sandancer

On 10/15/2023 at 8:24 PM, Clodia said:

Just bought the deluxe package today for Iona on November 11th. Will report on it after or during cruise. 

Hope you are enjoying your cruise. We are trying to decide between the classic and deluxe packages so I look forward to hearing your experience.  Not bothered about the 15 drink limit but would prefer to have a large glass of wine at dinner as it takes so long to get a drink with no wine waiter now. 

On 11/8/2023 at 12:50 PM, tring said:

 

From what I had understood, you can only bid for a specific type of cabin, (i.e. outside, balcony, deluxe balcony, type pf suite).  Am I wrong on that, so you can actually bid on a specific grade within the type of cabin and even the position of a cabin you wish to bid for?  Or is your post incorrect about that? 

 

Would be interesting to know if you can indeed choose a position of a cabin when bidding for an upgrade, as it may make a difference on our thoughts about paying full price for an upgrade on a cruise we have booked.

 

I do agree that someone who has ticked "no automatic upgrade" should still be given the option to go into the upgrade bidding system.  The "no upgrade" request has not been ignored unless they move someone to another cabin without their wish.

 

Just had the upgrade email for our NYE cruise. They point out that once your bid is accepted and you are allocated a new cabin you have to accept it. The cabin booked originally will no longer be available. That makes me nervous. Don’t want to end up in a less desirable location and we usually say “no upgrade”. This time we booked late although still Select and had very little choice of cabin. Now there are only inside cabins available so how would it be possible to bid for an upgrade. 

Definitely. The waiters will probably approach you but it won’t be a problem if you say no thanks. 

Nothing listed yet for our NYE cruise so not surprised that February is not available yet. On our recent Azura cruise 3 black tie nights were on the cruise planner but when we boarded an extra one had been added so even if the dress code is showing on the planner it can be different onboard. 

I just have to say that my contact with P&O this morning could not have been better. I used the 0800 number and after a few minutes of going through the menus the phone was answered by a lovely lady called Charlotte. She resolved my query in a matter of minutes, emailing back and forth with one of her colleagues. At one point we were cut off and she immediately called me back. Really impressed. 

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the 35 nighter Phil as we are doing it in 2025. We are booked for this New Year cruise and 2 weeks in March. Both on Iona. We know the NYE cruise will be very busy and we’ll book everything possible in advance. They say forewarned is forearmed so we will expect the lifts to be rammed and the bars to be heaving but we’ll still have a good time. 

I was wondering if there would be a special meal in Epicurean on NYE. 

I haven’t seen this video but it’s obviously a horrible situation for Gareth Gates. He still has to perform when he must have been feeling really distressed by the antics of these despicable women. Shame on them. 

Yes, it is, also on pre-booked dining. 

5 hours ago, Bell Boy said:

And that is the correct way 👍

Cunard have signage to this affect in the vicinity of the water dispensers. 

P&O need to get their act together on this subject .

P&O also have the same notices. It’s just that people ignore them. 

It’s sterling. Machines don’t take currency. You have to set up an account using your cruise card to play the slots. No idea about table games. 

Thank you. 

That’s a shame. We ate in Epicurean 3 times on Azura and enjoyed all of the meals. It seems that “fully booked” seems to be the standard reply. 

Amazon here I come. 

I know this has been discussed before but I feel so strongly about it, I just have to vent. Why do people ignore the request to not refill personal water bottles from the dispensers in the buffet. On our recent cruise one woman was doing this and I pointed out the notice to her and she just shrugged and said “everyone else does it”. There were at least 4 staff members stood watching this exchange including the head waiter. None of them attempted to back me up. There were a lot of coughs and colds around and this woman put the spout of her bottle right up the the dispenser. Selfish person!

The cards all looked pristine which made me think it was something new. None of the crew pointed them out though and if you didn’t notice them yourself you would never have known about them. Not much help to me as I had to collect hubbies food as well as my own as I’m sure you are aware. NO trays. 

21 hours ago, GOQ said:

I've arthritic knees and problems with my balance so I would very probably need someone to steady me while descending stairs in an emergency. 

 

So I have requested assistance, completed and emailed the form back to P&O but I still had this email which included the paragraph :

 

"Recently, some guests have arrived at the terminal with specific on board needs that they did not make us aware of prior to their holiday. Unfortunately, to ensure we have sufficient capability to support all our guests at all times, this meant those guests were unable to board the ship. "

 

A couple of cruises back I sent a completed request for assistance form back to P&O only to find when I asked for assisted boarding at Southampton they had no record of my request. However while on board they did seem to have my request on file and I was asked to attend an assessment to determine if I was capable of using the ships tender to disembark.

 

So while boarding they had no record of my  request, then while onboard they did have my request.

 

A bit worrying. 

 

 

Don’t worry. I think everyone who requests assistance gets this email.  We have. Our TA had already warned us that P&O are enforcing the rules regarding assistance at Southampton. Maybe too many people were just turning up and asking for assistance. I would suggest either printing your confirmation email or having it on your phone. 

On 11/7/2023 at 10:13 PM, emam said:

 

When you come in off the A1, don't turn into the car park, drive down the side of the service station and stop just behind it.  It's next to the petrol garage. There's a ramp into the services if you want to use the facilities or buy a drink. Your driver will probably know where to go. 

We have decided to stay overnight at the Travelodge. I know it’s going to be an early start and who knows what the weather will be like end of December. Haven’t stayed in a Travelodge for years. Hopefully it’s not too far to the coach park from there. 

15 hours ago, Travelmadoldie said:

Does anyone know the day of the week the menu changes on Azura?

We are going to the Canaries for two weeks in January and would like sample both menus, if possible

We were in Epicurean 3 times on our recent Azura cruise. Once in the first week and twice in the second. I think the menu changed on Saturday. We enjoyed both menus. I highly recommend booking online before you sail, even if you have tons of OBC as it is very popular. We also did the afternoon tea but unless you’ve got a sweet tooth, like me, then I wouldn’t bother. We are on Iona at New Year and I will be booking everything I can in advance. I’m sure I’ll find something to spend the OBC on. 

12 hours ago, Presto2 said:

We have a strategy - we find a table then go one at a time while the other protects the table !

To be honest we avoid the days when we know it will be manic and use the buffet when everyone else has got off and peace resumes !

On the Azura you could pick up a card from the wait staff at the entrance to the serving area which could be left on your table to show it was in use. Great idea I thought. 

Exactly my experience on the Azura. No trays. On the bright side I was so worn out with going up and down that I didn’t eat much myself so my “cruise weight gain” was considerably less than usual. 

I can’t see any way to sort this without contact with P&O. Did you book direct. This is something I hope your TA would sort out if you have one. 
We are on Iona and have also been requested to specify a dining time for NYE even though it is all Freedom dining. We have requested 5.30 even though under normal circumstances that’s way too early for us. I think I remember a thread on here about Christmas and NYE being a zoo on either Arvia or Iona (can’t remember which) so decided to take the early option. We are expecting a full, busy ship so will book everything in advance where possible. 

Spoke to Intercruises this morning and told them that the wheelchair can be folded and put in with the luggage. The agent said we will be seated near the front of the coach. I asked about the size of the bags and she said not to stress about that, just make sure they are not too heavy. She reiterated that we can take 6 bags between us - I think not. 

We had to cancel 2 tours on the Azura as they were unsuitable for the wheelchair (no wheelchair when I booked them) and the refund was back on my card within 24 hours.  

20 minutes ago, emam said:

We bought the smaller cases as I was worried we wouldn't be allowed on the coach with bigger ones. When we got to the coach park, lots of people had much larger cases than ours. The driver certainty gets a work out loading all the cases. 

You are the first pickup, the driver starts at Washington. Make sure you go to the coach park at the back. Our taxi dropped us off in the car park, then saw the correct place as he was leaving. The drivers have all been lovely on the ones we have been on. 

That may be a challenge as we have a wheelchair to deal with as well. Need to make sure the taxi drops us as close to the coach area as possible.