Paul,

Welcome to the world of cruising.

You will be informed of the breakdown of dress about 12 weeks prior to your cruise, when you receive your cruise information from P&O, but normally, 14 days Med expect 3 normal Formal evenings and also a Black and White Formal evening.

The price of drinks is very reasonable, about the same you would pay in a pub. But, be careful the mixers are expensive.

If you have not already done so, I suggest you go to P&O website http://www.pocruises.com/Home.axd and register to join.

You will require your booking ref but once registered you can have access to the cruise personaliser, where you can register all your details, insurance, passport numbers, before your cruise, saves doing it in Southampton.

You can look at the full cruise itinerary, Shore excursions by port, these you can book 12 weeks before departure, and it will closer to the date of sailing give you your dress breakdown.

If you so require you can book special options, flowers in your room etc.

There is also a forum to post any questions you may have.

hope this answers your questions and if you have any more just post.

ps, forgot to add. The best thing with sailing from Southampton is that you can take the kitchen sink.

Many thanks for your reply, it was extremely helpful.