Megabear2

Of 4 bookings across P&O and Cunard I have one on each line stating my husband will need one to one evacuation assistance for possibly having a walking stick with him. Two of these bookings were made on the same telephone call with P&O, the first 16 nights direct from Southampton on Aurora carries this requirement, the second a 14 night Caribbean fly cruise on Britannia does not. I have completed the form for both cruises identically stressing that the walking stick may not be being used on either voyage, to date receiving an acknowledgement for the Britannia cruise but nothing for the Aurora one. I have the identical situation with Cunard, a 35 night Caribbean cruise acknowledged the form submission and details whilst a 21 night transatlantic via Norway/Iceland which is clearly marked one to one assistance for passenger 2 has not been acknowledged. I get the distinct impression that whoever deals with the original booking makes the decision to mark the bookings one way or the other. It is extremely worrying that such a short notice decision has been taken for the OP as this seems to indicate that permission to board with a device isn't clear cut at all and following the instructions complete and submit the form immediately after booking isn't guaranteeing your permission to board,

Your booking confirmation will show on it whether they have marked you for one to one assistance (the lowest they offer, even for walking sticks) or evacuation chair. Assumedly when you booked you were asked for details of your mobility. Did you mention the chair at that point, if so your booking should reflect that. Unfortunately these new rules are leading to confusion for all. It may be a good idea to call the mobility team to discuss. I hope it is resolved for you soon.

The rain has just arrived here. The forecast is bleak for today and although not as wet as today the rest of the week is forecasting rain every day. I guess for now the Spring is over! Just been looking at the advance forecast for my Queen Anne cruise and it's looking pretty bad weather wise. I have a distinct feeling I'm going to need three suitcases of clothes to cope with all that nature is planning!

Is your email asking you to sign in by any chance ? I get problems with BT with third party wifi on trains and in certain hotels. Apparently it is to do with shielding and firewalls. If I switch off WiFi I still have to sign back into my email account. BT told me to use webmail rather than the phone icon in these instances and although a little time is used doing this it does work.

Isn't that standard P&O practice though? The vast amount of changes over the past few years have all been made on a take it or leave it tough luck stance. Maleth Aero being the biggest one.

It's for £1 and is done to ensure the card is active. I believe all Carnival lines authorise the lowest amount they can, Cunard just took $1 when I checked in last week and i had to complete two step authorisation, however I noticed today it has now dropped off my bank account.

And if you don't want to nullify your guarantee you have to use a main dealer ...

Well after taking all your kind information and having the should I, shouldn't I drinks package debate, I've bitten the bullet and my husband has purchased it for my upcoming cruise. Working out my normal daily spend on drinks of all nature I'm probably at break even or just below it. There was some dithering over whether the premium soft drinks plus PAYG for alcohol might be better but convenience as mentioned by King Amo finally swung it. So I'm in rather than out. I'm no wine connoisseur thankfully, just a glass of white with lunch and dinner, but I was quite surprised that the choice within the package looks very constricted by the cost being higher than the price limit. It will be an interesting experiment. Thanks for the help and advice which helped the decision.

You may well be able to and I do, but if you have to be in a certain place on a certain date it is extremely difficult. If it's so simple perhaps you can find me a 4* hotel in London for 12-14 June with easy tube access to Hornchurch? Best I get is various Travelodges way out on the outskirts such as Wembley (nothing wrong with them I hasten to add). As I said £98 average Harrogate in a whole range of hotels which is good value. Within 30 miles of London very little hope of anything under £200 a night for anything other than the cheaper chain end of the market.

Re the lift situation, how are those with wheelchairs and mobility aids faring with them? Clearly those passengers will be most reliant on them so sufficient room and time to board will be vital.

Totally agree, hotel pricing but does really depend where you are. For instance one night mediocre Holiday Inn Express Greenwich this Thursday - £249.00 or One night Premier Inn, Newmarket (not a race day) £196. Just looking at Harrogate, 1 night Crowne Plaza two week times £98.00.

I promise to try harder ..

Apart from the opinion this is a step too far for those who want to bring alcohol onboard and say its therefore a deal breaker, have any of the defectors checked prices and terms on all these supposedly better cruise lines? If so may I ask which lines and how they compare price wise and rule wise? To be fair it would be interesting ti say price a 7 night Fjords cruise in a balcony and a 14 day Mediterranean in an inside cabin. Anyone want to take the challenge?

Yes, same as P&O. An app that's not an app available on boarding.

Thank you. I'll have a look at that one. It's okay I'm leaving Dutch Decoy at home. He's busy preparing for his next race.

Strange what you find on a sunny afternoon in London ....

Not quite a sea cruise, but great to be on the water again!! O2 here I come ...

It's Hornchurch we are going to next month for my SIL's birthday. Staying in Brentwood so trying Elizabeth Line. On the morning intend EL to Romford and use our bus passes on the old 370 to Hornchurch. I used to use the Devonshire Hotel there but it seems to have shut. We're going Uber back but that's apparently about £29!

If as others mention it did develop and need shoreside intervention you would be facing a bill of thousands of pounds which may well not be covered by insurance as you travelled knowing the little one may not be fit to do so. It's easy to say no matter what it costs but in December it was £100 to walk in the door before any medication.

P&O are no doubt thinking their customers are honest individuals rather than cunning looking for ways round it. I'd guess that if too many aren't honest they'll start to get draconian and say if you're caught deliberately trying to smuggle drink onboard you'll be denied boarding at own cost or worse asked to leave at the next port unassisted.

If you go to Cambridge again the Anglian trains although slower are really cheap if you pick carefully. I often do Cambridge to Chelmsford and can get a £7.00 single advance purchase- it probably went up a bit in March. I then go on my next bit Chelmsford to Romford, and depending where I'm headed either Romford to Upminster and up to West Ham for jubilee to Waterloo or Upminster to Leigh on Sea. Never paid more than £17 for the whole lot. Trying the Elizabeth Line to Brentwood next month but that's going to be £8.00 from Reading.

Luckily(!) the strikes are this week. Our no trains day was Tuesday, we are on overtime ban until the 11th. Next week should be clear for Brian's trip as there won't be time to ballot a new strike. Incidentally this is the 3rd summer of this dispute!

Perhaps Carnival own a bean field.

I have a senior railcard and the National Express card too, they are great. If you can buy singles on fixed services they are a great help. Unfortunately I can't do that for all things because I'm connecting through several services which may or may not run to time and connect. A lot of my journeys involve crossing through London so I have to add in the perils of LU as well. Going north it's much cheaper to go into London for the m mainline services than it is to use Crosscountry which can be extortionate. The perils of living west I suppose!

No idea, I assume they will be thinking it over with the port authorities. The first cruises under the policy have just sailed but as no one knew about it bar a few travel agents I'm guessing it wasn't enforced. Most of the trade and cruise press were carrying the news on 3/4 May but I think it hit the mainstream of FB etc on Sunday/Monday.