Burgmeister

16 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

You will need to fill in the accessibility form to take any form of walking stick onboard and you will be required to mark the mandatory one to one assistance P&O insist upon.  I would suggest completing it immediately if your wife intends taking it onboard.  It has taken a lot of effort to get three bookings correctly marked and acknowledged to facilitate my husband's walking stick.

Probably just leave it at home then. 

1 minute ago, david63 said:

If doing that then remember that you now have to declare it on the accessibility form together with the level of assistance (which may be none) that your wife requires otherwise, again, boarding could be denied

Well that's ridiculous 

4 minutes ago, Harryjacobs said:

It doesn't work like that.  It's a controlled procedure that ensures a smooth flow and that the waiting area isn't overwhelmed.   The reality is if you arrive and it's quiet they will wave you straight in as they want the flow to flow.  However if you arrive when it's busy you put into a waiting queue that gets filtered into the main line as and when it can cope with the numbers.

In reality it's not difficult,  arrive at the time you have been asked to arrive and you will get let straight into the hall.

That's how I assumed that it would work and also why we, so far, haven't had a problem arriving earlier than designated - it was never busy when we arrived.

I certainly didn't suggest that it was difficult although arriving on time when you have no idea what traffic will be like or how long the queue for CPS will be is not an exact science (my sister took 90 minutes to get through the queue whereas we have waited as little as 10 minutes)- hence we don't rush but we arrive when we arrive 

13 minutes ago, S1971 said:

That was my thought, given recent incidents where people have been refused boarding.

 

I certainly wouldn't be asking for a chair in the circumstances.

I think that we will take my wife's walking stick that has a seat built into the handle - assuming we arrive before our, yet to be determined, timeslot 

Just now, david63 said:

To you and me it would, but not to some jobsworth who was having a bad day!

Just makes the job harder for the check in staff though, creating busy periods when there is no reason to. Still, whatever, we'll get on eventually 

Just now, david63 said:

I would suggest that you are somewhat circumspect in that request - especially if you have not completed the accessibility form as somebody may decide, under the enhanced protocols, that your wife may be in need of assistance in an emergency situation and in a worst case scenario you could be denied boarding.

She doesn't need a wheelchair (and won't be taking one). She can walk ok but standing around for a long time takes its toll

It has never been too busy when we have turned up each time time (at worst there were 2 people in the queue for check in, once no queue at all) so that has probably worked in our favour.

I think that it's perfectly reasonable to ask early arrivals to wait if they are busy but it would be ridiculous to make someone wait if they are quiet.

13 minutes ago, Cathygh said:

So you have not been made to wait in the naughty queue outside? You have been very lucky.

No, we haven't.....yet! I guess that it all depends on how busy they are at the time you arrive and we've never been knocking on the door waiting for them to open.

Must have been lucky. Hopefully our luck will hold for our next cruise too! (Although, maybe we'll get really lucky and be assigned a reasonable check in time in the first place!!).

We now have a little status but we have also booked a cabin for our daughter and her fella so, if they get a later check in time than us then, if questioned, we'll just flash the earlier check in documentation - as recommended above 

Edit: if we do get asked to stand in a queue then my wife will need a chair - presumably that would be supplied on request?

2 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

When did you last cruise?  They are much stricter now. 

October 23

We'll have to be more punctual in August. We always stay overnight in a hotel and then have a leisurely start to the day before heading down to the port and we kind of get there when we get there. 

Didn't even realise that they worried about the assigned check in times. Nobody has ever checked ours (or, if they have, they have never said anything about being early).

Just been lucky I guess 

6 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

You do on most cruises, I think they have to be over 5 days and certain fly cruises don't qualify. If you are canny and book a short cruise before or after a long one then the 10% off the long one nearly pays for the short one.

Would it be combinable with any Peninsula club reductions would you know?

And, I'm presuming, that it would only be on Select fares?

Cheers 

I thought that I had seen somewhere that you get discount if you book B2B with P&O. Is that correct?

Thanks 

15 hours ago, purplesea said:

There are two packages. One is the Commodore's collection and the other is the Captain's collection, both with the option of purchasing 6 or 12 bottles.

 

I have always rung P&O and purchased before we board, and a card has been in my cabin for me to hand to the waiters in the MDR which is the exchanged for a booklet of tickets.

 

In April I paid £134 for the Captain's collection (6 bottle option), but there has been a price increase on drinks since then, so I don't know what the wine package prices are now.

I believe that the current price is now £149 for this package 

Thanks for the answers, much appreciated 

I didn't even know this was a thing until last week - P&O don't seem to advertise it much. Thinking of getting one on our Arcadia cruise in August.

A couple of questions if I may?

Do we just ask the drinks waiter about it?

Do you have to get it on the first day?

Thanks 

2 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

1 L max. 

That's handy thanks. I've got a number of 175ml bottles at home so we can all take one of those alongside a full bottle each. Like to have a drink in the cabin while my wife gets ready for dinner!

Just checking that I haven't missed anything in the new policy. In the official P&O policy all I can see is that there is a limit of "up to" 1 litre of wine/fizz per adult passenger - I could see no reference to 1 bottle. Have I just missed that or is it actually no limit to the number of bottles as long as the total doesn't exceed 1 litre?

Thanks 

8 minutes ago, rattla said:

The standard cocktails are about £7.50 now (e.g. those on the classic package like Pina Colada, Passion Fruit Martini, Cosmo, Mai Tai, Negroni, Margarita, Vanilla Salted Caramel Espresso Martini, Pimms, Strawberry Daiquiri, pink Gin Spritz)

 

I think these were £7.15 last May, so probably the ones you are

referring to.

 

Ah, ok thanks, not too bad an increase then. Whilst it doesn't make or break a holiday I find it reassuring to be prepared with the knowledge 

46 minutes ago, The Os said:

Hi  I’m curious to know which ship and/or bar you were on. I was on the Arvia in October and couldn’t get a classic martini for love or money. They could only offer what was on the printed menu and couldn’t make a martini as they didn’t have vermouth. Really enjoyed the cruise and the ship but was massively disappointed by the drinks menus. And I did try in every bar.

I assumed that they were talking about the passion fruit martini.

You are right about the restricted choice at the bars, this seems to be fleet wide. Fortunately for us we are very happy with a pina colada, a beer or, as a nightcap, a Bailey's. But I'm sure that it can be a problem for others 

9 minutes ago, zap99 said:

My demographic don't drink much. They spill a lot. The younger demographic drink their milk from a bottle. Demographically speaking, I don't think age is that important.

You definitely have a point.

My daughter (21) does drink - not excessively but definitely likes a drink. She does, however, have a number of friends that are teetotal - way more than I have!

I posted another thread about current drinks prices (P&O don't seem to have updated their sample menu on their website) and the increases appear to be significant - given the single reply that I've had so far. A Martini has increased by £1.20 (17%) so I might have to take back all I've previously said about being similar to pub prices around where I live!

13 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Bar prices have increased since my last cruise in March. My pre dinner martinis last month were £8.35! And they are very small! 

Ah okay thanks. That's a big increase as they were £7.15 before! Roughly 17% more. I think I'm going to need to get saving before our August cruise!

On 6/4/2024 at 5:05 PM, Windsurfboy said:

I am confused, I  thought we were talking  about a smart cruise ship, equivalent to a decent hotel.  So why is everyone comparing prices to local spoons, not a decent hotel or upmarket wine bar. 

 

If you want spoons prices go to spoons. 

 

Compared to decent hotels P&O is reasonably priced

Sorry, I was the first to raise Wetherspoons but only to say that they are the only drinking establishment around our way that offers prices any cheaper than P&O. I was trying to make the point that the prices of drinks in pubs that I go to are similar (or more expensive) than P&O - with the exception of spoons who are known for being cheap. I wasn't trying to compare quality or surroundings.

We stayed at the Intercontinental Park Lane in march and it was £20 for a glass of fizz (not champagne) and £18 for a glass of house white. Obviously the other end of the scale to spoons!

Hi, just wondering whether anyone has cruised with P&O since the changes to the drinks policy and the increase in the price of the drinks packages?

As the packages have increased in price, I an assuming that the bar prices have also increased?

Just curious whether any very recent cruisers could share any current bar prices? 

Thanks 

2 minutes ago, Bartender1 said:

Same here, I pay somewhere between £3 and £4 a pint for my tipple.

I guess I'm lucky in that I am acclimatised to P&Os prices so don't think twice about going to the bar! 😅

9 minutes ago, S1971 said:

 

That really depends on your geographical location.

 

I don't have an up to date bar tariff for P&O, but I'm paying £3.10 a pint for my preferred tipple and £2.90 for some other ales, but don't know how that compares to P&O?

That is considerably cheaper than P&O. I pay similar, if slightly less, in Wetherspoons but anywhere else we are looking at £5+ for a pint - which is very similar to P&O. On our last cruise on Britannia I actually paid more for a pint in the pub next to the hotel in Southampton, the night prior to embarkation, than I did in the Crow's Nest onboard. Outside of a Wetherspoons I struggle to find pub prices for less than about a fiver a pint (although I avoid working mens clubs and "local" style pubs - mainly go to, what I would consider to be, "nice" pubs). Of course, I'm sure that people in some areas of the UK can find "nice" pubs selling beer for much less - but I don't seem to be able to, neither around where I live or where I travel within the UK. As a comparison, the last time we were on a Royal Caribbean ship (about 2014), cocktails were from $13.95 each - they are, I believe, currently from £7.50 on P&O (again, pretty comparible to the pub prices for the pubs I tend to end up in)