p and o cruises before you sail

8 Tips When Going On A P&O Cruise

• Post published: December 29, 2018

P&O Cruise Tips

Going on a cruise is a very popular way to travel especially for families and retirees, and more recently, for travelers of all ages who just what to kick back and really take a good break. It is a very laid back holiday option, mainly because you don’t have to worry about transport, or booking your hotel, or finding any good restaurants in the area. EVERYTHING is already sorted for you.

When we booked our trip, we didn’t really know what to expect , all we knew was that we were travelling to Fiji on a ship. While on the trip we created a list of helpful tips when going on a P&O cruise. Some of which we wish we knew before checking-in.

Cruise Tip #1: Bring a LANYARD

As mentioned in the P&O Cruise: What to Expect blog post, you will be given a cruise card which you will be using for the duration of the trip. You then have an option to purchase a lanyard once you enter the ship, from memory it costs approximately 7.00 AUD per lanyard. However, if you booked the cruise through a travel agent, your agent might give you one prior to the trip. Thus, it is a good idea to bring your own; you get to save 7.00 AUD per person which you can use in purchasing other souvenirs or even food and drinks.

Cruise Tip #2: Bring a collapsible laundry basket or a large bag and some laundry powder

If you are travelling on a cruise for more than 4 days, it might be a good idea to bring a collapsible laundry basket alongside some laundry powder since there is a launderette available on board. There are available baskets on the ship but they are limited. As for the washing powder, you are able to purchase a small sachet for 1 or 2 AUD.

Cruise Tip #3: Take advantage of the allowed number of canned drinks

Each passenger can bring 12 canned drinks (maximum) which should be loosely packed in your hand-carry luggage. This will save you a good amount of money (cocktails cost around 13 AUD each) especially if you didn’t sign-up for any of the drinks packages.

Cruise Tip #4: Don’t bring beach towels

Beach towels are very bulky and take a lot of precious baggage space and the cruise provides an unlimited supply. Furthermore, if you use the ship’s towels you don’t have to worry about laundering sand covered towels.

Cruise Tip #5: Be prepared to disconnect.

The cruise offers internet access at a very expensive price, so unless you’re willing to pay anywhere between 19 AUD to 99 AUD for unstable internet, make sure you are prepared to disconnect. It will be a good time to catch-up on that book that you’ve started reading ages ago or maybe just connect with friends or family on the ship. Remember, there is a whole other world outside the internet. Pro Tip: Bring your Kindle.

Cruise Tip #6: The best SPA DEALS are offered in the last day at sea

During our trip we were incredibly tempted book massages but we had to weigh our priorities and our budget. On the 3 rd day, we started to receive flyers from Elemis Spa about their current promotions. It wasn’t until the last day at sea that we gave in. We paid 99 for a 50-minute Swedish massage which normally costs 149. It isn’t a huge discount and we did hesitate, but it was a decision that we didn’t regret. The massage therapists were one of the best that we’ve encountered.

Cruise Tip #7: Bring Anti-seasickness tablets

Regardless of whether you think you need it or not, it is always handy to keep some in your bag. These  anti-seasickness tablets are very helpful especially during sea days when the waters are rough and you can literally feel the massive ship rocking back and forth (this happened during the last 24 hours of our journey).

Cruise Tip #8: Buy TRAVEL INSURANCE

Just like any other trip, you must always remember to purchase travel insurance . This is not optional. Remember that you will be cruising on the open ocean for days at a time, if you get sick or injured, you have no other option but be treated by nurses and doctors on board, and it will not be cheap. The value of an insurance policy will always outweigh the cost in cases like these.

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware.”

Martin Buber

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P&O Pre-Cruise Checklist

You’ve booked a P&O cruise and now it’s time to get ready, but where do you start? This comprehensive guide includes a P&O pre-cruise checklist to ensure you are prepared for your cruise. It’s been designed to take the stress out of getting ready to cruise and is especially useful for first-time cruisers.

My most recent cruise with P&O was in May 2023, so I have first-hand experience of cruising with P&O. This pre-cruise checklist for P&O Cruises has been compiled using guidance from the cruise line and things I’ve learnt from personal experience.

Related P&O Cruises posts:

• P&O: The Beach House Menu
• P&O: The Glass House Menu
• 50 Free Things on Britannia

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which help to keep the website going and in turn, helps me to continue sharing useful content to fellow cruisers. If you decide to use any of these links I’d like to thank you for your support.

1. Check that your passport is valid and in date

Let’s start with the most important thing on this entire pre-cruise checklist – your passport. Check that your passport is valid and in date for the time of your cruise. You should have at least 6 months remaining on your passport after the date you return from your holiday.

After 31st December 2020, you will need at least 6 months on your passport when cruising in Europe. This is due to the completion of the Brexit transition period.

You will need sufficient blank pages for any entry and exit stamps (depending on your itinerary). If this is not the case, you need to give yourself plenty of time to renew or apply.

Don’t leave it until the last minute or you may not get your passport in time for your cruise! Here are some useful links to help:

• Apply for your first adult passport
• Renew or replace an adult passport
• Apply for a child passport
• Change your name or details on your passport
• How to get a passport urgently

P&O Cruises recommends that you take a photocopy of your passport’s photo page with you on the cruise . This is in case it needs to be used by local immigration authorities.

2. Ensure your tickets match your passport

You need to check that the spellings of names on all cruise documents match your passport details. This may include flight details if you’ve booked a fly-cruise.

The simplest way to do this is to ensure that the details are correct at the time of booking, whether that’s with your travel agent or directly with P&O Cruises.

Pre-cruise information is sent to the lead guest approximately 8 to 9 weeks before departure if booked on the P&O Cruises Select Fare Rate. If you have booked the Early Saver, Late Saver or other promotional rates you can only access the documents via the Cruise Personaliser.

3. Arrange travel insurance

You should have travel insurance in place as soon as you have booked the cruise. Many people think that you only need travel insurance for the period of time you are on holiday but you need to have travel insurance in place from the time of booking to cover issues such as injury, a death in the family or anything else that may go wrong before the cruise that could stop you from going. More than half of travel insurance claims are for things that have prevented people from being able to travel.

P&O Cruises’s preferred partner for travel insurance is Holiday Extras.

It’s important to make sure that you provide details of any pre-existing medical conditions. If you fail to do this, your travel insurance may be null and void.

You may want to consider specific cruise travel insurance, which can compensate you for things such as missed ports and cabin confinement.

Take a look at this useful explanation from Emma, about travel insurance and the Coronavirus.

4. Complete your passport and insurance details online

This is crucial point on the P&O pre-cruise checklist. You must ensure that essential details such as your passport and insurance information are completed for everyone in your booking in the P&O Cruise Personaliser . You may also find an itinerary questionnaire to complete in this online area.

Pre-cruise information is available on your Cruise Personaliser from 12 weeks before departure. You must complete this information by the day before your cruise but I would highly recommend getting this done at least two weeks in advance.

5. Inform your bank/credit card company of your travel

To avoid fraud, some banks and credit card companies freeze your account if they see unusual spending patterns or locations of use. This protects you if your card has been stolen or cloned BUT if you are genuinely trying to use your card abroad, this may cause issues.

The best thing to do is check with your bank or credit card company to find out if you need to inform them of foreign travel. I had to do this for a Caribbean cruise once, which meant registering each port and date to ensure I could use my card. This is usually available via online banking. Thankfully my bank (Halifax) no longer requires me to do this.

Whilst we are on the subject of credit cards, it may be worth considering a travel credit card like the Halifax Clarity Credit Card. The benefit of this card is the ability to use the card abroad with no transaction fee for currency conversion. You can also withdraw cash from ATM machines without being charged additional fees (unless it has a a standard fee like some in the UK do). This card along with a few others is recommended by Martin Lewis (see Moneysaving Expert for more advice).

6. Call your GP

You need to contact your G.P. at least six weeks before the cruise in case you need to arrange vaccinations (depending on your cruise itinerary).

Since the Coronavirus pandemic, it is likely that future passengers will need to bring an additional 14 days of medication in case of delays returning home. Make sure you pack enough for the duration of the cruise and 14 days more.

When it comes to packing, it may be sensible to keep medication in you hand luggage so you have it at all times.

7. Inform P&O Cruises of any medical information

Do you have a medical condition that has required treatment within six months of your cruise? It is important that as part of your pre-cruise checklist, you inform P&O Cruises in advance.

If you have a condition that necessitates you to use oxygen, electrical medical equipment, medical sharps, peritoneal kidney dialysis or special equipment, you should contact P&O Cruises to discuss on 0345 355 5111.

You may be asked to complete an Accessibility and Medical Questionnaire .

P&O Cruises will not allow pregnant women to cruise beyond 24 weeks. Prior to sailing, all pregnant passengers must produce a letter from their doctor or midwife to confirm that the mother and baby are in good health. The letter must state that they are fit to travel and the pregnancy is not high risk. This letter must also include the estimated due date calculated from the last menstrual period and ultrasound (if performed).

8. Ensure your luggage meets the criteria

No item of luggage should exceed 23kg. This limit is for the purposes of health and safety to protect the luggage porters from injury.

If you’re cruising from Southampton, there is no limit to the number of suitcases you can bring with you but remember, you must be able to store them in your cabin safely for the duration of the cruise. Two large suitcases will fit under a queen size bed.

If you have booked a fly-cruise with P&O, you should adhere the individual airline’s luggage restrictions.

Suitcases should be lockable and sturdy to withstand a considerable amount of handling on and off the cruise.

9. Check dress codes

When you are planning what clothes to take on your cruise, ensure you’ve checked the dress codes and pack accordingly. Fancy dress is generally not permitted on P&O ships unless for Halloween and Christmas events.

Caribbean cruises tend to include a Tropical Night so I’d recommend packing something colourful to wear for that evening. If not, you will easily be able to pick something up in one of the Caribbean ports during your cruise.

The Gala Night and Black and White formal evenings are a chance to dress up in formal evening wear. Most passengers stick to black and white attire for both. Men wear dinner jackets with bow ties and some women wear long evening gowns (mostly in black). If you want to pack something suitable with minimal weight in your suitcase these little black dresses would be perfectly suitable.

If you have an 80’s Night detailed on your cruise itinerary, don’t worry about having to find suitable clothes, nobody dresses up for this evening.

10. Book parking and pre-cruise accommodation

An important point not to be missed on your P&O pre-cruise checklist is the booking of parking and accommodation.

If you’re cruising from Southampton, there is an array of parking options available to cruise ship passengers.

I would always advise you to arrive in port the day before your cruise to avoid any traffic problems or mishaps that mean you miss the cruise!

If you’re planning to travel to Southampton the day before your cruise, you may want to consider accommodation that offers cruise packages. They provide parking for the duration of your cruise as well as a handy shuttle service.

11. Print your E-tickets

Don’t forget to print your e-tickets and check the port check-in time. You can find them in your Cruise Personaliser.

Post Coronavirus, it’s going to be more and more important that you stick to your embarkation time so that P&O can avoid crowds and queues at the cruise terminal.

P&O pre-cruise checklist extras

So far I have discussed the essential tasks to remember before your P&O cruise but here are some extra things you may want to consider to personalise your cruise experience.

• Drinks package
• Spa treatments
• Excursions*
• Specialty dining reservations*

*I can personally recommend doing in advance

P&O excursions are reasonably priced and we did several on our last cruise. I typically book excursions independently but we booked most of our excursions through P&O Cruises. Book in advance to avoid popular tours becoming fully booked.

I left pre-purchasing my Wifi until it was too late and had to pay more once I got onboard the ship. You can pre-pay for Wifi up until four days before the cruise. If you’re planning to get it, it’s cheaper to pay in advance via your Cruise Personaliser.

I booked The Limelight Club for two evenings of our cruise. You can see the acts who will be performing on your cruise up to 12 weeks before you sail. I didn’t book any of the other specialty dining venues before I got onboard and reservations were limited.

Final thoughts and free printable checklist

My top tip for getting ready for your next cruise with P&O is to work through this pre-checklist and leave plenty of time to do things such as renew passports and research excursions.

Leaving things until the last minute can create unnecessary stress before your holiday and cost you more money.

I have created a handy printable pre-cruise checklist you can download, which includes recommended times to complete tasks.

Laura is a UK cruise blogger based in Cornwall, UK. She founded Cruise Lifestyle in 2016 to share useful advice about cruising, destinations and food. Last port visited: Bridgetown, Barbados Next port of call: unknown, but she can’t wait for cruising to resume safely!

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• P&O Cruises ( UK )

Booking speciality restaurants before you leave home

By pennib , December 4, 2021 in P&O Cruises ( UK )

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There were several comments a few months ago about the inability to book speciality restaurants before joining your cruise. It appeared that you had to wait until boarding and then use an app. We are on Azura for 4 weeks over Christmas and New Year  and were  a bit despondent that we couldn’t sort out a few meals before joining the ship. However, My OH has just been on his cruise personaliser and he has now booked 4 speciality restaurants sitting on his sofa just like you used to be able to do.  We could only do this for the first 2 weeks however.  Thought I would spread what we think is good news.

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Dorset cruise fan

I think it was just the seacations where you could only book on board. 

4 minutes ago, Dorset cruise fan said: I think it was just the seacations where you could only book on board. 

No it was other cruises as well so something has (thankfully) changed. We had tried to book a table and when we couldn’t contacted P&O and asked about it.

Good news if this facility is available again. I don’t rate the MDR particularly but do enjoy the speciality restaurants so it was something I had paid attention to.

the wandering two

Have been wondering the same. We were on Iona in Sept & could only book onboard, but the offers were good, half price speciality restaurants for the first two nights and of course waiting means being able to use OBC.

Can I ask, with pre booking now available, are there any similar discounts & do you pay the surcharge for a fixed fee such as Epicurean or a deposit for a la carte venues there and then?

We are on Iona again in January & have £440 OBC to get through. 

As we sail mid-January, I was looking yesterday to book a speciality restaurant for my birthday.  Some say coming soon and some say enquire on board. 

Ours too, we sail 3rd January. I'm guessing Epicurean, Limelight & Sindhu will be the only ones available to pre book.

Lisashusband

We are on Ventura sailing on the 17th and the Epicurean and the Beach House became available to book yesterday, Sindhu is still showing as “coming soon”

Maybe and don’t quote me on this, but maybe the “app” only works on the newest ships

It maybe that the slightly older ships either haven’t been upgraded to accept the system required to run the “app” yet or it’s too expensive to upgrade.

I am being totally honest when I say that I am much happier booking my specialty restaurants in advance and paying for them before I go.

16 minutes ago, purplesea said: As we sail mid-January, I was looking yesterday to book a speciality restaurant for my birthday.  Some say coming soon and some say enquire on board. 

We're sailing on Iona on the 15th. I have just checked again today and the information is still the same.

we are on for a month as well , we have booked Epicurian for the

evening we arrive, we are always tired and just enjoy being there

plus it’s usually half price although I was surprised at the price of

£22 for all week, it used to be £28! We were hoping to book for

Xmas Eve but as you say it does not quite go that far , will have to

hope to book it when we visit.

The entertainment listed on the CP does not look very exciting!

I noticed the same flight today for Britannia got off about half an hour late,

I am still feeling stressed about having to cart all the luggage from the

station to T2, I just hope someone who went today may read this and post to confirm  it’s tricky or maybe alleviate my fears. I hope you are all

sorted parking-wise. I see Azura is on her way , well past the Azores now, hoping for a new

looking ship after her refit.

Hi again Pennib

Have just looked on CP and find that Xmas Eve booking now 

available, so have done it, really pleased.

Hello all. I am glad that I was able to give you some positive news!  I think the prices are lower than I remember in previous years but we paid £22.40 each for the Epicurean, £10 each for Sindhi and £6 each for the Beach House and then of course you get your Peninsular club discount so we are quite happy at the moment.

with regards to the testing arrangements at Manchester Airport on the way out, we are going to bite the bullet and take the luggage on a trolley from the T2 west car park to the testing centre and then to check in. We’ll be able to sleep on the plane!!   Another bit of good news is that the flight bag allowance has gone up to 10kg. We could never understand why it was persistently low at 5kg. This will be a major help to us given that we always seem to be taking the kitchen sink!!

Because we are on board for a month, we have had to purchase

extra baggage allowance £40 per extra 5kg each but at least won’t be

worried now when approaching check in!   

I think you have done the right thing with trolley, evidently takes 10 mins

between T2 and station. Still unsure what to do, just wish  I knew if

trolley would available at station.

It might seem odd, but it makes such a difference to us to punctuate a cruise with a few special meals booked ahead - was dreading relying on the “app” after the issues from last time.  

Even though I couldn’t seem to book an Eric Lanlard Afternoon Tea yet (1st world problems and all that 🤣 ) I am so pleased  to have now just booked a few Epicurean and Sindhu meals on Iona’s Christmas cruise.

Excellent, thanks. I've just booked Sindhu for embarkation day for my trip this weekend! I was intending to wait until on board, but have done it now and got a nice little discount as well. 🙂  

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