New Cruiser - P&O- Tips? Drinks? Currency? Gatwick Stopover?

New Cruiser off to Caribbean later in year.

• With yesterday's rise in currencies I was going to buy in advance - when I check, on the stopovers I'll need mixture of Eastern Caribbean Dollars, Netherlands Antil. Guilders, & Barbados Dollars - is this usual - or am I making matters difficult - do they take one currency (euro/£ or dollar?)?
  
• P & O have started us off with a £250 credit. I don't see any pre-paid drinks packages (only wine - no beers/spirits) with P & O, although drinks appear comparative to at home? Am I right?
  
• Tips is shown as £6 per person per day - is that it?
  
• Finally - sorry - Gatwick North terminal - stopover, with parking - Premier Inn (Walking distance?) - anywhere else recommended ?
  

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

For your P&O specific questions, it would be best to post on the dedicated P&O forum here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=38

Hi, & welcome to Cruise Critic.

You will ONLY need US dollars on P&O's Caribbean cruises, they're readily accepted at all the ports.

Don't wait 'til you're on the ship (ships' exchange rates are always poor) or in the ports (some holes-in-the-wall dispense only local currency), instead buy dollars before you go at the best rate you can find amongst the usual suspects - Tesco, Sainsbury, M&S, Post Office, on-line etc.

Try to get a decent number of low-value notes - $1 and $5 - because although business which deal with tourists accept USD and give change in USD, in shops which deal mainly with locals (grocery stores & such, usually better value for bottles of pop & such) they accept USD but their tills are geared to give change in local shrapnel. So if you want a $3 ice-cream & hand over a $20 note your change will be $17-worth of souvenir local coins.:(

No, they don't offer all-you-can-drink packages, just wine packages. But try a bottle of the house wine first - the house wine is cheaper than the packages. Not sure if they offer kids' soft drinks packages.

Yes, P&O's prices are about the same as provincial pubs, and no service charge.

But also bear in mind that with P&O you can take aboard any drinks, including all alcohols, to drink in your cabin. You can do this at embarkation or at any port-of-call. (P&O reserve the right to confiscate drinks & return them at the end of the cruise, but they only do that when folk take the mickey - for instance a bunch of teenagers taking aboard a dozen cases of beer). We usually take aboard a few bottles of wine. And a bottle of Pimms & another of lemonade - steal bits of fruit & greenery (but there's no mint) from the buffet, and any time is Pimms o'clock on the balcony.:)

Yes P&O's tips recently went up to £6 per passenger per night. That's for your cabin steward & waiters. If you're very happy with the service (you will be) something extra at the end of the cruise (left-over USD?) is appreciated but not expected.

On Brit ships (also including Thomson, Fred, C&M, etc) on-board costs in general are lower than on US or Italian ships.

But ships' excursions are always expensive.

A simple shared road tour bartered amongst the taxi & minibus drivers at the ports will cost about a quarter of ship's equivalent tour and much quicker & more flexible, though no food or drink included. Drivers at the ports (beware of taxi offers in town, they might not even be licensed) are friendly & trustworthy, they know their island and they know the importance of back-on-board time.

For activities (snorkelling with turtles, river tubing & such) best to book ship's excursion since they're difficult or impossible to replicate on-the-fly.

Can't help with Gatwick hotels, though I suspect Sofitel at South Terminal is the only walkable one. Most hotels that offer long-stay parking provide free transfers - I don't know about Premier Inn, but I've stayed at other Premier Inns, all very acceptable. And a taxi will only cost you a few pounds.

P&O's chartered fly-cruises to the Caribbean are excellent value, and the transfer from aircraft to ship is seamless. Everyone on the plane is on your cruise, you go direct from plane to bus - no terminal, no immigration, no carousel, no customs. The bags that you checked in at Gatwick you'll not see again until they appear outside your cabin door. Which reminds me, pack a change of clothes & swimwear in your carry-on so that you can enjoy the ship before your luggage catches up with you.

Have a great cruise.

JB :)

Wow - thats brilliant - thanks John !

The Premier Inn is two minutes walk from the North Terminal, and there is a fast shuttle bus to South terminal.

Wow - thats brilliant - thanks John !

No worries. :)

My first cruise was a P&O Caribbean fly-cruise, and I've done a few since.

The perfect introduction to cruising

- islands which are well worth a day but most of which would bore the pants off me if I stayed there for a week

- only two sea-days (I don't like sea-days, but sometimes they're a welcome "day off" from exploring ashore)

- no nasty wallet-shocks that you get first-time on a US ship

- a ship-board culture that's very British - the simplest introduction to cruising before you try a US ship

- the seamless transfers

- on your last day, the run of the ship (apart from your cabin), bars, food. pool etc until your flight transfer is called mid to late afternoon, rather than the usual routine of being thrown off the ship at 9am.

JB :)

Edit - seems I got it wrong about Premier Inn not being walkable, thanks to Sancho for correcting.

Just a quick note... there are 2 premier inns at Gatwick. one is right "at" the airport, you come out of the hotel, cross the road, go on an escalator and you are in the terminal.

The other is a walk away. not a long walk, but not one I would want to do with a suitcase.

Pick the one that actually has North Terminal in its address.

We are novice cruisers flying to St Lucia. Island-hopping (just one day at sea), then back after 8 days (last 2 in Barbados).

It may be cheaper to book the Sofitel than Premier Inn ! (we need 9 nights, and that would push us into the top deal with Premier Inn). Short walk preferred to bus transfers.

Thanks guys.

9 nights? what do you mean?

sorry - only just saw you need 9 days parking.

You could also look at the travelodge - it is definitely not walkable but they have a bus for transfers and parking is available for up to 14 days.

Hotel is not as lux as sofitel or even premier but it is good enough for an overnight. -

Directions and parking

How to get to your hotel

Leave the M23 at Junction 9, signposted for Gatwick Airport. Go straight through the first roundabout (signposted Redhill A23) and then at the next roundabout take the 4th exit towards Redhill A23. At the next roundabout take the first exit past the Esso service station and turn on to Povey Cross Road. The Travelodge is located on the left hand side. Shuttle bus services G1, G3 and G7 run from the hotel to both the North and South terminal 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Guests can meet this service outside the hotel and at Bus Stop number 8 at both Gatwick terminals. During peak times (04:00 – 10:00) buses are every 10 minutes. Outside of this time buses are every 15 to 30 minutes. Average travel time from the hotel to the South terminal is 10 minutes and 15 minutes to the North terminal. The cost is £3 per adult, ages 5 to 14 are £1.50 and children under 5 ride free. Whilst Travelodge provide the information above for our customers' convenience, we cannot be held responsible for its accuracy. For further enquires please contact the NSL Services Group bus company.

Parking

APCOA operates the car park on behalf of Travelodge. You can also book your parking space in advance - click here for details.

HGVs and coaches can park with the hotel manager's permission. Blue Badge holders will not be charged for parking if they inform our staff upon arrival who will then advise APCOA.

Parking charges: £8 per 24 hours (maximum stay 14 nights).

We are novice cruisers flying to St Lucia. Island-hopping (just one day at sea), then back after 8 days (last 2 in Barbados).

 

Thanks guys.

The international airport on St Lucia is right at the southern end of the island, the cruise port is just past Castries, at the northern end. It's quite a long slow drive (well over an hour) on a pretty poor road through the rain-forest, but you will see the Pitons on the way.

What are your transfer arrangements?

If the ship offers a tour-transfer instead of a simple transfer, go for it - the drive-in volcano is near that airport and there are other interesting stops on the way too. At those stops you'll probably come across folk from other ships taking in the sights.

There's an airport at Castries, close to your ship's berth, but it's just for local flights - your ship sails under the flight-path just yards from the runway and has to give way to aircraft arriving or departing.

JB :)

9 nights? what do you mean?

sorry - only just saw you need 9 days parking.

we have an 8 day cruise, plus stay 1 night before, and we arrive back early hours of the 10th day.