sandancer

This morning I had an email from our TA with reduced fares and deposits for P&O. I am reluctant to even contact them as I know the answer will be “sorry, no evac chair available”. Unless you book far out you can’t count on getting one which means never being able to take advantage of price drops if you have a disability.

Well spotted.

Thanks Bob. When I called they said we could either have a lightweight folding scooter which could go in the boot of a taxi or a larger one which would be suitable for use both off and on the ship but would have to be dismantled to go into the luggage compartment of a coach. Which of these did your wife use?

We plan to try a few beforehand and yes we have an adapted cabin.

We are cruising round trip Southampton and thinking of scooter rental from Mobility at Sea. Would be very grateful for any advice/info on the products/service etc as this would be the first time with a scooter of any type.

Duh. Didn’t even think of that! The Princess cruise was great. The itinerary made it very special and of course celebrating our Diamond Anniversary. The North Cape was spectacular and being out on deck at midnight in the sun was something we’ll never forget. We had the Premier package and it just about covered everything you normally pay for on Princess. Thanks for asking.

You could try Princess and book the Premier package, unlimited drinks, unlimited speciality dining, tips and Wi-Fi for 4 devices (who would have 4 devices on a cruise) plus other perks.

On our last Marella cruise we paid in advance to upgrade to the de luxe drinks. I noticed that you can do this onboard albeit at a higher cost per day. On some cruise lines you have to upgrade on the 1st or 2nd day of the cruise and I wondered if Marella have the same rule. There was a display of upgraded drinks in the coffee shop and I can’t recall seeing anything about a time limit for purchase. It would suit us for DH to have the de luxe and me the AI but I don’t suppose that us allowed.

We both have medication that needs to be refrigerated and a small portable fridge was put in our cabin on Discovery 2.

I take a change of clothes and a few toiletries in hand baggage regardless of arrival time. You just never know if your luggage will arrive before dinner and if, heaven forbid, your bags are mislaid, you will have some essentials.

We could be at the Port of Tyne in 45 mins from home. It would be a deal breaker for us. We would probably never sail out of any other port again. Wishful thinking though.

That’s interesting. We have just disembarked the Sky Princess after our Land of the Midnight Sun cruise (highly recommended) and our next cruise is on the Queen Anne. It’s hard to beat Princess for great value packages but we are very keen to try the new Queen so will go with an open mind. There was a time when we didn’t consider any other line than Celebrity but after 4 Princess cruises and 3 Cunard we have spread our wings a little.

Good point David.

Thanks for the info. I just wish cruise lines (not just Cunard) would show the full cost of a drink on the drinks menu so you could actually see what the true cost of drinks are so you can consider your options without fiddling about adding on the % of the gratuity. It is what it is, it has to be paid so why not show the true figure.

Having cruised Princess and Cunard (on Sky Princess now and our next cruise is on Queen Anne) I would say that Princess are definitely more relaxed with their dress code than Cunard. From the cruise lines you mention, I believe Cunard would be a very different experience.

I think I read that the Premier Inn at West Quay will store baggage for you if you are staying there. Very convenient for the port and although not the Ritz all Premier Inns tend to be the same, clean, comfy bed, good shower and a bar and restaurant onsite. This particular hotel has room rates which are generally higher than those in other areas due to the proximity to the port. We have stayed there several times.

Well it certainly wasn’t a snooze fest on the Sky last night. It was hilarious. The couple who won had been married for 54 years and got every single question right. To be fair the other 2 couples who got loads of things wrong were funnier.

Thanks

We are considering the drinks package for our QA cruise. Can you confirm that the price limit for individual drinks is still $13.50 and that you are not charged 15% gratuity on the package at time of purchase. We are on a Princess cruise right now with the Premium package where the upper limit is $20 so want to compare with the Cunard package.

If a wheelchair friendly cabin is required then booking late is definitely not an option. Almost our only negative about Marella ships is the scarcity of adapted cabins compared to the newer ships. The only way for us is booking more or less at launch. So if an anyone needs an adapted cabin, keep that in mind.

We are on a Fjords cruise right now and have not brought krone and have never been asked to pay cash for even the smallest transaction.

I’m sure you will be very happy with the service Annie. Our luggage is also being collected tomorrow for our cruise on Friday. We use them for the same reason as you. We have used them several times now and been very happy with the service. One thing to remember is that at the end of the cruise you still have to collect your bags and take them to the van which will be waiting outside the terminal. We always have a porter to help with that so it shouldn’t be a problem.

My apologies, I just spotted you refer to the Baggage Holding Company and not the Baggage Handling Company as per the post by Ranchi. My mistake.

That really surprises me. We use the Baggage Handling Company for all of our cruises and believe their function is to collect luggage from your home address and deliver it to the ship. Then at the end of the cruise carry out this in reverse. I can’t understand why P&O would refer anyone to them if they had not used them to transport their luggage. Each item is insured for up £250 but surely that would only apply if they were actually handling the luggage.

Some American friends of ours flew BA to Heathrow recently. On arrival they discovered that their wheelchair has not been loaded onto the aircraft. BA replaced the wheelchair immediately it was discovered and said it was theirs to keep. This was even though the original wheelchair had been found and arrangements made to deliver it back to their home address once they returned home. So I have to agree with debbiebak.