What does Anytime Dining on P&O mean?

All P&O ships now run off Anytime (or My Choice) dining.

An À la Carte four-course evening meal is the main dining rooms are offered from 5.30pm-10pm.

With Anytime Dining you can do one of the following:

Once on board go see the Maitre d' and book a table time and size to be the same the entire cruise. This is ideal if you have young children or need to eat at a set time or are in a large group)

Each day call the dining room and book for that evening (so you can work around shore tours/shows etc) Bookings can be made 24 hours in advance. This is great for when you meet people onboard and want to make an evening of it.

Turn up between 5:30 - 10 when you are hungry and be seated. The only times this normal could cause a problem (and you may be sent off to come back in 20 minutes) is from the 5:30-7 time as this is often full with the families and elderly.

There is of course also the option to eat at the buffet restaurants, specialty restaurants and the food venues onboard.

Happy Kruizing!
Kirsty

How do the free upgrades work?

At the time of your booking you will be asked if you will accept a free upgrade should one become available.
The big question is do you say YES or NO.

Upgrades are entirely random and not controlled by being a past passenger or having booked first. Requests can not be taken, such as "I will take it if away from the lift or at the back of the deck" you have no control over the free upgrade.

Some things to bear in mind:
a - If travelling with others it is very unlikely you will be moved together so you could end up on different decks/ends of the ship or even standard of cabin (eg: One couple may get upgraded to an Oceanview or Balcony and the other just up one deck in the same cabin type). And we often find this causes problems as one party feels "cheated as their friends got upgraded higher then them".
b - If you dont like your new cabin you can NOT be moved back.
c - The cabin could be anywhere, so if you are booked midship, we suggest declining the upgrade. You could be moved to the cabin at the very front but one deck higher. If on an Inside Deck 10 or an obstructed view Deck 8 - you could be moved to a porthole Oceanview on Deck 4. A window oceanview on Deck 5, may be upgraded to a porthole on Deck 8.

Upgrades mean "to a higher priced cabin", and depending on your requirements this may not always be a better cabin.

However if you really don't care where your cabin is - upgrades can be beneficial! And sometimes you can be upgraded to the "BEST" cabin on a deck, but it is very much potluck.

It needs to be looked at this way as a general rule - The Oceanview/Balcony has not probably not been sold because of price or bad location, so they will upgrade a desirable Inside/Oceanview cabin to these ones as they know it will be easy to onsell the more desirable cabins.
So if you like your cabin and travelling with friends always decline the upgrade. If like me your cabin is just a bed and the loaction does not matter I say take your chances!

Happy Kruizing!
Kirsty

Carnival Spirit arrives in just over a year!

For the first time Carnival Cruises are sending a ship into Australian waters with Carnival Spirit arriving in October and the first cruise leaving Sydney on October 20th 2012.

Carnival Cruises today launched a "name our slide" competition for Australian Residents.
With the prize being a trip to the US to experience the Spirit first hand and be the first passenger to experience the exciting slide:
To enter click here: Aussify Carnival Spirit

As described by Carnival: "The 56-metre slide features a 10-metre almost vertical drop before finishing in the pool. Once you’ve picked up enough speed, you’ll be rocketed out the side of the ship and loop around just in time to splash down and catch your breath,”

The Carnival Spirit will also feature limited interconnecting rooms for larger families or friends groups.

They also offer Childrens Clubs and Babysitting for all passengers 2 years and over.
Camp Carnival: 2-5 years, 6-8 years & 9-11 years
Circle C: 12-14 years
Club O2: 15-17 years

To book your Carnival Cruise check out the prices online at:
Australia Carnival Spirit
New Zealand Carnival Spirit

Happy Kruizing!
Kirsty