j815 arcadia 28 night cruise 20 oct-17 nov

[Jenjen 232]

Nice photos Mitch, you did not say, but did you win the photo competition the sun set were beautiful.

As for disembarking have to agree with HML it is passengers who just barge in any line of people and get off when they want, why I don’t know because the baggage hall get congested suitcases all over the place, as for those with a imbalanced trolly that you feel cause you physical injury heading in your direction, I did once see a man tip up his trolly onto another man picking up a suit holder, they had to call security because it was getting heated. J

[Countrygirl 237]

It would help if the cruise companies had more staff on duty and made sure that passengers did comply with the instructions given. But I am afraid that they do appear to want to get rid of us as soon as possible. They have had our money and don’t really care about us. They are more interested in the next lot of punters ( sorry, I should say passengers)  who are coming on holiday ready to be parted from their money. (Just my opinion)

 

 

[sinbad10 757]

The problem is passengers collate around the atrium area and near to where you disembark to get off from early hours even when told not too and P&O staff allow it instead of insisting they move and go to their designated areas.

[mitch 325]

15 hours ago, Jenjen said:

Nice photos Mitch, you did not say, but did you win the photo competition the sun set were beautiful.

As for disembarking have to agree with HML it is passengers who just barge in any line of people and get off when they want, why I don’t know because the baggage hall get congested suitcases all over the place, as for those with a imbalanced trolly that you feel cause you physical injury heading in your direction, I did once see a man tip up his trolly onto another man picking up a suit holder, they had to call security because it was getting heated. J

the lady that like me nearly didnt get her photos included in the comp won.

[Davybe 529]

17 hours ago, Jenjen said:

Nice photos Mitch, you did not say, but did you win the photo competition the sun set were beautiful.

As for disembarking have to agree with HML it is passengers who just barge in any line of people and get off when they want, why I don’t know because the baggage hall get congested suitcases all over the place, as for those with a imbalanced trolly that you feel cause you physical injury heading in your direction, I did once see a man tip up his trolly onto another man picking up a suit holder, they had to call security because it was getting heated. J

It is quite often a bun fight when trying to find the cases.

Why people decide its a good idea to push other people luggage into the wrong area is beyond me, those nice people we cruised with suddenly become snarling and aggressive,when collecting their luggage.

Our last cruise we waited ages on the coach until the two airheads ,who could not find their luggage ,eventually arriving with their P&O slippers on as they had packed all their shoes....Davybe

[towny44 229]

On 11/19/2018 at 9:17 AM, Davybe said:

It is quite often a bun fight when trying to find the cases.

Why people decide its a good idea to push other people luggage into the wrong area is beyond me, those nice people we cruised with suddenly become snarling and aggressive,when collecting their luggage.

Our last cruise we waited ages on the coach until the two airheads ,who could not find their luggage ,eventually arriving with their P&O slippers on as they had packed all their shoes....Davybe

That's something else I hope P&O deal with in the Ocean Terminal remodel, the luggage collection area in both Mayflower and Ocean is far too small to cope with Azura, Ventura or Britannia, so unless they provide a much bigger area then disembarking from Iona will be horrendous.  On our recent Azura return to Mayflower in September there were 2 tiny aisles heading for the the exit, and even smaller gaps between each decks luggage, not really enough space for a trolley but everyone tried to keep theirs with them.  They really need a large area to park your in use trolley so they are not blocking the aisles.

Then there is the the question of exits, I doubt that many passengers pay large amounts to go on a cruise just to smuggle in duty free tobacco and spirits, so why there is only one tiny exit leading to huge queues, just results in an increase of bad tempered behaviour.  The customs officials would be be better employed seeking out the criminals who smuggle in container loads of cigarettes rather than waste time on pensioners with an extra packet or bottle for presents, even after finding our luggage we had a 10/15 minute queue to get through customs.

Rant over.

[sinbad10 757]

53 minutes ago, towny44 said:

That's something else I hope P&O deal with in the Ocean Terminal remodel, the luggage collection area in both Mayflower and Ocean is far too small to cope with Azura, Ventura or Britannia, so unless they provide a much bigger area then disembarking from Iona will be horrendous.  On our recent Azura return to Mayflower in September there were 2 tiny aisles heading for the the exit, and even smaller gaps between each decks luggage, not really enough space for a trolley but everyone tried to keep theirs with them.  They really need a large area to park your in use trolley so they are not blocking the aisles.

Then there is the the question of exits, I doubt that many passengers pay large amounts to go on a cruise just to smuggle in duty free tobacco and spirits, so why there is only one tiny exit leading to huge queues, just results in an increase of bad tempered behaviour.  The customs officials would be be better employed seeking out the criminals who smuggle in container loads of cigarettes rather than waste time on pensioners with an extra packet or bottle for presents, even after finding our luggage we had a 10/15 minute queue to get through customs.

Rant over.

Problem is quiet a few incidents of people being caught trying to smuggle large amounts of drugs on/off cruise ships have occurred over the years and I dont think anyone should be immune from checks whatever there age or circumstances. The rules are well known and if anyone exceeds them by however little deserves to be caught and suffer the consequences of their actions.

[towny44 229]

50 minutes ago, sinbad10 said:

Problem is quiet a few incidents of people being caught trying to smuggle large amounts of drugs on/off cruise ships have occurred over the years and I dont think anyone should be immune from checks whatever there age or circumstances. The rules are well known and if anyone exceeds them by however little deserves to be caught and suffer the consequences of their actions.

My mantra has always been "Rules are intended for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools".

[mitch 325]

there was a massive police/customs presence when we got off at least 20/30 bods and about 4-6 sniffer dogs.

far more than ive ever seen so i reckon they were acting on some form of intel.

but i agree theres no where near enough room for people to find and put their luggage on trolleys esp as some had huge amounts. i have one 160litre barrel bag yet others on our row of cabins had up to 3 large suitcases each person, the last night was crazy outside in the corridor you couldnt help but block doors or the corridor. i cant imagine what they had brought with them or bought on the cruise.

never mind drugs the size of some of the suitcases they could have been people smuggling.

[HLM 519]

1 hour ago, mitch said:

there was a massive police/customs presence when we got off at least 20/30 bods and about 4-6 sniffer dogs.

far more than ive ever seen so i reckon they were acting on some form of intel.

but i agree theres no where near enough room for people to find and put their luggage on trolleys esp as some had huge amounts. i have one 160litre barrel bag yet others on our row of cabins had up to 3 large suitcases each person, the last night was crazy outside in the corridor you couldnt help but block doors or the corridor. i cant imagine what they had brought with them or bought on the cruise.

never mind drugs the size of some of the suitcases they could have been people smuggling.

Maybe it's time for cruiselines to restrict the amount of luggage one can carry on from home ports.

For example.

7nts two per cabin.

14nts three.

More than that 5 per cabin.

Just a thought.

HLM.

[2torts 345]

A lot of people seem to use trolleys when they don't really need to. Our suitcases have wheels so we just collect them, stick the hand luggage on top & wheel them out. We have seen trolleys used for just 1 or 2 cases that could be wheeled  out. It's understandable if the passengers are infirm but otherwise unless you've got a lot of luggage  or luggage without wheels don't use them.  Perhaps the trolleys should have notices on them like on bumper cars saying no deliberate crashing into others.😀

[mitch 325]

it was a 28 nighter HLM but even so i dont have enough stuff to fill 3 very large suitcases. and some cabins had 6 so i reckon they brought their own sink.or butler maybe.

even when the wife was alive and we had to take her shoe collection we managed with 2 suitcases, one and a half for her, half for me if i was lucky.

i would love to unpack one lot just to see what on earth they take.

[mitch 325]

oh yes before i forget ive put an album up on the gallery of photos, its under mitch, i didnt realise at the start that bit would be the title.

[HLM 519]

4 hours ago, mitch said:

it was a 28 nighter HLM but even so i dont have enough stuff to fill 3 very large suitcases. and some cabins had 6 so i reckon they brought their own sink.or butler maybe.

even when the wife was alive and we had to take her shoe collection we managed with 2 suitcases, one and a half for her, half for me if i was lucky.

i would love to unpack one lot just to see what on earth they take.

I agree with you Mitch, we generally go with one case each and still have room, albeit on a 28ngt cruise an extra case would be handy but not essential.

Why people need several cases each is beyond me and as you say that's what I suspect causes additional problems.

HLM.

[towny44 229]

2 minutes ago, HLM said:

I agree with you Mitch, we generally go with one case each and still have room, albeit on a 28ngt cruise an extra case would be handy but not essential.

Why people need several cases each is beyond me and as you say that's what I suspect causes additional problems.

HLM.

One of the main selling points that P&O quote for Southampton round trip cruises is that you have no restriction on the amount of luggage you take, although the limited amount of wardrobe space does place certain restrictions on you.  So the cruise line does have a responsibility to ensure that luggage drop off and collection is as smooth as possible.

[Davybe 529]

14 hours ago, towny44 said:

One of the main selling points that P&O quote for Southampton round trip cruises is that you have no restriction on the amount of luggage you take, although the limited amount of wardrobe space does place certain restrictions on you.  So the cruise line does have a responsibility to ensure that luggage drop off and collection is as smooth as possible.

With P&O and Cunard having laundry rooms as well as a cleaning service you do not need as many cloths,IMO We take a case each plus a carry on and still do not use all the cloths we pack....Davybe

[Davybe 529]

14 hours ago, HLM said:

I agree with you Mitch, we generally go with one case each and still have room, albeit on a 28ngt cruise an extra case would be handy but not essential.

Why people need several cases each is beyond me and as you say that's what I suspect causes additional problems.

HLM.

We travel by coach which does have a limit as to how many cases you take and there weight.

One Driver told us of him waiting for this couple to arrive at the pick up points chauffeur driven Roller arrives and the coach driver runs over asking for the cases, the Man points to a small van which had followed then in ,it had 12 cases (For a Two week cruise) the driver said pick which two you need ,the rest the van man will have to take for you.

The Man say's we were told we could take as much luggage as we wanted by the girl on the phone, "the girl on the phone is not driving this coach I am ,pick your cases ,we leave in a minute.?.....Davybe

[Countrygirl 237]

On a 28 day cruise we have 2 medium size cases and a suit carrying case. There are 2 off us and we have never gone without anything.

What would you take in 12 cases for 14 days, if I emptied our wardrobes we would still not fill them. Plus where do you store them in the cabin.

[Davybe 529]

21 hours ago, Countrygirl said:

On a 28 day cruise we have 2 medium size cases and a suit carrying case. There are 2 off us and we have never gone without anything.

What would you take in 12 cases for 14 days, if I emptied our wardrobes we would still not fill them. Plus where do you store them in the cabin.

One Lady once said on a World cruise she never wore the same dress twice? she kept her cruise wear in a lock up storage near the Portland must have had a cabin just for the cloths....Davybe

[mitch 325]

well its officialy done and dusted, the suitcase arrives in 10 minutes or so just had a call from the baggage handling company guy hes about 10 minutes away.

so when it arrives the washing starts and thats the end of another holiday lol.

[Countrygirl 237]

3 hours ago, mitch said:

well its officialy done and dusted, the suitcase arrives in 10 minutes or so just had a call from the baggage handling company guy hes about 10 minutes away.

so when it arrives the washing starts and thats the end of another holiday lol.

Happy ironing, I am sure you have another cruise to look forward too. We do enjoy your reports when you are away.

Thank you 🙋🏼‍♀️

[mitch 325]

ive had to cancel the next due to the back being so bad it was due to be transatlantic return on cunard but it wont cope with 2 weeks atlantic.

i wont bore you with the issues of getting a specialist appointment eyc but short story is i had booked an appt but then derbyshire changed their booking procedures so i came home to find it cancelled and i had to start again. so i am waiting for the initial contact.

but it looks like i will have to have surgery so i dont know if i will get another cruise for a while. i have a 29 day one on arcadia again in oct booked but will have to wait and see if thats feasible.

[Davybe 529]

1 hour ago, mitch said:

ive had to cancel the next due to the back being so bad it was due to be transatlantic return on cunard but it wont cope with 2 weeks atlantic.

i wont bore you with the issues of getting a specialist appointment eyc but short story is i had booked an appt but then derbyshire changed their booking procedures so i came home to find it cancelled and i had to start again. so i am waiting for the initial contact.

but it looks like i will have to have surgery so i dont know if i will get another cruise for a while. i have a 29 day one on arcadia again in oct booked but will have to wait and see if thats feasible.

Sorry to hear about your Back Mitch, as a fellow sufferer I can Sympathise ,Mine tends to be Muscular and I use a Local Physio who usually gets it sorted .

My Brother in law had a couple of operations on his back, which did eventually get it sorted.....Davybe

[Davybe 529]

Hi Mitch try this web age.

https://www.healthline.com/health/back-pain/stretches-for-seniors

My Granddaughter is a Physio and recommended this web site as helpful for older people with back problems ,it does help ....Davybe

[mitch 325]

55 minutes ago, Davybe said:

Hi Mitch try this web age.

https://www.healthline.com/health/back-pain/stretches-for-seniors

My Granddaughter is a Physio and recommended this web site as helpful for older people with back problems ,it does help ....Davybe

thanks davybe, ive been under the physio for 3 months now and increasing doses of gabapentin, it does help but ultimately it doesnt look as though the disc is going back of its own accord, so as its affecting the siatic nerve which effectively is the killer bit it looks as though it needs forcing back so to speak. hopefully once i get to see a specialist i will know more.hopefully this time of year they wont be on the golf course as much lol.