It’s a last minute one! P&O cruise to Amsterdam leaving tomorrow! NOW COMPLETE :)

[Lizzim]

Pre-trip for background

Monday

We had the week off work so after I had done my peloton workout we went for a late lunch.

We got back home and Rob checked online as we had been looking at a few options for a trip. The P&O cruise to Amsterdam was still available so he called and booked at about 1600.

We tried to do online check in but it wouldn't work so we decided to just arrive a little early the next day.

We did some washing and drying ahead of tomorrow and got a few bits ready.

Tuesday

We got up at 0630 and I headed to do my Peloton classes while Rob showered.

I came back in and he had started on the ironing, so I helped get that finished and started selecting the clothes I needed.

We made breakfast - boiled eggs as we had bought bread and eggs before we had decided to cruise.

Next we had to clean out the pond filter as we have got an issue with blanket weed and the filter keeps getting clogged and then it floats which is annoying

That sorted out we started our packing which we got almost done before Rob went to do his peloton classes. Once that was done we added the last few bits and packed our bags into the car.

We left the house at 1300 and stopped briefly at Asda to get a couple of bits.

We arrived at Southampton port at 1420, where we dropped our car with Parking4Cruises.

We are never keen to leave our keys with a company but we had limited choices this time.

We then dropped our bag off having secured a label and joined very long line outside at 1430.

Our arrival time was 1515 but as we hadn’t managed to do online check in we thought it best to arrive earlier.

It was a slow process and we finally got finished with check in at 1530!

We got on board (after security and having had our paper passes checked about 5 times!) and located our cabin, the keys had different names on them and we had dinner name tags in our cabin with another name on them

We went to Guest Services and they changed them but it was a slight concern. We also went to our muster station although they didn’t work first time.

We were told we would get a letter the next day which we thought was very odd. We have never been allowed to leave a port before if everyone hasn't completed their safety brief.

We unpacked and went to look around, we found the ship a little odd as there were certain areas which could only be accessed by particular stairs.

We got pizza and burger/hot dog and chips.

Both were fine although Rob says the pizza was better on RC and I agree!

We got drink in the bar, after our card was refused and we had to go back to GS again!

We also saw 2 men refused service as they were wearing shorts (smart ones but apparently unacceptable). The bar was effectively in a corridor so this felt a bit much.

We went back to our cabin to change for dinner and join the virtual queue.

Our table was ready at just before 2000.

Starters:

Salad

Croquette

Mains:

Chicken

Steak

Rob said this was slightly over done

Dessert:

Pavlova with ice cream

Sticky toffee pudding also with ice cream

We also had a quick look in the shops on our way back but didn’t find anything we wanted.

[Lizzim]

Wednesday

We got up at about 0930 (ship time had gone forward 1 hour overnight) and by the time we were ready we were too late for Main Dining Room (MDR) breakfast so we went to the buffet.

Side note - Rob had finally managed to remember his binoculars on this trip!

It was very busy and almost impossible to find a table, we had to walk around several times to find a table and then we were a long way from where they were serving food as they weren’t using all of the serving areas.

We got a few pastries (which sadly weren’t great) and some tea/coffee and I also had some fruit.

Given the ship was pretty full it is odd that they weren’t using all of the serving areas and to be honest they probably could have done with extending the timing in the MDR.

We then explored a bit more of the ship and found a few areas we hadn’t seen - including the theatre.

We got in the virtual queue for lunch at 1145 and our table was ready at 1200, there was still a queue to get in though!

We had salad with fries (me) and burger (Rob) followed by chocolate cake plus some ice cream.

We came back to the room for a rest and to watch the ship enter the lock before we went to the gym.

I walked 2 miles and then we both did some weights/strength.

Back to the cabin for a shower and to wait for the ship to dock.

We got a quick burger from the poolside grill but light bites seemed much less easy to get on this ship

We headed off the ship just before 1900 and took a quick walk to the central station where we got some drinks – paying £3.55 per drink was getting a bit tiresome.

We also got our magnet so we didn’t need to get one the next day.

Back into the ship and we tried in vain to get dinner at the Beach House which was apparently full (it didn’t look full).

We instead went to the Glass House where Rob had steak and I had pasta followed by a ‘British’ trio of desserts.

Rob had a beer and it cost us £32.15, this was a much nicer venue and it was a really good meal.

[Lizzim]

Thursday

This morning we got up and left the ship at around 1000, as we left the ship we bought HOHO tickets which cost €65 in total and were valid on buses and boats.

We started on the boat from outside our dock, we rode until stop 8 (I think there were 9 in total) when we disembarked.

We wanted to see Anne Frank’s Haus but couldn’t get tickets and I didn’t realise you can’t see it from outside.

So we went for a walk around and found a ‘Febo’ where we got a croquette from the vending machine. I can’t actually remember what was in ours but it was quite tasty.

We then went in search of lunch and found an area that Rob thought “looked quite nice” only for us to realise we had drifted into the Red Light district.

We also saw what appeared to be urinals in the street! I googled these later and discovered there were installed to avoid men just going in the street.

We headed off in a different direction quite quickly

We found a sandwich shop and ordered paninis with Dutch cheese and ham (that was the actual description on the menu). I had a red velvet macchiato and Rob had a coke.

At about 1330 we got on the HOHO bus where we almost did the full circuit but got off at stop 9.

Whilst on the trip we saw the last remaining windmill in the main city.

Once off the bus we got drinks and cookies and then headed back to the ship. We also stopped along the way to get some snacks to take home.

We were back onboard at about 1600 where we rested and then popped back out to get a few more snacks and drinks for onboard as I was getting fed up of paying £3.55 per coke!

We returned to the ship for the last time at about 1830 and then we people watched for a while before dinner at 2045 at The Beach House.

This was an odd venue that is part of the buffet by day but a bookable restaurant by night.

I had chicken tenders and Rob had a burger and that was followed by cheesecake with ice cream and chocolate fudge cake for Rob.

We were most baffled by the fact that only about 3 tables were occupied especially as last night we were turned away as they were “fully booked.”

Oddly, this ended up costing more than the Glass House at £34.

The pricing for this definitely wasn’t clear (I think there was an £11.50 charge per person plus some items had an extra charge) and I wouldn’t have said it was a better experience.

Back in the cabin we waited for the ship to leave port, Rob watched some boat ‘boy racers’ being chased by boat police.

He also waved to people on the dock as we sailed using his torch (they were doing the same). Before we finally went to bed at about 0030

[Lizzim]

Friday

This morning we woke up just before 0900 and got ready quickly so we could go to the MDR for breakfast.

I joined the virtual queue at about 0915 and our table was ready at 0930.

When we arrived there was a long line of people waiting for tables - who hadn’t joined the virtual queue (not really sure why as it was open for anyone).

We were seated and given tea/coffee along with menus.

We ordered and our meals arrived quickly although my muffin was quite well toasted and one of my poached eggs was very well done.

We did also get toast but no juices were offered. It all seemed a bit rushed which I assume was due to the long line. There was also no omelette on the menu which would have been Rob’s normal choice.

We then went for a little walk around the ship before heading back to our cabin for a rest.

We watched some tv (Top Gear and part of Avatar – Way of Water) before getting ready for the gym.

We started on the treadmill and I ended up with a machine that did kms not miles. I did 2 miles according to my Apple Watch but I’m pretty sure it was further.

Then we both did some weights whilst being slightly amused by the ‘gym tourists’.

One lady did 5 mins on the treadmill and then left, which seemed a lot of effort. And as always there were some hero men visitors who lift weights for literally a handful of minutes and then leave.

After we showered we went in search of food, we had missed lunch so this would be an afternoon tea.

The buffet was supposedly open from 12 - 5 but as appeared to be normal only 1 side was open. Then they closed that and didn’t open the other side for another 10 mins.

This seems to be a P&O thing and it’s just weird. During the 10 mins we were there a large queue built up which is just peculiar.

The entire situation was created by closing one side to open the other. Surely, they could open the other side before closing? Or just keep both sides open?

We managed to secure cakes and then got burger and pizza as we hadn’t wanted any of the buffet food.

We headed up to deck 18 via the aft stairs and found a bar called Metropolis which had a nice view out over the rear of the ship.

We popped back to our cabin to have another rest before dinner, it’s busy work all this wandering and snacking.

We started to see land at about 1800 - we could see France from our side but the Captain suggested Dover would also be visible but we were too lazy to go and check

We had yet another rest and watched some tv/outside before packing most of our bag.

We joined the virtual queue for dinner and headed down at about 2000.

We skipped starters and both had curry followed by an Irish Whiskey Cream Cheesecake with ice cream, I also had a coffee.

Back to our room to finish packing, we popped our case out just before 2200 which I always find odd, but it works

[Lizzim]

Saturday

We woke up at 0615 having made sure we knew ship time after our issue last time (where we got up an hour early by mistake).

We got ready and packed our hand luggage bag with our last few bits. We had to be out of the cabin by 0730 so I joined the virtual queue for breakfast.

We were quickly taken to our table and given menus.

I had pancakes and Rob had the ‘full english’.

We also had tea, coffee and juice but I seem to have forgotten the photos.

We were then supposed to wait until 0915 before we disembarked but it was only 0815 and we thought we would check to see if there was a long queue.

There was literally no one waiting so we walked straight off

We collected our bag and walked back to the short stay car park where our car was waiting for us and in the same condition as we left it Very impressed with Parking4cruises.

We were back at home by 1000 which was better than expected!



P&O vs RC comparison

• Physical check-in very chaotic on P&O, we have never waited in a line (ever) for so long even after Covid.
• Online check-in didn’t seem to work at all (maybe because we were a late booking?)
• Luggage arrived very quickly on P&O.
• No soft drink package on ‘short cruises’. This feels like a cash grab and it was very hard to even get a water without queuing which is frustrating. Even without a drink package on RC there is always a free option of lemonade or iced tea as well as tea and coffee.
• Lack of snack availability on P&O, there is easy access to little sandwiches and cakes on RC during the day.
• Buffet seems very disorganised and not sufficient for size of ship. Constant queues and hard to find a table
• No handwashing at P&O buffets, might explain why they had a recent norovirus outbreak?
• Much more rigid dress code. Why can men not wear ‘smart shorts’ when a woman could easily wear a short dress or similar?
• No ‘free’ ice cream.

[ClaireNJ]

Originally Posted by Lizzim

Pre-trip for background

Monday

We had the week off work so after I had done my peloton workout we went for a late lunch.

We got back home and Rob checked online as we had been looking at a few options for a trip. The P&O cruise to Amsterdam was still available so he called and booked at about 1600.

We tried to do online check in but it wouldn't work so we decided to just arrive a little early the next day.

We did some washing and drying ahead of tomorrow and got a few bits ready.

Tuesday

We got up at 0630 and I headed to do my Peloton classes while Rob showered.

I came back in and he had started on the ironing, so I helped get that finished and started selecting the clothes I needed.

We made breakfast - boiled eggs as we had bought bread and eggs before we had decided to cruise.

Next we had to clean out the pond filter as we have got an issue with blanket weed and the filter keeps getting clogged and then it floats which is annoying

That sorted out we started our packing which we got almost done before Rob went to do his peloton classes. Once that was done we added the last few bits and packed our bags into the car.

We left the house at 1300 and stopped briefly at Asda to get a couple of bits.

We arrived at Southampton port at 1420, where we dropped our car with Parking4Cruises.

We are never keen to leave our keys with a company but we had limited choices this time.

We then dropped our bag off having secured a label and joined very long line outside at 1430.

Our arrival time was 1515 but as we hadn’t managed to do online check in we thought it best to arrive earlier.

It was a slow process and we finally got finished with check in at 1530!

We got on board (after security and having had our paper passes checked about 5 times!) and located our cabin, the keys had different names on them and we had dinner name tags in our cabin with another name on them

We went to Guest Services and they changed them but it was a slight concern. We also went to our muster station although they didn’t work first time.

We were told we would get a letter the next day which we thought was very odd. We have never been allowed to leave a port before if everyone hasn't completed their safety brief.

We unpacked and went to look around, we found the ship a little odd as there were certain areas which could only be accessed by particular stairs.

We got pizza and burger/hot dog and chips.

Both were fine although Rob says the pizza was better on RC and I agree!

We got drink in the bar, after our card was refused and we had to go back to GS again!

We also saw 2 men refused service as they were wearing shorts (smart ones but apparently unacceptable). The bar was effectively in a corridor so this felt a bit much.

We went back to our cabin to change for dinner and join the virtual queue.

Our table was ready at just before 2000.

Starters:

Salad

Croquette

Mains:

Chicken

Steak

Rob said this was slightly over done

Dessert:

Pavlova with ice cream

Sticky toffee pudding also with ice cream

We also had a quick look in the shops on our way back but didn’t find anything we wanted.

See more...

Your room looks beautiful & huge, shame about all the trips to GS
I’m loving the puds especially sticky toffee 😋😋

[Lizzim]

Originally Posted by ClaireNJ

Your room looks beautiful & huge, shame about all the trips to GS
I’m loving the puds especially sticky toffee 😋😋

See more...

Yeah the cabin was a good size. Balcony was very large.

I’ll try and get the rest up over the weekend. There are more treats 😁

[Lizzim]

Day 2 now added

[Ariel85]

Ooh my sister was on this cruise too!

[ClaireNJ]

Originally Posted by Lizzim

Wednesday

We got up at about 0930 (ship time had gone forward 1 hour overnight) and by the time we were ready we were too late for Main Dining Room (MDR) breakfast so we went to the buffet.

Side note - Rob had finally managed to remember his binoculars on this trip!

It was very busy and almost impossible to find a table, we had to walk around several times to find a table and then we were a long way from where they were serving food as they weren’t using all of the serving areas.

We got a few pastries (which sadly weren’t great) and some tea/coffee and I also had some fruit.

Given the ship was pretty full it is odd that they weren’t using all of the serving areas and to be honest they probably could have done with extending the timing in the MDR.

We then explored a bit more of the ship and found a few areas we hadn’t seen - including the theatre.

We got in the virtual queue for lunch at 1145 and our table was ready at 1200, there was still a queue to get in though!

We had salad with fries (me) and burger (Rob) followed by chocolate cake plus some ice cream.

We came back to the room for a rest and to watch the ship enter the lock before we went to the gym.

I walked 2 miles and then we both did some weights/strength.

Back to the cabin for a shower and to wait for the ship to dock.

We got a quick burger from the poolside grill but light bites seemed much less easy to get on this ship

We headed off the ship just before 1900 and took a quick walk to the central station where we got some drinks – paying £3.55 per drink was getting a bit tiresome.

We also got our magnet so we didn’t need to get one the next day.

Back into the ship and we tried in vain to get dinner at the Beach House which was apparently full (it didn’t look full).

We instead went to the Glass House where Rob had steak and I had pasta followed by a ‘British’ trio of desserts.

Rob had a beer and it cost us £32.15, this was a much nicer venue and it was a really good meal.

See more...

Arghh shame about breakfast not up to much & being very busy 😭
Lunch looked good though especially that chocolate cake of course
The glass house restaurant looked lovely very pretty & trio of dessert yummy 🤤
So glad Rob remembered the important things his binoculars 👌