bobstheboy

Of course prices are very good. I have been happy with my three Iona cruises in the past 16 months, it is those I will be comparing my upcoming cruises with, not those of 25 years ago.

Reading the first hand experiences of Arvia's maiden cruise and then reading Paul Ludlows response is shameful. I know I would be writing to Carnival top brass directly and I am sure they would not ignore the comments. Ludlow does not deserve to be the boss and others on board should be held accountable, namely the Hotel Manager. Please Moley put our minds at ease and assure us it will not happen again and lessons have been learnt.

My wife loves the "Tickety Boo " Captain. No prize if you know who he is 😀

Love Eggs Benedict for my breakfast on a cruise, so I keep it special and don't bother others times. Just one of my quirks !

Moley has responded on several threads but not this one, which is a shame. Maybe this post will prompt him.

A certain number of die hards will continue with P&O but the vast majority will have a red line of service and food quality and if they continue to let their standards fall, these customers will look elsewhere. I have cruised with P&O for about 25 years and about 70% of all my cruises have been with them. I have friends who are similar and they all say the same, if standards keep falling, they will go elsewhere. I hope Moley reads all these posts. He did say he would respond after the New Year and suggested senior management knew things needed improving. I am on Iona in a week, so it will be interesting what I find.

We are cruising on Iona next week and Arvia in September. I am expecting a similar experience to our previous three Iona cruises, so at least I have something to compare my upcoming cruises with. If I am as disappointed as some on here, that will be me finished with P&O.

A curry a week keeps constipation at bay !

Apologises to those not interested in Nationwide but one further question. Reading my email it says I do not have to buy the age extension or medical cover until I have booked a trip. Does this mean if I have 2 or 3 cruises a year, I have to purchase these extras for every cruise ?

Another who has benefited from the advice re Nationwide Flexplus account. Another example of the good people on this thread.

Obvious really !! Opened a joint account.

Sorry to butt in but I have an annual policy with Avanti with 5 months to run. Can you cancel early and get a partial refund ? Just looked at T&C's and it says no refund after cooling off 14 days.

You have a point. The added cost for 5 months I don't need is worth it and still saves money. Thanks.

I went on the Nationwide site and put in all my details, including medical history and cruise cover and 35 night holiday and was quoted just under £200, which with the annual cost of the account was a total of £354. This is at least £250 less than the cheapest quote for a worldwide holiday I have found. I shall be opening an account in June.

See you onboard ! We have 1545, I intend arriving about 1430.

As long as you can extend by paying a supplement, I would be okay with that.

This is certainly something I am going to look at when my current annual policy expire in June. I will be 77 in April but I believe they cover until 80 for a supplement. The other query, if someone knows the answer I would be grateful, is do they cover for a 35 night cruise ?

I have read some very negative and others very positive reviews about the Arvia Xmas/New Year cruise. One thing is clear, the poor service many received on Christmas Day, was not repeated on New Years Eve. As I and others commented, good planning helps. I am thinking of doing a Christmas cruise this year on Iona, I was put off initially with the problems but back on track with them putting things right on both ships, it's still on my maybe list.

A new year and new hope for everyone. We are cruising again on 14th Jan onboard Iona to the Canaries, hoping for some winter sun and warm. To all my friends on these boards I wish you a very Happy New Year.

Jane, so pleased you are on the road to recovery and posted at the end of a horrible year for you. You have given excellent service to your community and deserve peace and good health in the future. The people on this thread are a good bunch and care about each other, even though most have never met. A Happy New Year to you and everyone else who grace these pages. Let's hope 23 is a good one for us all.

I assume there were different sittings, maybe 1730, 2000 and 2230. I am guessing but that would fit comments I have read.

From info I have picked up on social media, I don't believe IT failure was the problem because it was fixed time dining, not freedom dining. The problem was the logistics of providing 5000+ dinners, with x number of tables seating a maximum of y numbers in one sitting. They were using the Horizons as MDR so they must have known the maximum number they could serve at a time, which would involve chefs, waiters and restaurant managers in planning. From the comment Moley made, they have tweeked the planning for NYE, so let's hope it works.

Yes ! Mine was the polite version.

A classic case of Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Having been responsible for preparing many Contingency Plans, I know you must think outside the box, so you cover 99% of all eventualities.

It's in the Express as well. These type of stories are good copy for newspapers. It does seem the dinner arrangements for Christmas Day were poorly planned. The Hotel Manager would be ultimately responsible, along with Restaurant Managers.