Sail away

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Mervyn and Trish
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Re: Sail away

#26

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

And like the fighting clown may not have existed!

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Onelife
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Re: Sail away

#27

Post by Onelife »

If it is as reported then the clowns who encouraged this behaviour shold be sacked...A salute to far me thinks.

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oldbluefox
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Re: Sail away

#28

Post by oldbluefox »

It's not even remotely funny and nothing I would want to be associated with. Is this the way P&O are going?

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Onelife
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Re: Sail away

#29

Post by Onelife »

Hi Foxy.....Because we don't cruise that often (5 cruises over 20 years) any future cruises we take will be treated as a special occasion, just like the previous ones. This l think is where P&O seem to be losing the plot. They sell their cruises under the flag of being special occasions but in reality it's becoming much more difficult to define what theses special occasions amount to. They have cut corners in many areas of what were the norm a few years back and have by relaxing dress codes allowed for a more informal "do as you please" attatude to dining. This of course suits some people but it will imo be the straw that breaks P&O's back if they allow the special occasions to be something you only read about in one of their glossy sales brochures, only then to find you don't get the feeling of experiencing them once on board.

Too many scruffy buggers on board for my liking......Oh sh*t!.... l forgot Ken dosen't like wearing a tie :sarcasm: :lol:

:wave:
Last edited by Onelife on 05 Jan 2020, 13:44, edited 1 time in total.

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Gill W
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Re: Sail away

#30

Post by Gill W »

Firstly, this is The Sun we are talking about, so the content needs to be taken with pinch of salt.

On my P&O cruise in September, flags were no longer handed out. The explanation given was that it was to lower the use of single use plastics. I had no reason to disbelieve this, as the use of plastics had been reduced throughout the cruise. Instead of having a Great British Sailaway, we had a Great British Sail By, on a sea day afternoon. The last couple of ports had a late sailing time, so it was more convenient to do it on a sea day. And very pleasant it was too, to sit in the sunshine and watch the proceedings. All the usual songs were played, there was no suggestion that the 'patriotic' element had been curtailed.

Generally, I think these sailaways are mostly harmless events for entertainment. I say 'mostly', as I saw, on one occasion, a couple of idiots doing Nazi salutes at an Aida ship. However, I can't believe for the life of me, that any cruise director would encourage this.

The problem is, anything to do with 'patriotism' has been demonised, and shoddy articles like the one in the Sun, stokes the fires.
Gill

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towny44
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Re: Sail away

#31

Post by towny44 »

Onelife wrote: 05 Jan 2020, 13:41
Hi Foxy.....Because we don't cruise that often (5 cruises over 20 years) any future cruises we take will be treated as a special occasion, just like the previous ones. This l think is where P&O seem to be losing the plot. They sell their cruises under the flag of being special occasions but in reality it's becoming much more difficult to define what theses special occasions amount to. They have cut corners in many areas of what were the norm a few years back and have by relaxing dress codes allowed for a more informal "do as you please" attatude to dining. This of course suits some people but it will imo be the straw that breaks P&O's back if they allow the special occasions to be something you only read about in one of their glossy sales brochures, only then to find you don't get the feeling of experiencing them once on board.

Too many scruffy buggers on board for my liking......Oh sh*t!.... l forgot Ken dosen't like wearing a tie :sarcasm: :lol:

:wave:
I cannot agree with your comment about too many scruffy bu99ers, on 14 night cruises from Southampton, even in school holidays, we find that the vast majority of passengers are smartly dressed in the evening.
But back to the GBS, on our first P&O cruise in the Caribbean in 2004 while leaving St Kitts, we went astern around the pier and the CD managed to time our positioning almost alongside Aidableu just as the Music Man reached the dam busters and MOTD. It seemed to go down well with most passengers, so either times have changed or the snowflakes have now taken over.
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Mervyn and Trish
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Re: Sail away

#32

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

Funnily enough when we cruised to Hamburg on the QM2 as we sailed away we passed a river side hotel where the Germans were having a party and playing very loudly our patriotic songs!

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Onelife
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Re: Sail away

#33

Post by Onelife »

towny44 wrote: 05 Jan 2020, 15:24
Onelife wrote: 05 Jan 2020, 13:41
Hi Foxy.....Because we don't cruise that often (5 cruises over 20 years) any future cruises we take will be treated as a special occasion, just like the previous ones. This l think is where P&O seem to be losing the plot. They sell their cruises under the flag of being special occasions but in reality it's becoming much more difficult to define what theses special occasions amount to. They have cut corners in many areas of what were the norm a few years back and have by relaxing dress codes allowed for a more informal "do as you please" attatude to dining. This of course suits some people but it will imo be the straw that breaks P&O's back if they allow the special occasions to be something you only read about in one of their glossy sales brochures, only then to find you don't get the feeling of experiencing them once on board.

Too many scruffy buggers on board for my liking......Oh sh*t!.... l forgot Ken dosen't like wearing a tie :sarcasm: :lol:

:wave:
I cannot agree with your comment about too many scruffy bu99ers, on 14 night cruises from Southampton, even in school holidays, we find that the vast majority of passengers are smartly dressed in the evening.
But back to the GBS, on our first P&O cruise in the Caribbean in 2004 while leaving St Kitts, we went astern around the pier and the CD managed to time our positioning almost alongside Aidableu just as the Music Man reached the dam busters and MOTD. It seemed to go down well with most passengers, so either times have changed or the snowflakes have now taken over.
Hi John,

My "scruffy buggers" comment was a little tic, however l have witnessed tracksuits, shorts and vests being worn on formal evenings. If the relaxation of dress codes continues l'm sure there will come a time when even those who enjoy informal wear will be thinking this has gone to far?

Regarding patriotic songs at sail aways..... l bet they wouldn't go down too well sailing out of Buenos Aires?

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Re: Sail away

#34

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Mervyn and Trish wrote: 05 Jan 2020, 16:26
Funnily enough when we cruised to Hamburg on the QM2 as we sailed away we passed a river side hotel where the Germans were having a party and playing very loudly our patriotic songs!

Probably glad to see the back of you ;)

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Onelife
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Re: Sail away

#35

Post by Onelife »

Stephen........The Riverside hotel to which Sir Merv is referring is called "The Merv" and it is a requirement of his employees to give him a good send off :thumbup: :lol:
Last edited by Onelife on 05 Jan 2020, 17:00, edited 1 time in total.

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Jan Rosser
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Re: Sail away

#36

Post by Jan Rosser »

Not a fan of the sailaways any more - just think I’ve outgrown all that nonsense and teenage grandchildren get so embarrassed :lolno:. I did enjoy the bands playing as you left Southampton accompanied by a free drink - those days are long gone as David said. Some of the remarks on Facebook are quite honestly unbelievable - to say the GBS is the “highlight of their cruise” is well sad to say the least but it takes all sorts I suppose ;)

I’m not sure from the various remarks about dress codes that I am sailing on the same P&O ships as some of you - yes some people are a bit scruffy and the sight of a woman in a Union Jack bikini wasn’t a pretty sight but it was poolside. I found dress codes far more lenient on Royal Caribbean - hoodie and shorts allowed in the dining room on formal night and their idea of “formal” so different to ours :crazy:
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david63
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Re: Sail away

#37

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Jan Rosser wrote: 05 Jan 2020, 18:14
bands playing as you left Southampton accompanied by a free drink
What "free" drink? I never had any free drinks at sailaway :( :( :(

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Jan Rosser
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Re: Sail away

#38

Post by Jan Rosser »

david63 wrote: 05 Jan 2020, 18:59
Jan Rosser wrote: 05 Jan 2020, 18:14
bands playing as you left Southampton accompanied by a free drink
What "free" drink? I never had any free drinks at sailaway :( :( :(
I’m going back to the very first cruises I went on around 1998 - you get a voucher now once you are a “Golden Oldie” for a free drink at any sail away which I usually forget about anyway :roll:
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Stephen
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Re: Sail away

#39

Post by Stephen »

We get a free drink now we are at the 7.5 discount grade and have been for some while. Can't remember what grade we are off hand, not that high though. There's always the two vouchers waiting for us in our cabin embarkation day. You don't have to use them at sailaway either.

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Not so ancient mariner
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Re: Sail away

#40

Post by Not so ancient mariner »

The last time we had a band on the dockside playing us away was around 2012 or 2103, when it was actually a jazz band of about 5 or 6 players.

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Stephen
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Re: Sail away

#41

Post by Stephen »

Not so ancient mariner wrote: 03 Mar 2020, 21:18
The last time we had a band on the dockside playing us away was around 2012 or 2103, when it was actually a jazz band of about 5 or 6 players.

Back to the future band ;)

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Mervyn and Trish
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Re: Sail away

#42

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

Ah yes I remember 2103 well. After all the climate change P&O had changed their home port from Southampton to Northampton.

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Ray B
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Re: Sail away

#43

Post by Ray B »

Yes, I know it's a cliche, but those were the days. The anticipation of the cruise ahead started with the band playing on the dockside, the streamers being thrown and family members and friends waving the ship away.
Most times was then followed by a rush down to dinner.
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towny44
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Re: Sail away

#44

Post by towny44 »

Our first Southampton P&O cruise was in 2011, and we had 3 more over the next 2 years and never saw a band or a streamer, however all our cruises were on the then 2 big ships, so maybe bands and streamers were reserved for the little old ladies and their doddery passengers. :sarcasm:
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GillD46
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Re: Sail away

#45

Post by GillD46 »

I too loved the band and streamers from way back. It was much more enjoyable than the cringeworthy - to us -
GBS.
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Manoverboard
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Re: Sail away

#46

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The way back cruises were altogether different … especially, for us, at the Black Sea Ports :thumbup:
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Mervyn and Trish
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Re: Sail away

#47

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

Manoverboard wrote: 04 Mar 2020, 11:33
The way back cruises were altogether different
Certainly were. No ensuite toilets for a start….

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Manoverboard
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Re: Sail away

#48

Post by Manoverboard »

Mervyn and Trish wrote: 04 Mar 2020, 11:47
Manoverboard wrote: 04 Mar 2020, 11:33
The way back cruises were altogether different
Certainly were. No ensuite toilets for a start….
I don't go back that far but I'll take your word for it …. ;)
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Stephen
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Re: Sail away

#49

Post by Stephen »

Everything has changed about travel.

For Mrs S and myself the anticipation started when you use to get a call from your local travel agent saying your tickets were ready to collect. And you knew once you had the nicely printed out tickets in a smart wallet in your hand that the holiday was real and very near. Now it's all cut backs and print it off yourself on sheets of A4. Yes I'm sure that is still the case on the more expensive up market holidays, but for the norm the glamour has gone.
Last edited by Stephen on 04 Mar 2020, 12:15, edited 1 time in total.

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Onelife
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Re: Sail away

#50

Post by Onelife »

Stephen wrote: 04 Mar 2020, 12:15
Everything has changed about travel.

For Mrs S and myself the anticipation started when you use to get a call from your local travel agent saying your tickets were ready to collect. And you knew once you had the nicely printed out tickets in a smart wallet in your hand that the holiday was real and very near. Now it's all cut backs and print it off yourself on sheets of A4. Yes I'm sure that is still the case on the more expensive up market holidays, but for the norm the glamour has gone.
Cruising has certainly lost that personal touch over recent years Stephen

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