MONEY MATTERS Items not included in your holiday fare The all-inclusive nature of our holidays ensures you can enjoy exceptional value for money. In addition to this, there are a few little luxuries that you can choose to purchase whilst you are on board. • Coffee and drinks in the bars, all drinks and wines in the restaurant and in your stateroom, cigarettes and tobacco
• A range of health & beauty treatments and facilities • Purchases in the on board shops • Select Dining (a small cover charge applies) • Telephone calls, faxes, internet access (where applicable), emails and Interactive TV services
• Optional entertainment including art and craft materials, golf lessons and souvenir programmes.
• Tips at the end of your cruise • Local taxes - Some destinations may impose local taxes whilst we are in port. All prices on board will be displayed exclusive of this tax and will be charged and itemised on your on board account, information about applicable taxes will be provided to you on board.
Paying for purchases on board For your convenience we operate a ‘cash free’ system where you simply sign for all purchases using your Cruise Card, which is provided at check-in. As is standard, we will register your credit card at check-in. You can use a MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Diners Club or Visa Delta/Debit card. We are unable to accept Switch/Maestro, Solo, Visa Electron card or Pre Paid Credit Cards. Whilst you are on board your daily spend will be authorised at close of business each day with your card provider. These authorisations remain on your card for up to 28 days. On your return home, you may wish to contact your card provider to clear any outstanding authorisations so as not to affect your credit limit.
We recommend that you contact your card provider prior to your holiday so that they are aware of the change in your spending profile and that you will be travelling abroad. This will help ensure that you have no problems with authorisation when on board or spending ashore in a foreign port. Should you wish to settle your account with cash, you can do so once on board however, a credit card must still be registered when you check-in. If a card is not registered then your account will need to be kept in credit in order for you to continue charging. Please note that we are unable to accept personal cheques. If you are travelling on a consecutive cruise, you must settle your on board account at the end of each individual cruise.
Obtaining foreign currency You will be able to obtain suitable foreign currency for most ports of call on board. This can be purchased using sterling travellers cheques or with cash. We regret we are unable to accept personal cheques or Pre Paid Credit cards as payment for foreign currency. You are able to purchase foreign currency using your on board account. You can re-exchange your foreign currency, but only in the denominations sold on
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board (subject to on board exchange rates). We are unable to accept foreign coins. All foreign currency transactions are converted using Pounds Sterling. Please note that, as part of the fight against terrorism, international crime and money laundering, EU regulations require all passengers entering or leaving the European Union with €10,000 or more in cash (or its equivalent in other currencies or easily convertible assets - e.g. bonds, shares, traveller’s cheques etc.) to declare the sum to the customs authorities of the Member State which he/she is entering or leaving.
GOING ASHORE Information about the ports In some countries we’ve listed the main destination in the itinerary and shown the port in brackets e.g. Cork (from Cobh). In these circumstances we take you to the port advertised and then offer shore excursions to reach the main destination. Where the ship berths some distance from the port centre, passengers who wish to go ashore independently will usually find local public transport connections and private taxis close to the ship.
At certain ports, taxis may not be available close to the ship and public transport connections may not be accessible on foot. Depending on the local circumstances, we will arrange for a bus service between the ship’s berth and a reasonably convenient location close to the port entrance. Where these services are chargeable, tickets will be available for sale on board. In some cases the bus fare is payable directly to the coach operator upon boarding.
Getting from ship to shore Wherever possible, your ship will dock at a quayside allowing you to come and go as you please via the ship’s gangway. Sometimes, in smaller ports, the ship will anchor at sea and tenders will offer a free and frequent service ashore, such ports are represented by h symbol.
Depending on the number of people wishing to go ashore, you can normally expect to be ashore about an hour after the time of arrival. The t symbol indicates ports that we usually berth alongside but at which, in exceptional circumstances, we may need to anchor the ship at sea. While the ship is in port, naturally the restaurants, bars and other facilities (except the shops) are available.
PASSPORTS AND VISAS If you are a British Citizen, a full passport is required. If you DO NOT HOLD A BRITISH CITIZEN PASSPORT, your passport travel documentation/ visa requirements may be different. You should check with your travel agent or our preferred visa supplier. You will need to have 6 months validity in your passport after your date of return (especially for Norway, Russia, and the USA) and we would recommend that you have some blank pages in your passport for entry stamps. Children will need their own passports. If you are applying for a new
passport, please leave adequate time to action your application. We would advise all passengers to allow a minimum of six weeks to obtain their passports.
Russia (including St Petersburg) If you are participating in an organised P&O Cruises shore excursion, we will arrange a group visa to cover you for the duration of your excursion: all passengers must bring a photocopy of the photograph/personal details page of your passport.
If you intend to go ashore independently in Russia, a Russian visa is required. Russian visas can be obtained from the Russian Embassy or a visa service of your choice. To apply for a Russian Tourist Visa, you must possess a visa support letter to accompany your application. Full details will be sent to you approximately 7 to 10 weeks prior to departure.
United States of America (including territories) If issued before 26 October 2005 your passport must be machine-readable. A British passport is machine-readable when there are two lines of letters, numbers and chevrons (
If your passport was issued between 26 October 2005 and 26 October 2006 then it must have a digitally applied photograph (a digital photo is one that is printed on the page, not a photo that is glued or laminated into the passport). At the time of printing this information, any passport that is issued on or after 26 October 2006 must be biometric if used to travel to the United States. If your passport is issued after this date and is machine readable but not biometric, you will need to obtain a full US visa.
British Citizen passports issued at embassies overseas may not be machine readable or biometric. All nationals or citizens of eligible countries who plan to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) must obtain ESTA approval prior to travel. Please be aware that you must obtain your ESTA approval prior to leaving home as authorisation of applications can take up to 72 hours. There are no facilities available at check-in to process ESTA applications.
Please note that you are unable to enter the United States under the VWP unless you have already obtained ESTA approval prior to travel.
Obtaining ESTA approval, for most travellers, is easy. At the time of going to press ESTA can be obtained free of charge from
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov but the US authorities reserve the right to impose a charge.
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