A couple of easy questions

[FrankLee]

Hi everyone, brand new arrival here hoping for the answer to a couple of questions.

First of all, on the Ventura, can you completely walk around the ship on the promenade deck?

Second, has the system changed when booking an excursion. Do you have to pay at the time of booking?

Unless I'm mistaken - and this is happening more frequently now - I thought the last time I cruised payment came at the end when you had the final statement.

Thanks for any help.

[qbman1]

Welcome Frank. Promenade decks seem a bit of a touchy subject at the moment but the consensus is that, no, you can't walk right round Ventura now. I'm sure someone who has been on her recently will confirm

The excursion booking process is that if you book online in advance, you pay at the time by credit card although you do get your Peninsular discount applied if appropriate. You can also book on board, in which case the cost will be applied to your on board account, although you run the risk of popular trips being booked up

[Manoverboard]

You will also run the risk of a price increase with the excursion(s).

[gouty-man]

That's funny. Last time we were on Ventura you could do a circuit, but it did involve stairs up and down at the bow (nice little bit of extra exercise!) - has that changed? If so, does that mean I won't be able to do a circuit on Azura this year without going inside???

[qbman1]

GM - someone mentioned on another thread that they had changed the configuration on Ventura after the recent re-fit. I can attest that you definitely cannot do a full circuit of Azura. You have to go in by the theatre at the front and out the other side to continue round

[FrankLee]

Thanks for the responses to my questions.

I'm disappointed about what was said about the promenade deck, I try to make a point of briskly walking a couple of miles or so around the various promenade decks of the ships early in the day. I wasn't banking on an obstacle course thrown in!

Concerning the booking of excursion and paying for them "upfront" by card, is that a recent innovation? I'm almost certain that last year everything was paid in the final statement.

[Capt Black]

My mum had to pay for her excursion up front at time of booking on Cruise Personaliser. Her cruise goes next month.

[gfwgfw]

Hi Ya Frank

> . . . and a very warm welcome on board our friendly forum

Think about a a resume of your Ventura adventure whenever - never cruised on this ship -

Calm seas and blue skies all the way

Graham

[Kendhni]

GM - someone mentioned on another thread that they had changed the configuration on Ventura after the recent re-fit. I can attest that you definitely cannot do a full circuit of Azura. You have to go in by the theatre at the front and out the other side to continue round

You can however go in at the theatre, up one floor, past half a dozen or so cabins and take the door to the bit of deck that goes around the front of the ship.

[Manoverboard]

..... Concerning the booking of excursion and paying for them "upfront" by card, is that a recent innovation? I'm almost certain that last year everything was paid in the final statement.

It was introduced to coincide with the introduction of the new Cruise Personaliser but because that was phased in experiences were mixed.

If you book excursions using this method then ensure that the expiry date of the Card is beyond the date of the cruise or the transaction will fail ... and ... although ' changes of mind ' are simple to achieve the refund will be made to the same card.

[qbman1]

GM - someone mentioned on another thread that they had changed the configuration on Ventura after the recent re-fit. I can attest that you definitely cannot do a full circuit of Azura. You have to go in by the theatre at the front and out the other side to continue round

You can however go in at the theatre, up one floor, past half a dozen or so cabins and take the door to the bit of deck that goes around the front of the ship.

GM will get his 2 miles plus some extra aerobics that way !!

[FrankLee]

..... Concerning the booking of excursion and paying for them "upfront" by card, is that a recent innovation? I'm almost certain that last year everything was paid in the final statement.

It was introduced to coincide with the introduction of the new Cruise Personaliser but because that was phased in experiences were mixed.

If you book excursions using this method then ensure that the expiry date of the Card is beyond the date of the cruise or the transaction will fail ... and ... although ' changes of mind ' are simple to achieve the refund will be made to the same card.

Thanks for the additional information.

We've more or less decided to wait until we're on board before booking - recognising the fact that we may not get any particular excursion because it might be fully booked.

One reason for that being although obviously the cost of the cruise itself is insured I doubt whether any excursions booked would be. As the cruise is some time in the future then if for any reason we we're unable to make the cruise the excursion money would presumably be lost.

Reading this over it looks as if we are being pessimistic/mean or both! but we are at a time where we have to consider every aspect we can.

[Kendhni]

An interesting point about insurance .. surely P&O would give a refund for prepaid excursions if, for some reason, you could not go on the cruise. Even on board I think you just have to give them 48 hours notice.

[Manoverboard]

... Thanks for the additional information.

We've more or less decided to wait until we're on board before booking - recognising the fact that we may not get any particular excursion because it might be fully booked.

One reason for that being although obviously the cost of the cruise itself is insured I doubt whether any excursions booked would be. As the cruise is some time in the future then if for any reason we we're unable to make the cruise the excursion money would presumably be lost.

Reading this over it looks as if we are being pessimistic/mean or both! but we are at a time where we have to consider every aspect we can.

My advice is to book the excursions in advance as it spreads the cost and especially so if you are really keen to do any of them.

I booked a number of excursions, fourteen in total for the two of us, on a World Cruise Segment for February this year and eighteen months later ( after the final payment had been made ) we cancelled it, in this example P&O gave us a full refund ... but ONLY for the original Cruise package.

However ... it is a very simple procedure to cancel any or all of the excursions, through Cruise Personaliser, at any time and a full refund will be given electronically without question although there may be a limitation of say two weeks prior to the departure date but this will be detailed in the small print.

All payments and refunds go via a third party so I assume that although bookings are placed P&O do not receive the money until after you have boarded or been on the excursion.

So, although I certainly understand your concerns I do not happen to share them as the risk is avoidable.

[FrankLee]

Thanks for the extra couple of responses to my last post. I have been reading the forum but I have been unable to log on to reply. For some reason either Firefox isn't liked by the forum or perhaps more likely one of my privacy settings isn't liked.

Since I last posted we have received our cabin location and departing terminal and I have a further request for advice.

First, there is no time of sailing but I assume it will be late afternoon. We have been told to arrive at 1500 hrs and the check in closes at 1545 hrs. There is a a small note that this is to facilitate a "relaxed and organised start to the cruise" Well, with such a small window of opportunity to embark I'm not sure how relaxed I'm going to be. The last cruise we had it took us 45 mins at least to get from the M27 to the terminal. Reading another post here I remember that there are 5 cruise ships leaving Southampton that day so it's likely to be busy then. We were planning to arrive much earlier than that, in fact we have always arrived about noon.Is this a new feature by P&O. How strictly is this enforced?

My journey to Southampton usually involves travelling down the M3 then M27 and M271 following the signs to West Quay but I notice where the M3 joins the M27 there is direct link to the A33 which passes through Southampton and passes right by the Ocean terminal from where we are departing from this time. Anyone ever used this road and is it likely to be worse than the alternative - it will be a Saturday afternoon!

Thanks for any advice.

[Kendhni]

Frank, they spread the time they tell guests to arrive to avoid everybody arriving at the same time (when checkin opens). If it makes you feel more relaxed then aim to be there a bit earlier and I am sure they will accommodate you ... however, assuming you get there at a reasonable time I am sure the ship will not sail without you.

[MicheleW]

Hi Frank,

We always used to travel the same way via the M3, M27, M271, but for the last 4-5 times we've cruised we have taken the route down through the town and will always go this way now - and that is on all days of the week. I've heard that the only day there could be a problem is if Southampton FC are playing at home on a Saturday!

Safe journey,

Michele

[Quizzical Bob]

Hi Frank,

We always used to travel the same way via the M3, M27, M271, but for the last 4-5 times we've cruised we have taken the route down through the town and will always go this way now - and that is on all days of the week. I've heard that the only day there could be a problem is if Southampton FC are playing at home on a Saturday!

Safe journey,

Michele

We live locally and never use the M271. The football traffic is not a problem if you avoid the couple of hours before kick-off. The worst traffic we ever had was when Saints were at home, five ships were changing over and Southampton University had an open day. I wouldn't take too much notice of your suggested boarding time, rather get there as early as possible at a time that suits you.

[FrankLee]

Once again thanks for the replies.

Ken,

I know what you're saying but unfortunately - or perhaps I should say fortunately - P&O haven't yet managed to gain control of our roads. Giving a 45 minute slot to check in after people have travelled from all over the country seems optimistic to say the least! I shall do as you suggest and (hopefully) turn up early.

Michele and Bob,

That's encouraging news about using the A33 from the M3, especially as I imagine all the Southampton players will be sunning themselves on some foreign beach so no football!

[Kendhni]

Frank, honestly I wouldn't worry about it (apart from getting there) ... if you arrive before or after your 'slot' it is not the end of the world .. they will check you in.

[Susan Watt]

If you do leave it until 3pm most people will already be on board. Most people take no notice of the time slots and arrive to get on board asap. They are then herded into the buffet restaurant (unless in a suite of Caribbean & above who eat in another venue) which gets very crammed until cabins are ready about 2pm.

[gravy1955]

I went on Ventura last month and yes you can do a whole circuit around the ship on the promenade deck although it isn't all on one level-at the bow end you have to go up a flight of stairs.

[FrankLee]

I went on Ventura last month and yes you can do a whole circuit around the ship on the promenade deck although it isn't all on one level-at the bow end you have to go up a flight of stairs.

As you (and others) have said this is exactly right. I like to do half a dozen or so circuits of the promenade deck in the morning however I found that the flight of steps did cause hold ups and loss of rhythm as I found the procedure seemed to be to give way to someone already going up or down the steps. In fact the deck seemed altogether narrower than any of the other ships I've sailed on and less used. Having said that the view from the top part of the promenade deck at the bow was very often stunning.

Some other comments about my cruise which on the whole I thoroughly enjoyed.

I thought the food in the restaurant wasn't particularly inspiring, at least not to my tastes – I think we had beef every day.

It didn't help that we asked for a table for eight and generally there were only four of us dining, another couple made an appearance after two days then at odd times throughout the cruise and apart from once, always leaving early. Fortunately the four of us left got along very well.

On the first day we discovered the cabin safe was unserviceable and without going into a blow by blow account of our experiences in trying to get it fixed over the first couple of days, and failing, we decided to lock our valuables in a suitcase and get on with the holiday.

I don't know if it's a sign of things to come but the library was very disappointing, a few chairs around a central table, a much smaller book selection than I've seen before and it seemed to me open less hours. The room was shared with what I've seen called a cyberstudy on other ships.

We couldn't find a bar/public space that was reasonably quiet. It seemed to be policy that every area had to have music, sometimes different music coming from two different sources.

This post looks really negative I know but as I said above I did enjoy the cruise and I haven't mentioned the things that went well.