heatherb1958

Ocean Grill at £15 per person with some dishes at an extra charge was very good , our best meal on the ship back in July this year.

I hope you get fixed dining because freedom dining was the worst we ever experienced on any ship or cruiseline . The queues were horrendous . Unless you like to eat very late you'll have no chance eating early unless you share,  my top tip is ask for a small table if you are asked to share .

We liked to have post dinner drinks in the East bar , opposite Sindhu , nice and quiet with great service from Joyson and the female bar server called Kevin ! 😆. 

The Crows nest had live music from the orchestra some nights with a quiz like atmosphere , was fun . Great views but can be noisy... you access the Crows nest from the forward lifts .. 

The buffet is only small , Arcadia is only a small ship , we found it OK for breakfast  and light snacks but very poor for dinner choices . 

She is an old lady but we would sail on her again despite the main dining room  experience , we know now what to do in future if a fixed dining time isn't allocated .

No difference at all except on the Celebration night, which is usually the first dress up night the rest of them being classed as formal ,   Captain will do a speech  and toast with the officers with free 'champagne'  being dished out to guests as much as you would like . 

7 hours ago, bobstheboy said:

My wife and I bought a watch each, DW bought a handbag, 4 bottles of spirits and other odds and ends paid about £550 onboard Arvia in September.

 

I should add it was all OBC, so not my cash 😁

We were the same , got a nice collection of Citizen watches in different colours   courtesy of Select fare and shareholder's OBC .  Like you say , use it or lose it 😎 

4 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I also take amlodipine and, although I have not checked  recently, I remember being advised not to eat grapefruit or it's juice.

Same goes for avoiding cocktails made with a little grapefruit juice. My hubby has to study drinks menus before  ordering a cocktail... he likes a change now and then from Silk and Spice 😆 

We were on Britannia in September and 2 of our tablemates had the non alcoholic drinks package. I was quite impressed they had non alcoholic wine and gin as well as zero beer.. Things have certainly come a long way . They were also drinking the mocktails but I didn't see a menu. 

Silk and Spice is our go to wine , love it .  We always buy the  Captains club wine bottle package so works out  cheaper too by doing that . We have a glass at dinner then take the rest with us to a bar and finish it  there , we don't buy drinks packages with P&O.. 

Enjoying reading your live report Selbourne ... we are on Ventura to the Med on 5th December,  our 3rd time on her , 2nd time this year . Keep the photos coming .

Observations :- Brandy and Port mixed in equal measure is called a Stabiliser  as told to us by a bar person on RCI.  We have it when feeling a chill or under the weather . 

Creaking cabins , rarely been bothered by one but OMG the creaking balconies on Iona in Jan 22 were horrendous . They were so noisy it put us off sitting out on it , it was like a Mexican wave of creaking starting at one end of the ship working it's way to the aft. Like you I took video.  We are back on Iona for New year so I am hoping she is bedded in now 😆.  

We visited the island of  Las Palmas in January from Azura , first time visit there though been  to the other islands for holidays and cruise visits many times . Las Palmas  was a delight ,  I did a ship island tour that ended with rum and gin tasting , fantastic .. 😋 

Enjoy the rest of your trip .

I know the washing  machines had been delivered to the ship a few weeks ago, we were docked next to Serenade and I asked someone I knew 😉.  

On 10/25/2023 at 1:50 AM, OCVTSGIRL said:

 We had Joff when we sailed last year and I thought I heard he was back.  He was so good!!!!  I was hoping he would be our CD on this cruise.

Joff,  I believe , is doing the World cruise on Serenade which starts December . I am guessing he is on vacation now building his strength up 😆 🤣.  

Sailed Enchanted last year twice , have also been on Regal and just did 24 nights on Sky.  We have not  been on Wonder but have been on all the other Oasis class ships. 

I love the Piazza on Princess, if the band is good I  get up dancing as do a lot of others . 

There isn't an  indoor/covered pool on Enchanted so if the weather is bad everyone is inside in the main body of the ship, can make finding seating difficult.  

We love the food on Princess , vary varied and no rice in sight ,  RCI seem to put rice with everything even when it isn't a curry or stir fry. 

The cabins on Enchanted are beautiful , we had a deluxe balcony BUT in all cabins upto balcony it is a shower curtain in the shower !!! Wr had a mini suite on Sky with a bath . Princess have the best beds at sea for comfort .

If I were travelling with children  I'd go for Wonder but if it is just a couple I'd go with Enchanted and splash the saved cash in the ports . 

I can live with once a day service,  got used to it now with Royal, P& O and I think it was once a day on Silhoutte in June . We were just on Sky Princess for 24 nights to Canada and New England round trip from  Southampton . After a couple of days of twice a day service I told our room steward he could have the night off for the rest of the trip from doing our cabin . We  made sure we had the  privacy button lit up all night incase a supervisor did a spot check.  

I am just reading about it now.

P&O cruise ship Iona 'picks up three bodies' as British cargo ship sinks in North Sea off Germany https://mol.im/a/12665147 via https://dailym.ai/android

1 hour ago, little britain said:

I know which ship I’d rather be on too! 

That could be taken either way , give me a clue 😆 😆 🤣. 

Will look out for you on 7th October 😉 😉. 

21 hours ago, Anton.T said:

Although Madeira does say independence OTS it says the port of origin is Tenerife? (sorry for the bad image quality)

And Virtuosa is still there too , I know which ship will have the better pricing 

11 minutes ago, david63 said:

The way in which any ship is tied up is a complex operation that partly involves experience but more importantly what the naval architects who design the ship state. It is not just a question of throwing a few more lines over as doing it incorrectly can literally break a ship in half.

We were on Vision of the seas in Costa Maya with strong winds , Captain got us in OK but we had two tenders pushing us up against the dock all day . Must have cost a pretty penny paying those fees ... 

After we had docked  a  Costa ship arrived , it made 3 attempts to approach and in the end  they gave up . Apparently  we had the best dock position for the direction of the wind but still needed those tenders all day . 

I hope the folks who are having to fly home are able to leave their main luggage onboard and it is delivered to their home..can you imagine the excess baggage charges.. I know we never travel light out of Southampton 

We are due on the next cruise.....then maybe we are not now. I will still pack until I hear otherwise. 

The call sign with RCI for an impending collision either by the ship or too the ship is Echo Echo Echo.

For those of you onboard right now did you hear a call sign over the PA or was it just the blast of the horn ? ..Enquiring minds need to know for future reference ....   

Thinking about it don't think we have  heard call signs on P&O not even for medical which is Alpha  Alpha  . 

Following .

We will be on Sky soon , our first cruise  as Platinum members.  Can you use your drinks package at the event or is it set cocktails from a list ?   I was thinking  if the ship is busy  it might be a venue where we can get a seat at night  before dinner . I remember seeing on Regal in May  a sign  advertising the  exclusive event  outside the Vista lounge where every where else was busy .  

The programme is complete and utter rubbish and if any newbie cruisers were thinking of going on a Princess cruise it doesn't sell itself well with the guests they chose . I watched the first episode and thought this is dire the next one must be better , nope , it wasn't.  Not going to get those 2 hours of my life back . 

Fabulous report and photos . Glad you had a good time .

We have been on Ventura twice and will be returning in December to repeat a cruise we did December 2021.

Bergen is the wettest city in Northern Europe , you did well 👏.  

We have been to Bergen many times , explored independently and also done hiking tours from the top of the funicular plus on one visit we went to a brewery and gin distillery 😆.That was a brilliant tour😀.  

On our  very first visit it was the month of May in a heatwave and the wood festival was on , you guessed it lots of wood  sculptures in town , interesting . 

Bergen is a lovely city , your time was too short there sadly , thank you for posting your photos . 

Loving following your report as we have been to Norway many times and did Iceland and Norway last July  on Enchanted princess in an aft balcony. Looking at your photos with the ship's flag included our cabin was one deck below your equivalent on Sky 😂. A736 we had. Absolutely the best views for the itinerary. 

We join Sky on 23rd September for the Canada & New England round trip.

46 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

Cartagena is lovely. Cartagena in Colombia is also great! 

AGREE! Been to both . 

Love Cartagena,  been there many times with different cruiselines,  last time was December last year and the weather was gorgeous. All the museums on the water front are free , the shopping area is flat and pedestrianised and best of all the ship docks right in front town. 

58 minutes ago, laslomas said:

 

 

 

 

 

I realise P&O will be a different experience especially as the passenger demographic is probably 90%+ British, I am not saying that is bad - just different. I will keep reading this thread so to be prepared for my P&O cruise. I just wish P&O offered some kind of status match with Celebrity Captain's Club loyalty scheme, similar to that offered by MSC. I now have to start at the bottom again 😞

We didn't start cruising with P&O until October 21. If you cruise a lot like we do you'll soon rise up the ranks 😆.  

We are soon to embark cruise number  7  with them and already have 74 nights at sea .... woo woo 7.5% discount onboard and a welcome glass of champagne . P&O's loyalty programme is nothing like RCI or Celebrity but their cruises are far cheaper so you can do many more ...