Waju

Which day of the week you are travelling makes a difference too, I wouldn't like to travel down to Southampton on a Friday or Saturday for example but we are going on a Sunday this time so are happy to go on the day.

There are other parking options if you search on here (or google) such as Parking4cruises or even West Quay shopping centre.  CPS are usually the most expensive but can sometimes surprise you and be fairly reasonable!

1 hour ago, snaefell said:

I have read that when the kids are in school Iona & Arvia are filled with the elderly!

I really hope so when we go!

I had a similar problem a little while ago.  I could log on and see all of my information but I couldn't log on 'as my husband'.  I spoke to someone at P&O and we discovered that at some point when we booked a holiday our cruise agent had asked me (as the booker) for my number but then when adding my husband to the booking then just allocated another random number.  Each time we booked through them after that they used the random number,

The P&O lady was able to reinstate his original number and 'touch wood' we have had no further problems.

1 minute ago, zap99 said:

Book 710 as soon as you get onboard. Sometimes you can get myholiday in the terminal, but in April we wizzed straight through.

Thank you I will try, especially as we have 11.30am boarding - would you know if it can be done onboard anywhere other than the app?  We are travelling with friends who don't board until 3.45pm but all the other entertainments bookings only let you book those in your cabin.

I'm really not too impressed with this system, maybe I'll warm to it - yesterday I could book the Headliners shows but not the guest entertainers.  Today I can book one of the guest entertainers but not the other!  It just doesn't flow too well................

3 minutes ago, Leomins said:

Keep looking at the entertainment available to book as the guest entertainers on our Arvia January cruise appeared a few days after the Headliners.

710 club is free and needs to be booked as soon as you board the ship or possibly when you’re in a holding queue to board. There have been some reports that 710 club is only available to book from 4pm but this seems variable so keep checking.

Thanks for your speedy reply Leomins!

Well, I put my big girl pants on and had a go at booking the entertainment for my fast approaching Arvia cruise.  Can someone kindly confirm that I can only book Headliner shows at the moment and the guest entertainers need to be booked once on board?

Also, is the 710 club the same - only bookable after boarding?  and I'd be interested in approximate cost for this please?

Many thanks 

17 minutes ago, Jennizor said:

The sun is out here in Bolton. The cows are out in the field for the first time this year
Always lovely to see.

 

 

Is that the view from your garden?  Fabulous : )

10 hours ago, grapau27 said:

For anyone who sails on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity these new loyalty reciprocal levels have just been announced.

Having mainly only travelled with P&O, are their Peninsular Club points transferable to any other cruise line?

Just had a quick look at our booking, we booked beginning March and our inside saver cabin was £2320pp.  Hope that helps!

Thank you for that great review and I really enjoyed reading it very much.

We are on Arvia in a couple of weeks and hope we have as good a time as you did 😊

So if I can book the MDR at 6.30pm, or rather join the virtual queue, does that mean I have to be ready to go to the MDR immediately or sit in a bar waiting for maybe an hour and a half?

I much prefer fixed dinging and know that my table will be waiting at 8.30pm - perhaps I've chosen the wrong ship 😐

3 minutes ago, Andy24v said:

No, you can book up to 17:45 in advance as it's not a popular time. Booking for later dining opens at 18:30 on the day.

Phew!  Thank you for telling me that 😊

2 minutes ago, Andy24v said:

Went on Arvia for 14 nights last year. We pre booked a couple of speciality restaurants, and thought it would be OK to book the rest on board.

The reality was, in order to get a seat in an "included" restaurant, we had to do the "18:30 lottery" on the App. A bit like phoning the doctors at 8 o'clock to try to get an emergency appointment. 

The frustrating thing was, the only indication of wait time was queue length. We usually managed to get in at about 20 in the queue, but wait times varied from 20 to 90 mins. This made it impossible to book an 8:30 show unless we booked an extra cost venue, or ate at 17:30.

IMO, the app is a fig leaf to cover up the fact that there are not enough spaces in the included restaurants, by encouraging people to pay for speciality.

Omg this is stressing me out already!  So I should be booking now for the MDR even at a time I don’t want to go?

And aren’t the MDR’s included 😳

So, booking for restaurants has opened for my cruise in two weeks - this is a new'ish' system for me.  I looked at Olive Grove first and the latest times showing for me is 5.45 - does this mean all later tables are taken already??

9 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

It is a worry when some of our regulars disappear.

I got Pauline to join CC plus I email a couple of American friends who are on CC who would post if anything happened to me.

We have both been a bit poorly today and lay on the bed watching TV all day.

I hope you’re both feeling better tomorrow 🙁

Wishing your sister well Josy.

waju x

1 hour ago, kalos said:

 

Crazy how the big folk calling the shots run things .

 

We could never understand how our firm used to use a business supplier to 

buy biro pens that cost them £££'s and yet you could buy about 20 for £1  in 

the local pound shops .

Yet anything else we were told to keep the costs down 🤔

It was exactly the same where I worked!  
 

I have a friend whose company have just had their car park jet washed - one  man - it took a week.  Everyone I tell the story to guesses it cost around £2000?  They paid £8600 - madness!

24 minutes ago, Beckett said:

My daughter is a school cook. She really takes her role seriously and would love to have free rein to cook 'proper food' for the children but you're right Waju, things aren't the same nowadays. And of course the constraints are all about money, and the products the providers the schools are obliged to use provide. Strict rotating menus have to be followed and there's no room for flair or imagination. It's such a shame.  She tries very hard to add her own little twists to the menus for flavour and presentation because she really wants the children to enjoy her food. Jane xx

You're right it's all about money - my Uncle used to be a hospital cook many years ago and they used to have a budget, per person, per day - it was pennies.  

They should let the people like your daughter, who obviously know what they're doing and want to do a good job have free rein to do so!  Do you know, I bet they would be better off nipping to Aldi every morning for fresh ingredients for the day rather than using the huge suppliers of (probably) frozen stuff.

23 minutes ago, brian1 said:

Am I the only one in the world who liked tapioca pudding (frog spawn).

No!  I love milk puddings 🙂

11 hours ago, grapau27 said:

My late mam was the cook supervisor at the school near us.

My late Mother In Law was also a school cook.  That was when schools had 'proper' food, I don't think its the same nowadays.  Her ginger biscuits were legendary 🙂

Thank you all for your help, I've found it now.

I had a nasty foot injury last September and used crutches/walking stick for a while.  I don't use either at all now but was thinking about taking a little fold up stick in my case - After reading this thread I'm not going to bother as I'm 99.9% sure I wouldn't use it. 

59 minutes ago, solentsam said:

Hi it is in the before you sail section. on-bord needs

I must be having a blonde day, I’m still not seeing it!  I’ll try again later when I have more time.

Morning everyone, I’m just completing my paperwork for our cruise in a couple of weeks and was expecting to see a form asking about mobility but I can’t see it? Is it only there if in an accessible cabin is requested?

Great review of your cruise Bill Y, thank you!