Anyone returned yet from Fly cruises in mediteranian

[davecttr]

If you look up "What is bonded luggage" on P&O Med. fly cruises it explains it.

Jim.

Just did, good :)

[Flowerpower22]

We're on Ventura soon so I can't wait to get feedback from the first fly cruise passengers!

[davecttr]

We're on Ventura soon so I can't wait to get feedback from the first fly cruise passengers!

some should be back already but the ship sails on Wednesdays so check every weekend;)

[themanwithahat]

Please let us know how your fly cruise in the mediteranian went. And any tips that you can think of.

In genoa was there a shop near by to buy cans of pop.water or wine.

Did you have to Collect luggage at airport or was it transferred to ship.

How much were the shuttle buses.

In venice were was the nearest vaporretto stop to the ship.

Did p&o provide fact sheet with a small map of port area and things to do.

Did the drink prices seam to be a lot dearer

 

And anything ales that will help plan our cruises. Thanks

 

Hi. Just back from N407 (Genoa to Venice) about 3 days ago.

 

1) Possibly but options to use it are limited. The boat to/from airport transition is organised so you don't have any time to explore Genoa. I didn't actually see anywhere.

 

2) The nearest water taxi looked to be maybe about 10-15 minutes walk away (guess as we sailed past it). There were public transport options at the dock but they looked shut. Rate was the same as P&O (8 one way,15 return). The transfer is about 30 minutes. There was no ticketing system so people just queued outside the atrium. Realistically if you want to spend significant time in Venice you are better off booking a hotel for the day before/after. We didn't do this.

 

3) Yes, but the maps on the fact sheets are not very good. They did give us a colour map on the way out which was much better. P&O drop you in a place which is easy to find. Venice is all little windy streets but actually not difficult to find your way about.

 

4) On the boat, pretty much pub level. Not cheap, not a complete rip off either. If you mean Venice, it depends where you are. Yes, it's expensive, but it varies from insane (St Marks) to pricey but affordable.

 

WRT to the Fly-Cruise part, we found that the bits run by P&O worked pretty well but the bits run by the Italians were useless ; Venice airport obviously (IMO) couldn't cope with the volume required. We were an hour late taking off and Thomson were not very happy with them :) The other main downside was most of the flights were timed to arrive in Italy about 10-11 Italian time. This meant a flight time of about 8-9ish, which meant (in our case) getting up around 4.30 am for a flight from BHX, so for the first day you were pretty tired. I'm not sure I'd do it again, the main advantage is if you can only get a week off. Not actually sure you save a lot over the sail round.

[themanwithahat]

On another social media site, some of the first returnees are reporting that luggage was transferred direct from airport to ship and vice versa.

 

We're one of those.

 

At Brum the luggage was checked in as normal. On arrival at Genoa we were taken through passport very fast straight out to buses - apparently no real customs checks or anything to a bus to the ship, about 20 minutes or so, and checked in a bit like at Soton. The luggage appeared in the room as it normally does. We hadn't seen it since check in. It did I think take a bit longer (we got an unexpected upgrade so asked because our labels had the old cabin on) and they said "in the next 3-4 hours", probably because most of the flights arrived at much the same time.

 

Returning from Venice. About half way through we filled in a form stating how much hold luggage we had, and which flight we were on. The day before leaving, we got an envelope containing a luggage tag and a security tag for our hold luggage, which were colour coded, which you applied yourself. Hold luggage was put out the night before disembarkation and collected by staff. We didn't see it again until the carousel at Birmingham. Along with the envelope there was a sheet explaining the process and giving staggered disembarkation times - there was an information screen in the atrium and regular announcements over the tannoy when various flights needed to disembark.

 

So it's actually not that different to Soton, except with a flight in the middle :)

 

You do need to have enough space to keep a morning change in the hand luggage on the way back.

[pudd]

Thanks for answering our queries.

 

Did they weigh the hand luggage and were ladies allowed a handbag as well?

[themanwithahat]

My pleasure :)

 

Hand luggage was weighed at BHX, as were the hold luggage, as is normal. We did check the weight on return (there's a set of scales at reception) but hand luggage was not weighed as far as we know, nor was there anything about hold luggage either. Mrs Hat's case was right on the edge so we did wonder.

 

Bags/HandBags weren't a problem at either end, though I suspect you have to be reasonable about it. I had a 'man bag' and a shoulder bag with all the documents etc. in and no-one bothered. May be airline/airport specific of course. I get the impression airlines are starting to clamp down on the people who use 'hand luggage' as an excuse to bring another suitcase which I have seen in the past.

 

The whole thing actually was very simple. The problem parts were the bits the Italians did which P&O cannot control. There are lots of people with P&O boards and uniform guiding you about and the luggage transfer worked well, nice comfy coaches and so on. There was plenty of transport vehicles.

 

I would guess once on board there is nothing to stop you exploring Genoa if you wanted.

 

There was a rumour going round that at Malaga (the previous main embarkation to Genoa) because everyone had arrived at the same time, the coaches doing the transfer had taken rather extended routes to the ship so all the passengers didn't arrive at once.

 

This may well be an issue ; at Soton the times are staggered anyway, and people will naturally arrive over a period of time. With fly-cruises you get large groups arriving in bunches.

 

The real minus point for me anyway was the early start. Not that I mind an early start, but getting up at 4:00 impacted that day and the next one a bit (we stayed over at BHX before the flight)

[Host Hattie]

Thanks so much for the feedback, the Cardiff flight doesn't leave until 10.30 so hopefully the worst of the scrum will be over by the time we get there !

[asda]

Our flight to genoa from manchester is very early. will we be able to board as soon as we arrive?

Once we have checked in we are hoping to get off again and get some cans of pop and water from a supermarket. Did you see any near by?

What time did the ship depart from genoa and was there a sail away party?

How did the dining allocation go for early savers and saver fares . We would like freedom dining we have booked early saver?. so we have filled the form in to say we would like freedom.

Did any one book the beach trips that were offered by p&o?

And what excusions offered by p&o did you do?

 

Sorry about all the questions but you will have first hand knowledge.

[themanwithahat]

Q:Our flight to genoa from manchester is very early. will we be able to board as soon as we arrive?

 

A:I would have thought so. Our flight was 8:00ish (Birmingham), we got on the boat at about 1:00ish (actually 4 hours). It's probably 20-30 mins further from Manchester, transfer is half an hour, check in is half an hour, plane was slightly delayed. I would think if you arrive really early (say 9:00am) you'd be able to board okay but you wouldn't be able to access a cabin for a couple of hours. Chucking out time at Venice (for cabins) was 7:00 Am.

 

Q:Once we have checked in we are hoping to get off again and get some cans of pop and water from a supermarket. Did you see any near by?

 

Genoa docks looked pretty rough and ready and dark and dingy, it was a bit like a multi storey car park (!) - there probably is somewhere nearby though. I didn't see anywhere. Horizon says nothing about a shuttle bus. The 'information' sheet says taxis and buses are available nearby.You could have a nose around with Google Maps 3D view maybe ?

 

Q:What time did the ship depart from genoa and was there a sail away party?

 

I've kept all the Horizons and plan to publish them as a PDF soon so people can see exactly what happens. On N407 the departure time was 9:00pm. There is no Sailaway listed in Horizon so it probably didn't happen, because the staff would be busy with other things I guess. Certainly there were sailaways from the other ports.

 

Q:How did the dining allocation go for early savers and saver fares . We would like freedom dining we have booked early saver?. so we have filled the form in to say we would like freedom.

 

A:Don't know, we like the fixed dining, did speak to a couple of people who booked late fares but were on Freedom dining. Didn't meet anyone who was forced onto either due to late booking.

 

Q:Did any one book the beach trips that were offered by p&o?

 

No, didn't speak to anyone who did. Beach trips in April would be a bit chilly :)

 

Q:And what excursions offered by p&o did you do?

 

Florence on your own - coach to Florence basically :) About an hour travel. Florence outside the obvious art galleries is IMO overrated, and very touristy and priced to fit.

 

Pompeii - well run enough but too controlled and too short (about 90 minutes). Would suggest taxi or bus service and do on your own. Place itself is awesome. About 25 minutes away. Seem to recall there was a bus service running from Naples Dock which was about 10 Euros return or something, haven't checked this. You can easily walk into Naples from the docks (I think).

 

Dubrovnik - had a free (not getaway I think) shuttle to town, about 20 minutes out and 10 back (one way system !). Loved it. Looked to be taxis about on the pier.

 

Venice - shuttle boats running to and from the main town, about 30 minutes. Tickets were £8 (single) £15 (all day multi return) £25 (two day multi return) pp. No obvious alternatives (we are cruise rookies) but there was a water taxi not too far down the way. Service was good but huge queues on Ventura with lots of queue jumping I think :( A ticket system would have been far better. Venice ranges from fairly expensive to extortionate but is a great place if you avoid the obvious scams.

Edited April 12, 2014 by themanwithahat

[Host Hattie]

Thanks again, I'm looking forward to seeing those pdfs. 7am seems awful early, we are doing 14 days so it will be interesting to hear about turnaround in Genoa.

 

You mention queues, were they for the Venice shuttle boats or other things ?

Edited April 12, 2014 by hattie the cattie

[themanwithahat]

Most of the flights seemed to disembark before about 9:30ish so it actually worked okay - get up, have breakfast, and wait (we left 8:30) - it was about 30 minutes to the Airport.

 

As for Venice "Marco Polo" Airport ; well Mrs Hat has flown from several African airports and she says they were far more efficient. Weirdly the passport gate is down the middle of the departure lounge - half the gates are one side of it, half the other. There were two security scans only one of which was in use, with obvious consequences. We followed the signs to gate 26 to be told by a security guy that the big arrow saying "Gates 21 to 28" wasn't actually in the right place, and it was accessed via a back staircase. Led to a room where most of the Ventura departs were crammed into a fairly small space. Shambles. Nice Pizzas though :)

 

If Marco Polo had used it he wouldn't have got any further east than Trieste....

[themanwithahat]

Venice Shuttle Boats.

 

You bought tickets at the reception (£15/day £25/2 days). The departures started when the boat docked, about 2-3pm or so.

 

It was just a big queue going back from the main exit on Deck 6. Lots of queue jumping, mainly accidental I think because it was such a scrum. The crew did advise that people not queue and go and sit down, which was universally ignored.

 

The problem was the trip took about 30 minutes, and there were about 7 or 8 boats each with a capacity of about 80 or so. If you didn't get one of these 600 odd places, then you'd have to wait about an hour at least (for the first boat to come back). We were lucky in that we got there in plenty of time, and waited about 30-40 mins and got on the first boat out. Not sure why they didn't do the thing with raffle tickets for boat places which happened when we went to Guernsey. Really needs rethinking, it wouldn't have surprised me if scuffles had broken out.

 

We were on early dining and Mrs Hat wanted to go, so we pretty much had to get on the first boats otherwise it would have been pointless going, maybe 90 mins tops.

[Host Hattie]

Sounds familiar - we flew back from Venice after a trip on Queen Victoria last year. We had the added nightmare of having to check in and the luggage belts breaking down (fortunately after we'd checked in) but some of the plane only just made it to the gate on time.

 

I think we might give the P&O shuttle a miss in Venice and use the people mover, thanks for the warning.

[Presto2]

Most of the flights seemed to disembark before about 9:30ish so it actually worked okay - get up, have breakfast, and wait (we left 8:30) - it was about 30 minutes to the Airport.

 

As for Venice "Marco Polo" Airport ; well Mrs Hat has flown from several African airports and she says they were far more efficient. Weirdly the passport gate is down the middle of the departure lounge - half the gates are one side of it, half the other. There were two security scans only one of which was in use, with obvious consequences. We followed the signs to gate 26 to be told by a security guy that the big arrow saying "Gates 21 to 28" wasn't actually in the right place, and it was accessed via a back staircase. Led to a room where most of the Ventura departs were crammed into a fairly small space. Shambles. Nice Pizzas though :)

 

If Marco Polo had used it he wouldn't have got any further east than Trieste....

 

Sorry, but this review made us both laugh out loud. Having been to Italy many times it is the chaotic nature of the place that's made us fall in love with it and the Italians every time. Don't tell them its chaos though - they don't like it ;)

[kersh]

We did wonder how the flights would work out. The Italian admin skills are totally non existent.

 

We went on Adonia in its first year and encountered this twice. Once from Genoa and once from Savonna. Both were complete nightmares and only 700 pax to disembark.

 

In the first instance P & O were at fault disembarking everyone within a 2 hour slot. The airport could not cope and coaches were parked up for an hour or longer before joining a queue at the airport for an hour or longer.

 

Much better planning in the Caribbean. Dread to think of the queues disembarking a ship the size of Ventura even though it will only be half the ship.

 

Sue

[mollymoomoo]

Hello Mr "Manwithahat"

 

Thank you for all your answers, glad you had a good time. Not sailed P & O before but hoping to go 23rd April.

 

What was the weather like, any rain? Is it T-shirt weather?

Are the swimming pools heated?

Can you get free coffee/juice/water in the buffet?

Are there lots of activities planned for sea days? Look forward to reading your horizon news.

Can you take alcohol on board to drink in cabin?

 

Thank you very much for any help

[themanwithahat]

Hello Mr "Manwithahat"

 

Thank you for all your answers, glad you had a good time. Not sailed P & O before but hoping to go 23rd April.

 

What was the weather like, any rain? Is it T-shirt weather?

Are the swimming pools heated?

Can you get free coffee/juice/water in the buffet?

Are there lots of activities planned for sea days? Look forward to reading your horizon news.

Can you take alcohol on board to drink in cabin?

 

Thank you very much for any help

 

1) It rained a little bit. Apparently it chucked it down in Pompeii in the Afternoon. Most of the time it was okay to nice, occasionally it was warm enough to sunbathe. Venice and Dubrovnik were noticeably warmer. Nothing you would classify as baking though.

 

2) We didn't swim ; did go on Ventura in the North Sea last year and they were I think.

 

3) Some and some. A lot of the daytime activities are quasi-selling things "Come and learn about acupuncture" will be interesting but will involve being sold stuff. Evening entertainment is good. Quite a few quizzes. I hope to scan it in the next day or two, and I'll put a link to it here - is this allowed ? - so you can see exactly what goes on. A more seasoned cruiser than me said she thought there weren't enough activities. We didn't have much dead time though (Horizon is the daily 'what's on' newsletter on P&O)

 

4) Officially, no. In practice you can probably sneak a bottle or two on, but if you turn up with a box they may take it off you. They don't seem bothered about coke, water, etc. just alcohol. Something I took this time, more or less by accident, were those little squirt-drinks that are about the size of a sweetener dispenser - put a couple of squirts in water and you get a nicer drink.

 

2.5) The breakfast buffet has an assortment of juices, tea and coffee, but you can't get juice at the lunch buffet. Never used the evening buffet. The cabins have a kettle and a supply of tea and coffee. If you like Hot chocolate you'll need to bring it. Formal breakfast has juice, tea, coffee as well.

Edited April 13, 2014 by themanwithahat

[Host Hattie]

Yes, adding links to photo albums or scanned items is fine. Just don't mention your travel agent !!

 

I'm surprised about the alcohol thing, I thought it was OK on P&O. I've not travelled with them yet so I could be wrong.

This is from the P&O website

 

We will generally allow a small, reasonable amount to be taken on board for you to enjoy in your cabin, however taking bottles alcohol into restaurants or lounges will incur corkage fees. Please note that you will be charged a corkage fee of £11* per item (any size) per occasion.

 

Should you wish to take alcohol on board to celebrate an event, the number of bottles you may take on will be at the port authorities' discretion and you will be charged a corkage fee.

 

We reserve the right to take alcohol at the gangway, if brought on board, either at embarkation or when in a port of call, to return to passengers at the end of their cruise. It is not our intention to invoke this policy as a matter of course and we will implement it only when we consider it is likely that the health, comfort, safety and enjoyment of passengers may otherwise be compromised.

[themanwithahat]

I stand corrected. I don't know where I got the booze confiscation thing from.

 

Thx for the link stuff. I suspected it would be okay providing it isn't advertising.

[Host Hattie]

It's quite common on some American lines I believe - there are whole threads on some boards about smuggling booze onto the ship.

[themanwithahat]

Note: I have uploaded the Horizon Composite (7 x Horizons + East menu + White Room menu) - there is a separate thread.

[Host Hattie]

Thanks so much

[daiB]

I stand corrected. I don't know where I got the booze confiscation thing from.

 

 

 

Thx for the link stuff. I suspected it would be okay providing it isn't advertising.

 

 

Quite wrong, you can carry a bottle of gin in your hand and they would not bat an eyelid. There are no restrictions on alcohol at all. The only stipulation is that if you are drunk with a carrier bag full off booze you will have it taken from you.

 

Many people have taken wine boxes, bottles of champagne and cans of beer. Not a problem.

 

If you take wine for the table you have to pay a corkage charge which is quite a lot and possibly not worth it unless you have very expensive tastes.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[tjwa]

"I stand corrected"