Posted August 11 2023 at 06:53 AM
We had already cruised the Caribbean on 2 previous occasions but with Princess Cruises. We wanted to return to this destination for a third time as it is so beautiful and we chose P&O as they were offering a good rate.
We got off to a poor start. Arriving at Bridgetown Cruise Terminal we had to stay on board our hot and stuffy coach for 2 hours while the ship was turned round due to a broken rope and a high tide which would have made embarking the ship dangerous. We understood the reasons for the delay but we were not offered any water to make the waiting more comfortable and we had to use a portaloo on the dockside if we needed to relieve ourselves. Of course, this delayed the delivery of our luggage and I found myself unpacking at 2 am, UK time after a really long, tiring day. Again, no complimentary water in our cabins, we had to go to the very busy buffet to get water out of the machine.
Despite this poor beginning we were determined to put it behind us and enjoy our cruise. Our cabin was great, comfortable bed and lovely, soft pillows. The cabin staff were friendly and efficient. It was good to be able to make hot drinks in our cabin and we were kept well supplied with milk and coffee, including decaffeinated, we brought our own teabags. Water came in cans and was £7.65 for 7 bottles, I found this rather expensive and would have preferred the water to be supplied in bottles.
We chose freedom dining and booked most of our dinners on the MyHoliday app via the ship’s intranet. We also booked our seats in The Headliners Theatre for each evening so we could be guaranteed a seat.
The food was very good but the menu was repetitive and less varied than I would have liked, for example, tomato soup with croutons appeared on the menu almost every day, as did roast chicken and steak. We never used the speciality dining areas as we felt we had paid enough for the basic cruise package. The food in the buffet was good but we found the choice more limited than we have been used to on previous cruises.
The Headliners orchestra, dancers and singers were excellent and we enjoyed all the shows. We opted not to pay extra money to see ‘celebrity’ acts like Chesney Hawkes in the Limelight Club. We enjoy quizzes and took part in the Syndicate Quiz most days, we found the Individual Quiz at 5.30pm was at an unsuitable for us as we like to eat at 6pm. We would have liked to see more lectures on sea days.
We were very disappointed not to be able to have a proper Promenade Deck on Deck 7, the position of the lifeboats and restricted areas made it impossible to have a decent walk. Walking around Deck 16 was difficult due to the sun loungers, if you wanted to stretch your legs you had to be up there before 8am. We also found it difficult to negotiate our way round the lower decks due to lack of stairs and lifts where you would expect them to be.
As usual, the excursions were very expensive but we went on 4 of the more reasonably priced ones and really enjoyed the double-decker tour around St Maarten and the trip to the beach at St Kitts on the banana bus. The drinks package was exorbitantly priced as was the cost of internet usage. We didn’t bother with either and used free wifi onshore and paid for occasional drinks at the bars.
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voteGood But Not As Good As Before Covid
We got off to a poor start. Arriving at Bridgetown Cruise Terminal we had to stay on board our hot and stuffy coach for 2 hours while the ship was turned round due to a broken rope and a high tide which would have made embarking the ship dangerous. We understood the reasons for the delay but we were not offered any water to make the waiting more comfortable and we had to use a portaloo on the dockside if we needed to relieve ourselves. Of course, this delayed the delivery of our luggage and I found myself unpacking at 2 am, UK time after a really long, tiring day. Again, no complimentary water in our cabins, we had to go to the very busy buffet to get water out of the machine.
Despite this poor beginning we were determined to put it behind us and enjoy our cruise. Our cabin was great, comfortable bed and lovely, soft pillows. The cabin staff were friendly and efficient. It was good to be able to make hot drinks in our cabin and we were kept well supplied with milk and coffee, including decaffeinated, we brought our own teabags. Water came in cans and was £7.65 for 7 bottles, I found this rather expensive and would have preferred the water to be supplied in bottles.
We chose freedom dining and booked most of our dinners on the MyHoliday app via the ship’s intranet. We also booked our seats in The Headliners Theatre for each evening so we could be guaranteed a seat.
The food was very good but the menu was repetitive and less varied than I would have liked, for example, tomato soup with croutons appeared on the menu almost every day, as did roast chicken and steak. We never used the speciality dining areas as we felt we had paid enough for the basic cruise package. The food in the buffet was good but we found the choice more limited than we have been used to on previous cruises.
The Headliners orchestra, dancers and singers were excellent and we enjoyed all the shows. We opted not to pay extra money to see ‘celebrity’ acts like Chesney Hawkes in the Limelight Club. We enjoy quizzes and took part in the Syndicate Quiz most days, we found the Individual Quiz at 5.30pm was at an unsuitable for us as we like to eat at 6pm. We would have liked to see more lectures on sea days.
We were very disappointed not to be able to have a proper Promenade Deck on Deck 7, the position of the lifeboats and restricted areas made it impossible to have a decent walk. Walking around Deck 16 was difficult due to the sun loungers, if you wanted to stretch your legs you had to be up there before 8am. We also found it difficult to negotiate our way round the lower decks due to lack of stairs and lifts where you would expect them to be.
As usual, the excursions were very expensive but we went on 4 of the more reasonably priced ones and really enjoyed the double-decker tour around St Maarten and the trip to the beach at St Kitts on the banana bus. The drinks package was exorbitantly priced as was the cost of internet usage. We didn’t bother with either and used free wifi onshore and paid for occasional drinks at the bars.