Cathygh

This thread is cracking me up🐣 🤣

What a wonderful idea

So if prices start high and remain high, the ships will not sail full, and fewer staff will be required? So a weird way of cst cutting? Sounds like nonsense to me.

25 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

 

A late price could stay at £700 in which case you only need to sell one cabin instead of two to generate the same fare revenue. Alternatively, you drop to £500 and still make more money on the one cabin compared to £350, but you might just sell two cabins and be £300 better off.

 

I note what you say about the fare revenue but what about overall revenue? Selling 2 cabins must better than selling 1, as there will be more people to spend money on board. I am fond of late deals, and use the savings to spend more on board.

I will be following prices of some P&O cruises I am interested in, but that's all for now. I have been pricing up some tour/stay and cruise packages and prices for 2025 can be up to 25% more than in 2023. This type of cruise hardly ever drops in price so it looks like some things will be struck off my bucket list. The cruise industry claims to be better value for money than a land holiday but it doesn't seem to be the case now for touring holidays. I just have to weigh up the convenience of being on a ship with food included and being in the same bed every night to living out of a suitcase and having to find my own dinner. 

A few weeks ago the early eaters in our family joined the queue at 5.15 and were called at 6, which suited them. If you want to eat at 6.30 I suggest you join the virtual queue at about 5.30/45 and see if that works for you.  It might be a bit hit and miss the first few nights, as it will depend in how many passengers want to eat early

 I noted the comment about Yellow Fever. My friends who were on the same cruise earlier tis year said lot sof people hadn't had their Yellow Fever vaccination and were turned away at Southampton. They had to go home, get the jab and then fly to Tenerife to join the ship there.

Also some people didn't get their Esta for the US. I am not sure if that was picked up at Southampton but they were allowed to board and had to get the Esta before they coud get off the ship in the US.

We have a GF balcony on Britannia in November, booked a late saver fare.

Our upgrade email is £320pp for a Superior deluxe balcony, £620pp for a suite and £790pp for mid or mid aft suite on deck 14. The GF fare was £1500 each. Currently a Superior Deluxe Balcony is £1886 each, the select fare is £2449 each. The suites are £3799, select fare only, and £4399 for deck 14 suites, again select fare only. So to us it looks like the suites could be a good deal, but I have to remind my self  that we could buy a week's cruise for £790 so we are not bidding.😭

Wow what a deal you got, and that's an amazing cruise. Some friends did it last year and had the time of their lives. Getting into Port Stanley was touch and go but they did get in. We have the Nationwide flex account insurance and they paid £150 each for a missed port in May. My DH has to pay a bit extra as he's oer 70 but it's not much.

13 hours ago, Selbourne said:

See the second post in the below thread;

 

 

Thanks very much. We are happy to share or dine a deux. We cracked the latter on Iona by getting a pager at 6pm and asking for atable for 8pm. Our table was ready for us at 8. We never cracked the former at at time that suited us, without waiting hours in the virtual queue. If I find out how to do that on Britannia I will report back. We might of course get allocated club dining and whether we stick to it will depend on our table mates. Never again will I sit with a racist for a whole cruise. 

9 hours ago, Selbourne said:

We were on Britannia in July Cathy and had no problems with the MDR food. Food is a highlight on cruises for us as well, and with the exceptions of the Celebration night (Marco Pierre White menu) and a balsa wood topped pie I had at lunch one day (😂), all MDR meals that both of us had were very good. No issues with quality or temperature. Portions were smaller than we’d serve at home, but as we always manage breakfast, lunch and dinner on cruises this was never a problem. 
 

I don’t know if you are Club or Freedom dining, but the bigger challenge that we had was actually getting in to the Freedom dining MDRs using the app. You might have read my ‘Live from’ blog at the time, or the tips I posted afterwards, but if you didn’t, or can’t find them, let me know and I’ll give you some workaround tips which we worked out by our second week!

Thanks @Selbourne As it's a late booking we don't know which dining we will be allocated. I did read your blog at the time, but now I can't find it. Can you please let me have your work arounds please?

I am on Britannia in a few weeks so I am reading this thread with interest. Food is my thing so I shall be comparing it with the standard of food on Arcadia in August. I am expecting the same boring menu in the MDR, but hopefully on Britannia it will be ccoked to a better standard.

8 minutes ago, pol374 said:

Is it just Tui then? I phoned P&O and they told me they use either Tui or Jet2

Jet 2 is used for Malta and Tenerife flights. P&O are uing Tui and Maleth Aero for the Caribbean for wimter 23-24. not sure about other years

6 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Right, I understand. I though you were looking at window seats A  B and C.  Normally the middle three seats are not available to couples to prebook as the seat plan looks at the passenger profile, ie family groups, singles, couples etc.

 

Generally you should be able to prebook seats A and B where available, or the opposite side H and J.  The next option will be C and D or F and G which are across the aisle. 

 

If none of these work you may be better being allocated at the airport - arrive exactly as the gate opens the 3 hours before the flight.  We have never been split but do frequently get given the seats in the aisles. 

Thanks. I still have time to sort it . I'll probably call them 

11 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Thats odd ..... that must be an error. Just had a look at the flights and it's whirring again and saying maintenance our end. Would it be worth trying to phone or is that going to be a long wait ?

Yes it is weird. I will try to call them when I have a few hours spare 

31 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Unfortunately P&O consider two seats across the aisle as seats together.  How full is the cabin looking at this time?  If you go  row by row you may find a row which will allow a middle and window.  

Sorry I didn't explain my self clearly. The middle row has 3 seats. Seat nos 4,5 and 6 are available but we can't book 4&5 or 5&6 but we can book 4 and 6 if we do them one at a time. 

.

36 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

The system is set to make passengers in pairs to either book the window and middle or two aisles.  Are the seats in the middle row showing booked where you are looking, ie all 3 filled?  

Thank you

 I am trying to book a window and middle seat which shows as available but the system won't let me book them. There is also availability in the middle does but I have the same problem. I can't book 2 together but I can do 2 separate bookings for the aisle seats.

I have just booked for the Caribbean, going in November. I am trying to book seats together but the system won't let me. There are seats available but when I hover over them a  red cross appears. However if I try to book 1 seat at a time in a row of 3 I can book the window seat, then the aisle seat, but not the middle seat. Is there a work around? It's a Tui flight. Thanks.

For us it will depend on what the new itineraries are for 2025. We have just booked late deal to the Caribbean on Britannia, to use up the FCC. As I have said before P&O aren't going to the places I want to go to in the next few years, but we will consider more late deals in future.

I have that one too, and I can't see that the cruise in question is any chepaer last time I looked a few days ago.

1 hour ago, gsmt47471015 said:

Good luck with Aqaba , we are on the world cruise next year and it’s been removed( a regular occurrence apparently) not happy at all about it as it’s a bucket list destination (for Petra ), we’re now going to some ( other people’s words) dump in Egypt 

Thanks for the heads up, I was aiming to get to Petra from Aqaba, so it will be  a land tour instead.

24 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I think that’s spot on. Although we have the added challenge of needing an accessible cabin, we shall only book at launch if the price is within our new target range. We nabbed an accessible balcony cabin on Britannia at a very good price after balance due date this year, but tried again yesterday for another Britannia cruise going in a couple of weeks time and it’s wait listed. I agree though that the days of the cheapest prices always being at launch seem to have gone. 

I am hoping that Azura will make a detour to Istanbul and maybe Haifa or Aqabba when she is in the med. I would be reluctant to go on Arcadia again but I would look at Aurora.

Fingers crossed there will be some tempting itineraries at tempting prices

False advertising?

On Arcadia in August freedom dining was held in Meridian Lower Restaurant. It opened at 6, but some people do queue early - from 5.30.  I don't think there is much point in doing that as it's a big restaurant and does not fill up very quickly.

I can't offer advice aboi Christmas day, other than have a word with your TA and find out if Christmas Day dining is allocated shoreside or on the ship. If it's on the ship you would need to speak to the Maitre D' assuming that he/she does the allocation.