Just had the missus book us a short 3 day cruise to Brugge early April. Never cruised before so any tips or advice to get the most out of the trip would be very much appreciated.
Pay your beer tab off every morning or you could be in for a shock I went on a couple years ago, think I was 15 at the time both 10 days around the Med on victoria and the Oreana. I loved em and would deffinitly go again.
Assume you can just pay at the bar? Its only a short trip and hear lots of horror stories about having to tip all the time etc? Don't like the thought of chucking my dinner down just to get a seat to see the evening entertainment so not sure how that works out either.
Assume you can just pay at the bar? Its only a short trip and hear lots of horror stories about having to tip all the time etc? Don't like the thought of chucking my dinner down just to get a seat to see the evening entertainment so not sure how that works out either.
Yer probably, as we were under age my mates dad just signed off the card so that was our blag for ID. The ships are massive, should be ok for the entertainment... although there were a few sittings to get everyone in for food so cant quite remeber how that worked with the night shows.
I was quite lucky that I was a guest of my mates, so didnt really see much of the bills.. I know he weighed in with a lot of tips at the end though.
i ve been on about 7 cruises now.has i hate flying.first thing you do when you board is go to your cabin.there will be a cabin boy or girl.ask them our they your cabin staff for the three days if they say yes give them 5 dollars straight away.this way your room will having everything everyday.give them another 5 dollars at the end of your voyage if your happy with the service.step two send your mrs to the pursers desk and say you want to be taken off the automatic tipping and say your want to tip yourself as you go along.step 3 book the late sitting for an evening meal.the early one full of coffin dogers and kids.on the formal evening were you dress up take a camera out with you and get people to take photos of you both your save aleast £100.after your eveing meal go and watch the evening show they are worth watching.then have a couple of pints and a bit of a gamble in the casino then bed.room service is normally free.if your going on shore excusions order breakfast room service.pay everything off the next morning as there nothing worse than getting a bar bill for £1500 that was for 2 weeks stay off the cocktails one there expensive and two they blow your head off.any more info inbox me atb tony
There are big differences between P&O and american cruise lines which the above poster seems to have experience of. When you arrive at the port embarkation, you will be given a photo id card. You use this instead of cash and as ID for when you get off the ship. On P&O you are normally expected to tip your cabin steward and your 2 restaurant stewards at the end of the cruise, normally you should allow £4 per day usually between the cabin/ restaurant stewards, there are guidelines and tip envelopes in your cabin. On P&O you do not need to tip other staff in cash as they will include a service charge on your bill when you sign for drinks etc. On P&O the drinks were always good value, (unlike some US boats which can be very expensive), at the same or sometimes less than bar prices at home. If you have a formal night don't do as the poster above says, have a proper photographer take the picture, you aren't obliged to pay for the print if you don't want or like it.
i ve been on about 7 cruises now.has i hate flying.first thing you do when you board is go to your cabin.there will be a cabin boy or girl.ask them our they your cabin staff for the three days if they say yes give them 5 dollars straight away.this way your room will having everything everyday.give them another 5 dollars at the end of your voyage if your happy with the service.step two send your mrs to the pursers desk and say you want to be taken off the automatic tipping and say your want to tip yourself as you go along.step 3 book the late sitting for an evening meal.the early one full of coffin dogers and kids.on the formal evening were you dress up take a camera out with you and get people to take photos of you both your save aleast £100.after your eveing meal go and watch the evening show they are worth watching.then have a couple of pints and a bit of a gamble in the casino then bed.room service is normally free.if your going on shore excusions order breakfast room service.pay everything off the next morning as there nothing worse than getting a bar bill for £1500 that was for 2 weeks stay off the cocktails one there expensive and two they blow your head off.any more info inbox me atb tony
Thanks Tony some very useful pointers ... Mind you even I will struggle to get a bar bill of £1500, but wont be for want of trying :-)
There are big differences between P&O and american cruise lines which the above poster seems to have experience of. When you arrive at the port embarkation, you will be given a photo id card. You use this instead of cash and as ID for when you get off the ship. On P&O you are normally expected to tip your cabin steward and your 2 restaurant stewards at the end of the cruise, normally you should allow £4 per day usually between the cabin/ restaurant stewards, there are guidelines and tip envelopes in your cabin. On P&O you do not need to tip other staff in cash as they will include a service charge on your bill when you sign for drinks etc. On P&O the drinks were always good value, (unlike some US boats which can be very expensive), at the same or sometimes less than bar prices at home. If you have a formal night don't do as the poster above says, have a proper photographer take the picture, you aren't obliged to pay for the print if you don't want or like it.
Thanks all sounds very good advice .... I'm always a good tipper, just not keen on tipping every 5 minutes but rather when i like the service given.
as Halix says, its the same as you would do on a normal hotel holiday. Last night, if you've been happy with the service you tip your waiter if you've had the same one and been pleased, and same for your cabin steward / maid.
All tips have been taken automatically from your "account" unless you say otherwise for a while now. This now includes the cabin stewards.
When you go through the registration process to board the ship it is normal to provide a credit card to settle the account automatically at the end of the cruise (you can pay in cash at the reception desk against the balance at any time). You will each get an cruise card which gets you on and off the ship at the ports of call and to pay for any services or drinks.
It may be possible to bring drinks on board if you are not taking the piss, use a closed / zipped bag, I normally bring on board water, coke and the odd "bottle" as you will have a small fridge, there is normally a room service option if you want a bottle in your cabin, however the bars are not expensive, especially if you are used to London prices, for example a medium coke is £1.95 and an old speckled hen (500ml tin) is £3.45.
If you have an opportunity to try a "specialty restaurant" it might be worth a look, you pay a cover charge (about £15 each), normally the Asian fusion restaurants are very good indeed.
Check for entertainment in some of the smaller venues as well as the main theater, you can sometimes get some cracking comedians or tribute acts. Also if you are lucky you might find an interesting guest speaker.
As mentioned, do take some of the photo opportunities in the evenings as well as your own camera, no obligation to buy and you might end up with a very nice portrait which would cost you a small fortune in the high street. We recently bought one and had it printed up on a large canvas and got the 8x10 print for free which was a bit of a bargain at £49 IMHO.
Eating options are normally plentiful, however the breakfast buffet can be a bit of a struggle so go early on your shore days or take the room service option (place the card on the door last thing night before) so that you can get off the ship as soon as you are able, on sea days use the formal dining room for breakfast, treat the menu as a suggestion, if you want 5 sausages and 3 eggs just ask.
Normally the waiters cannot do enough for you.
If you do want to do or see anything specific / get good seats, my advise is to get there early as P&O passengers are fanatically early for every thing.
You might even get to see a match in one of the bars as they often pick up sky sports but this might not go down too well with the FPO !.
At the end of the cruise, you have to put your cases out for collection the night before, some peep's have been know to pack passports and other essential items !!
Comments
I was quite lucky that I was a guest of my mates, so didnt really see much of the bills.. I know he weighed in with a lot of tips at the end though.
When you go through the registration process to board the ship it is normal to provide a credit card to settle the account automatically at the end of the cruise (you can pay in cash at the reception desk against the balance at any time). You will each get an cruise card which gets you on and off the ship at the ports of call and to pay for any services or drinks.
It may be possible to bring drinks on board if you are not taking the piss, use a closed / zipped bag, I normally bring on board water, coke and the odd "bottle" as you will have a small fridge, there is normally a room service option if you want a bottle in your cabin, however the bars are not expensive, especially if you are used to London prices, for example a medium coke is £1.95 and an old speckled hen (500ml tin) is £3.45.
If you have an opportunity to try a "specialty restaurant" it might be worth a look, you pay a cover charge (about £15 each), normally the Asian fusion restaurants are very good indeed.
Check for entertainment in some of the smaller venues as well as the main theater, you can sometimes get some cracking comedians or tribute acts. Also if you are lucky you might find an interesting guest speaker.
As mentioned, do take some of the photo opportunities in the evenings as well as your own camera, no obligation to buy and you might end up with a very nice portrait which would cost you a small fortune in the high street. We recently bought one and had it printed up on a large canvas and got the 8x10 print for free which was a bit of a bargain at £49 IMHO.
Eating options are normally plentiful, however the breakfast buffet can be a bit of a struggle so go early on your shore days or take the room service option (place the card on the door last thing night before) so that you can get off the ship as soon as you are able, on sea days use the formal dining room for breakfast, treat the menu as a suggestion, if you want 5 sausages and 3 eggs just ask.
Normally the waiters cannot do enough for you.
If you do want to do or see anything specific / get good seats, my advise is to get there early as P&O passengers are fanatically early for every thing.
You might even get to see a match in one of the bars as they often pick up sky sports but this might not go down too well with the FPO !.
At the end of the cruise, you have to put your cases out for collection the night before, some peep's have been know to pack passports and other essential items !!
Enjoy !