Epilogue

None of the following are complaints, but rather observations based on our experiences of cruising in general and with P&O in particular

1. The Vistas lounge was a beautiful light, bright area but was far too noisy, especially with bar staff constantly banging coffee grounds out of the metal filters
2. Check in was very quick
3. The on board ‘app’ – which isn’t actually an app at all - takes a bit of getting into and a bit of getting used to
4. Our balcony view was a little limited by the protruding promenade deck two decks below us
5. No cruise director, only an entertainments manager
6. No fixed dining times
7. Bar waiters were not really proactive
8. On sea days the Sky Dome and Promenade areas were like Butlins
9. This is a 'holiday' and not a 'cruise'
10. It seems that Iona and Arvia are designed as holiday ships whilst the rest of the P&O fleet is for 'cruises'
11. Afternoon tea is not included but there are plans to reintroduce that on P&O, but not on Arvia or Iona
12. No tea chest is brought to the table when you have tea after your evening meal
13. Wine at dinner is usually cheaper by the glass than the bottle
14. Dressing gowns and flannels in cabins are available on request
15. No evening turn down or chocolates in cabins
16. No loyalty event
17. No captain's event
18. We got a voucher for a glass of champagne on the first formal night but not on the second
19. Formal nights have been rebranded as 'Celebration Nights', but we weren't sure what we were celebrating
20. Impersonal overall. No officers visible at events. We never saw the captain
21. No staff serving hot drinks at breakfast in the Horizon Buffet Restaurant
22. Night light for the cabin bathroom very useful and could be switched off if need be
23. Departure for home is the least stressful of all non-Southampton-based cruises
24. Only a few head waiters visible
25. Possible to refill your own water bottles on board with dedicated water stations
26. At least two needless sea days on this cruise, no doubt to keep us spending on board
27. The cross section of passengers is broader than it used to be and has a greater proportion who are like holidaymakers in a hotel on the Spanish costas rather than cruise passengers. Some are very loud
28. We asked for a quote for the same cruise in 2025 and at the same time of year and it was 46% more expensive
29. All staff seem to be new. Some were clearly nervous, others struggled a little with English
30. Some indoor areas are cold - not what we want on a winter sun cruise
31. Evening entertainments not always synchronised. You leave a show in the theatre only to find that the Pulse party band are just starting a 60-minute break in the Club Lounge
32. Nobody listens to the distress signal practice at dinner or the captain’s commentary and just all talk over it
33. A major problem of sun beds – people reserving pairs of sun beds – one pair on each side of the ship in case the ship moves round and only half-hearted enforcement by P&O to stop this. One passenger told us of an altercation he had with another passenger who had left a towel on a chair when the passenger we spoke to sat on it and was quite aggressive about it
34. Nothing seems to be enforced by P&O for fear of frightening passengers away another time
35. Hard to get a drink via waiter service in lounges
36. Food offer, particularly in the dining room, seems slimmed down
37. Bathroom the best we've had at sea
38. Balcony the best we've had at sea
39. Photographers are very low key
40. Club House a lovely evening venue
41. There are tablecloths in the Zenith Restaurant but not in the Meridian
42. Such as mint sauce and Worcestershire sauce etc. not routinely offered at dinner
43. The 'public' toilets on board are some of the most beautiful we have seen. The lighted push buttons to open the entrance/exit doors are also a plus
44. 8pm quiz in Brodie's should start at 7.45pm so that passengers can do the quiz and then the show at 8.30pm
45. Running out of things mid-cruise
46. Rude passengers not being challenged by senior staff
47. Too many passengers and too few services on board. Need to book almost everything and such as 710 Club was virtually impossible to get into - and yet there was talk among passengers that the ship wasn't full
48. Hard to get away from intrusive music anywhere on the ship
49. Most salt cellars in the Horizon are blocked
50. Often only paper napkins available in the Horizon
51. Used to be 5 courses for dinner. Now only 3
52. Used to bring a cheeseboard to you at dinner. Now a fixed plate.
53. Wine list used to be extensive. Now only 3 x A4 sheets
54. Half the cocktails were unavailable in the Amber Lounge
55. Only one roving waiter in the Amber Lounge
56. Only one formal night per week. It's still two on ships other than Iona and Arvia
57. Quizzes should be produced centrally and not rely on ship's staff to do that as they don’t always phrase questions well enough
58. Should be only one quiz prize sticker per winning team, not per person
59. Green beans on the dinner menu too often
60. No sommeliers
61. Horizon nicely broken up into more intimate areas
62. Never struggled to get a seat in the Horizon
63. No offer of decaff coffee in dining room
64. Quite a lot of visible children on board including in evening venues. Is there no kids' programme?
65. No morning tv show from the 'cruise director' and no live expert talks relayed into cabins or repeated in cabins
66. Reception is hidden away
67. Can be hard to get a drink on decks
68. Bathroom, especially the shower, is lovely
69. Balcony decent size
70. Seem to be a lot of coughs around - dry aircon perhaps?
71. No staff getting drinks in theatre
72. Excursion bookings mainly done by machine
73. People were allowed in the MDR in shorts, even cycle shorts
74. Drinks package seems odd. Apparently singles only and only one drink every 15 minutes
75. No celebratory sailaways that we saw
76. Very good entertainment
77. Bars are understaffed, particularly inside
78. Some staff can be a bit churlish whilst others are really lovely
79. Cabin 10630 was ideally situated for us except that the starboard side would have been better in terms of views in port, so maybe 10631, but the fact remains that P&O chose the cabin for us and we could well have chosen it ourselves
80. Our onboard bill, including the ship's wifi, was around £560 plus the cost of excursions we had booked beforehand. When we think that to get OBC and choose our cabin would have cost us around £1500 more between us, then we won big time on that gamble.

 

Friday 17 February - Back to Barbados and visit to St Nicholas Abbey and Heritage Railway

We arrived in Barbados. Before leaving the ship we had to go through an immigration rigmarole and then set off to find our excursion. Today was a visit to a plantation, St Nicholas Abbey with a ride on its heritage steam railway and a rum tasting.

Royal Caribbean's 'Enchantment of the Seas'. Looks like one they should have sold on some time ago!

The coach took us through Bridgetown, past the cricket ground and the street where Rihanna was brought up which has been renamed in her honour.

We arrived at St Nicholas Abbey and watched the engine being prepared and then we're invited to board the carriages.

Mahogany tree. The wood is at its best when the tree is at the end of its life - around 250 years old

The train took us on a short but lovely trip and then back to the house where we were shown some old footage of the plantation from the 1930s whilst we had a very tiny tot of rum.

The loco is over 100 years old

The locomotive runs on a mix of coal and wood

The view from Cherry Tree Hill over the Atlantic

We were then shown how the rum was made using traditional methods and were given a quick look around the house before heading back for a late lunch.

A couple of enthusiasts were allowed on the footplate

Gone to change the points

Putting the sugar cane into the crusher

Syrup from the sugar cane comes out into the drip tray and the crushed cane is then collected, dried and burned to generate electricity for the process

Before the days of electrically-powered crushers

Aligning the canes to go into the crusher

The distillation plant. 92% proof alcohol is produced which has to be watered down to levels that can be legally sold

Mahogany tree

Gin made during lockdown. None was sold as the family drank it all!

The rum is stored in old oak whisky barrels for it to mature. The longer it is stored, the darker and more expensive it becomes.

The bottling room

Gin still

The house faced into the north-east prevailing winds so that the cooler air cold come through the house. The toilet was at the back of the house. It reminded me of the monasteries in England where the monks took their drinking water from the top of the stream which would pass by the monastery and have the privies at the down stream end of the monastery complex.

In the evening we retreated to the Amber Lounge to listen to the cocktail pianist and realised that they have a cocktail menu.  There was only one roving waiter serving there and after some time we managed to attract his attention. E wanted a pina colada and I chose one of the listed cocktails. The waiter promptly put his hands acros a good chunk of the menu and said that only the ones I could see were available.

I chose a 'Filibuster's Quest' and, to our surprise it came in cut glass with ice with an accompanying 'book'. I opened the 'book' to find a few pages talking about the name of the cocktail and there was a bottle inside.

The drink itself was excellent - and powerful - and was much enjoyed.