Selbourne

2 hours ago, FangedRose said:

At long last I have reached he dizzying heights of Caribbean. What is the dress code for the mid cruise Loyalty Lunch? I seem to remember seeing people in suits and cocktail dresses at midday but not more recently. 

As others have said, the dress code is smart casual. 

4 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Out of interest, in case this insurance question pops up again. Does your personal medical insurance cover you for any problems that occur on a cruise; and would that include airfares back home if you were admitted to hospital whilst on your cruise?

It’s the ‘air fare’ off the ship that would worry me the most! 🚁💰💰💰💰💰

19 minutes ago, roomba920 said:

I received a response from my travel agent at Vacations To Go this morning, and he stated;

 

"Insurance is no longer a requirement for US citizens. The requirement is only for UK citizens so you will not have to worry about it. Before it was a requirement and we had to tell you up front but that is not the case anymore". 

 

Whew, well that answers that.

Personally, I wouldn’t entertain setting foot on a cruise ship without adequate insurance, whether it was a requirement or not. If one of you was taken seriously ill on board and needed a medical evacuation or transfer to a hospital overseas, you could very easily be looking at many tens of thousands of dollars.

4 minutes ago, gmac00 said:

My wife keeps telling me this 😬......I'm just a stickler for rules and don't like breaking them. I also like to be comfortable on holiday so it's a fine balance!

The very fact that you care about this tells me that you will be fine. It’s a lot more relaxed than it used to be. When we first started cruising, on formal nights the overwhelming majority of gents wore proper dinner suits with the remainder wearing tuxedos. Very few just wore a lounge suit. Now the latter seems to be far more common than a proper dinner suit. When we were on Iona we went to the 710 Club on a formal night and it struck me that I was the only chap in there wearing a dinner suit.

Also, it’s worth keeping in mind that some people can wear the official dress code but very badly and still look very scruffy. Whilst younger generations tend to ‘dress up’ differently from how us older ones do, IMHO they can look far smarter and tend to make far more effort. 

@gmac00 Both are fine. Don’t worry. Just enjoy your cruise!

1 hour ago, david63 said:

The self disembarking/timed disembarking problem could easily be solved by having two exit points - this is done when the ship is in port.

I’m not sure that’s practical in Southampton, where they use an air bridge at all terminals.

We’ve not used self disembarkation but, as mentioned, one of our daughters used it disembarking Iona in August school holidays, when the ship was packed, and had no issue with it all. Any issues with regular disembarkation could easily be solved if P&O adopted the much better system that sister company Cunard use 🤔

6 minutes ago, MyriamS said:

If you're referring to me, I assure you I was not being provocative. I just assumed self-disembarking passengers would not have much luggage (it would be highly impractical to drag several large suitcases around the ship and terminal, even with lifts!) and disembarking passengers would have almost none (since they left it outside their cabins) so the lifts would not be too crowded. But clearly I am wrong. I'll keep my suggestions to myself in the future. 

You are wrong I’m afraid. Many folk using self disembarkation are carrying suitcases, not just hand luggage. They use the facility as they wish to get off early, not necessarily just because they are travelling light. Furthermore, as the husband of a full time wheelchair user, I can assure you that trying to get in a lift during normal disembarkation can be the most challenging time of the cruise, even when people just have hand luggage. If suitcases are added into the equation it adds another level of problems. That’s why self disembarkation is always early, to get those folk out of the way before the peak period of lift usage kicks in. 

1 hour ago, happy v said:

I think the point is. To get everyone with lots of luggage away from the lifts so there is room for passengers.

Exactly and this point has been made several times. Me thinks someone is being deliberately provocative 🤔

4 minutes ago, pete14 said:

The cruise to view the eclipse in Iceland in August 2026 which we had pre registered for is now confirmed with our cabin. The suite allocated to us was absolutely fine but I have changed it to one with a much bigger wrap-around aft balcony a deck lower on Arcadia. Happy days. 😊

We had B165 on Arcadia (a corner one with wrap around balcony) and the balcony was great, as it was part shaded and part open, so usable in all conditions. We viewed one on another deck and the balcony was entirely covered, so made the suite very dark and it was like looking out through a tunnel. This wasn’t apparent on the deck plan. Just thought I’d flag this whilst you still have options. 

7 minutes ago, ohnonotmeagain said:

Genuine question, not being snarky, what is the position of asking for self disembarkation (7.30_8.00ish) but actually getting off the ship at say 9 and just walking off? Would anyone actually stop you/ care?

You don’t actually register for self disembarkation and nobody ever checks what disembarkation time you have been allocated when you leave the ship during normal disembarkation, so technically this is possible. However, this would only work for those with hand luggage who are relaxed about what time they leave, given that there can sometimes be a pause between self and standard disembarkation if baggage trolleys are still being offloaded. However, if you attempted to do this with suitcases then you would rightly be challenged, as lifts are at a premium during normal disembarkation.

3 minutes ago, sandancer said:

No, you only submit a statement once. I’ve been granted obc on two cruises. One Princess, one P&O. Only had to submit a statement for the first one. Just go to PERKS on the app and choose which cruise line, fill in the booking ref etc and a few hours later the second one was granted. Same day had an email from P&O confirming the obc. 

But presumably you applied for both within a fairly short period, which wouldn’t necessitate having to prove the shareholding twice? The interesting thing will be applying for OBC for another cruise say 6 or 12 months after providing the proof of shareholding. I’m not sure if this service has been going long enough to know, but I’d expect to be asked to confirm shareholding again. 

11 minutes ago, david63 said:

That remains to be seen but I am guessing that I will have to submit a new statement for each claim.

I would assume the same. I’ve no idea who knows what, but my guess would be that if Carnival had a way of knowing whether or not people were still shareholders they wouldn’t be paying to use the services of StockPerks. After all, Carnival still have to do the work in applying the OBC, so the only way in which StockPerks could save them time is by verifying shareholdings. 

25 minutes ago, david63 said:

Not disputing that may be the case but it really does not make sense. You could book several cruises at the start of the year, apply for your OBC and then sell your shares the next day.

I think there’s always been the risk of people selling their shares once the OBC has been applied, but prior to the cruise. I’ve not tested it personally, as my shares have appreciated in value by 50% since I bought them and, on top of that, I’ve had about 150% of the outlay back in OBC in less than a year, but given how poor the IT systems are that Carnival use I have no doubt that this would be possible. 

3 minutes ago, david63 said:

That is not strictly correct. There have been instances when due to various circumstances the ship has been late docking. One instance that I recall was on Oriana some years back when she got stuck behind a slow moving cargo ship and dis not reach the dock until 11:30. There are several reports that due to bad weather ships have been late docking.

It’s extremely rare though and I don’t think that the OP needs to worry about that with Iona. Oriana left P&O 5 years ago!

4 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

Seems like promising news... 

La Voix has posted and her cabin has been refurbished with new carpets etc. 

So at least some of the cabins have had some attention, she is on deck 8.

Andy 

Have a great cruise Andy. Are you doing Club dining this time?

1 hour ago, MyriamS said:

Thanks for your feedback, but I'm bit confused about the "wait for regular disembarkation". Why would I need to wait? I always thought they staggered disembarkation times because people have luggage, sometimes a lot of it, so they don't want everyone to try and grab their suitcases at the same time. But my luggage is with me, so I can just... walk off the ship at basically any time and not be in anyone's way, right? 

To be clear, normal disembarkation doesn’t always start as soon as self disembarkation has finished. There can be a pause, for safety reasons, whilst the porters are moving large pallets of luggage around the luggage pick up hall. During this time, nobody is allowed off the ship. 
 

If you want to self disembark (which given your train time you will) then you cannot wander off at your leisure. You have to leave within the designated time slot (it’s at least a 30 minute window, but always early). The good news is that you don’t have to register for self disembarkation, so you could wait to see what disembarkation time you are allocated and then take a view, but if you wish to use normal disembarkation then you have to put your luggage outside your cabin as you go to bed the last night.

If you are travelling light and will be time limited, I would just self disembark as you are guaranteed not to have any delays in getting off the ship, trying to find luggage, getting through customs etc. We went on Iona in the August school holidays with 5,750 others and whilst the ship felt crowded, disembarkation was very good. One of our daughters decided to self disembark and was off the ship, collected her car and on the road by 7.30am. She was very impressed with it. 

They always get back on time, so you needn’t worry about that! The ships are usually docked by around 6am. We’ve never done self disembarkation, so others can confirm the precise timings, but I think it’s usually between around 7.15 and 8am. If you intend to stay in your cabin until 8am and then go for a quick breakfast you will be too late for self disembarkation and will have to wait for regular disembarkation. Your best bet is to grab a very early breakfast in the buffet and self disembark. It’s quite a walk to the station, especially with luggage, but you will be fine with a 9.30am train if you self disembark. 

25 minutes ago, lindyloo22 said:

Well it’s been interesting to read all the replies, as it’s still over 2 years to go to the cruises I have been looking at I’m going to wait until June my next cruise and see if they are offering anything if not probably wait until next year but I will keep an eye on the prices. Never booked at the last minute as we like to pick our cabin but thanks all for the information.

If booking within the 3 months prior to the cruise (after balance due date - when the bargains can sometimes occur) isn’t an option for you (which I quite understand), booking at launch will usually be the best option.
 

The general pattern tends to be that once the launch period has ended, prices go up. Thereafter, until the balance due date, prices will usually be higher than at launch, and sometimes by a very large amount (double the launch price isn’t at all uncommon). The best you can then hope for is an extra OBC offer that effectively takes the net price down towards launch price territory. It’s important to re-state that the two bargain fares that I secured were both after balance due date (so 3 months prior to departure). Booking a 2026 cruise in 2025 is almost certainly going to cost you a lot more than booking it now. Hope that all makes sense. 

5 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

That obviously works if you have flexibility in what time you can take your holidays, alas I have not got that flexibility 

Yes I completely understand that. Neither did I until retirement, hence why we always used to book at launch. Obviously booking at launch gives the satisfaction of having secured your first choice and being able to look forward to it over a prolonged period. Usually it also has the added benefit of being the best time to book, price wise, which was another reason why we always did it. It was a pleasant, but unexpected, surprise that we managed to nab two cruises at short notice at bargain prices. No idea if we will be as lucky again, but booking over 2 years out is no longer sensible for us given my wife’s health, so it’s a chance we’ll take. In the end, we all have to do what’s best for our circumstances. As we often say, there’s no right or wrong answer. 

5 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

@Selbourne and I need accessible cabins, and we know their location and are generally happy with any accessible balcony cabin. So if one becomes available late on, then we are more than happy to book it.

Exactly. No lottery at all in our case. On both occasions that we booked after balance due date we were told the cabin numbers prior to paying, and they were cabins that we would have chosen had we booked on launch day at a much greater cost!

5 minutes ago, daiB said:

As we have discussed before that is not my experience. I have still not found a cruise cheaper than I got it for on day one. Possibly you were lucky with yours because of the cost of living crisis and people dropping out late in the day. I am very happy with the prices I have  got for our summer 26 cruises.

We were definitely lucky Dai. On both cruises where this happened, I had enquired on a couple of previous occasions for each, and there was no availability of accessible balcony cabins, yet on the third time of asking (after balance due date) we managed to get one (in fact we had a choice of 2 on Britannia).
 

As we know, a lot can happen in the two years between launch and balance due date that may affect people’s desire to go on the cruise. Obviously I have no idea why those 3 bookings were cancelled, but logic would suggest that those requiring accessible cabins may be more likely to have to pull out due to health related issues?

Naturally I have no way of knowing if this will happen again as it’s supply and demand. This is now the second launch in a row where we haven’t been wowed enough by any itineraries to book so far out, and the few that have slightly appealed have been more than we’d be prepared to pay. However, I’ve kept a note of the launch prices and will monitor up to sail date. If the price becomes more attractive I might enquire, but I’m fully aware that luck would need to be on our side. 

2 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Apart from some Arvia/Iona cruises which are in very late sale there aren't many if any at this price now though, at least from Southampton.  Our 16 night Aurora in an outside cabin is costing £3,600 with £340 obc, I appreciate it's late August but even savers on the fringes are way over that amount in a balcony from what I can see at present.

 

My only recent "bargain" has been on Cunard although I'm looking at a Princess at present which is looking decent.

I didn’t even look at Arvia and Iona as we aren’t interested in them. It’s possible to get within that price on Britannia and Ventura, and I found a few but, as mentioned we aren’t interested in booking that far out. I strongly suspect that more will become available within our target price if we book after balance due date, as we managed successfully with 2 cruises last year. As mentioned, launch prices aren’t always the cheapest nowadays. 

16 minutes ago, david63 said:

Other factors come into play such as cabin type, cabin location etc. and these may override getting the best price.

Pre-Covid we always used to book at launch because we have to have an accessible balcony cabin. It was a double win, because we secured one of these cabins and the launch prices were never bettered. 
 

Last year we booked cruises on both Britannia and Aurora after balance due date, paid less than the launch prices and still secure accessible balcony cabins. That experience has made us completely re-think our approach, especially as I’ve never been entirely comfortable having to book over 2 years in advance.

4 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

I am more interested in the cruise price, not the amount of OBC. 

I meant to add that exact point in my response. OBC is a marketing ploy to make people feel that they are getting a bargain when, in reality, they might not be. Periods of high OBC are usually accompanied by higher cruise prices. Clearly an on board offer of double or treble OBC makes it a better deal than booking at the same time ashore but, as evidenced by the recent example given in my post, it may well still end up being a poor move. People on board our recent cruise were chuffed at getting £1,200 OBC (treble OBC offer) on next years Grand Voyage, only to find that the cruise price dropped £2,000 afterwards, so that ‘offer’ cost them £800!
 

Like you, in order to see through these marketing tactics, I simply work on a price cap, in my case £100 pppn for a balcony cabin. I calculate the cruise price as the quoted price minus OBC. So a 2 week cruise in a balcony cabin at £2,700 for the two of us, with no OBC, would get my interest. However, an on board offer of £500 OBC at a time when the cruise price was £3,400 wouldn’t!
 

Then, of course, there’s the further complication that you don’t get loyalty discount off on-board spend when you have OBC, and on our 65 nighter people were ‘using up’ large sums of OBC on daft things just to get rid of it. Our total on board spend for the whole cruise was less than half the amount of OBC that some people had, we got 10% loyalty discount and, above all, we’d paid less than half the price for the cruise that those who’d got the ‘free’ OBC had paid 🤔

27 minutes ago, lindyloo22 said:

I have never booked while I have been on board are there any benefits to doing this ie lower deposit, on board spend etc any information appreciated.

As Phil says, there are usually offers but fluid pricing can often trump them. On our recent 65 night Grand Tour, lots of people booked next years Grand Tour whilst on board. There were some perceived very good deals like triple OBC. However, during the last week of our cruise, the price of that cruise dropped by about £2k, which suddenly made all those bookings extremely poor value!