shallwe

We were stuck in traffic on the way back from Florence a couple of years ago and recall that we were past the 'back-on-board' time.

Fortunately it was P&O excursion.

I've never booked a bus before ;-)

However, you will always find taxis waiting at every port of call for your business.

The experienced cruisers tend to prefer the club dining with fixed times whilst the novice cruisers such as myself prefer the flexible freedom dining.

If you go for club dining then we found that going to the early sitting was better for the early shows and vica-versa.

You will have so many views posted on this subject that you will probably be totally confused in the end.

Freedom means that you can go to suit whatever time you like which is why we prefer it.

Oriana was the first and second ship we went on two years ago.

We were in our early-mid fifties and felt positively young compared to the rest of the passengers with one exception, we were knackered by 10.30pm and went to bed, the rest of the ship seemed to be partying until the early hours! :eek:

There's also a link at the top of this pando forum

The good thing about going to the Caribbean is that it is so warm that you only need lightweight clothes, and therefore you can take more of them with you :-)

There are no compulsory vaccinations but it is always wise to keep your own usual vaccinations up to date with boosters when required.

Your surgery will be able to advise when these are/were due.

Although not leather, mine is a heavy duty canvas carrier. I've handed it through the hole twice with absolutely no problem.

However, when we went on a fly cruise I packed it into my suitcase and once again, no problem.

We tended to wander into the area at about 9.30am and could never find a bed.

But then we used to wander around the whole ship at that time and couldn't find a bed anywhere due to the bed-hoggers - people who saved two beds each, one in the sun and one in the shade!

I've been on the Eye twice now and each time found it hugely enjoyable. I don't believe we had more than 10 people on one trip and far less than that on another one.

However we walked past it last week and the queues were horrendous.

After reading the OP post I decided to have a quick peek at the HAL forum board. Talk about problems, they looked twice as bad as P&O.

I couldn't care less when I embark as long as I make it before it sails! I've had a 3.30pm and a 1.30pm. It made no difference, I still had a bite to eat in the buffet. I just drive to Southampton at a time to suit the embarkation.

Whatever you can carry.

You definitely don't want to withdraw cash on a credit card. Use a debit card. My Natiionwide debit card has no charges.

Completely wrong jeanlyon. The Halifax Clarity credit card is the cheapest way of obtaining cash and goods abroad. Read Martin Lewis' moneysavingexpert.com website for details.

I pay mine off as soon as I get home and the interest is counted in pence.

I also have a Nationwide debit and credit cards and their charges are more than the Halifax card. Not a lot more but still more.

There is no automatic recognition that your card is English. However, there are buttons to press to select the language you require, one of which will be English.

Some ATMs will offer to convert your withdrawal to pounds. If you agree to this then the exchange rate conversion will be done by the local bank. The chances are that this will be at a poor exchange rate so it is best to decline this offer so your bank will get charged in Euros and they will convert it at their rate which usually will be better than the local bank.

Brian

This post basically sums up everything I could say. I've never had a problem using machines abroad but as the poster says, decline the exchange into Stirling as the rate is usually awful.

As other posters have said, use a Halifax Clarity card as there are no fees and the exchange rate is the best of all cards at the moment, and has been for years.

We had captain Camby on both our Oriana cruises and found him a very pleasant and reassuring captain.

Like others, my wife found him very pleasing to the eye.

It was held in the Crows Nest on Oriana and the atrium on Britannia.

I packed mine in our suitcases last time but although it didn't break, I wouldn't recommend it. Hand luggage is safer.

Thank you for your replies. I may well call my TA to give a preference.

We went to the Caribbean on a Friday last December with P&O and flew on the Thomson Dreamliner which was a great experience.

We have now booked to go back to the Caribbean but this time have chosen a Saturday. I appreciate that it is sometime in the future (2018) and things can change but, does anyone know what airline P&O use from Gatwick on Saturdays?

Big improvement?

The arrival of Britannia. A ship that P&O can be proud of.

I always use the Waze Sat nav app as it does real time traffic even better than TomTom.

I've found it to be a God send on many occasions taking me round the back doubles in towns and cities to beat the traffic.

I was on two of the three Oriana cruises that had norovirus outbreaks and no, I'm not a carrier!

Although I loved the ship and enjoyed my time did have a bit of a dodgy tummy on the second of these cruises so didn't have a great time.

Because of the norovirus outbreaks, my wife has refused to go on the Oriana again. However out cruise on Britannia was bug free and we absolutely loved it.

We went on the P&O unguided excursion to Pisa and Florence and were glad we did. We hit very heavy traffic on the way back and if it had been any other form taxi, we would have missed the ship.

It is the one time that I would use the ship's own excursion.

With so many decks to choose from it's not easy to say which is the 'best'. We were on 'A' deck and wouldn't hesitate to go on it again.