First Timer with P&O.

Myself, my wife & daughter( who will be 12) are booked onto Ventura on 26 July 2015 from Southampton. I have many questions to ask so you may get fed up of me over the next 11 months!. Do we still need our EHIC along with travel insurance? Is it best to remove our 12 yr old from auto tips? Apart from Rome, is it worth booking an excursion in other ports? Can we check our bill on the TV on Ventura? (Some say yes others say no). If anyone is on this cruise with kids of a similar age let us know, she's a bit unsure of going to the kids club. Thanks in advance.

Hi and welcome to Cruise Critic.

There is a dedicated P+O sub forum and you will get better information if you post your questions over there.

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

However, I can help you with a few things -

Yes, you should take your EHIC cards. Your insurer will pay for things not covered by the EHIC but will expect you to use it where appropriate.

It is up to you regarding the auto-tips. However, your daughter will still need clearing up after in the cabin, serving in the dining room etc so I would feel that a tip were warranted. P+O grats are about the lowest of any lines. If your daughter uses the 'kids clubs' then I believe it is the done thing to tip the staff there separately as they are not included in the auto-grats.

Without knowing what ports you will be visiting, and what interests you, I cannot answer your query about excursions. It is worth heading over to the 'ports of call' section and reading/asking there about each separate place you will visit.

Yes, I believe it is possible to check your account on the TVs in your cabin on Ventura, although I have never sailed on her.

There is a 'roll call' section here too. Look for P+O, then Ventuara, then your date of travel. P+O passengers don't use this much, it seems, but you might find that people on the same cruise will look in for a chat at some stage.

Hope this helps :)

Thanks for the quick reply. I appreciate your comments re my daughter & the grats. Never thought of it that way. Will head to the link now. Thanks again 😝👍👍

I'm sure you know this already, but for anyone else reading, check the date on your EHIC, as the first bunch of users didn't realise there was a time limit...Hopefully you won't need to use them!;)

Enjoy Ventura, one of our favourite ships. :)

Thanks, Jocap. That's the 1st thing I did. Fortunately they expire in 2017. Thanks for the response. Appreciate it 😋

Hi, we're booked on this cruise as well (it's also our first time with P&O) and have two girls around your daughter's age (plus a younger boy); they'll be 11 and 13 next summer. They're not keen on going to the children's club either, although I'm hoping to persuade them to at least try it out!

Hi, we're booked on this cruise as well (it's also our first time with P&O) and have two girls around your daughter's age (plus a younger boy); they'll be 11 and 13 next summer. They're not keen on going to the children's club either, although I'm hoping to persuade them to at least try it out!

Many kids don't want to go till they actually do and then you never see them

You having to make appointments for them for dinner etc just to catch up

They will be great

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No tips should ever be removed....ever. Each human should pay the recommmended tips...whether you're 2 or 200...

No tips should ever be removed....ever. Each human should pay the recommmended tips...whether you're 2 or 200...

Unless the steward and/or waiter is so disastrously bad that no tip is merited, of course. But in that case, you should have already told reception about the problem.

PS - I have never known stewarding and waiting service be bad, poor, or even indifferent. It's always been pretty much as good as it can be.

Thanks to all for responding. Is so to, I got loads of parents telling me the kids will love the clubs via P&O Cruises group on FB. Loads of tips and hints. Also got shipmate app. As it's our first cruise I wanted to get as much info as possible.😋😋👍

That's good to know; I'll have a look for the FB group. We went on a Royal Caribbean cruise last summer and the children weren't interested in going to the children's club at all, but it was very quiet as it was just before the summer holidays started. They loved the cruise itself, though.