Megabear2

I note my 16 December Britannia cruise now offers the £780 OBC on the select fare. I have £500 on my booking. At first glance it looks like I'm getting a bad deal however if I select a mid forward balcony cabin with sofa which is immediately on the starboard side of my port one, the quoted price rises by several hundred pounds per person and ends up only £200 less than my price. My deposit is £357 so if I cancelled I wouldn't gain anything. Yes, the headline figures look to offer a good deal and if you're happy to take deck 15 with associated noise and lack of sun issues great. Personally having tried that I'll pass and stick with what I've booked. Sadly no extra OBC offered personally to me on this one so far. Incidentally anyone happy to take the saver can now save over £2,000 on my price.

My guess is that people do challenge the cruise lines and reach a settlement. However they are forced into NCDs to prevent the floodgates opening to everyone else. For instance I'll bet you a pound to a penny we never hear from MX-Drew about his legal challenge. I personally know of people who took cruise lines to task over quarantine ashore in the early days of sailing starting up because their travel insurance didn't cover them (not P&O passengers). To reach a suitable outcome they had to sign an NCD and couldn't even discuss the issue with their travel agent. As has been said previously we just roll over and let them tickle our tummies.

Never mind port changes, I've just been told by NCL that my August 2023 cruise booked on Norwegian Viva has been changed to Norwegian Getaway! Apparently due to global supply chain constraints the ship won't be built in time for our cruise. Ironically this Viva cruise is a replacement for a Prima one which they cancelled earlier this year due to, you've guessed it, global supply chain constraints... I've responded politely to tell them absolutely no way will we sail of Getaway even if they are offering a 20% discount on our fare as in my opinion there is absolutely no comparison. At least P&O haven't cancelled our Arvia cruise due to supply chain issues. Seems that each cruise line has it's own line to trot out be it operational difficulties, global shortages of crew or supply chain issues. No doubt lots more to come!

That's pretty standard to decide which of the four groups your policy covers. If you read it it should say including or excluding Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Spain, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. They ask you to pu in individual countries so they can allocate the group. The same happens for worldwide including or excluding USA/Caribbean.

The point on cancellation and the deposit is something that has been challenged in court against a travel company and won by the consumer. I mentioned this elsewhere in relation to MX-Drew's cancellation problems on which he is taking legal advice. I cannot understand why more people do not challenge on this point. Obviously it isn't without effort and cost unless large sums are involved and assumedly this is why so few choose to challenge.

Interestingly that's exactly the argument Princess are having with me about duty of care on offloading due to medical emergency. I am very embroiled and have given them until 21 August to reply to my last email of 1/8 before I contact a solicitor.

While I Pray Everything Changes and you can Relight My Fire. It Only Takes a Minute to Get Ready For It and make it Shine ...

And if you would kindly reread my post you will see that I never said you used the word "rubbish". I actually said my friends thought my preferred music was rubbish so in no way connected to you. Final word on Take That/Gary Barlow link to P&O. All those young ladies from 1990 you mentioned being marketed to are now of the exact age P&O are targetting. If they are anything like my nieces and godchildren they still love Take That and Gary Barlow/Robbie Williams and their children will have grown up listening to the music and going to see the live shows. The Take That musical on stage in London was a huge success until the pandemic came along. The songs, which you have every right to dislike, are now British standards in their own right known by vast amounts of the population. I'm sure that your two empty seats will be readily filled by someone who wants to be Taken Back For Good. Sad about Gilbert, twenty albums most of which the general public never got to hear due to his court actions. Thankfully those that have come later have had more success. Wicked world the entertainment industry.

Sadly they have a right to change the ports and very little can be done. Obviously these ports have been changed on earlier cruises and P&O most likely should have told those on this schedule before final payment but unfortunately it's become extremely commonplace for them to drop their news after final payment by the passenger. I'm sorry the port change is such a disappointment to you and hopefully you can enjoy your cruise regardless.

Point proved then. Millions of people over many years love Take That in all their guises - the sell out concerts and recording sales rather prove that. As for only knowing one kind of music what exactly do you expect from him, a sudden rendition of a Led Zeppelin or a Stormzy classic? As I said previously everybody has different tastes. I'm no fan of the Proms but apart from the fact they are paid for through the BBC I don't think I have a right to call them rubbish. I have friends who love Elvis and hate The Beatles while I'm the reverse. Doesn't make any of us right or wrong. Gary Barlow is a clever choice by P&O. Inoffensive, well known and a big name who can still fill Wembley Stadium when necessary. Might not be everyone's cup of tea but has appeal across most generations. Before you say it, no I'm not a particular fan of his but I do admire him, the other Take That members and their old mate Robbie Williams for staying the course and more importantly taking on the recording companies to stop them ripping off artists.

Yes, the stage shows are very good. Seen Mama Mia on Allure a few times as well as the ones you mention. However again these are only on the newer ships because the theatres are built to allow them. As a West End theatre visitor myself it's interesting to meet the artists on board RCI. They tend to be understudies and minor cast members rather than big stars so yes they are out of the West End or off Broadway literally (for those who think all shows in Broadway theatres are "on Broadway" there are many fringe ones with lesser productions "off Broadway") but they are minor productions with small casts. More importantly if you sail a lot you may get very bored of seeing these shows over and over again particularly if you are limited to one or two ships out of Southampton. They are very expensive to stage so are milked for a long time. Lots of people reviewing P&O say they skipped the Headliners shows because they'd seen them so many times before. There's no difference in seeing Grease a hundred times either. Arvia is going to have a Take That show. It hasn't even aired yet and there are people on these boards saying they won't go because they KNOW they'll hate it ... Regarding the transatlantic crossings the ones heading to Southampton are sold cheaply to UK residents to take advantage of the British love of the sun! The ships repositioning into Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Athens etc are heavily loaded with Americans either coming to "do Europe" or to sail home on.

Whether we like it or not the drinking is a very large part of British culture. Recently there have been a large number of articles about how young people are moving away from this and the rise of non alcoholic drinks as a result. The drinking is not a cruising problem it's a lifestyle problem. During the pandemic often the PM talked about how he understood people wanting to go to the pub. He had his finger very much on the pulse of Britain there! As to whether it's right or wrong is another matter. However I know you are a supporter of RCI but have you cruised out of the USA on their or for that matter any other line? Americans hit the alcohol from the minute they get onboard, many drinking beer like a kid drinks cola. It's a mainstay of their holiday. I believe you are planning on leaving P&O so that's for you to decide. The b'all that you mention can be said about most cruises though unless you are going to be leaping around all day ice skating or whatever. However if that's your reason for choosing RCI good luck to you. Sea days on P&O offer something for everyone in my experience. For instance if the run a quiz they run it somewhere where everyone who wants to participate can at least get in the venue. On Allure the bar and public areas are too small to even do that on occasion. I'm unsure where you pick up your ships but if it's mainly Southampton it really isn't comparable. Would you for instance be happy with one of the ships built with a huge casino for the gambling community or would you think it wrong that they gamble a lot? Sailing out of US on RCI and Celebrity are large numbers who don't actually pay for their cruises! They are the heavy gamblers who are allowed to offset the cost of their cruises against their gambling. Whilst judging sun loving drinkers from the UK how do you feel about these guys? My point is we all want different things from our holidays. If we don't like what we have bought we can't demand everyone else changes because we didn't like it.

I understand the £1 is to verify the card is real. When you first register a card with PayPal for instance they take £1 and then a day or so later it is returned.

I regularly sail RCI out of Fort Lauderdale, particularly on the mega ships (Allure and Oasis before she relocated) I would say that the upper deck space is vast on the "balconies". What is not so large is the areas around the pools, particularly in the shaded areas. Apart from these two ships I've only sailed RCIs smaller ships where I did find it harder to find seating areas outside. The latter of course do not have anywhere near the amount of ice rinks, water slides etc. My experience on Allure is that the "thrill" rides (the zip line across the ship and ifly for instance) are popular with American families. However I get the impression on longer cruises such as the transatlantic voyages that the novelty wears off because they are very much unused after a few days. The ships sailing from the UK in recent years have mainly been Independence and Anthem, although Quantum served for a while before transferring to the Far East. RCI know their markets - Quantum underwent a massive overhaul to install a mega casino to meet the Far East gambling obsession. Those sailing from the UK are being treated to ships designed more for "cold" weather cruises, those sailing the Caribbean get the older ships which mainly don't have ice rinks etc. Anyone sailing on RCI out of the UK gets very little idea of the rest of the fleet as a result. The famous rockwalls were a novelty for a time. Marella kept them on the ships they purchased, the golf courses the same. The "fairgrounds" were a novelty introduced on Anthem and Quantum, the Central Park on the Oasis ships just another novelty in the same way. The exhibition pools on the rear of the mega ships are mainly a waste of space as they aren't useable by the public. The list of "novelties goes on and water slides are just part of this pattern. The MSC megaships introduced the dark water flumes, a sort of Wet and Wild at sea, RCI decided they needed them too hence the ugly contraption on Wonder of the Seas. P&O know their market very well. Families out of term time and a cross section of mainly over 40s and retirees at other times. The UK schools are locked in far more than US schools to the dates children are out of school and for all the desire to be a family ship if most of your passengers are not sailing with children for a large part of the year they need to walk a fine line on what will actually be used all year. No point spending money installing expensive slides, rides etc plus the staff to man them if 75% of the time your passengers aren't going to want to use them. It needs to be remembered that the American ships depart from Europe come the Autumn. They do it for a variety of reasons but mainly because their ships are designed to work for quick 5-7 day itineraries sailing from the US. All RCI is looking for is a lot of people spending a lot of regular money in quick succession. With their limited annual holiday allowance and lots of long holiday weekends their ships are serving that purpose. Any occasional offering of a newer ship is a breadcrumb to the UK market to try to tempt travellers into the new megaships. The ships we get in Southampton from RCI are actually "old hat" to the Americans with their party ship requirements. As anyone who has sailed out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale knows there's absolutely no comparison with the vibe onboard!

If you think this is a mess have a look 9n the RCI forum about unvaccinated passengers ....

A slight misunderstanding between us. I wasn't suggesting missing things was elitist. I was however suggesting that those who want the old formal attire etc. might be best suited to change to something that may suit them a little better. The constant theme on the "calibre" (for want of a better word!) of P&Os newer guests, particularly their dress sense is clearly upsetting some of the older style cruisers. Clothes don't maketh the man I used to be told. Good manners on the other hand are something very much missing on occasion from all levels of society. Some of the rudest people I have ever encountered were on a Cunard ship where my mother refused to go to dinner whilst seated with them because they were embarrassed by my cutting her food for her due to chronic arthritis leaving her hands like claws. As I say people are becoming very judgmental about the most strange things. The throwaway comments and sideways glances are often overheard or seen and those on the receiving end can be deeply hurt. Of course we all pay our money and take a chance on who is onboard but realistically the changes have been there for some time now and the answer is to walk away if you are not happy with it. Regarding the floating hotels, I don't believe p&O are anywhere near that yet. Too many of the ships in the fleet have no facilities to offer that type of holiday. Even Iona is pushing the envelope on that one. The truth is P&O are trying to appeal to a British market that is moving on from the Spanish Costa breaks because they've been there and got the tee shirt. Those of us a bit older lived through the movement from the UK bucket and spade holiday to the Costa breaks. This next step is the natural progression for families wanting to do something different. I hate the term hard working families but basically this is who P&O are seeking, those who want a break with the kids but with the ability to offload them somewhere safe to have fun while the parents can relax, enjoy the sun and have a drink or whatever. You see it all the time. For a lot of British families nowadays there's a very set pattern for holidays and high level culture and history aren't that far up their list anymore unfortunately.

Perhaps the Caribbean ones? The islands have been very tight on testing so far.

The canopies which were meant to help with soot have apparently made the upper deck aft balconies be completely shaded. I not sure how far down is affected but met a very disgruntled lady at Christmas.

They do cover covid if you are vaccinated though. They have an interesting take on covid in that their staff when asked about declaring it state "well everyone has had it so no declaration required"!

Depends on the insurer. Some require you yo declare if you have had covid. The follow up questions for those insurers seem to lead to long covid. If I recall correctly Staysure don't ask but M&S and LV do - don't quote me on that though it's a couple of months since I looked at any policy.

The whole world has just gotten judgmental and likes to have someone to look down on. Just been reading comments on why Newcastle shouldn't host Eurovision, unbelievable the rubbish people spout, really hope they do host it just to shut them up. Cruising like the rest of the world shouldn't be elitist or stuck in the past. Move on and let the new generation decide what they'd like. The so called "golden age" is a bit like the war years I frequently hear being reminisced about - not something we would enjoy as much as we are told and certainly not for the modern day. Instead of harping for the past maybe we should embrace the here and now and enjoy what the ships are giving us. They still take us to foreign and far flung places in comfort after all.

Figures last week showed a big increase in the demand for cash as people are using it to budget. A quote from Asda that people ask the till operator to stop when they reach £30. Doubtful the UK will ever do away with cash, there's too many who rely on it.

As I said above, every single booking is an individual contract and therefore the terms should be as per the date of booking. The blanket approach is exactly the one the government website warns against. Just because no one challenged it previously doesn't mean it's not been dodgy all along. We just accepted it, it only needed some people brave enough to challenge it for it to be tested. If MX never reports back I think it will be pretty clear that P&O don't want this challenged as it would open the floodgates.

This will be interesting! I've wondered for many years after the successful actions against tour companies over loss of deposit when holidays are resold whether anyone would tackle a cruise line, particularly over the must cost more clause. Others will without doubt take the cruise lines to battle either via lawyers or channels such as Watchdog or Simon Calder.

These countries have been card payments for years. The costs are so high even a round of drinks after work necessitated a credit card because of the amount of cash you'd have to carry for a night out!