New Member, New(ish)to cruising

[GemC]

First off, hello to everyone,

I am quite new to cruising holidays, I am booked on to P & O Arvia for a 2 week Caribbean cruise from the 03/03/23 from Barbados,

This is the 1st time i have booked a cruise direct with the cruise company, so not 100% on what paperwork i need to take with me with regards to all the different islands we will be visiting?? will i need visa's and health questionnaires or any other kind of entry paperwork other than passport for these islands.

Any help or tips on this would be greatly appreciated, 

 

Thanks in advance

Gem

[sagaris]

Hi Gem,

No visas or health questionnaires needed now (thank goodness)🙂.

Also, unless you want to, there is no need to book trips, all islands are very easy to DIY.

 

Molly 

[GemC]

Thank you for the quick reply, 

that information is good to know,

I was worried i would turn up for the cruise and they would turn me away for not having right paperwork, 

 

Gem

[wowzz]

Don't you have to fill in an online immigration form, 72 hours prior to arrival in Barbados ?

[sagaris]

4 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Don't you have to fill in an online immigration form, 72 hours prior to arrival in Barbados ?

Not sure, I know we did when we sailed between covid lockdowns, but I can't remember filling one in prior to that (2019). Then again I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday😁

[GemC]

12 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Don't you have to fill in an online immigration form, 72 hours prior to arrival in Barbados ?

Would that just be for Barbados ? or would i need one of those for all the other islands?

sorry for stupid questions, 

Thanks for the info though, appreciate it.

 

Gem

[wowzz]

12 minutes ago, GemC said:

Would that just be for Barbados ? or would i need one of those for all the other islands?

sorry for stupid questions, 

Thanks for the info though, appreciate it.

 

Gem

Just for Barbados, I think. Hopefully those who were on the Christmas cruise will be along shortly to confirm.

[GemC]

👍

[Jennizor]

If you go into P&O Cruises then my.pocruises.com, login with your 6 digit booking ref,, name and date of birth. On the next screen, click on ‘before you sail’ and ‘shore experiences’ and you should have all the latest information.

 

Thankfully, there is a lot less to do than when we went on our December 22 Caribbean cruise.

 

Have a great cruise I’m sure will love it.

[Megabear2]

16 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Just for Barbados, I think. Hopefully those who were on the Christmas cruise will be along shortly to confirm.

Yes you need an online form. You complete 72 hours before departure. It is a link direct to Barbados government website. On P&Os useful facts guide there's a guide to filling it out. It's pretty easy but some have had trouble with submitting it, just keep trying it goes eventually!

 

Edited January 4, 2023 by Megabear2

[GemC]

Thank you Jennizor and Megabear2, appreciate it,

 

Gem

[Host Sharon]

Welcome to Cruise Critic Gem. Regarding Sagaris' comment about DIY ashore, if you are sailing on your own I would suggest you book tours in the Caribbean unless you buddy up with other solo passengers or pre-book private tours before you sail.

[GemC]

2 minutes ago, Host Sharon said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic Gem. Regarding Sagaris' comment about DIY ashore, if you are sailing on your own I would suggest you book tours in the Caribbean unless you buddy up with other solo passengers or pre-book private tours before you sail.

Hi Sharon,

Glad to be here, I will be cruising with my wife, we will more than likely be booking tours onboard,

I'm more concerned with having the correct paperwork for entry into the Caribbean and the islands, the wife would kill me if we got turned away or denied boarding 😂

 

Gem

[Megabear2]

1 minute ago, GemC said:

Hi Sharon,

Glad to be here, I will be cruising with my wife, we will more than likely be booking tours onboard,

I'm more concerned with having the correct paperwork for entry into the Caribbean and the islands, the wife would kill me if we got turned away or denied boarding 😂

 

Gem

Hello Gem, welcome.  Just to say the P&O tours on my recent cruise were mainly sold out on boarding.  If you're one of the guys with a massive OBC offering you may be thinking of using it for tours, however even beach trips were hard to come by on some islands.  I would consider booking anything before you go if its something you really want to do or see.

 

Cannot speak for Arvia (obviously!) but some of the ports offer very little immediately outside the terminal as the cruise terminals tend to be in more container type areas.  Lots of first time cruisers to the Caribbean on our cruise were rather taken aback by St Vincent and Grenada in particular.  These are beautiful islands but you will need to move away from the port area. Grenada for instance offers a ferry to the beach but for some obscure reason a lot of people missed it as you had to buy tickets inside the terminal.

 

If you would like any clues on which trips go quickly feel free to ask - certainly every year they never seem to change in popularity stakes!

 

[CaptainPedantic]

Hi Gem,

 

Destination requirements are regularly updated here: https://www.pocruises.com/cruise-with-confidence/destination-requirements

 

Specifically for Barbados:

Barbados

All guests flying into Barbados must provide evidence of completing the Barbados Immigration and Customs form here. The form will be available within 72 hours prior to travel. This will be checked at the airport before boarding your flight. We’ve put together a handy guide on how to fill this out here.

 

 

[GemC]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Hello Gem, welcome.  Just to say the P&O tours on my recent cruise were mainly sold out on boarding.  If you're one of the guys with a massive OBC offering you may be thinking of using it for tours, however even beach trips were hard to come by on some islands.  I would consider booking anything before you go if its something you really want to do or see.

 

Cannot speak for Arvia (obviously!) but some of the ports offer very little immediately outside the terminal as the cruise terminals tend to be in more container type areas.  Lots of first time cruisers to the Caribbean on our cruise were rather taken aback by St Vincent and Grenada in particular.  These are beautiful islands but you will need to move away from the port area. Grenada for instance offers a ferry to the beach but for some obscure reason a lot of people missed it as you had to buy tickets inside the terminal.

 

If you would like any clues on which trips go quickly feel free to ask - certainly every year they never seem to change in popularity stakes!

 

Thanks for this info Megabear2, 

It says we have £600 OBC, not sure if that is a typo 🙂

It would be great if you give some clues on the best trips to go on,

 

Gem

[GemC]

55 minutes ago, clubcardcruiser said:

Hi Gem,

 

Destination requirements are regularly updated here: https://www.pocruises.com/cruise-with-confidence/destination-requirements

 

Specifically for Barbados:

Barbados

All guests flying into Barbados must provide evidence of completing the Barbados Immigration and Customs form here. The form will be available within 72 hours prior to travel. This will be checked at the airport before boarding your flight. We’ve put together a handy guide on how to fill this out here.

 

 

Clubcardcruiser,

 

Thanks for that link, 

Having checked all the destinations,

Barbados, Tortola, La Romana, St Maarten, Antigua, Martinique, St Lucia

that we will be visiting on that list it seems Barbados is the only one that requires the Immigration and customs form.

that makes things easier, i was expecting every island to require something like that, 🤷‍♂️ 😕

Thank you

 

Gem

[silkworms]

Hi GemC

 

We are on that cruise also.

Why don’t you join the roll call for Arvia cruise 305A/306A,

go on to P and O roll calls and you will see the cruise listed.

We join the ship on the 4th but stay on to sail home which

is why the roll call covers both cruises.

 

Terri

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, GemC said:

Thanks for this info Megabear2, 

It says we have £600 OBC, not sure if that is a typo 🙂

It would be great if you give some clues on the best trips to go on,

 

Gem

Yes, the OBC will be correct. It has been very generous of late.

 

Not sure about best trips, but will let you know which gave been the ones that sell out in recent years.

[tring]

6 hours ago, GemC said:

Hi Sharon,

Glad to be here, I will be cruising with my wife, we will more than likely be booking tours onboard,

I'm more concerned with having the correct paperwork for entry into the Caribbean and the islands, the wife would kill me if we got turned away or denied boarding 😂

 

Gem

 

Paperwork showing proof of vaccination and boosters as well as insurance policy details are still needed as far as I know and that has not been mentioned here, though you may know about that.  It was checked at the airport when we flew out to Azura in the autumn, though at the port normally for UK departures.

 

Enjoy your cruise,

 

Barbara

 

Edited January 4, 2023 by tring

[Megabear2]

1 minute ago, tring said:

It was checked at the airport when we flew out to Azura in the autumn, though at the port normally for UK departures

Glad to hear someone was checked. Nothing asked for at Gatwick last month, just asked do you have any covid symptoms.  Even the Barbados government form wasn't checked by anyone which seemed weird.

 

  Ironically one man sat heavily coughing on the plane was challenged by TUI staff and said he had a long term condition. Funnily enough not a squeak from him on the flight back but plenty of others coughing very loudly.

[Megabear2]

3 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Yes, the OBC will be correct. It has been very generous of late.

 

Not sure about best trips, but will let you know which gave been the ones that sell out in recent years.

From memory sold out before sailing included

Barbados

Turtle swim

Catcarib and turtles

Submarine trip

Island tour

 

Curaçao

Pretty much everything connected with island tours, Hato caves, 4x4 trips

 

Bonaire

Island tour

Catamaran cruises

Snorkeling trips

 

St Lucia 

Aerial tram

Catamaran and land all day tour

Hiking the Pitons

4x4 trip

Beach bus - not beach transfers but the reggae bus

Seaway tours

 

Antigua

Helicopter tour

Some beach transfers

Catamaran sailing - both full day and half

Nelsons dockyard

Island tour

 

St Kitts

Steel drums 

Rum and chocolate 

Transfer to Nevis

Beach Club not beach transfer

Train and sea tour - the train without sea was available 

 

St Vincent

Kayaking 

Mustique day

Bequia with lunch full day

Schooner cruise with beer

Island tour with waterfalls

Volcano viewing

 

Grenada

Waterfalls

Gardens

Catamaran 

Rum and chocolate 

 

St Maarten

Most of the activity trips to the French side of the island 

 

I emphasise these aren't me saying they are the best trips merely they are the ones that always sell out first.

 

 

 

[tring]

36 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Glad to hear someone was checked. Nothing asked for at Gatwick last month, just asked do you have any covid symptoms.  Even the Barbados government form wasn't checked by anyone which seemed weird.

 

  Ironically one man sat heavily coughing on the plane was challenged by TUI staff and said he had a long term condition. Funnily enough not a squeak from him on the flight back but plenty of others coughing very loudly.

 

They seemed keener to check at Manchester airport than the seven ports we have sailed from since covid.  Though we had generally been asked if we had those things and just showed we had a piece of paper.  A chance of being caught out if you do not have the details though.  They were checking as we waited for the check in desk and got us to fill in those notorious health questionnaires.

 

Sorry to hear about that coughing etc.  It will be around though. Tim Spector was saying last week that there is three or four times the amount of flu and other infections, compared to covid cases.  Always was a fair bit of infection this time of year.

 

[CaptainPedantic]

Barbados Cat Caribe & Turtles was also sold out on our November cruise on Britannia, but the (shorter) Turtle Swim was available and it was brilliant. It was so good in fact that we re-booked it for the following day before disembarkation!

Edited January 5, 2023 by clubcardcruiser