msk1955

1 hour ago, Twogreynomads said:

I am surprised and rather disappointed that there has been so little response to this thread which is seeking to find out what is actually happening on board , whereas the two coronovirus threads have to date had a combined 1500 replies the vast majority of which are either speculation or scaremongering.

 

It would be interesting to know for instance, has anything changed in the MDR or have the condiments and butter been removed. Are you still able to serve yourself in the buffet or is the food served to you as it has been during Norovirus outbreaks ?

Is the Library still open as normal, as books are a very good way of spreading any illness? Are big gatherings like the Sailaway, and the shows still going ahead as normal?

Some actual experiences could calm those of us with anxieties at the moment.  Thank you.

No changes whatsoever 2 weeks ago.  All foods still available to serve yourself in the buffet and business as usual in the MDR.  Library open and big gatherings still going ahead (although the Great British Sailaway no longer exists in its old format).  I see no reason for P & O to introduce any of the measures you mention.  I also do not see how P & O could prevent big gatherings (cancel shows in the theatre?  Can't see that happening, nor any reason for it to at the moment).  In the event that a passenger is diagnosed with the virus, I would assume quarantine would kick in anyway.

We were off Azura on 22 February.  No noticeable changes in on board procedures.  The enhanced questionnaire was pretty useless, both at Gatwick and upon boarding.  Just a few questions as to where we had previously visited and whether we were displaying any symptoms.  I am not convinced that everyone would be completely honest in that regard...  Otherwise, all pretty relaxed and business as usual.  We experienced no delays whatsoever.

We arrived on the Friday and the muster drill was around 5.30 p.m. on the Saturday, so as to include all those who arrived on both days.

Can't see much point.  Only a small percentage of cruise passengers are on this website, so any responses won't give a true reflection of the situation.  Up to you though.

It was on Marella Dream over Christmas/New Year.

I certainly did - was pretty certain that this procedure (or lack of) contravened maritime law.  Obviously got a pretty feeble response though.

23 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

sorry we’re not the food experts like yourselves but we found the food rather good on explorer 2 last year,as for the muster drill you turn up at your designated place they explain the drill to you simple really

I didn't say we were food experts - just that to our taste, the food was not as good.  As for the muster drill - a complete joke.  The time initially given when this would take place turned out to be wrong.  No announcement over the tannoy, no demonstration of what the emergency signal sounded like, no demonstration of how to put on the life jacket and no checking of who was present.  The guy in the life jacket just stood there with the jacket already on and then took a few people's names (by no means everyone) and went.  We might as well not have bothered going.

I would say the food on Marella is pretty awful compared to P & O and the muster drill was a complete joke.  Seemed to me they are a pretty poor imitation of P & O.

Be careful with St Vincent.  Ships have not been calling there for the last few weeks (our recent cruise on Azura substituted Martinique instead).  We had booked a shore excursion with an on shore provider and had to cancel.  You need to make sure that there is a free cancellation option with the company you mention.

On 2/1/2020 at 6:12 PM, Harry Peterson said:

That’s one of the key concerns on FB, where that smell is a major topic. I’ve experienced the smell (basically raw sewage), and it’s not pleasant. It’s apparently been going on for years, and it’s odd that it’s not mentioned in the refit - though that would involve an acceptance that it exists!

Just off Azura and the smell was very bad.  However, I disagree that it has been around for years as we were on her 18 months ago doing the fjords and there was no smell evident at that time.

I managed to get in late yesterday afternoon.  I had cleared my cache earlier and used the link on the website.  While on first accessing, it appears to take me to the new platform, I then get redirected back to the old cruise personaliser with a message at the top of the page saying they are still working on migrating people over.  It won't matter to me after Friday, as that is when we depart on our next cruise and we don't any any others booked at present.  Think I have all the paperwork and info I need.

Still unable to access.  Think it might be because my profile hadn't been migrated over to the new platform.  Just get error messages whichever browser I use.

Still not working on either browser for me...

Is anyone else having problems logging on to the website?  I have tried using Internet Explorer and Chrome, but get error messages with both.

We were on the Ancient Affair last year, departing on Christmas Day 2019 and returning on New Year's Day 2020.  It certainly did feel very special.  Decorations and Christmas trees everywhere, main dining room beautifully decorated on both Christmas Day and New Year's Eve - lots of people made an effort with black tie too.  Pool party on deck to welcome in the new year.  We had a great time.

That sounds very disappointing and is something which might well put me off doing a NYE on P & O.  This year, we were on a Marella NYE cruise and they made a very big deal of it.  Main dining room beautifully decorated, black tie dress code, party on deck with DJ and all the entertainers providing music, ice carvings and the captain sounding the ship's horn at midnight.  Of course, with Marella being all inclusive, the drinks were flowing.  The deck party went on until 2 a.m.  We had a fantastic night.

Also to reiterate that the troll cars don't go all the way to the glacier.  There is a further walk of around 500 metres to get there.  Also please be aware that you might have a long wait for a troll car as they run to a schedule.  We were in June last year and walked all the way.  The weather was fantastic and the views stunning.  Olden was my favourite port of call, due to the stunning scenery.

Email just in - it's Gary Barlow.

Does anyone know why Azura is now docked in Martinique?  According to her current itinerary, she should be under way from Bridgetown to St Kitts.  Hope it's not a medical emergency detour.

Just to highlight that no cruise ships have been docking in Ashdod for the past 7/8 weeks due to missiles being fired over the border.  Hope they start docking there again for your sailing.

Where are you due to dock?  Our original itinerary was changed from Ashdod to Haifa, so I would assume this would impact on any private tours booked from the original port.  Fortunately we booked the overnight experience with Marella and had a fantastic, if exhausting time.

I still don't have access to the new cruise personaliser.  The new log in front page appears, but I then get redirected back to the old log in page and have to log in again.  That then takes me to the old personaliser.  No idea when my personaliser will get updated.

We are actually flying, so if our labels aren't received before departure, where will we collect them?

Many thanks for the reply.  Very helpful.

In the past, P & O have provided cabin details and luggage tags 5 weeks prior to departure (on saver fares).  However, for our cruise departing at the beginning of February, I am still getting the message "Luggage tags are not available because your cabin has not been assigned".  Has anyone else experienced this and when can we realistically expect our cabin to be assigned?  Many thanks.