Hmm - last time with P&O for us.

[OzKiwiJJ]

53 minutes ago, arxcards said:

You could always step-up to Sun or Star 🤣

No thanks! Way too big for us. 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

No thanks! Way too big for us. 

Probably us too, but we shrink the ship a bit by just spending time at the parts we like.

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Probably us too, but we shrink the ship a bit by just spending time at the parts we like.

That helps but it's the port days that are an issue with the mega ships, especially if there are 4 or 5 of them in port at the same time. It's not so much of a problem here at the moment but in other cruise regions some ports are starting to resent the number of cruisers visiting. I believe Barcelona recently announced it was reducing the number of cruise ships in port per day. If more ports in the Mediterranean follow that line then cruising there will become very boring as there won't be enough ports that will accept the mega ships to give variety to the itineraries.

[MicCanberra]

I agree that big ships have some issues, especially with some ports that cannot take the crowds but there are so many ports that can actually take the large ships, it is more of a scheduling  issue within the cruislines than like our region where they cannot even dock.

[MMDown Under]

I toured Alaska by the Alaskan Marine Highway, staying a few nights at each port.  It was amazing how these ports changed when the mega ships arrived each day.  As all ships departed by 5 pm, I was surprised to see passengers queueing up for lunch on board.  Alaska is such a beautiful place to explore on the small ferries, where the big ships can't go.  

[MicCanberra]

13 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I toured Alaska by the Alaskan Marine Highway, staying a few nights at each port.  It was amazing how these ports changed when the mega ships arrived each day.  As all ships departed by 5 pm, I was surprised to see passengers queueing up for lunch on board.  Alaska is such a beautiful place to explore on the small ferries, where the big ships can't go.  

We have met some cruisers that have done the Alaska cruises over 50 times, they do not go ashore anymore.

[MMDown Under]

2 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

We have met some cruisers that have done the Alaska cruises over 50 times, they do not go ashore anymore.

WOW  That would be a relaxing cruise, especially if they had a balcony to soak up the view.

[MicCanberra]

9 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

WOW  That would be a relaxing cruise, especially if they had a balcony to soak up the view.

Yes, they cruise for cruising sake, ship is the destination as they don't  need to cook or clean.

[MMDown Under]

21 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Yes, they cruise for cruising sake, ship is the destination as they don't  need to cook or clean.

I had heard of passengers whose favourite time on the ship was when the ship was in port and they had the ship to themselves when most passengers disembarked.

[ceeceeDee]

7 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I had heard of passengers whose favourite time on the ship was when the ship was in port and they had the ship to themselves when most passengers disembarked.

I'll put my hand up for that one!!!! One time we decided to give Mystery Island a miss and made good use of the spa tubs in the adults only area. Bliss!

[MicCanberra]

15 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I had heard of passengers whose favourite time on the ship was when the ship was in port and they had the ship to themselves when most passengers disembarked.

Definitely, have done that several times in Santorini now.

[MicCanberra]

4 minutes ago, ceeceeDee said:

I'll put my hand up for that one!!!! One time we decided to give Mystery Island a miss and made good use of the spa tubs in the adults only area. Bliss!

Yes, a few cocktails and the hot tub.

[arxcards]

14 minutes ago, ceeceeDee said:

I'll put my hand up for that one!!!! One time we decided to give Mystery Island a miss and made good use of the spa tubs in the adults only area. Bliss!

We usually go ashore, but have started doing that for any stops in Brisbane.😜

[ceeceeDee]

13 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Yes, a few cocktails and the hot tub.

We're you watching us, Mic?🤣

[MicCanberra]

3 minutes ago, ceeceeDee said:

We're you watching us, Mic?🤣

It is what we have done, mud slides, daiquiris, margaritas, all good.

[lyndarra]

I don't think there will be a first time on P&O for me.

Ever since the sad Dianne Brimble episode. At the time we had never been on a cruise and thought if that's the way things are handled then it's not for us.

We went on our first cruise 10 years later and found a good one first up - Celebrity. That was followed by four other different cruise lines.

Mostly HAL for me now.

[lyndarra]

21 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Yes, a few cocktails and the hot tub.

Unless there is a strong chlorine smell you wont get me in one of those tubs full of "kid soup".

[Aus Traveller]

Just now, lyndarra said:

I don't think there will be a first time on P&O for me.

Ever since the sad Dianne Brimble episode. At the time we had never been on a cruise and thought if that's the way things are handled then it's not for us.

We went on our first cruise 10 years later and found a good one first up - Celebrity. That was followed by four other different cruise lines.

Mostly HAL for me now.

At the time when Dianne Brimble died, security wasn't as tight as it became shortly after. Unfortunately the men involved took drugs aboard and the lady made some unfortunate choices. When she became very unwell, they didn't call for medical help until it was too late.

 

In my opinion, P&O was unfairly blamed for the death. It didn't help that the NSW Police investigation was very poorly handled.

 

 

[ceeceeDee]

1 minute ago, lyndarra said:

Unless there is a strong chlorine smell you wont get me in one of those tubs full of "kid soup".

I think we were reasonably safe on that occasion as the 'adults only' rule was fairly strictly enforced. These days on P&O we usually opt for Byron Beach Club and have not observed any kids in the club pool or hot tub.

[ceeceeDee]

2 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

At the time when Dianne Brimble died, security wasn't as tight as it became shortly after. Unfortunately the men involved took drugs aboard and the lady made some unfortunate choices. When she became very unwell, they didn't call for medical help until it was too late.

 

In my opinion, P&O was unfairly blamed for the death. It didn't help that the NSW Police investigation was very poorly handled.

 

 

That's true, Aus Traveller. I have over a period of time read everything I can get my hands (eyes?) on regarding that case. Passenger screening prior to boarding was nowhere near as tight as it is nowadays so the drugs these men took on board were not detected.

I can understand your reluctance, lyndarra. However, incidents/crimes (not necessarily deaths) have occurred on just about every ship and may not necessarily have been handled well by the authorities. Given the millions of passengers cruising each year worldwide, I would venture to say that incidences of serious crimes are relatively low.

[Aus Traveller]

1 minute ago, ceeceeDee said:

That's true, Aus Traveller. I have over a period of time read everything I can get my hands (eyes?) on regarding that case. Passenger screening prior to boarding was nowhere near as tight as it is nowadays so the drugs these men took on board were not detected.

I can understand your reluctance, lyndarra. However, incidents/crimes (not necessarily deaths) have occurred on just about every ship and may not necessarily have been handled well by the authorities. Given the millions of passengers cruising each year worldwide, I would venture to say that incidences of serious crimes are relatively low.

Agreed. Details that came out at the Inquest were very interesting.

 

Ms Brimble's death was initially thought to be from natural causes, probably a heart attack. The authorities on the ship should have know early on that she had bought a lot of alcohol that night, but it was only later that drugs were detected.

[MicCanberra]

41 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

Unless there is a strong chlorine smell you wont get me in one of those tubs full of "kid soup".

Adults only areas eliminates that risk, also first in the tub for the day and not getting face or head in the water is another factor.

[MicCanberra]

24 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Agreed. Details that came out at the Inquest were very interesting.

 

Ms Brimble's death was initially thought to be from natural causes, probably a heart attack. The authorities on the ship should have know early on that she had bought a lot of alcohol that night, but it was only later that drugs were detected.

They may not have necessarily known how much alcohol she had consumed, these were the days before the restrictions on bringing alcohol onboard. Back in 2002, you could also buy duty free products onboard the ship and have it, drink it straight away. That said, these incidents still occur, but it is much rarer due to the security screening getting on the ship as well as security on the ship.

[Aus Traveller]

1 minute ago, MicCanberra said:

They may not have necessarily known how much alcohol she had consumed, these were the days before the restrictions on bringing alcohol onboard. Back in 2002, you could also buy duty free products onboard the ship and have it, drink it straight away. That said, these incidents still occur, but it is much rarer due to the security screening getting on the ship as well as security on the ship.

I can't recall evidence stating that Ms Brimble took alcohol onto the ship. However, she spent a lot of money on alcohol (I can't remember the exact amount) on the first night. Of course, she could have been buying drinks for the men she was with. She might not have drunk it all herself.

[ceeceeDee]

6 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I can't recall evidence stating that Ms Brimble took alcohol onto the ship. However, she spent a lot of money on alcohol (I can't remember the exact amount) on the first night. Of course, she could have been buying drinks for the men she was with. She might not have drunk it all herself.

According to the Coroner's report her blood alcohol reading was .127, not a hugely debilitating amount.