sidekick180

16 hours ago, ann141 said:

I can understand your disappointment but with P and O flexible transfer scheme could you just transfer to one of the Britannia port cruises. 

I probably could transfer, although it would mean sorting out loads of things that we had already arranged. We decided to leave things as they are for now, just in case any changes take place. Our cruise isn't until 18th September, so we have plenty of time to transfer if we wanted to.

I didn't say that I was disgruntled, I simply feel that it would be nice if we could have at least one stop. I will still be on the cruise, regardless of whether or not the ship makes a port of call. Also, they wouldn't need to hike the fare because they would probably get a better return on the excursions.

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas of how we can persuade the powers that be in P&O to change the itinerary and make at least one port call on the Iona 7 night cruises. Obviously, there was no port call when I made my booking, but I was still happy to go ahead and book. Having said that, at the time of my booking the only ship that had a port call, was the last Britannia 6 night summer cruise. Since I made my booking, P&O suddenly decided to change things a bit and add some 7 night cruises with a port stop. If I had waited, I would have chosen one of these, but I didn't want to leave my booking too long and risk not being able to book something. I think it's only fair that P&O should now also offer a port call for all the Iona 7 nighters. Especially as these were more expensive than the ones currently on offer for Britannia. How can we convince them to be more fair?? Perhaps we could get everyone to email P&O and ask them to do it. They seem to have been swayed by guest feedback and demand when it came to changing the Britannia short breaks to 7 night breaks.

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas of how we can persuade the powers that be in P&O to change the itinerary and make at least one port call on the Iona 7 night cruises. Obviously, there was no port call when I made my booking, but I was still happy to go ahead and book. Having said that, at the time of my booking the only ship that had a port call for the Summer cruises, was the last Britannia 6 night summer cruise. Since I made my booking, P&O suddenly decided to change things a bit and add some 7 night cruises with a port stop. If I had waited, I would have chosen one of these, but I didn't want to leave my booking too long and risk not being able to book something. I think it's only fair that P&O should now also offer a port call for all the Iona 7 nighters. Especially as these were more expensive than the ones currently on offer for Britannia. How can we convince them to be more fair?? Perhaps we could get everyone to email P&O and ask them to do it. They seem to have been swayed by guest feedback and demand when it came to changing the Britannia short breaks to 7 night breaks.

Thanks for the advice. I will be sure to put the drink in our hand luggage. Luckily, we do have two small cases with wheels, so that will be the best option. Don't want the drink being wasted by it getting broken in the main luggage. I know that the porters are a bit more careful on cruises than the porters on airlines, but don't want to take the risk.

I know this question will have been asked a million times before, so I apologize for asking now, but I couldn't find the answer on here.

We are booked on one of the summer cruises, and because there is no on board credit we would like to take some drink with us to reduce the amount we spend on board. We don't drink much anyway, but at least if we can take some drink on board it will save us a few pennies.

I'm sure that someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I assume that we can both take a litre of spirits each? I drink Southern comfort and the OH drinks vodka. We would also need to take mixers with us, so can we also take soft drinks on board, and if so, how much? She uses diet coke and mine is lemonade.

Finally, if we are allowed to take these drinks on board, what are your suggestions for getting them on the ship? Should they go in main luggage or hand luggage?

I'm just worried that if we have to put them in main luggage, the bottles could get broken, soaking all our clothes. Any suggestions and advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

Taken from the P&O website:

"These sailings will leave from our home port in Southampton and sail around UK coastal waters

enjoying the summer sunshine"

Fairly obvious that there will be no ports.

Don't think I will be going on one of those then. Not unless they are no longer than 3 nights and at a very reasonable price.

Just now, jeanlyon said:

The doors are usually open on the tenders, plenty of fresh air, in fact sometimes too much!

I didn't realise they kept the doors open. That could make it a little bit easier to cope with. I might even be able to manage that. Thank you

2 minutes ago, wowzz said:

None of these cruises are calling at ports, they are just ocean cruises, so there is no need to worry about tenders. 

Can I ask where you got this information from please? When I spoke to a lady at P&O the other day, we discussed the potential UK cruises and she seemed to think that they would be visiting UK ports. She even went as far as to say, that if one of them docked in Liverpool it would be lovely because the port is stunning.

As much as I love being on a cruise ship, the thought of having to disembark at a port using a tender, really doesn't sit well with me.

I really want to book one of the UK only cruises this summer, so I would love to hear which UK ports can only be accessed using the ships tender's. I know that there is nothing to worry about on these tender's and the crew are obviously experienced in piloting them, but I am quite claustrophobic, and these boats are totally enclosed. Not my idea of fun at all.

By the grace of God, this will never happen, but if the ship was going down, I know I would have to get in one, or swim, but that would be a matter of life and death, not just to get onto a port.

We were supposed to get on a tender when we visited Guernsey in 2018. We arrived at the tender and it was bouncing around all over the place, so I backed out and refused to get on it. I'm sure I would have been fine, but panic took over and won.

Mind you, it was nice to have so much free space on the ship whilst everyone else was spending hours queueing to get off the ship and hours again to get back on. One chap told me, that from the start of queueing to get off until he got back on the ship was 5 hours. He only spent just over an hour ashore, again, not my idea of fun.

Anyway, if any of you have sailed around the UK in the past, could you let me know which ports require a tender. When the cruises do go on sale, it will give me the heads up, so I know which ones to avoid.

If I have the opportunity to book a cruise that only goes into ports where they can dock, I would choose that one over any of the others. Thanks

I am hoping that P&O will announce the UK cruises for this summer by the end of March. If they do, I am seriously considering booking one. Ideally, I would love to do one of these cruises on Ventura, Azura or Britannia, but I get the feeling that it's more likely to be Aurora or Arcadia.

I did a ship visit a few years ago on Aurora (when they still did ship visits). I can't say I was too impressed with Aurora. It felt really dark and dingy to me, but that's just my personal opinion.

I have never been on Arcadia, so I would love to hear some feedback for this ship, especially how it compares to Ventura and Azura. I have been on both of these once and preferred the Azura (apart from the sewerage smell). I look forward to some lovely feedback.

I recently posted a negative comment about P&O dragging their heels with announcements of cancelled cruises. So, it's only fair that I post a positive for P&O. I received my email today stating that my April cruise on Britannia and my September cruise on Iona have now been cancelled. I immediately telephoned P&O to discuss my FCC and book a cruise for April 2022. I was on the phone for no longer than 20 minutes with an extremely helpful lady from P&O. We went through all the details of the FCC and how it would eventually show on my account. We then discussed the future booking, and I am really pleased that I have now managed to book the same cabin, on the same ship, and the same month next year. It was all very easy and to top it all, I will still have credit left over in my account for another future cruise. We also ended up with even more OBC, so it was a massive win all round. I always deal direct with P&O and always find it to be a very easy process to sort it all out. Obviously, at the moment, it takes them a little longer to answer the phone, but that is to be expected with everything that's going on. Even so, 20 minutes from start to finish and a new cruise booked, leaves me very happy. Well done P&O.

I am also looking forward to the announcements later this month for the British Isles cruises. I might have to think about using my remaining credit to book one of those. Things are definitely looking up.

On the flip side. I have every sympathy for those people that had cruises cancelled, which were for special occasions, such as weddings, and I really hope that they all manage to sort someting out to still be able to make their occasions very special.

9 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

No need to put yourself down, your posts are all extremely well articulated and made complete sense to all but one poster, who happened to be wrong! The dissection of your post, point by point, was somewhat unnecessary IMO and should warrant an apology. Every point that you made was factually correct and very well said and I agree with you completely. 

Thank you for your very kind words.

I'm not bothered about getting an apology, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and perhaps my original post came across as being a bit selfish.

I'm definitely not a selfish person. To be honest, the cruise is more for my other half who has worked for the NHS all the way through this pandemic and she suffers badly with Fibromyalgia, Asthma and Osteoarthritis. She desperately needs something to look forward to, so if it's going to cost me a few hundred pounds more I will just have to find that extra money. It will be worth it to be able to see her relax after all that has been going on.

It's sometimes very difficult to get a point across when sitting at a keyboard, especially if you are not educated to a high level, such as myself. I think, the point I am trying to make is that P&O know full well that the April 2020 cruise, and other cruises, will not go ahead, but they are holding back announcing that cancellations. I have absolutely no clue why they have not cancelled the April cruise, unless I am missing something?

I would lose my deposit if I asked for a refund, and if I remember correctly, my deposit was made before they introduced the 5% deposit, so it's not just a few pennies.

We all want something to look forward to, whether it's this year or next, so I would prefer to book another cruise using the money I have already given them.

I don't think I am being unreasonable hoping to gain a bit of FCC so I can book something and be able to afford it.

23 hours ago, Captain_Morgan said:

Playing Devil's Advocate here and trying to see things from all sides, its important to remember that when it comes to FCC, no company or cruise line is obligated to give people anything shy of a refund for monies paid.  The notion of a FCC is in reality a goodwill gesture for allowing the consumer to essentially provide (in this case) P&O an interest free loan whereby the FCC could be considered a return on said loan/investment.

I understand that some are holding out on cancelling because they want the return in the form of the FCC for the trouble, but complaining that they've not yet had their trip cancelled thus triggering a 'bonus' of sorts is a bit like playing chicken and hoping that P&O blink first.

I suppose the point is that if you've got money tied up that you're not bothered about than carry on and wait for whatever happens one way or  the other,  but if you're expecting a cash-strapped enterprise to throw money at your feet because you're getting impatient I think its going to end up in more stress for the individual than the company.

At the end of the day, P&O likely doesn't know or care (sorry to be so blunt) who we are as consumers and as such couldn't care less if we choose to move our choice of holiday to a competitor in future as this is the beauty of a competitive market.

Just to pick up on a couple of points you made.

I am not being impatient, I have been waiting a long time for P&O to announce that the cruise I have booked for April 2021 will be cancelled.

My April 2020 cruise was cancelled so I booked this years cruise at that point, hoping that the virus would be dealt with by then. Since about September 2020 it was obvious that the cruise would probably not go ahead, but I remained hopeful, which is why I didn't transfer the cruise.

I have also been holding back for the possible FCC because, my cruise is already paid for in full. The cruise I would now like to book for 2022 is about £500 more expensive for fewer nights. I cannot afford that extra cost, so the FCC would enable me to book the cruise next year.

Also, it's not a game of chicken. The cruise in April cannot go ahead, so I am simply wanting P&O to announce the obvious, which is that the cruise has to be cancelled.

The main purpose of the FCC, as far as I am aware, is an incentive by P&O to get guests not to request full refunds and opt for the FCC instead. This enables them to keep hold of monies paid, which I assume they would then invest and gain interest from.

So your point about them throwing money at my feet is nonesense. They would simply be giving me back what they have had, but more importantly, they would keep me as a loyal customer.

Obviously, I am bothered about the money I have tied up with them. I'm not one of their rich customers and my income has been seriously affected by the pandemic, so if they annonce that the cruise is cancelled I can then make the decision to accept the FCC if it is offered, or I can opt for a refund, but at least I would have that choice.   

5 minutes ago, MX-Drew said:

OK, time for some fun to lighten all our moods.

Bets on for an announcement on Tuesday 2nd at 10am?

I will bet a virtual tenner that they don't make an announcement next Tuesday!

6 hours ago, joeecco said:

Once you’ve had your cruise cancelled and opt for FCC you can then rebook and pay a deposit and get them to add on the FCC at a later stage but you have to speak with them before you do so, I did that and it was fine! I’m not sure which sailing you’re on but if it’s Iona to the fjords, I personally don’t think they will cancel that now, but instead make it scenic only. Will be interested if so as to how they handle the passengers that aren’t happy with that. 

It's not a Fjords cruise. It's a Med cruise on Britannia 25th April. Haven't heard anything yet about them cancelling, but I can't see how they can go ahead with it, especailly as the virus is still spreading like wildfire. I know we have the vaccine being rolled out, but not many other countries are anywhere near the same levels of vaccinations as the UK. I doubt if I will be getting my first dose much before the summer. I will wait a few more weeks to see if they cancel. If they don't, I still have up to 26th March to transfer our cruise. Just means I wouldn't benefit from the FCC if I transferred and then they cancel it.

4 minutes ago, joeecco said:

You can’t use FCC on a cruise you’ve already booked, unless it’s for a stateroom upgrade. Or to upgrade from Saver fare to select fare. We’ve already tried this with our wedding cruise. 

OK, thanks for that. I was pretty sure they would not allow that. I will have to wait until they cancel my April cruise. Mind you, I do wonder how quickly I will be able to book another cruise, because I don't know how long it takes for them to confirm the FCC.

2 hours ago, Jennizor said:

Hi Sidekick180, have you paid the balance for your April cruise or did P&O give you another 60 days? The balance for our May cruise is due this week, but unlike some others I have had heard nothing from them about this. I am reluctant to pay the balance as we don’t think we will be going anyway. I just don’t want to lose my deposit, let alone be chasing the full amount again. 

Hi Jennizor. I paid the full amount for my cruise last year, but I booked directly with P&O anyway. I'm pretty sure the cruise will be cancelled, so hopefully, we will receive the Future Cruise Credit. In anticipation of them cancelling our April cruise, I have already started looking at cruises for much later this year. Hopefully, by then, the pandemic will be almost a thing of the past. Ideally, I would like to put the deposit down for the new cruise we are looking at, but I can't find anywhere on P&O site that states whether the FCC can be used to pay the balance of a booked cruise. What I really don't want to happen, is for me to put the deposit down for another cruise and then find out that we are not allowed to use the FCC for balance payments. Then I would either lose my deposit or have to pay the full amount for a cruise I am only looking at as a replacement.

3 minutes ago, bee-ess said:

 

Anyone expecting an announcement tomorrow from P&O about the Pause.

I am hoping for some information, but not sure it will happen tomorrow. They have cancelled up to 24th April and my cruise is supposed to be on 25th. Trouble is, they have now extended the balance due date to 30 days before the cruise, not 90 days. Having said that, mine is all fully paid, so if they do extend the pause and cancel mine, I should get the 125% FCC.

Lots of people have mentioned emails that they have received from P&O advising them that the balance due date for booked cruises, has now been extended to 30 days from departure, instead of the normal 90 days. As far as I am aware, P&O seem to have been announcing extentions to their pauses approximately 10 days before the balance due date (Approximately 100 days before the actual cruise).

Does this mean that they are now likely to make their next announcement 40 days before the cruise date?? Hope that makes sense?

I have a cruise booked on Britannia for 25th April 2021, which is just one day after the end of the current pause. I know that they are very likely to cancel this, but I wish I could find out for sure. It's only 104 days away, so I would like to start making new plans.

At the moment, P&O have extended their pause in cruises to 24th April 2021. My cruise on Britannia is supposed to be sailing on 25th April. part of me whnts them to cancel, but the other part of me still wants it to go ahead. My problem at the moment, is that I really don't want to book and pay for travel insurance, car parking or 'Forced' excursions. Basically, because I don't know whether I would get any money back from all of these if the cruise gets cancelled. I would also prefer to be able to do my own thing when docking in the various ports. Clearly this is not possible at the moment with all the retrictions in the various countries. My question to everyone is:

Does P&O announce extensions to the pause in cruises at a certain time in each month or is it just a case of wait and see?

59 minutes ago, Mr.Clive Browne said:

Very similar situation for us,we have our fcc with P&O (110%) and no cruise re-booked,yet.Initially booked with "Hays travel" in feb. and had to pay all upfront due to cruise being in may,they transferred all the money to P&O then all this happened.Like a lot of us out there we thought it sounds like a good idea to have fcc at 110% as the banks aren't even offering 1%,then it went to 125%,too late for us.Since then we've attempted to find out about the policy on excursions and their reply said that,"we're in the process of working on a new programme of shore excursions that will be available at a lower price and available to purchase via My P&O Cruises eight weeks prior to departure,"to view this you first have to book a cruise.This all seems fine but not ideal as you could be paying £30 for a two hour walk around a town looking at what someone else regards as interesting.What about the church over the road?what about those shops?what's down that alleyway?This has never been an issue before as we've almost always done our own thing.My intial concern was,will you have enough guides and coaches for everyone(3500) and they have assured me that they will have,"enough options for all guests to travel ashore".Reguarding a full refund,i went to Hays yesterday and asked about our options and they said that if you look at getting a full refund with P&O there sure that they charge at least 5%.This morning i've sent another email asking about releasing the restrictions now we're all going to get a vaccine and info. regarding a full refund.If you have any info. from P&O about anything new on refunds please feel free to share.We do still want to cruise and i'm hoping that common sense and logic will wake up and allow all those with a vaccine the freedom to roam on our own.Hopefully P&O will only allow those with a vaccine to board,plus the insurance costs should drop.

                 Stay safe,

                                Clive & Lyn.

I totally agree with most of what you have said there. My onlly concern, is that quite a few people may not have been able to get the vaccine by the time we are due to cruise in April 2021. I think I will be quite a long way down the list of priority vaccine. My other half might be able to get the vaccine before me because she is a district nurse. We alwys do our own thing when we arrive at the ports and I would hate to have to be shepherded around, being told what we can and can't go and look at. Also, It does make you wonder whether we would be allowed entrance to any of the shops or other buildings etc. Maybe we will only be able to look at places from outside.

11 minutes ago, wowzz said:

We did a round trip to the Caribbean on Arcadia a couple of years ago.

We like smaller ships,  so Arcadia suits us fine. Balcony cabins are quite spacious,  with a sofa, and you get a proper bath, not just a shower and a grotty curtain.

Theatre is excellent.

Every ship has its pros and cons, so it is all a matter of personal choice, but we wouldn't have booked another cruise on her if there had been any major negatives.  

OK, thanks. always nice to get recommendations on the ships. I will take a look at cruises that arcadia are doing and will look at the layout of that ship.

17 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

The new proposals will be the same whether you go with P&O or someone else. some of the proposals will be driven by what different countries allow or whether the itineraries will change. Norway are saying they will not open their ports till June, so Iona may be re-routed. You will always be somewhat restricted with 14 nights from Southampton. Albeit there is light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccines, nobody knows what the future holds. If P&O have put their prices up the it is likely others will have done the same, therefore taking the refund (if P&O cancel) will deprive you of the 25% towards a P&O cruise. A lot of people will have some serious thinking to do over the coming months. We have a river cruise in June so will wait and see how things pan out. Good luck whatever you decide.

Thanks for the reply. I totally understand what you are saying, it's all very much hanging in the balance at the moment. I hope your river cruise goes ahead and you have a fantastic time. Apart from my concerns about the excursions and all the other changes, I am also in a bit of a quandry about our cruise. I can't book parking or even take out the travel insurance until much closer to the time because if they cancel, I may not get refunds on the parking or travel insurance. Guess I will have to play the waiting game and see what happens in the next couple of months.