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2 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Never been too hot or too cold in a P&O MDR, whether wearing a jacket or a short sleeved shirt. But I disagree with your assumption that if the dress code was relaxed things would stay the same, I very much doubt that, IMO within a couple of years formal wear would then be very rare.

I feel that the vibe onboard has far more to do with the price the cruise is sold at than the clothes people wear. 
Our last P & O cruise was sold off cheaply at the last minute and the behaviour onboard was pretty bad. The clothes worn were correct as far as the dress code went, didn’t help their behaviour though.

We often find the dining rooms are too warm, spoils the evening.

20 hours ago, CliveJ said:

Exactly as it should be...no-one's 'right' and, within fairly obvious limits, no-one's 'wrong' either. But sadly this is a P&O dress thread, so...?

My take is that if P & O drop the formal requirement the ambience onboard will not change.
We prefer to be comfortable while eating, sitting in a suit, tie etc can be hot and lessen the enjoyment.  
 

 We have recently returned from a  Azamara cruise around the Caribbean, 

there was no formal evening, I hadn’t even looked up the cruise lines expectations.

The standard of dress was fine, no one looked out of place, there was no tutting or frowning. We all just enjoyed ourselves in the clothes we felt most comfortable in.

For us it was just right.

I would prefer not to wear any formal clothes but accept that on P &O there is at least one formal night ( not sure of the dress code for the celebration evening) and will abide by the rules.

If Epicurean had been smart casual every night we would book there for the formal night, as it is not we will book on another evening as I expect the MDR menu should be better than normal on formal night. 
I can foresee a time when all cruise lines will be smart casual, which I look forward to. 
Until that time I will dress as expected, however, if others break the “rules” I will join them! 

We are flying with Tui out of Birmingham. Our seats were available to book this morning ( might have been available at midnight, but I wasn’t staying up just in case!).

I couldn’t book any of the extra leg room seats but the exit rows were fine.

we fly out on the 27th April to Malta. 
 

2 hours ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

Are you going to America and the Caribbean by any chance ? 

No, just a short cruise from Malta. Trying to sort out which evening to book which restaurant.

30 minutes ago, BandBlady said:

Having just done 28 nights on AZURA ,the only speciality dining that required the dress code on Formal nights was Epicurean .Enjoy them all .We found food to be of an excellent standard .

Thank you. 

1 hour ago, tring said:

 

It seems to vary by ship, even for the same restaurant, for instance last Oct/Nov respectively Sindu did not need formal dress on Azura, but on Aurora it did.  So that will explain the disparity mentioned in #2.  Hence need to consider which ship you are asking about.

We will be on Azura.

8 hours ago, TigerB said:

A quick search revealed the following thread from the back end of last year that mentions the dress code:

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2890757-where-to-eat-for-gala-night/#comment-64227305

 

From my experience, I have only seen it 'enforced' in Epicurean and the Crow's Nest.

Others have mentioned about a requirement for best bib and tucker in Sindhu on formal nights; however, we have previously dined in there on a formal night when on Britannia, and men were allowed in whilst wearing open necked shirts.

Thanks.

8 hours ago, wowzz said:

Would it be the end of the world if you had to wear a tie ? 

No, I doubt it, but how does that answer my question? 
 

I’ve tried looking through past posts to no avail.

Do you need to wear formal wear in the specialty restaurants on formal night, or are they more casual? 
 

We just got off the Onward, suite 8032, the only noise we heard was on the white night. Then the tables etc were being moved and woke us up through the night a couple of times.

we are very light sleepers and dislike any noise! We would book the same cabin again.

45 minutes ago, mercury7289 said:

Thanks for the tip! won £95.80, 4 numbers plus one star and two numbers.First time.

That’s the normal payout for those numbers. The jackpot doesn’t roll down until the main prize has gone for four draws at maximum without being won. 

45 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

Guy in paper shop said it had to be won, maybe he was meaning tomorrow's jackpot

Euro millions must be not won for four draws at max payout before it rolls down. So not tonight’s draw.

Saturdays lottery must be won though or it rolls down.

We’ve just moved our sept cruise to next year.  After thought we decided that if we moved it now we would have a greater choice of cruises, cabins etc. 

If the virus has subsided by sept then we might see if we can get a late deal! 

Either way the decision took a weight off.

20 hours ago, wallyj said:

I thinking the brand of Irish Cream on Princess is now 'Brogans', I think the label resembles Bailey's which is why I think many think it is Bailey's. I remember a few years ago a friend mentioned he was expecting Baileys but was served Brogans.

 

This has been my experience for at least the last year. It is very apparent on the days where they try to sell the souvenir glass with the shot of Irish creme.

 

if anyone currently on ship would post the bar menu, I believe it says Irish Creme, not Baileys.

The menu definitely says Baileys. Last night Baileys was available in one bar. Brogans gives me a headache, Baileys does not. 

I understand that Princess can run out of a product, the annoying part is that they didn’t tell us what they were serving to us. Honesty goes a long way!

They pour from a different bottle, which is a cheap version. They didn’t tell us that it was not proper Baileys until we asked. We can tell the difference! 
There is no Baileys onboard. 
now they have run out of our favourite wine as well. 

We are currently onboard the Ruby. We have the premium drinks package but have found that we are being served a cheap version of Baileys. The Baileys bottle is on show at the bar but they pour from a cheap version. When we questioned the taste they admitted it was not Baileys as there was none on the ship! 

Is this the norm? If you ask for a premium brand rum, whiskey etc is that what you get?

6 minutes ago, lissie said:

I didn't say the placebo effect doesn't work - clearly it works for you. But it doesn't work on me LOL 

It’s not a placebo it’s acupressure, the Chinese have used it to good effect for many many years. 

Its a shame you can’t try them. 

1 minute ago, lissie said:

There's no scientific evidence they work -  and I don't do placebos LOL Trust me I've researched this - its drugs and /or ginger - I'm doing the ginger tablets obviously but its what else  I take. 

I don’t need scientific evidence!  Before using them I got seasick looking at a cup of tea! Last year I crossed the Atlantic in a force nine gale without feeling even the slightest bit queasy. They work for me, at a low cost, no side effects ( a slight dent in my wrist, which goes) I can leave them off after a few days and am fine. 

Research only works when you try stuff out yourself! What works for one could well not work for another. 

Take the tablets as a back up and give the bands a go! 

16 hours ago, lissie said:

I'm seeing my Dr next week about options.  The OTC stuff I've found to be ineffective and makes me very,very sleepy - don't want to be a zombie for 14 nights - there must be better options! 

I use sea bands, they work very well with no side effects.  I bought a child size pair, small wrists and they need to fit snugly.

Looking at your ports as long as you are flying hone via a non Chinese airport then you can travel on the 72 hour visa.

the visa is given to you at the port, you don’t apply beforehand.

We used the free 72 hour visa. The rule is you have to be coming from a non Chinese area ( Hong Kong counts as non Chinese) to a different country. We went from Hong Kong to Shanghai, stopped for three days then onto Kuwait.

The 72-hour visa-free transit policy in China allows air passengers from 53 countries to transit and stay for up to 72 hours (3 days) in 18 China cities without a visa. In order to facilitate international visitors' short stay in China, the policy is promising to be carried out in more and more cities in the future.

Many  on our cruise had paid for expensive visas that they did not need. For the 72 hour visa You need to have a copy of your travel itinerary, including the hotel voucher and onward flight details.

it was free and easy. 

I added BSE to our booking, paid in full as we were past final payment. We are from the UK.

I think Princess have changed the rules to allow UK passengers to add this to their bookings without having to cancel and rebook. I paid £35 pppn which is not bad value for Drinks, tips and internet.

We have just added the deal to our already booked cruise. £35 pppd was a no brainer, we would have bought the drinks package anyway. This included tip, premium drinks and internet. We travel in Feb 2020.

We worked the original cost for the drinks as being 7 drinks per day ( including coffee, water etc) which we easily reach. The first night at dinner we encourage the wine waiter to understand our needs, including a dessert wine or port. We have never found a problem in them refilling our glasses.

I like the all inclusive concept.