) The departure times provided by the call center/emails are usually 1 hour later than the on-board time. Thats 30 minutes between on-board time and departure, and 30 mins spare for any delay. Ports are increasing financially penalising cruise lines who leave late as it can have a knock on effect.

[wowzz]

56 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

A number of reasons why they are not published so widely anymore...

 

a) the actual arrival and departure times are usually only confirmed a couple of weeks in advance once the port knows exactly what ships (cruise or otherwise) are in, what order the ships come in and pilot times etc.

b) actual arrival/departure times do change depending upon weather.

c) The departure times provided by the call center/emails are usually 1 hour later than the on-board time. Thats 30 minutes between on-board time and departure, and 30 mins spare for any delay. Ports are increasing financially penalising cruise lines who leave late as it can have a knock on effect.

But Princess and other lines publish the timings. Why do P&O adopt a different approach ? After all, by all accounts, if you ask, P&O will quite happily give you the port timings.

[Somerset Cruiser]

1 hour ago, molecrochip said:

A number of reasons why they are not published so widely anymore...

 

a) the actual arrival and departure times are usually only confirmed a couple of weeks in advance once the port knows exactly what ships (cruise or otherwise) are in, what order the ships come in and pilot times etc.

b) actual arrival/departure times do change depending upon weather.

c) The departure times provided by the call center/emails are usually 1 hour later than the on-board time. Thats 30 minutes between on-board time and departure, and 30 mins spare for any delay. Ports are increasing financially penalising cruise lines who leave late as it can have a knock on effect.

a) incorrect, many cruise lines publish times, even 2 years ahead. 

b) obviously 

c) how much are the penalties? 

[besberry]

Go to an external excursions site.  They publish them all.  That's where I always get my data from,  I've not been let down yet.