Host Sharon

You would do bettr to post this in the P&O UK forum I think. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/22-po-cruises-uk/

When I was looking for cover for a 3 month world cruise, I found quotes for the same cover and declared medical conditions varied by up to £1000.

Since luggage is unrestricted - one solution might be to take your own folding lounger 🙂

It was a perfectly legitimate question. I live near Bristol and always now get a taxi to Southampton. There is no way I could cope with cruise luggage on my own on the train, especially since assistance is unreliable, and can no longer drive longer distances. Had it been a different date I would have accepted. I would suggest Longstrider posts this on the roll call for the cruise however.

From the P&O website - Children are of course welcome in all of our restaurants, but we also offer a special children’s tea every night featuring all the food that children will enjoy (for babies we offer a selection of baby food on request). We offer a range of healthy options, including fresh fruit and vegetarian dishes. These are all served in our informal buffet restaurants so children can be casually dressed whenever they eat there. If children are going to be with you in the evening in the more formal restaurants and theatre, then our Evening Casual dress code applies, although denim isn’t allowed on our Black Tie evenings. We do ensure some of the bars and public rooms on board are exclusive to adults.

If anyone wishes to refresh themselves on the guidelines they signed up to when joining Cruise Critic they can be read here https://boards.cruisecritic.com/guidelines/

Afternoon tea is back in the MDR.

Indeed they do, and had my friend been on her own in Riga recently they would have lost business as she doesn't have a reader app. Luckily we were together at that point so I had to tell her what was on offer. It's all very well appealing to Generation X and or whatever it is, as long as you realise you may lose others at the other end of the demographic.

In 2011, on Oceana, I did a 28 night cruise which included 2 days in Haifa. I managed to see Jerusalem, Galilee, Capernum, Nazareth, Bethlehem and Yardenit on the R. Jordan, all in those two days. We also had lunch in a kibbutz. The cruise included Kusadasi but didn't get up to Istanbul.

Spirit of Adventure. It seems quite a long dockside, although not sure of depth. I would think Aurora or Arcadia could berth. Photo is view from ship.

But would that cover helicopter evacuation if required? Surely there must be some US insurance companies that provide travel insurance that meets the P&O requirements. Most, if not all, UK ones do.

You have never needed to book any lunchtime eating venue.

Sounds like the old Mr & Mrs on TV. https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tourism/interactive-gameshow-to-launch-on-new-po-cruises-ship

When I travelled on Harmony and Anthem they had, what they called, dynamic dining. It was an absolute nightmare and I lost the will to live trying to book dining venues at home. Two main problems - I was travelling with a friend who lives 100 miles away but only one passenger could log in at a time. The second issue was trying to line up times for dining with times for entertainment so they didn't clash. In the end we had to change all our pre-booked dining times if we wanted to see the big shows. It was soon abandoned.

Ok, this thread is now going nowhere useful.

No, that is not an exaggeration by Saga. IMO they are easily equal to Oceania with the added benefit of being priced in £ not $, AI and all balconies where Oceania ships still have inside and ocean view.

Our Future Health sounds very much like Biobank, which I joined back in 2009. You had a day of medical screening and mental tests and periodic online questionaires. They then followed you up via your GP records.

That is a lovely itinerary. I am booked on it with a friend.

Since the yellow fever jab has to be paid for privately, I don't think there are any restrictions on having it beyond medical advice.

I suspect the main difference you would notice is the food. On all the US ships I have sailed on, the dinners have had large portions of meat and a very few vegetables hidden underneath. In the UK we like our veggies and the meat portions will be smaller. Entertainment may not be so glitzy either, but other than that, I am sure you would find them very similar.

Please don't turn this into yet another dress code thread. The OP wasn't even asking about dress code.

There is a role of what is effectively 'Office Captain'. They are there to advise the various shore teams on things seagoing and operational. I believe they rotate but I'm not sure how long the stints are.

While this makes complete sense on paper, I still feel it is a risky shift in focus at this particular time with the economy as it is. On the whole it is the 65+ who are least affected by the cost of living crisis, with fully-paid-up mortgages and the time to travel, whereas the core demographic are having to cut back drastically. Time will tell.

I think you are being somewhat unfair about Arvia's captain. Having had a private coffee with him on a number of cruises, I have always found him a very genuine and friendly person.

I believe he is currently based in Carnival House.