Just off Britannia, my thoughts and happy to try and answer questions

[Selbourne]

6 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Far too many restrictions for us to enjoy these cruises, but I do very much like the concept.

 

Tresco, Falmouth, Lerwick, Belfast, Dublin etc……..great!  There are so many places around the British Isles I’d happily visit over a fortnight or so from a comfortable cruise ship.

We have always fancied a UK cruise Harry and very much hope to do one in the future but, like you, would only do so once all the restrictions are lifted. As my wife is a wheelchair user she can’t get off the ship in tender ports, so that rather limits the ports of call, but Liverpool and Belfast would both need to be on the itinerary as I like both cities but would like to approach them from the water. 

[davecttr]

9 hours ago, Selbourne said:

I know it’s crystal ball stuff Wowzz, but assuming that we continue as we are, with hospitalisations and deaths at very low levels and life (in the UK at least) gradually returning to normal (masks aside), how soon do you see the on board experience getting back to normality? I appreciate that overseas port calls may have some disruption into next year, but I am at a loss as to why some of the things that I am reading about are still deemed necessary, given that all passengers are double jabbed.

It may be likely that some onboard restrictions will remain for some time. Even if all aboard are double vaccinated they still have a chance of catching COVID and becoming infectious. Figures from public health England showed that against the Delta variant the Pfizer vaccine was 88% effective at preventing symptomatic disease and the AZ vaccine was 67% effective. The figures for preventing hospitalisation where 96% and 92% respectively.  With ships being a super spreader environment they have to be careful.

[debsjc]

This was the goats cheese mousse starter. It did really fit onto a tea spoon. I like goats cheese, I do not like tomato! (I cut it open in case it was stuffed with more mousse, but alas no!) 

[zap99]

10 hours ago, wowzz said:

I have no idea about when things will get back to normal (if ever) but I do think that by next year the onboard experience will be far better than it is now.

I hope I haven't helped to perpetuate this P&O quality drop myth. We have done 2 staycations and go on a third, this time on Iona in 3 weeks. The experience is different to normal, that's for sure. So is going to the shops and restaurants. Some folk on here won't even leave their house. P&O and no doubt others are scared to death that Covid breaks out on on of their ships and closes the whole industry down again, this time a few may go into receivership. Protocols are over the top, but result in a quite acceptable holiday. Food quality and quantity is quite acceptable, entertainers and staff are working their socks off. Booking things are a bit of a pain, but it's difficult to pop into the local harvester without booking on line . We have the app. If folk can't be bothered with the fuss, then they won't notice any difference, other than the difference between going nowhere and making the most of their lives under difficult circumstances. Things are different, life is different. We choses to deal with change. Reminiscing about the good old days may be fun, but don't get you on a plane, or ship.

[ann141]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

We have always fancied a UK cruise Harry and very much hope to do one in the future but, like you, would only do so once all the restrictions are lifted. As my wife is a wheelchair user she can’t get off the ship in tender ports, so that rather limits the ports of call, but Liverpool and Belfast would both need to be on the itinerary as I like both cities but would like to approach them from the water. 

The Princess cruise we are going on in September calls at Liverpool and Belfast but of course restrictions will still be in place

[zap99]

1 hour ago, debsjc said:

This was the goats cheese mousse starter. It did really fit onto a tea spoon. I like goats cheese, I do not like tomato! (I cut it open in case it was stuffed with more mousse, but alas no!) 

I didn't have that, but it looks quite yummy. Just like le manoir but a bit cheaper. You didn't post a pic of the fillet with massive great prawns in the Glass house. I don't take piccies of my food, just eat it. I didn't have any food that wasn't gorgeous. Full marks to P&O. If you want quantity you can always pop into the buffet.🤣

Edited August 13, 2021 by zap99

[zap99]

15 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I didn't have that, but it looks quite yummy. Just like le manoir but a bit cheaper. You didn't post a pic of the fillet with massive great prawns in the Glass house. I don't take piccies of my food, just eat it. I didn't have any food that wasn't gorgeous. Full marks to P&O. If you want quantity you can always pop into the buffet.🤣

Sorry, but it seems I do take pictures of my food. Here's one I ate earlier in Venice. Obviously not enough ribs.

Edited August 13, 2021 by zap99

[kalos]

10 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Sorry, but it seems I do take pictures of my food. Here's one I ate earlier in Venice. Obviously not enough ribs.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruisers and your meal .Those ribs look ..erm, eaten  and the 

presentation I imagine was nice  If I had to find fault I would say a tad too many chips !

Thanks for sharing ..Oh you didn't ...oh well 

[davecttr]

1 hour ago, debsjc said:

This was the goats cheese mousse starter. It did really fit onto a tea spoon. I like goats cheese, I do not like tomato! (I cut it open in case it was stuffed with more mousse, but alas no!) 

OMG nuevo cuisine, 3 peas arranged tastefully on a plate

 

do they still do tomato soup?

[zap99]

5 minutes ago, davecttr said:

OMG nuevo cuisine, 3 peas arranged tastefully on a plate

 

do they still do tomato soup?

I thought it was an artistic impression of the Atlantic. That beige stuff ( is it keenwah) looks like Africa and the Quinnell of goats cheese ( formed in a teaspoon ) looks a bit like South America. The big Reddy brown balls.....pass, but very artistic. Well worth 25 quid in a 3 star noshery. Embracing the nautical heritage of the company. Very impressed.

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, davecttr said:

It may be likely that some onboard restrictions will remain for some time. Even if all aboard are double vaccinated they still have a chance of catching COVID and becoming infectious. Figures from public health England showed that against the Delta variant the Pfizer vaccine was 88% effective at preventing symptomatic disease and the AZ vaccine was 67% effective. The figures for preventing hospitalisation where 96% and 92% respectively.  With ships being a super spreader environment they have to be careful.

To be honest, it’d be more of a red flag to me if there WEREN’T  some onboard restrictions, and I’d expect mask wearing to be mandatory onboard for some time to come. ‘Living with it’ means changing some of our behaviour to accommodate our changed world, and a cruise ship is a unique environment where people live in a closed community

I have an online friend who is awaiting an organ transplant. She shielded through the first lockdown and has given up her part time job as her employers will no longer let her work from home. She’s also double jabbed. She recently went on holiday to Cornwall, and kept herself distant, but she’s ended up catching Covid. If she can catch it, anybody can. 
 

The last thing the ships need is an outbreak, so I agree with you - an onboard life with restrictions is going to be with us for the medium term, at least 

[Britboys]

2 hours ago, debsjc said:

This was the goats cheese mousse starter. It did really fit onto a tea spoon. I like goats cheese, I do not like tomato! (I cut it open in case it was stuffed with more mousse, but alas no!) 

That's appalling. Reminds me of a main course fish and seafood skewer I was served on Marella. The description included Scallops and I had one piece of scallop that was literally half the size of my finger nail. We ate about 8pm and by 1030 I was so hungry I had to go and find something to eat. Never have I felt like that on any other cruise.

[mercury7289]

12 hours ago, Selbourne said:

We decided at the outset that the staycation cruises weren’t for us and I’ve read absolutely nothing so far to convince me that we made a bad decision. I’m pleased to hear that people are enjoying them in spite of the reported issues, but it just doesn’t sound like an experience that we would enjoy and the restrictions, rules, procedures and resultant hassle would irritate the hell out of us. We are considering booking a summer 2023 cruise when they are released, in the hope that by then things have returned to the experience that we used to enjoy. 

100% agree. just does not work for us at this time

[zap99]

7 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

To be honest, it’d be more of a red flag to me if there WEREN’T  some onboard restrictions, and I’d expect mask wearing to be mandatory onboard for some time to come. ‘Living with it’ means changing some of our behaviour to accommodate our changed world, and a cruise ship is a unique environment where people live in a closed community

I have an online friend who is awaiting an organ transplant. She shielded through the first lockdown and has given up her part time job as her employers will no longer let her work from home. She’s also double jabbed. She recently went on holiday to Cornwall, and kept herself distant, but she’s ended up catching Covid. If she can catch it, anybody can. 
 

The last thing the ships need is an outbreak, so I agree with you - an onboard life with restrictions is going to be with us for the medium term, at least 

Absolutely agree. Anyone who thinks the new normal will be the same as the old normal ain't.....normal. If P&O's protocols seem, at times a little OTT, they are there to try and keep folk safe.

[debsjc]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

I didn't have that, but it looks quite yummy. Just like le manoir but a bit cheaper. You didn't post a pic of the fillet with massive great prawns in the Glass house. I don't take piccies of my food, just eat it. I didn't have any food that wasn't gorgeous. Full marks to P&O. If you want quantity you can always pop into the buffet.🤣

It might have been yummy if people like tomatoes, but it wasn't really what I ordered! 
I do have a pic of our Glass House dessert, which is the only other food pic I took 😀
(my steak in the glass house was ordered medium, and come out well done, but it was still nice)
 

[zap99]

2 minutes ago, mercury7289 said:

100% agree. just does not work for us at this time

100% disagree. If you don't want to go on one , then don't. Most are sold out, so the cruise companies will live without you.

[debsjc]

32 minutes ago, davecttr said:

OMG nuevo cuisine, 3 peas arranged tastefully on a plate

 

do they still do tomato soup?

There was a soup on the menu, not tomato though I don't think 

[zap99]

1 minute ago, debsjc said:

It might have been yummy if people like tomatoes, but it wasn't really what I ordered! 
I do have a pic of our Glass House dessert, which is the only other food pic I took 😀
(my steak in the glass house was ordered medium, and come out well done, but it was still nice)
 

We had that one night. A bit too much wasn't it and that was between the 2of us. Did you send your steak back?. Restaurants don't get everything right all the time. I sent the wine back, only had a glass, but they served Chianti and I asked for Rioja. Chianti with fillet.... really 🤣

[debsjc]

5 minutes ago, zap99 said:

We had that one night. A bit too much wasn't it and that was between the 2of us. Did you send your steak back?. Restaurants don't get everything right all the time. I sent the wine back, only had a glass, but they served Chianti and I asked for Rioja. Chianti with fillet.... really 🤣

 

I did not send the steak back, which was my choice, but after an already long wait, I did not want them to start cooking the entire meal again.  Obviously they couldn't just put in back in the pan for a minute as it was over! 

*eta* I managed half of the trio no problem! 😄

Edited August 13, 2021 by debsjc

[Dermotsgirl]

I’ve been enjoying reading the reports from Britannia and Iona and it has piqued my interest in cruising again. 
 

My last cruise was nearly two years ago, and life has moved on since then, so it’s no good hankering back to 2019, as 2019 has gone, and isn’t coming back.

 

Whilst I understand the reasons for, and agree with, a pre-boarding Covid test, it is still an extra hoop to jump through, adding a bit of extra stress. Still not sure if my desire to cruise is strong enough to accommodate this extra hoop.

 

I have no qualms about mask wearing and other restrictions on board. This is part of life now.

 

I’m ok with the idea of an app or website to manage my onboard experience. Using apps is now commonplace in everyday life. However, I would like the app to work efficiently- at present it seems to be a bit of a faff, and is another thing which would end up causing me stress.

 

I’ve two cruises booked for next year, which I moved forward from earlier cruises. We still don’t know what ‘real’ cruising will look like in the Covid era. My current feeling is that I won’t cancel or move these cruises, but bite the bullet and go on them if they sail. But I will be unlikely to book anything for 2023 or later until a much clearer  picture of ‘real’ cruising appears and when there can be a reasonable chance the the itinerary would sail as planned.

 

 

[Dermotsgirl]

16 minutes ago, debsjc said:

It might have been yummy if people like tomatoes, but it wasn't really what I ordered! 
I do have a pic of our Glass House dessert, which is the only other food pic I took 😀
(my steak in the glass house was ordered medium, and come out well done, but it was still nice)
 

I once had that dessert (or similar) in the Azura Glasshouse.  It was very rich and I couldn’t manage all of it. A few nights later I had a 3 plate dessert that was based on fruit flavours, which I found to be much lighter…. and ate all of it.

 

 

[jeanlyon]

Somebody explain dining to me please?  I keep reading you need to book dining on the app?  Is this for Freedom dining as well and AGAIN what do people do who don't have smartphones.  Also, to use a Smartphone on board you need wifi which you have to pay for?

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

Reminiscing about the good old days may be fun, but don't get you on a plane, or ship.

Perhaps, but being unable to cruise has maybe made quite a few realise that cruising is just one holiday option, and P&O just one cruise company.

 

Cruising in ‘the good old days’ was very much a luxury experience in every respect. That’s not the case now with P&O, for various reasons, one of which being price. Other companies, such as Saga, get much closer to it, still at relatively affordable prices, and it could be that the forced absence from cruising will encourage people to try Saga and other companies to rediscover some of the things P&O have dropped. It may also be that a market for round Britain cruises is discovered which was thought not to exist.

[zap99]

2 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Somebody explain dining to me please?  I keep reading you need to book dining on the app?  Is this for Freedom dining as well and AGAIN what do people do who don't have smartphones.  Also, to use a Smartphone on board you need wifi which you have to pay for?

Jean. You don't have to use the app. No fixed dining times. You choose when you want to eat . Go on the app and join a virtual queue, or go to the restaurant reception and they will give you a pager. You don't need to have WiFi to use the app, indeed you put your phone on flight mode the app picks up WiFi, but you can only use it for their app. If you want to book dinning in advance, you can do that in the MDR, but only up to 6.30, but can book several days in advance and for multiple days.

 

 

 

[zap99]

6 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Perhaps, but being unable to cruise has maybe made quite a few realise that cruising is just one holiday option, and P&O just one cruise company.

 

Cruising in ‘the good old days’ was very much a luxury experience in every respect. That’s not the case now with P&O, for various reasons, one of which being price. Other companies, such as Saga, get much closer to it, still at relatively affordable prices, and it could be that the forced absence from cruising will encourage people to try Saga and other companies to rediscover some of the things P&O have dropped. It may also be that a market for round Britain cruises is discovered which was thought not to exist.

We have always taken holidays in a variety of ways. UK, land, package, city breaks, cruises. Not much at the moment will encourage me to try Saga, perhaps now they have a couple of more modern ships, maybe. P&O suit us, as do Celebrity ,RCI, NCL,etc. To us the old days of cruising isn't of any interest and we certainly have never considered cruising a luxury, just another form of travel and holiday