BlueVinney

Some years ago we needed some seasickness tablets while sailing between ports on a P&O cruise. On that occasion we found that Avomine tablets were available from the Reception Desk and proved more effective than our usual brand. As we cannot locate any pharmacy selling them in our local area and are shortly going on another P&O cruise I wonder if that service is still available.

Thanks for any help/advice

Thanks for all the help, particularly WatchHill who let us know the situation on her current cruise. As CruiserBruce noted, the Princess dress code is set but it’s compliance is variable.

We like to respect the wishes of the majority of our companions in their compliance. On Cunard we know we’ll need to take more formal clothing but on previous Princess cruises has been a great variability.

So thanks again to everyone, think we’ll leave the tux at home.

Smooth Cruising

We're booked for a British Isles cruise with 2 formal nights. Our experience of the 'formal' dress code appears to vary depending on the cruise location so would appreciate advice regarding the need to take tux or sports jacket or neither on this trip.

Thanks for any help past cruisers can give.

Thanks for all the replies, they've been very helpful. But to add a little more information.

I'm staying at the Best Western JFK Airport. The two quotes were from Dial 7.

From the airport - $52 plus tolls, extra for delays and gratuity

From the hotel - “about $20 more” if my memory is correct.

This appears to be the difference in pricing that njhorseman suggested.

I was wondering if there is any other strategy that would avoid use of the airport shuttle but not incur the extra cost.

The MTA travel planner solution for $7.75 pp

1. Airtrain to Howard Beach Station

2. Transfer to subway A train to Jay St -Metrotech Station

3. Transfer to #61 Bus for the entrance to the Cruise Terminal

Seems a good solution if you are lightly loaded.

However it's looking like the most practical solution may well be to book a mid-morning car from JFK with Dial 7 and use the hotel shuttle to get me to the airport.

I recently had a quotation for a car transfer from JFK to Brooklyn Terminal, leaving at 11am on a weekday. However we'll be staying one night at a hotel adjacent to the airport, so I also had a quotation for travel directly from our hotel. That transfer quotation was over $20 MORE expensive.

So could someone help with the following queries:

1. Why would it be more expensive from the hotel than the airport?

2. Is a car service the most cost effective way of making this journey (2 people, 2 suitcases, 2 carry-ons)?

3. The subway option (suggested by MTA) is more economical but the Airtrain > Subway and Subway > Bus transfers seem unattractive.

4. Has anyone any other suggestions for that transfer? (I've tried Uber but that is almost identical to the one from the car company for JFK to Brooklyn)

Thanks for any help and suggestions.

I'm another Dorset resident living around equal distances from Weymouth and the Corfe Castle/Swanage areas and visit both frequently.

I wouldn't agree with JB's dismissing Swanage as unattractive. It's more like a smaller version of the 'Victorian English holiday resort' experience of Weymouth enjoying less facilities and entertainment but with everything presented in a more compact manner and less distance to walk. Something not available elsewhere is the Swanage Railway with frequent steam trains running to and from Corfe Castle village and the station there is only about 200 yards from the entrance to the Castle. There's also Durlston Country Park located on the cliffs adjoining the town with lots of wildlife and spectacular views to the Isle of Wight and right round to Portland.

As an ex-employee of a US corporation I would expect any American visitors to enjoy either location as something completely different from their experiences back home. The only down sides could be the English weather (although we have had a brilliant late Spring, early Summer) and being aware that there may be restricted opening hours of some facilities from mid-September onwards.

Hope you enjoy Dorset.

Thanks for everyone's replies.

I'll try the other forums suggested by PopsiB, although it looks as though Brits are generally too laid back to organise much before leaving home.

We've been on Adonia before (amongst other P&O ships) and encountered the absence of Roll Calls. However, this time we've a lot less time to research our shore excursions so was hoping to gain the experience of others.

Thanks again to everyone who's helped.

Problem is we've only just started researching ports and leave on Adonia in less than a week! Problems of not squeezing all projects into time available!

So, hoped I could hop onto an existing thread. However, didn't think it would help as there are only 6 Adonia Roll Calls covering all of 2014 & 2015. Of those, 4 have no replies, one has 1 reply and one has 7 replies. QED.

As I mentioned earlier, the cruise we are going on later already has 32 pages of correspondence with 624 replies.

We'd like to link up with others who will also be going on our next cruise so we can organise some excursions where we have a common interest. So I headed to the P&O Roll Call forum but there are few posts and none for our cruise.

Other cruise lines, where there is a higher proportion of N American passengers, seem to have enthusiastic participation just for that purpose. For instance, our other cruise (with a US line), has over 30 pages of passengers linking up. So can anyone suggest another forum we can join to make the same connections?

Thanks for your help.

Hi campolady.

Yes, we're docking in Seville itself. It looks as though many of the smaller ships, such as those from Azamara, can sail into the city. We will be there overnight and have almost 2 full days to visit the city and surrounding area.

We're shortly cruising directly into Seville for a 2 day visit. On one day a train trip to Cordoba seems easily do-able but we've a couple of queries.

1. Where do the cruise ships dock?

2. What is the best way to travel between the port and Seville Santa Justa station at the beginning and end of the day?

Thanks for any help and advice.

Thanks everyone for replying, I hope that your news continues to be true on my next cruise.

Continuing on the tea theme, the best tea drink on the seas used to be served at P&O afternoon tea in the main dining room. The real tea leaves used for the tea seemed always to give a better flavour than the 'dusty' bags used by most other cruise lines. I've started taking my tea without milk so find 'English Breakfast' tea is too strong with too much tannin for me. My own pot of Darjeeling or Ceylon made with tea leaves at afternoon tea is my idea of tea drinking heaven. I'm just hoping that on the forthcoming cruise that tea leaves are still used.

To broaden the topic a little, do P&O still serve Costa Coffee as the premium drink? On my last P&O cruise they served the the same size, standard and price as in UK coffee shops. I hope that still holds as I found that the premium coffee served on Cunard was not as much to my taste and very expensive size-for-size compared with P&O. Any information would be appreciated.

Thank you.

PS (Added as an edit)

I should have really called the brews I originally asked about 'tisanes' rather than 'teas', although they are normally referred to as teas. I found them very good to settle the digestion after too much rich food. What on a cruise? :)

On my recent trip with Cunard I developed a liking for both Lemon and Ginger tea and Peppermint tea. Does anyone know if P&O provide these or will I need to bring my own tea bags on my upcoming cruise?

Thanks for any help.

Vaitape,

I've checked with Abbotsbury Swannery and they don't have a cashpoint. They are quite a small commercial operation so perhaps it's not surprising.

If you have some flexibility in your transport there is a branch of the HSBC Bank on the right hand side of the main road, less than 2 miles from the port towards Weymouth (and Abbotbury). If you put the UK post code DT4 9BQ into Google maps it will locate the position to within 30 yards and then go into Street View to view the building and the cashpoint on the front wall. Its address is 167 Portland Road, and is in a row of 3 small shop units. The post code will locate you on that road, but you may have to search up and down a little after you've positioned the Street View person on the map.

(I don't know if you've been to the UK before, but if you haven't the term 'main road' may mislead. Just have a look on Street View to see what I mean. Yes that is a main road, so you now know why driving times in the UK can be much longer than visitors expect.)

Have an enjoyable visit.

Vaitape

I've checked with the staff at Portland Harbour and, unfortunately there is no ATM (or 'cash point' as it is often called over here) in the port. They don't have many cruise ships calling so their facilities are very limited.

The nearest ATMs are in the local towns, both on Portland and in Weymouth across the bay. Certainly you'll have no problem finding one within any town or city. ATMs at Banks and major supermarkets will make no charge for withdrawing cash, certainly for Visa or Master Charge Bank cards (called 'Debit' cards over here), although any located in convenience stores, nightclubs, etc. will do. Credit Card providers normally add a surcharge for cash withdrawals.

I guess you are visiting on Westerdam at the beginning of August? Hope you have a lovely voyage.

Please let me know if you need any more information or advice.

Sorry for the delay in replying to your query.

Dorset is a rural county with a very relaxed pace of life. There is a marked lack of fast roads and high speed trains but lots of stone built cottages with thatched roofs in beautiful countryside and coastline.

Tourism in Weymouth is mostly aimed at British families interested in seaside holidays in the locality. The combination of these factors means that there is a lack of regular organised visits to such as Salisbury or Stonehenge. A long established local coach operator has the website www.bluebird.co.uk and the 'day excursions' button gives some ideas on day trips they run, although nothing to Stonehenge.

As you have discovered, Salisbury is not easy to reach by public transport from Weymouth. Ironically, it is only a 30 minute train ride from Southampton if you had docked there.

To visit Stonehenge and Salisbury your best option is to google Weymouth taxi companies and contact them for quotations. Two examples can be found at www.unicorncourtesycars.co.uk and www.weyline.com but I've not used either and can't recommend any operator. Stonehenge is approximately 70 miles from Portland. The AA (equivalent to AAA) suggest a driving time of just over 90 minutes, although I think that is very optimistic as you can be delayed by both slow agricultural vehicles and heavy holiday traffic.

As a personal preference I have returned to Salisbury many times but have no desire to return to Stonehenge after one visit. There were too many visitors and you aren't allowed to freely wander amongst the stones but must follow a specific pathway (other than on special tours). I find the pretty village and smaller standing stones and henge at Avebury (15 miles north of Stonehenge) much more interesting and another world heritage site. If you are interested then check out the background at www.nationaltrust.org.uk and search for Avebury.

If you would like to organise a long do-it-yourself trip using public transport I would suggest a visit to Bath by train. Bath is Georgian city with Roman baths and (slow) trains run there directly from Weymouth. For instance a train departs at 08:50 with a travel time of just over 2 hours and return trains depart from Bath at 15:07 and 17:07. The cost per person is currently 14.70 GBP or about 23.00 USD for a return (round trip) ticket. Obviously you would need to return in good time for departure.

The author Thomas Hardy based his novels of 19th century Wessex around the Dorset county town of Dorchester, about 10 miles inland from Weymouth and easily reached by train (2 an hour, 10-13 minutes) or bus (3 an hour, 40 minutes). All the train and bus times I've given are for weekdays, Sunday times will be different.

You can find out more facts and figures about Weymouth, its weather (we've had blue skies and high 70s for the past week) and surroundings from its Wikipedia entry. It even shows a photograph from Portland across the harbour with Weymouth in the distance.

Sorry I can't be more helpful about getting to Stonehenge but if you want any suggestions for other places to visit with less travelling then please post again.

Whatever you decide, have a lovely trip.

Thanks Ray66. You're extending my education, living so near and yet not knowing about those cruises. At least there will be more in the harbour than the 2012 Olympic sailing event facilities, which have just been completed.

http://www.westdorset.com/site/things-to-do gives some attractions local to Portland and Weymouth (Weymouth is only about 3 miles from Portland harbour). It's a short taxi ride or there are frequent buses between the two places.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attractions-g186261-Activities-Dorset_England.html has some information for attractions in Dorset.

If you google "weymouth taxi" it will give local taxi and limo operators.

Please ask if you need more information.

Which line and cruise are you on and which other ports will you be visiting? I live near Portland and am not aware of any cruise lines visiting. :confused: