amajaa

Yes we got an email as well and don't need any assistance and never have. I assumed they must be sending out to everyone 

I have seen people take a really big suitcase and put in hold but as others have said I wouldn't risk it just in case.

Once we were on a 19 day cruise and had 3 medium suitcases and a small one to put in hold and the driver was really snotty with us about it, I was worried he was going to leave some behind. I always wait until our cases have been put on now, if they are piling them up until just before we leave I keep going out to check. The next time I booked I asked them about this and they said he shouldn't have been rude as you are allowed 3 medium each. 

It also says one small hand luggage but again I have seen people board with about 3 or 4 bags especially on way back where they often leave in the aisle. 

5 minutes ago, Floopyzebra said:

@amajaa Another positive, thanks for posting. The P&O number I called was 0344 338 8003

Thanks . Unfortunately I didn't see your post until after you had phoned as they gave us a little card when we bought the watch on Arvia with all the contact details on. 

We have also contacted them before ref a watch that wasn't working. We had to return the watch and they sent a refund. Good service

Which number did you phone to get through so quickly? 

1 hour ago, TigerB said:

There has been mention on this thread about media attention to e-scooter fires.  Such fires are of no real surprise, given that, in the last few years the UK market has been flooded with unregulated scooters that are illegal to use in this country, many of which would probably have been charged incorrectly.

In my opinion, lithium powered wheelchairs are a different kettle of fish. A user, when paying several thousand pounds for something that is essential to their mobility and quality of life, something that they expect will serve them them for a few years, is almost certainly going to make sure they have done their research, and will buy a chair manufactured from a reputable company, and from a reputable dealer. I would also expect that they will also make sure they use recommended batteries and an appropriate charger, and correctly. No sane person is going to have such a laissez-faire attitude as the idiot parent who buys an e-scooter for their child to ride illegally down the high street.

 

To call for an immediate ban of lithium battery powered wheelchairs on ships, aeroplanes, and other modes of transport, is a knee-jerk reaction, and I am reassured by the response of @molecrochip that P&O have procedures in place, and it is not warranted at this time.

 

Further to the above, as the husband and carer of a user of a lithium battery powered wheelchair, I would welcome additional checks by P&O, to mitigate risk to all their passengers and crew. I don't know how they could do that. Perhaps, when submitting the special assistance form, the passenger also submits proof that the wheelchair chair was purchased from a reputable dealer, has been serviced annually, uses batteries that are suitable and recommended by the manufacturer, and has an appropriate charger. When boarding, the documents could be checked against the wheelchair and accessories referred to. No match = no boarding.   

 

 

 

I think you might be being a bit naive thinking that noone that needs a mobility scooter will go for a bargain if they see it or buy one second hand without actually knowing it's background. 

18 hours ago, Mysticalmother said:

I had internet  issues on the Aurora cruise which I came off yesterday and got a large refund.. absolutely hopeless in the cabin, and I prepaid for the “ultimate”..

but in negotiating the discount I was told that they are updating the system to Starlink next month…so maybe that is why the discount is ending….?

We have found the internet to not be good in the cabin on whatever line we have been on. We were just told to leave the door open a bit the first time and have done that ever since with no problem. Just stick the waste paper basket in the door to stop it shutting or go down to a public area.  I certainly would never have tried to claim money back. 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/british-cargo-ship-sinks-live-31263266

9 minutes ago, CarlaMarie said:

I saw this reported on a few cruise sites yesterday so it does seem correct. I expect, like you said, it is being done in response to cruisers not booking as early. 

So it's to encourage us to book early. I think since Covid more and more people are waiting later to book, gone are the days of everyone trying to book on the first day of opening. Unless you've got kids and need to go during school holidays or you need an adapted cabin.

What always annoys me is even though our TA puts me down as lead passenger, P & O always puts my Husband as lead passenger. So if I want to fill the details in for both of us I have to log in as him or alternatively log in twice , once each.  Now that isn't a problem in itself it is just the principle of it , even though they are given a different lead passenger they still automatically put the man first.  I asked our TA to phone P & O and change it this time ?  So they then sent an email to my email address about booking things before we go and addressed it Dear Mr. 

44 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

Only thing can think of is some cabins may have beds that can’t be joined?I think you could ring for clarification. . Top tip if you do have singles have them so the two bedside tables are next to each other and the beds against wall. That gives an optical illusion of more space. I always have two singles configured like that. As a solo the spare is useful for keeping my bag and other stuff on.

Yes, thanks, that's what we have done on previous times that we have an inside. I wasn't sure if the insides on Arvia and Iona were a different shape. 

I wonder how many of these fixed single beds ones they have got then? 

We have booked an inside cabin and I thought best to say initially twin beds although we normally have a double. The TA said we can always change it to double if we changed our mind. I said twin beds because I thought it would give us room in-between the beds, if you have a double there is normally only a small space each side in an inside room. Having seen a few pictures of inside cabins on Arvia, I'm wondering if we made the right choice and should I change it? 

We have just got the invoice and it says Bed Configuration - Twin - no convert. As we have booked a guarantee cabin does this mean a limited choice of cabin for them to pick from for us, as it appears to say we can't change to a double

Thoughts please? T I A 

You must be able to get some sort of waver for a baby, anyone in their right mind knows that babies don't drink any sort drinks. Did you book through a TA if so they will advise you. Get a medical note from your health visitor to say doesn't drink soft drinks. There must be a way to get an exemption 

2 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I wouldn't waste your time. Just a promo for him,P&O and cruising.

How long was he on for? 

I understand Wesley Dunlop was on This Morning earlier today. If anyone has a link to a video of it I would love to watch it. Alternately if anyone has recorded it  can you let us know how far through the program it was. I don't want to plough through the whole program on I Player as you can't fast forward on there where you see the program skimming through. 

This is one reason we stopped going on the coaches even before Covid as our coach always had one of the last arrival times and both times we went by coach we didn't get onboard until nearly 4 o'clock, we even missed the muster ( proper muster then) once. Once our cases never arrived until after dinner. 

My Grandfather used to say Clean meat never fattened a pig.

How do you dispose of your Medallion when you get back environmentally friendly. It's got a battery in it and has a magnet plus it has your name on it. You can't just throw it in the rubbish bin as not allowed to put batteries in with the normal rubbish. You are supposed to recycle batteries, there are recycling points in most supermarkets. But you can't put it in there as it's not just a battery but has a magnet on it, plus as I said it has your names on it.  Before anyone says , no I don't want to use as a fridge magnet or keep as a momento, just more for the kids to get rid of when we are no longer here ( Haha I was going to say when we pop our clogs, but wasn't sure if other nationalities would understand that one 😀) 

2 hours ago, FangedRose said:

Have you got that the right way round? Surely hand towels should be changed more frequently! If you use a flannel or sponge in the shower all skin flakes are removed then and washed away. That is not true when washing hands and therefore skin flakes are transferred to the hand towel. It is more important to keep your hands clean than other parts of your body surely?

Well I agree with you as I use the hand towels to wash my face so change frequently. The hand towels in the downstairs look are used for hands only though but still changed more often. 

3 hours ago, FangedRose said:

I agree. That many showers a day can not be good for the individual or the environment (especially if they insist on a clean towel every time too). If you factor in the time it takes to change, shower, dry, reapply lotion etc, and dress it's getting on for the best part of two hours a day. I've better things to do on holiday!

 

I remember the days of one bath a week (not sharing the water, except maybe with my brother when little), and a "flannel wash" in between. I don't remember the flannel getting changed daily either!

I can't actually remember having a tin bath in the kitchen but remember my Mum talking about it, but yes I shared the one bath a week with my twin sister until we got to about 11 I think. 

23 hours ago, FangedRose said:

This topic was kind of covered in another thread many moons ago about how many showers a day people had. A considerable number had three or four a day. First thing in the morning, when coming back on board after a port day, before dinner and before bed.

 

The bathroom will never get a chance to dry out, never mind the towels. At home the bathroom door stays open (unless in use) to dry out. That is not really an option on board.

 

I'm not sure that 3 or 4 showers a day is actually good for your skin, isn't it supposed to dry it out. Apparently it strips your skin of important oils and can cause dry itchy skin.  Plus not good for the environment.

On the other hand having showers/baths infrequently can cause infections etc. When you think back to years ago when people got the tin bath out and the whole family used the same water, other days they just had a wash.  Thank goodness for modern bathrooms. 

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

On the occasions I used buffet at lunchtime last week on Arvia the plates at the salad area were as warm as the rest.

Yes they were on Princess the other week as well

26 minutes ago, amajaa said:

 

Not normally Brits though, especially ones that cruise, they are normally horrified at being naked in public. I have lived in Germany for many years and it's a different story there. It used to be quite funny in the changing rooms of the swimming pools, you could normally tell the Brits ( including me I might add) they were the ones that used to go to the showers wrapped in their towels and then try to put them over the door or somewhere where they wouldn't get wet when the water came on. We lived on Army camps and it was always a topic of conversation about what to do in the changing rooms/showers when we were at the pools.  The Husband weren't bothered at all as they had all lived in army barracks etc. 

Just adding I'm talking about the husband's not being bothered about walking around naked in the gents changing rooms not in the whole complex. They wouldn't have done that. 

12 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Let's be honest some of Europeans on board would be walking around naked in the spa if they were allowed

Not normally Brits though, especially ones that cruise, they are normally horrified at being naked in public. I have lived in Germany for many years and it's a different story there. It used to be quite funny in the changing rooms of the swimming pools, you could normally tell the Brits ( including me I might add) they were the ones that used to go to the showers wrapped in their towels and then try to put them over the door or somewhere where they wouldn't get wet when the water came on. We lived on Army camps and it was always a topic of conversation about what to do in the changing rooms/showers when we were at the pools.  The Husband weren't bothered at all as they had all lived in army barracks etc. 

6 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

From my Christmas cruises on Britannia and Azura I can confirm you will get a questionnaire with preferences about 3 weeks before departure.  Those making late bookings are sorted onboard.  You will be allocated a restaurant, time and table - unfortunately you are not guaranteed if it is a sharing or non sharing table.  There are two sitting times - these are half an hour longer than normal fixed sitting and start earlier than on other days.

 

Podiums are set up in public areas where you can go to discuss if you can change times, table size etc.

 

TBH apart from 2021 Christmas it gets a bit messy but generally is sorted okay to most people's satisfaction.

Thanks, we normally have a table for two because my Husband can't hear the conversations if a bigger tablem but on Christmas Day it would be nice to share a table. 

We were on Queen Victoria once, it was January, there was about 6 inches of snow on the deck, the wind was blowing and it was dark. We watched ( from a warm vantage point) a couple stroll across the deck in bath robes and get in the hot tub. Now we did turn and look, not because they werevwearing bath robes on deck ( haha yes even on Cunard😂😂😂) but we thought they were brave, rather them than us. 

@cruiseny4life it only seems to be one person who is being judgemental so don’t let that put you off cruising with P & O . We  have always found people on board really friendly