groovechick

26 minutes ago, Cruising _Newbie said:

oh I didn't know the menu's were only available the night before too, at least if i know of these things in advance i won't stress about finding out beforehand!  I'll plan what i can and then try and chill out about the rest, wish me luck with that one though!

 

If you don't like what's available in the main dining rooms, there is also the buffet, which has themed nights (Asian, Indian, Italian, etc.) and the additional charge speciality restaurants (Sindhu = Indian, Beach House - American diner-style and Epicuran - fine dining). The menus for these payable restaurants work on a weekly rotation, so you will know what's available well in advance, and the buffet theme nights are advertised in the Horizon. I believe there are also sample menus for the MDR and payable restaurants available to view on the P&O website.

21 minutes ago, Cruising _Newbie said:

oh I didn't know the menu's were only available the night before too, at least if i know of these things in advance i won't stress about finding out beforehand!  I'll plan what i can and then try and chill out about the rest, wish me luck with that one though!

 

I don't think the menus are available to everyone the night before. It's usually for people who have special dietary requirements and similar so the chefs can tell them whether their choice contains any allergens, for example, and whether they can provide an alternative. I think the waiters would get fed up if everyone started asking for the menu the night before, as they are already rushed off their feet and it's just one more thing for them to do. Also the menus may be subject to change - sometimes they expect to take on a load of local fish at a port, say, which they've planned on the menu (the menu usually features a dish local to the country or port you're visiting), and then it's not available so they have to rethink.

40 minutes ago, Cruising _Newbie said:

Please forgive my ignorance but this is my first cruise and I have so many questions!!

 

I'm travelling with P&O Oceana on 30.4.20 for 1 week.  I've accessed the online planner and am trying to figure out what to book for when.  My issue is that there are no times available for anything i.e the evening entertainment, what time the shore excursions start and finish.  I've booked the early dining so we can see the shows, not sure if this is necessary?  Do they release timings ahead of the cruise or do they only give you these details when you are onboard?

 

Also, can you prebook spa treatments as i don't currently have the option?

 

Thanks!

I'm not as seasoned a cruiser as most on this forum but I'll try to provide a couple of answers. Times for evening entertainment aren't published in advance but, generally speaking, there are two shows in the theatre, one at around 8 pm and the other around 10 pm, although times vary a little, and sometimes they slot in a third show. These are the shows performed by the ship's company, the Headliners, and other "top" acts. Other entertainment is held in a couple of lounges around the ship. All times are published in the ship's newspaper, Horizon, which will be dropped off at your cabin the day before, so you can plan your day. This includes everything - talks, organised sports activities, quizzes, shows, recitals, etc.

Excursion times vary depending on the time the ship docks, duration of the excursion, etc. but as a general rule they depart around 08.30/9.00 and, for full day excursions, return to the ship about an hour before the ship is due to leave port. If a ship's excursion is delayed the ship will wait, if you DIY and are late back, it won't. As wowzz said, you can book your own excursions, which tends to be considerably cheaper and you're not likely to be herded on and off coaches, but it requires quite a bit of research, as P&O don't publish specific port arrival and departure times (they just say "early morning, late afternoon"), so you have to check the websites for the individual ports of call which will tell you which ships are in port and when (helpful if it's a busy port and you could have 3, 4 or more other cruise ships in port at the same time). At many ports P&O runs a regular shuttle to transfer you from the port to the city centre, this service is free if you booked Select, chargeable otherwise. At other ports you can basically walk to the sights yourself.

I wouldn't bother booking spa treatments in advance - during the cruise the prices drop and they do special package deals.

I hope you will really enjoy your first cruise - be warned, it's highly addictive!

NYE on our Britannia Caribbean cruise 2015 was black tie: gala dinner, decorated MDR, party on deck with countdown, ship's horn blasted. Unfortunately it was impossible to get drinks - every bar was manic and the queues were huge and the party was cut short by a torrential downpour, but we had planned an early night because we were disembarking the next day anyway.

We dressed for dinner, but then changed into casual that we would be wearing to travel the next day,  as our cases had to be put out by 11 pm.

I would be very disappointed at such a low-key approach. If I want a boring NYE I can stay at home!

5 hours ago, kevboy said:

Can anyone tell me if the soft drinks package can be bought on a daily basis or must it be for duration of the cruise? How does it work and where do you purchase it? Also, are the number of drinks unlimited or is there a maximum per day?

https://www.pocruises.com/content/dam/po/marketing-assets/onboard-activities/all-inclusive-beverages/childrens-drinks-terms.pdf - all the details here. Basically per length of cruise, must be bought in first two days, free if children are in the same cabin as you and you purchase the adult drinks package. Have to have a separate package per child.

Unless it has changed (which I don't think it has) the children's drinks package only includes Fanta or Coke from the bar guns, so no bottled drinks, cans, fruit juice, squash, mocktails or water - pretty useless IMHO.  AFAIK there is no link between the adult and children's drinks packages, so it is not compulsory to buy one to get the other, but as I understand it you couldn't purchase an adult drinks package and then use that to provide the children with soft drinks. 

12 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

Thanks Dave. 

I would make one now but am right out of raspberry liqueur... 😊

Andy 

Lidl regulalrly has Framboise and Chambord at a knock-down price. Just sayin'...

16 hours ago, Tikka234 said:

We're not doing Bergen, Doing  Stavanger, Olden, Geiranger haven't been here before, and Haugesund wasn't too impressed here last time. Not with kids. There active children would have no problem walking the last bit at Britskal glacier it's only a short walk we done it 2 years ago..

In Stavanger, just a short walk from where the ship docs (5 mins), there's the Petroleum Museum. Sounds boring but isn't. My kids were a little older when we went there, youngest was 12. Reasonably interactive - survival suits to try on, suvival pods to climb around it, emergency chutes to slide down, crane thingy to operate and they may have added more as it's a few years since we were there. Then the old town and lake are pretty to stroll round. I can't see why there should be an age limit on the Briksdal Glacier tour. Our table companions at dinner had children younger than yours and they went, although I think they took the troll cars that get you nearer to the glacier than the bus.

On 1/10/2020 at 9:42 PM, jeanlyon said:

That cretin was in First Class when I was cabin crew.  In 11 hours, he didn't acknowledge or even look at us when we asked him what he wanted to drink or eat.  His Manager answered for him. 

Nowadays his manager HAS to answer for him because Barry can't move his face and lips due to the amount of plastic and Botox!

I can take or leave the sailaways, Great British or otherwise, but my daughter loves them, so we always fit in at least one per cruise if we can. To my recollection songs like Sailing, the Proclaimers "500 miles" and "Delilah" have always been included, in addition to Jersusalem and Land of Hope and Glory. Storm in a teacup.  

7 hours ago, kalos said:

I'm glad to see the Ventura up and running again as we were looking forward to boarding her for 

the New Year cruise as we have done many times over the years.

I have just spent ten days in cardio care in hospital and now back home but declared unfit to travel

so will be at home this New Year.

So to all of you who are onboard and about to go onboard .. Have A Great Cruise.

 

Sorry you are missing your holiday kalos, but the main thing is to make a good recovery so you can enjoy many future holidays. Wishing you all the best. 

I have a Premier policy with John Lewis. It just says you have to notify them if you are going to be away for more than 60 days. Presumably they will apply further conditions and/or up the premium. Guess I'll never find out as I haven't got a cat in hell's chance of being away for that long! 😄

17 hours ago, grapau27 said:

I second incognito.

Natural with a much nicer smell than Deet.

I believe I recommended it to you prior to your winter Caribbean cruise - last year maybe?

I take it you found it effective and pleasant to use? 😊

3 hours ago, clarets said:

No doubt been asked before but is it wise to take mozzie spray for a Caribbean cruise ?

I don't think mozzies are so much of a problem as they tend to be around at sunset, when you're likely to be onboard ship, but ordinary critters and sand flies can be. We use Incognito, which is citronella based and much safer/less harmful than the chemical-based repellants. Without protection our daughter is a walking buffet for anything that bites, even in the UK  - if she sprays herself with Incognito she has no problem at all. Smells pleasant, non-greasy - a great product IMHO.

47 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Over the years, P&O have continuously (but slowly) distanced their officers from the passengers.  When I started cruising, a number of tables in the mdr were hosted by an officer for the duration of the cruise.  They weren't always able to make it but were there more often than not and on at least one night provided wine for the table.  Many officers also hosted parties that pax were invited to.  At Captain's Cocktail and Loyalty Parties, the officers used to make an effort to mix with pax but sadly now they seem to stand around in groups totally ignoring pax.

With the way prices have come down and ship capacity risen, I can understand why they don't host tables or individual parties but I do think it is a shame that almost any form of interaction between officers and pax now seems to be frowned on by the company.

Indeed, on our second ever cruise, on Sea Princess/Victoria, we were seated on a table with the purser (who's no longer the purser but the Hospitality Director or something equally daft). He was a lovely man who, it turned out, lived in a village just a few miles away from where I grew up. This was the first year that the ship was based in the Med and didn't return to Southampton, and they had real restocking problems, with suppliers delivering completely the wrong thing, or what they could supply rather than what the ship wanted, i.e. tray after tray of turnips rather than lettuces and tomatoes, especially in Egypt. The ship actually ran short of fresh water, ran out of some food and, even worse, Stilton and most wines, so being on the purser's table was great because we got all the info direct from the man at the top. That is the nice thing about Captain Turnbull, annoying announcements aside, he interacts with passengers and is a presence around the ship. Paul Brown doesn't/isn't. Wesley Dunlop does/is to a certain extent.

28 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

and don't get we now have rooms, not cabins, shore experiences and not excursions.  I could go on.

Even posher than that, Jean, they're "staterooms" aren't they?

20 hours ago, dgs1956 said:

The allowance is clear on your E Ticket. Ours says "Hand Luggage: 1 piece, max weight 5kg, 55cm x 40cm x 20cm". 

If you take a bigger or heavier bag then you risk hassle.

On our December 2015 Caribbean cruise on Britannia, all the info. we received said the allowance was 5 kg, but when we got to the Thomas Cook/P&O check-in at Gatwick, they had signs up saying the allowance was 6 kg. It would have been an enormous help to have known this beforehand, as our son was revising for his mock GCSEs and took loads of books with him, which he had to distribute between the family's hand luggage.

Just an idea, but if your cruise is calling at Aruba, nappies might be cheaper there because of it being very popular with American tourists.

This is info from a supermarket called Ling's, in Oranjestad. https://www.groceriestogoaruba.com/products.aspx?shelf=1&aisle=15&aisletop=12

These are their online shopping prices, but they stock a good range and are nowhere near as expensive as $70. If you can take enough with you for the first few days and Aruba is one of the first stops, it might be a solution.

Waju, Captain Turnbull suffered a heart attack 5 years ago. He was off work for some time, but has made a full recovery and is back captaining, usually Azura or Aurora. If you check, the dates of the posts are old, not sure why Sharon closed it off now.

He is very popular with many P&O cruisers, certainly our favourite of the captains we have had.

My adult daughter's petite and we've had several instances of her being barged out of the way/knocked over by rampaging passengers when queing for tenders/getting on and off shuttles/entering/exiting the theatre or other busy venue. As a result she now tends to cling on to me or her 6 ft athlete brother for dear life whenever we are in a busy area.

Two instances I've seen in our handful of cruises: elderly gentleman in a motorised wheelchair lashing out with his walking stick at anyone he perceived to be in his way and swearing like a trooper, this in the middle of the day in a mildly busy area; elderly couple at dinner in the MDR clicking their fingers at the waiter, shouting "Come here boy", talking about him as if he wasn't there when he was serving them and generally treating the lovely waiter like dirt, with the kind of attitude one associates with colonial types in films set around the turn of the century. 

The hairdriers are the standard, beige chain hotel type. I have medium length, quite thick hair, my daughter has long, thick hair and we have always found them adequate.

They do have Marmite in the buffet and probably in the MDR too, but it's the little pre-packed pots. My family tried it once and declared it digusting, nothing like the real thing, so I would say approach with caution, i.e. don't slather it all over your toast, taste it first.

Yes, there is a kettle, mugs, teaspoons, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, sugar and milk sachets in the cabin, which will be replenished every day. Your cabin steward will probably notice which you use more of and tend to give you more of tea, coffee or whatever accordingly. They used to also provide biscuits, but this seems a bit hit and miss now from some reports. If you don't like the milk in sachets, there are little jugs on the breakfast counter above the cereals in the buffet and large jugs of milk, so you can fill a little jug and take it back to your cabin to keep in the fridge. 

47 minutes ago, fandabeedozee said:

ok thanks I thought you could ask questions on here its always good to get ideas and reviews from people instead of just reading up on them 

Yes, of course you can, but if you ask questions in the specific Ports of Call section you're likely to get a wider range /more detailed information. Think it was when we went to the fjords that I got fantastic information from someone from Ohio! If you list your ports of call that will help too - the P&O itineraries change all the time. There are great beaches on most of the islands - just depends whether you want lively or quiet, lots of facilities or just a café/bar and toilets, whether you want a beach that's good for snorkelling, whether you want to stay reasonably close to port or are happy to go further afield.... you get the picture 😊

You would probably be as well to pay for a tour from the quayside for her. I know you won't be able to "give" it to her in advance, but you are pretty certain to get better value for money. When you dock you will see lots of taxis and mini buses quayside offering tours of various lengths. If you want to have something definitely booked in advance, I can highly recommend John Lopez of Gibraltar Rock Tours https://www.gibraltar-rock-tours.com/. The four of us took a tour with him and it was absolutely brilliant. He looked after us superbly and was funny, informative, solicitous of our welfare, all you could wish for.

When we did the Caribbean on Britannia there were quite a few ladies in full length dresses, although it was Christmas, so maybe that made a difference.

8 minutes ago, dgs1956 said:

You are being very kind. These "officials" were in a restaurant and in the UK there has been a no smoking ban since 2007. They will have known.

The OP said it was the outside area of the buffet - does that make a difference? Not questioning your correctness, I genuinely don't know as I and none of my immediate family are smokers.