Cruise 2023

[Trevor555]

Just booked Ventura 5th Dec for 12 nights.

£52 per day, solo fare.

Just posting for anyone who might think cruising is too expensive.

[Gilmore]

Just at Manchester airport awaiting flight to join Regent’s Seven Seas Grandeur.

Been a few years now since I’ve last been on a Regent cruise so will share my thoughts afterwards.

Any questions, fire ‘em over.

[paulguitar]

Gilmore said:

Just at Manchester airport

My sympathies are with you.

[bad company]

We’re flying to Lisbon at the weekend to join Seabourn Ovation for the Atlantic crossing & a week in the Caribbean. Really looking forward to it.

[TeeRev]

We've just booked to fly out on the 2nd December for seven days around the Canaries & Madeira on P & O Azura for a very reasonable £1,258 in a Superior Deluxe Cabin. We thought it would be an easy way to get a bit of winter sunshine and visit friends in Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife as well as to see Madeira which we've never been to.

Our last and only previous cruise was on Aurora to Norway and Denmark over Christmas 2017 so we need to remind ourselves of how it all works, has anyone been on Azura before and got any tips please.

[bad company]

TeeRev said:

got any tips please.

Yes, the crew certainly will be wanting tips.

[TeeRev]

bad company said:

TeeRev said:

got any tips please.

Yes, the crew certainly will be wanting tips.

Good one BC! It does say that all tips are included but my plan would be to give the cabin steward a tip on day one with the promise of another one at the end if he looks after us well. I'm not sure about barmen and waiters though, what do you experienced guys do?

[Deep Thought]

TeeRev said:

bad company said:

TeeRev said:

got any tips please.

Yes, the crew certainly will be wanting tips.

Good one BC! It does say that all tips are included but my plan would be to give the cabin steward a tip on day one with the promise of another one at the end if he looks after us well. I'm not sure about barmen and waiters though, what do you experienced guys do?

We tend to tip on the last day.

That would be for our Cabin Steward (we've never felt a need to tip up front) and any other stand out members of staff. So that tends to be several of the bar staff or if someone has went over and above.

[bad company]

Deep Thought said:

We tend to tip on the last day.

That would be for our Cabin Steward (we've never felt a need to tip up front) and any other stand out members of staff. So that tends to be several of the bar staff or if someone has went over and above.

We’re on Seabourn. They have a ‘crew fund’ which we contribute to. That way the tip goes to all of the crew including those we don’t see.

We also tip our cabin steward but that’s it for us.

[stevemcs]

TeeRev said:

We've just booked to fly out on the 2nd December for seven days around the Canaries & Madeira on P & O Azura for a very reasonable £1,258 in a Superior Deluxe Cabin. We thought it would be an easy way to get a bit of winter sunshine and visit friends in Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife as well as to see Madeira which we've never been to.

Our last and only previous cruise was on Aurora to Norway and Denmark over Christmas 2017 so we need to remind ourselves of how it all works, has anyone been on Azura before and got any tips please.

Enjoy it, post up picks. It was between that and Lanzarote for us and Lanzarote won.

[Deep Thought]

bad company said:

Deep Thought said:

We tend to tip on the last day.

That would be for our Cabin Steward (we've never felt a need to tip up front) and any other stand out members of staff. So that tends to be several of the bar staff or if someone has went over and above.

We’re on Seabourn. They have a ‘crew fund’ which we contribute to. That way the tip goes to all of the crew including those we don’t see.

We also tip our cabin steward but that’s it for us.

Yes, one or two of the cruise lines we've been on, i've heard they have that at reception.

In fairness, we usually end up on a cruise line that is "tips included" (Virgin Voyages for example) or where whatever drinks package we take includes tips. When we're already paying tips as part of the fare and/or drinks package and then tipping individuals, we have to draw the line somewhere, but i do take your point RE: that being a good idea.

[PF62]

TeeRev said:

We've just booked to fly out on the 2nd December for seven days around the Canaries & Madeira on P & O Azura for a very reasonable £1,258 in a Superior Deluxe Cabin. We thought it would be an easy way to get a bit of winter sunshine and visit friends in Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife as well as to see Madeira which we've never been to.

Our last and only previous cruise was on Aurora to Norway and Denmark over Christmas 2017 so we need to remind ourselves of how it all works, has anyone been on Azura before and got any tips please.

Funnily enough I am also on that cruise and flying out that day, but for two weeks not one.

TeeRev said:

bad company said:

TeeRev said:

got any tips please.

Yes, the crew certainly will be wanting tips.

Good one BC! It does say that all tips are included but my plan would be to give the cabin steward a tip on day one with the promise of another one at the end if he looks after us well. I'm not sure about barmen and waiters though, what do you experienced guys do?

Tips are included and nobody will be particularly angling for one, but if they are given they are gratefully received.

In respect of the cabin stewards P&O has cut back the numbers of staff meaning they have more cabins to service and only deal with them once a day, so no evening turndown. From midday onwards they are employed cleaning the ship, wiping down tables in bars, or acting as guides to take people to tables in the restaurants, so likely the biggest 'tip' you can leave the cabin steward is to make their life easy - although looking at the state of some people's cabins as you walk past in the corridors...

With the bar staff then as everything is a swipe of the card I don't think I have ever seen anyone tip, and as the staff tend to move around the bars then a cash tip to one member of staff on day one is unlikely to get better service on another occasion.

Likewise in the restaurants if you are on flexible dining as you will be allocated a different table every day.

[TeeRev]

stevemcs said:

TeeRev said:

We've just booked to fly out on the 2nd December for seven days around the Canaries & Madeira on P & O Azura for a very reasonable £1,258 in a Superior Deluxe Cabin. We thought it would be an easy way to get a bit of winter sunshine and visit friends in Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife as well as to see Madeira which we've never been to.

Our last and only previous cruise was on Aurora to Norway and Denmark over Christmas 2017 so we need to remind ourselves of how it all works, has anyone been on Azura before and got any tips please.

Enjoy it, post up picks. It was between that and Lanzarote for us and Lanzarote won.

My wife's best friend from her college days has lived in Lanzarote for about 35 years so we've been there many times and seen and done everything on the island. We were probably going to go there again until we saw this cruise, the plan now is to spend a day with her there, and to meet up with old windsurfing friends in Gran Canaria and Tenerife all in one trip.

[TeeRev]

Funnily enough I am also on that cruise and flying out that day, but for two weeks not one.

Small world! We're on Jet2 out of Gatwick at 10.15am on Sat 2nd, Row 25, Seats E & F, give us a wave if you're passing.

[stevemcs]

TeeRev said:

Funnily enough I am also on that cruise and flying out that day, but for two weeks not one.

Small world! We're on Jet2 out of Gatwick at 10.15am on Sat 2nd, Row 25, Seats E & F, give us a wave if you're passing.

Out of interest I presume you had to call to book the seats, were you just allocated them or could you chose specific numbers (so I know for next year)

[PF62]

TeeRev said:

Small world! We're on Jet2 out of Gatwick at 10.15am on Sat 2nd, Row 25, Seats E & F, give us a wave if you're passing.

Unfortunately not as am on the 9:50 Tui out of Gatwick that day.

[TeeRev]

stevemcs said:

TeeRev said:

Funnily enough I am also on that cruise and flying out that day, but for two weeks not one.

Small world! We're on Jet2 out of Gatwick at 10.15am on Sat 2nd, Row 25, Seats E & F, give us a wave if you're passing.

Out of interest I presume you had to call to book the seats, were you just allocated them or could you chose specific numbers (so I know for next year)

You get a link from P & O and pay an extra 20 quid each to choose your seats, I assume that seats would be allocated if you didn't do that but you may not get to sit together. There's always a way to make a bit more profit out of the travelling public!

[PF62]

stevemcs said:

Out of interest I presume you had to call to book the seats, were you just allocated them or could you chose specific numbers (so I know for next year)

Depends if you are on a charter or a regular scheduled flight - they do both.

If a charter flight then P&O send you a link to their website to book *and pay* for reserving seats - iirc £20ish for each seat in each direction. If you don't book then they just allocate you a seat at check in at the airport but they try not to be a stty as Ryanair and deliberately split people up but try to keep people together, or for the return flights they do it before you leave the ship and leave the seat allocation tickets in the cabin.

If a regular scheduled flight then they send you the details to check in on the airlines website, and again you pay if you want to book specific seats or not if you are just happy to be allocated seats by the system.

The advantage with charter flights is you hand over your luggage at the airport and then the next you see it is outside your cabin as it is 'bonded through' and you don't have to collect it off the baggage belt at the far end and take it to the coach to for it to get to the ship.

[TeeRev]

PF62 said:

TeeRev said:

Small world! We're on Jet2 out of Gatwick at 10.15am on Sat 2nd, Row 25, Seats E & F, give us a wave if you're passing.

Unfortunately not as am on the 9:50 Tui out of Gatwick that day.

Maybe we'll bump into each other sometime on board then.

[stevemcs]

Thanks (both) it was the one thing that put me off a little, I much prefer to choose my seat.