Vague Info on Arival/Departure Times

[stratrob]

We are on Aurora Sept 28 to Western Med. Our first time on P&O and unless I can get better info it will be our last. Despite speaking to P&O they seem unable or is it unwilling to give precise times of arrival and departure at ports of call, so making it almost impossible to make individual tour arrangements. All they will say is late morning or morning or early afternoon, whatever that may mean. Also the times ashore based on the poor info available seems in many cases to be very short and this is reflected in the short length of time at destinations offered on :confused:many of the ship's tours. Is this a deliberate cost cutting policy to the detriment of the passenger because it is cheaper to cruise than to be in port? We have in the past cruised with 5 other cruise lines and never encountered this before.

[Twickenham]

It's rather buried, but it's there - click here for info on port times.

 

For your cruise:

 

28-Sep-13

Southampton

06:30

16:30

Evening Casual

29-Sep-13

At Sea

Black Tie

Welcome Aboard Ball

30-Sep-13

Vigo

10:00

17:30

Evening Casual

60s & 70s

01-Oct-13

At Sea

Black Tie

Black & White

02-Oct-13

Malaga

08:30

16:00

Smart, Jacket Required

03-Oct-13

Casablanca

08:00

19:00

Evening Casual

04-Oct-13

Gibraltar

13:00

18:30

Evening Casual

05-Oct-13

Cadiz

08:00

16:00

Smart, Jacket Required

06-Oct-13

Lisbon

09:30

17:15

Evening Casual

07-Oct-13

At Sea

Black Tie

Landfall Ball

08-Oct-13

At Sea

Evening Casual

[simonpjd]

I am amazed you are not getting longer in Gibraltar. We were there 6 weeks ago with Cadiz as the next port and we didnt sail until 2200. And still got to Cadiz early the next day - it is only a stone's throw from Gib after all. And agin for your arrival in Gib - we were there all day after leaving Casablanca the previous day at 1700 - no problem.

Maybe your ship is much slower than Oriana.

 

This is an interesting thread though as so many people are talking about P&O giving less time in port than others.

 

However you sound very angry - relax - it is a holiday you know.

[majortom10]

P&O only very occasionally call at Gibraltar for more than half a day. People are quick to complain about length of stay in Gibraltar and we have been cruising with them since 2000 and stopped at Gibraltar many times and only ever stayed for a full day once in all that time.

[Thejuggler]

I am amazed you are not getting longer in Gibraltar. We were there 6 weeks ago with Cadiz as the next port and we didnt sail until 2200. And still got to Cadiz early the next day - it is only a stone's throw from Gib after all. And agin for your arrival in Gib - we were there all day after leaving Casablanca the previous day at 1700 - no problem.

Maybe your ship is much slower than Oriana.

 

This is an interesting thread though as so many people are talking about P&O giving less time in port than others.

 

However you sound very angry - relax - it is a holiday you know.

 

Nothing to do with speed. If they leave early they go slow. Fuel is cheaper than port fees. Schedules are drawn up as much as 18 months in advance so I don't know why P&O hide the details away.

[gadabout60]

So are the port fees at Gibraltar more expensive than elsewhere ?

[CCFC]

So are the port fees at Gibraltar more expensive than elsewhere ?

 

Not really:

 

The following tonnage dues shall be payable on all vessels arriving at, touching at, or having communication with Gibraltar, or the anchorage, port or harbour thereof in respect of each period of 48 hours or part thereof that a vessel remains at Gibraltar.

 

£2,275 for 2 days source here http://www.gibraltarport.com/port-information/tariffs

 

We did Gibraltar last year on the Oceana and had a full day too. Its all about saving money on fuel and getting your money through the bars/shops.

 

Its becoming a common theme with P&O, other cruise lines give you far longer. My upcoming cruise from Rome to Barcelona has full days in all stops apart from Monte Carlo but its quite a hike to Barcelona so understandable.

[jeanlyon]

We are going into Gib on Oriana and only have half a day. Never had a full day there. Most disappointing thing is only 6.5 hours in Malta :-(

[stratrob]

Hi Twickenham

Many thanks for the info. Pity that P&O, when I rang them, didn't know this info was on their website. However the info does indicate a short time in a few of the ports visited making it impossible to DIY tours, for example Vigo where it would be impossible to safely get a train to Santiago di Compestella and get back to the ship on time. As for Gib. it is hardly worth calling.

[gadabout60]

Hi Twickenham

Many thanks for the info. Pity that P&O, when I rang them, didn't know this info was on their website. However the info does indicate a short time in a few of the ports visited making it impossible to DIY tours, for example Vigo where it would be impossible to safely get a train to Santiago di Compestella and get back to the ship on time. As for Gib. it is hardly worth calling.

 

 

I agree that it would be great to have longer in Gibraltar but it is still worth calling. We managed a two hour taxi tour up onto the rock, then whizzed up and down the shops for a few bargains before having fish and chips for lunch. Lovely morning

[simonpjd]

Maybe we were lucky to get a full day and evening in Gib. No excuses really when Cadiz is next as it is only 50 odd miles away.

In Vigo take a ship's tour to Santiago de Compostela - 1 no problem if you get delayed as the ship will wait, 2 excellent tour and with a guide you will learn far more about the place, 3 Santiago is an excellent place - so interesting - not just the Cathedral (they do mass there at noon so work around that unless you want to attend of course) but all the little streets around.

[groovechick]

We did Gib from Azura a month ago, almost identical arrival and departure times to stratrob, and we managed a private tour of the Rock that covered just about everywhere. Was supposed to take 2.5-3 hours, we actually got more like 4 hours (at no extra cost) and our driver was going to drop us off in town for an hour or so's shopping, but the children were shattered, so we went straight back to the port.

 

There were apes at St Michael's Cave and of course the reserve at the top of the Rock. I didn't see them bother a single tourist, they ignored them/slept/ate. The guides will get them to sit on your shoulder/head if you want - but only if you want.

 

We were furious at having only @ 5 hours in Barcelona - absolutely no reason for it as our next port was Valencia, so hardly a long cruise.

 

I think a couple of pax, including myself, have had it confirmed by crew members on different P&O ships that the short port times are indeed a money-saving exercise. They pay less in port fees, save fuel by cruising slower, and of course you are captive in the ship's bars/restaurants/cafés for longer. Failure to publish accurate arrival and departure times prevents pax, as stratrob rightly says, from making private arrangements for shore excursions. There was a private trip we desperately wanted to do in Valencia, something really different, and couldn't because we just weren't there long enough. Also you are more likely to book a ship's excursion as you know it will either get back in time or the ship will be held for you, so they make money that way too.

 

I'm afraid this is another way P&O is going to lose customers in addition to the Vantage/Getaway fare fiasco. One of the joys of cruising is the time spent in port - the different cultures, food, drink, sights... take that away and there's not much left to distinguish a cruise from a holiday in a hotel.

[jeanlyon]

We are off on Oriana in 8 days time. 17 day Eastern Med - all ports will be DIY. Firstly I hate being on a coach with 50 others, waiting for them to get back on board etc. We like to do our own thing. Half a day in Gib will be fine for us and even 6.5 hours in Malta we will be able to do what we want. Most of the ship's excursions are mega expensive compared to doing it by ourselves and we always get back in plenty of time. Lots of places have HOHO buses these days and these are often great value.

[FrankieVanilla]

Ha ha Jean...I had to read your post a few times before I worked out that HOHO is an acronym! (initially thought it was a bus driven by Santa!!) I've cracked it now!! :)

 

Hope you have a great cruise.

[simonpjd]

You know they always tell you that the ship will sail without you if you are late back unless you are on an organized ship's tour. Well not so. If enough passengers have not returned (and I do not know the number) they have to wait. This happened to us on Oriana this summer. Departure time came and they announced that the ship would not move until they had located many missing passengers. We all had to go back to our cabins and staff came round checking who was on board. But he said that they could not sail as too many passengers were not on board - or, as it turned out, were on board but the card system had not worked correctly and they were on a missing list.

[jeanlyon]

I can never understand how you can swipe back on to the ship but the system doesn't know you are there? Surely that's what it's for! LOL

[silver service]

Have you noticed that before departure, from port, they page passengers

Names? Late returners,or did they fail to swipe their cruise cards?