CRUISENSNOOZE

17 hours ago, paulatsea said:

Looks like it’s gone wrong again - as before .

Just checked and mine are there now....

On 9/9/2021 at 10:56 AM, davecttr said:

 Then join the queue for testing. The testing is done in the luggage hall after which you proceed to the terminal and up the escalator and are directed to seating while waiting for your test result text.

So, your get tested and then join the 100's waiting in the terminal, which is not big enough to allow 2M distancing....then you test positive!!!. What then happens to the people surrounding you, are they bumped off too???

3 hours ago, mps69_1999 said:

Thanks of the info.........must have missed that when I signed up, bit unfortunate that I fell short by 4 days from the first cruise, good excuse to book another one so I'm in the club.... 😄

Here is a link to the tiers etc and discounts. Also if you hold 100 shares in Carnival, you will get added OBC.

P&O Cruises rewards and loyalty | The Peninsular Club (planetcruise.com)

Chris

5 minutes ago, Eik said:

My husband and I are cruising on the PO Azura 4th March until 18th March.  We have just checked the price and it has dropped by approximately £2000. We booked an early saver early to ensure we got flights from Glasgow as they are hard to come by.  We paid the cruise off early also.  On calling PO they advised that we could not make any changes. 🥵 When is an early saver not an early saver?..

Hello Eik, I'm afraid that seems to be the law in the UK. (US seem to get OBC if this happens). You pay the price and take your chance. By paying it all off before the date, you also have no bargaining power. We have found this before and depending on your TA or if you booked direct, we have been able to get an upgrade to offset the price drop. But beware, it might feel like an upgrade, but you could end up with a cabin in a far unfavourable part of the ship. Have another talk with them, you may get some OBC or upgrade, but don't let it spoil your cruise.

On 1/20/2022 at 12:36 PM, Port out said:

Currently on Iona and have heard a lot of talk amongst the crew, not officers, that following the first of Arcadia's cruises this year being cancelled, that the boys who were due to join her now have had their joining removed. Also suggestions that boys currently on Arcadia will be shipped over to the Iona. Guess the worry for a lot of us with forward bookings on Arcadia that the ship is being sold. I believe P&O are still taking bookings but the same occurred when the Oceana was sold. Anyone with a feel with what is happening

I hope the rumours going around are not true of Arcadia and even Aurora. We have a cruise booked on both ships for 2023...Aurora in January and Arcadia for Xmas. By booking these cruises in good faith, I am showing my support for P&O, but not sure this is a 2 way street. It also means I am prevented from booking another cruise early to get favourable prices. We would be very miffed if we are not given enough notice to change our plans....

On 11/23/2021 at 10:44 PM, wowzz said:

However, for non-suite pax, Arcadia is pretty damn good. Make the most of her before she gets sold off in the next couple of years.

Hi...Is this factual news about Arcadia being sold off, or just chinese whispers?. I can't find any posting to support this.

20 hours ago, GremlinOfTheSea said:

@CRUISENSNOOZE also- forgot to say, for.the current route I'm on only testing being requested in Lisbon, not Madeira, canaries or Cadiz. Same for PLF (aside for UK arrival PLF)

 

Grem

Thanks Grem for coming back with a detailed report. We are on a Med cruise in March visiting Spain and Lisbon. Our November cruise is around the Canaries and overnight in Lisbon. Hopefully by then Covid will of faded away or at least be more manageable.

Chris

26 minutes ago, GremlinOfTheSea said:

Hi! I'm on Iona now and the gyms and launderettes are open 🤩

Thank you Gremlin for that good news. Does it feel more or less back to normal on board? Buffets open now? Do you still need to use App to go to a show? Testing etc?

Thanks, Chris

4 hours ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

The P&O Covid 19 Hub, updated 7 Jan, says that gyms are operating.  I hope they are and also that the laundrettes are open.  We're on Iona in mid-February, so will know for sure then and will report back.

Hi Mark, Would love to know, as don't want to lug gym gear if not needed....I feel an excuse coming on to be very lazy!!...mind you better keep the baggy clothes for the end of the cruise!!

Chris

Hello, We have just booked a Med cruise on Iona for March. Can anyone tell me if the gym will be open and the launderette on this ship? Maybe there is someone on CruiseCritic that has just got off this ship and knows....

TIA  Chris

16 hours ago, D C said:

I presume you're referring to land-based photography? There's way too much movement on a ship for a tripod to do any good. 

Hello DC. No, I was talking about a cruise, but we had a 1 night and a 2 night stay at 2 different ports. (P&O). This gave us the time to do private tours (I do not recommend the tours from the ship) for both sledding and chasing the lights.

49 minutes ago, cruzer0007 said:

I have some FCC to use by end of 2022, and one of the items still on my bucket list is a trip to view the northern lights.  I see Celebrity has a select few itineraries sailing out of Europe (Southampton) that they market as northern lights focused but they also clearly cite there is no way to ensure actual viewing can happen.  I understand the natural phenomenon and the impossible nature of trying to predict it (along with the weather that permits a clear sky). The "season" as best I can determine is about 5 months wide, winter being the prime time to get the opportunity.  I am wondering if anyone on the forum has sailed on Celebrity (or any other line) for the purpose of viewing the northern lights, and can you share the experience (it was a good way to do so, or perhaps it was *not* a very good experience).   Keep in mind, my primary objective is to see the northern lights.  Thanks in advance

Hello cruzer, I wrote the following on another thread, so have copied it here. With this in mind, the next new moon dates for Feb/March are 1 Feb, 2 March and 1st April 2022. 

"Northern lights are also dependent on the moon phase and the 11 year solar cycle. We worked this out for our last cruise and we came up trumps on 3 nights. Feb/March is usually the better months. Approx 12 days after full moon. Best time is 11pm to 2am, but remember in northern Norway the temperature will be around -28 deg C, so wrap up warm. Also any cloud cover will diminish any sightings. With regards the 11 year solar cycle, best years next is 2024 to 2026, with 2025 being the best.

We were also amazed that what you see with the naked eye is not what you see in a photo. Photos are so much better as the eye cannot catch 8-15 seconds of light and hold it. If there is any camera tuition on board which is usually free…go!!. Also practice before at home on the stars or whatever at night. For the basics, you will need a tripod. Camera settings will be as a ball park anything from ISO 400 to 1600 and shutter speed will be anything from 8 seconds to 20 seconds (hence needing a tripod).

Excursions: We were so pleased in Alta we arranged our own excursion for the lights. P&O usually stop 2 nights in Alta (this also gives time to do dog sledding privately). The P&O excursion was 15 minutes down the road to a car park and had very little in the way of northern lights and lasted about 2 hours. We went on a private tour which was only slightly more money but we were out for nearly 5 hours chasing the lights and had well over 3 hours of lights and covered some 50 miles chasing them in land. We were also given hot drinks and food on ours. The tour was for only 4 persons. If you want to know details, please ask."

Chris

21 hours ago, Sir Cumference said:

How can I get these "Peter Dagnell" guides? I'm not on any other social media sites 😞

This is him.....

PORT GUIDES | CRUISE PORT GUIDES (cruiseports.club)

10 hours ago, keeven2 said:

How about February half term? More cloudy than March ? 

Our last cruise was end Feb/March and we saw the lights on 3 nights, but we did book the cruise as it coincided with a new moon. This is not a 'given' but it worked for us last time and hope to work again when we book the next time!!

7 hours ago, firsttimer086 said:

 

Thanks for the tip! Frustratingly though (or worryingly so?) out of all the cruise lines which have data populated on that website, Britannia is blank for most ports 🤣

Oh its so annoying when they don't put the times in!!. Don't worry about this, the ship will still be going!. I have the times for the last 2 cruises in Caribbean and most times are 8am arrival and back on board for 5pm. Not knowing when you are going, there maybe holdups getting off at the moment. If you click onto "Member Cruise Reviews" above on the blue strip, then click onto P&O, ship etc and area, someone may of answered your questions. NB.. with reviews, remember we each have an opinion and they may differ!, so don't be put off with everything you read......

On 11/1/2021 at 11:31 AM, Glitterati said:

Hi all.

 

I fly out to join the Azura on Christmas Day (Christmas Eve flight was full when we booked it- still confused about this as we booked 18 months in advance!!)

I know P&O usually do a Christmas Dinner in the evening. Has anyone got experience of what it may look like when it falls on a turnaround day?

 

We don't land until 4ish, so I can't imagine it will be a formal evening. If it was, I don't think our cases will be with us in time for dinner!

 

Thanks

We did a Caribbean Cruise some years ago that started on Xmas Day. We ended up having 2 Xmas dinners!!. Our flight left at approx 9am on Xmas day...we were amazed how busy the airport was on that day.  They served Xmas lunch on the flight. We arrived at the ship early evening and again we could have Xmas dinner if we wished!. I can't remember what we wore, so no help with that.

On 11/4/2021 at 8:27 AM, Tablelamp said:

Anybody booked on Ventura 35 night cruise at the beginning of March 2023

If you go into the Roll Call Section and go to P&O UK, then Ventura...you will see there are 17 posts for this cruise.

On 11/6/2021 at 8:22 AM, Tikka234 said:

Thanks for all you replies, 

see Arcadia sails up there second half October 2023 is there any snow around on ground or on mountains in October? Are there any snow day s

thanks

 

Alta in northern Norway is just getting its first snow flurry (Check out Alta live cam on YouTube) and its 7th November. The problem with October and November is it can be very cloudy and wet looking due to the snow arriving. Towns down south like Bergen will be a few weeks behind and also can disappear from these areas during March.

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

No, but you need to hold them prior to applying for the benefit, dont know how late you could leave it before your purchase,

If not purchased, be aware the shares are on the climb again.........

12 minutes ago, Astrajet said:

Do shares have to be held prior to making a booking in order to receive the OBC benefit for that booking? Many thanks.

I think it used to be 1 month before booking.

On 11/1/2021 at 10:22 PM, firsttimer086 said:

Never cruised before, and just have a few questions I can't find the answers for regarding our 14nt Caribbean cruise on Britannia. Appreciate things might have changed with such a long time since people have cruised, but can anyone tell me:

 

- When do we get told the times the ship will arrive and leave each port rather than just "early evening" etc?

- When do we get told which days the formal/celebration nights are?

- If we book a speciality restaurant before the cruise do you have to pay the supplement upon booking, or it is only once on ship? We have OBC so would rather be able to use that towards

- How do you book the cookery club? I can't see it on the personaliser pages

 

Many thanks!

This is the best link I have found to find out how long the ship is berthed at the port:  Cruise Ports Schedules 2021-2022-2023 | CruiseMapper

In the box "search by port name" put in your port or country i.e. Barbados and then click on the drop box whichever applies...usually only one choice anyway. Then scroll down to "Schedule" and then click onto the Month and year showing and another drop down box will give all months. Click onto your month you are cruising and you will come up with a list of ships due that month. It also means you can check how many other ships are in dock at the same time as you, to know how busy it will be.

Formal nights are on average 2 per week on a 15 day cruise.

What a shame you can only get off the ship if you have booked a P&O tour...that to me is ridiculous and by far so more expensive. If you are given 'free' time while ashore ...what's the difference from just going ashore by yourselves??.  Captive audience comes to mind. Hopefully by the time you travel the laws have changed and you will be able to cancel some of the tours. (Friends just back from another cruise line and could go ashore by themselves!)We usually just jump ship and pair up with another couple looking for a tour. Jump in a taxi and off you go...cost usually about $10 each!

18 hours ago, Tikka234 said:

Hi looking at maybe doing a northern lights cruise, the options are November of March which is best?

What's the pros and cons .

Daylight? Temp? Weather?

Do the excursion vary between November and March

Any tips or advice would be great 

Thanks

 

 

Northern lights are also dependent on the moon phase and the 11 year solar cycle. We worked this out for our last cruise and we came up trumps on 3 nights. Feb/March is usually the better months. Approx 12 days after full moon. Best time is 11pm to 2am, but remember in northern Norway the temperature will be around -28 deg C, so wrap up warm. With regards the 11 year solar cycle, best years next is 2024 to 2026, with 2025 being the best.

We were also amazed that what you see with the naked eye is not what you see in a photo. Photos are so much better as the eye cannot catch 8-15 seconds of light and hold it. If there is any camera tuition on board which is usually free…go!!. Also practice before at home on the stars or whatever at night. For the basics, you will need a tripod. Camera settings will be as a ball park anything from ISO 400 to 1600 and shutter speed will be anything from 8 seconds to 20 seconds (hence needing a tripod).

Excursions: We were so pleased in Alta we arranged our own excursion for the lights. P&O usually stop 2 nights in Alta (this also gives time to do dog sledding privately). The P&O excursion was 15 minutes down the road to a car park and had very little in the way of northern lights and lasted about 2 hours. We went on a private tour which was only slightly more money but we were out for nearly 5 hours chasing the lights and had well over 3 hours of lights and covered some 50 miles in land. We were also given hot drinks and food on ours. The tour was for only 4 persons. If you want to know details, please ask.

We send  this standard email every time to   shareholderbenefits@carnivalukgroup.com and fill in the blanks/xxx  and attach 2 screenshots from our account. We also use the same email, started years ago, so they can see our history. To date we usually hear back within a week.

On 11/3/2021 at 9:03 PM, kalos said:

It would have been nice for one of the P&O ships to have called at Madeira on

New Years eve .We did a cruise that did a few years back and the fire works made

for a memorable cruise at New Year .

Arcadia is doing the Canaries cruise over Xmas and stopping overnight in Madeira for NYE in 2023.

We are booked on a 65 day cruise around South America in January 2023. We have insurance through our bank (the turquoise blue bank). We have the Travel Plus Pack that covers any holiday or cruise around the world for up to 31 days duration. This includes comprehensive breakdown cover for UK and Europe. It costs us £18 per month. If we buy a cruise/holiday for more than 31 days, we contact them and pay a lump sum extra. For this cruise of 65 days, I contacted the bank and we paid an extra £236 as a one off payment for our specific dates.  So long as we carry on paying our £18 per month, we are fully covered for 15 months time.