twotravellersLondon

Looking at three different AIS systems and all show the same. No sign of any horrendous weather on the original planned route over the next few days and it's an unlikely manoeuvre for a medical emergency. If it carries on like this, the ship could be back in Portsmouth early tomorrow morning! We will wait and see and, for the sake of the passengers,... we will hope for the best.

This is FOCLs' Code of Conduct including gifts of money ("Tips") to onboard staff... "FOCL’s ‘Code of Conduct’ emphasises a strict adherence towards anti-corruption or bribery relating to any parts of its business or FOCL staff, clearly underlining that any form of corruption or bribery is strictly prohibited." Now that may sound a little over the top... FOCLs' waiters and stewerds aren't international gangsters but in these days of corporate management and responsibility it is a case that as far as FOCLs is concerned any gifts for any member of staff on board must be shared with their team or, in the case of more valuable gifts, handed over to their manager. "Fred" says... "... customers ... may, from time to time, give FOCL ... staff gifts. Any item(s) under the value of £20.00 should be shared by the team for which it is intended. "Any item over £20.00 in value must be passed ... to your immediate Line Manager for ship-based staff. The details of these gifts and the origin will be registered and periodically the items will be made available as donations for a charity raffle (or similar). ... "Where appropriate, staff should advise their contacts politely that the Company has a strict policy on gifts and that individuals/departments can only retain small tokens of a low value. "Failure to observe these rules may be considered gross misconduct." by the member of staff. Of course there are always going to be those canny people on FOCL ships that will refuse to pay the discretionary "gratuities" by taking these off their bills and will then substitute the £5 pppd for the waiter and the steward with something in a brown envelope... but the code of conduct for a member of staff about that is clear. (Also note it's per (staff) person per day... that means that at both the beginning and the end of the cruise FOCLs is charging the discretionary "gratuities" twice over. We often give "Thank you" cards... they don't have to be declared by the member of staff, they don't need to be shared with their team and they won't be confiscated by their managers! When we've been on at Easter we've given big bags of mini-chocolate eggs... always went down exceptionally well... the ultimate gift for sharing!

FOCLs have always been very opaque about "gratuities." Even the concept of asking guests if they would like to pay "gratuities" in advance... because how can someone tell if they will be happy and grateful for the service before they have experienced it? When FOCLs used to contribute to these pages yonks ago they stated, "All staff in positions where gratuities are involved (Bar staff, Dining Room staff, Cabin Stewardess etc) have a monthly amount paid to them by the Company and , as per the ITF approved Collective Bargaining Agreement, they have a monthly guaranteed wage." The questions for FOCLs are... 1, If every passenger were to pay the digressionary service charge we reckon that it would be an additional income of about £70k pro rata on an annual basis for a waiter or a stewardess. That's more than FOCLs will pay their manager of even perhaps their manager's manager! How does FOCLs manage a crew if there are such enormous disparity in levels of remuneration? 2, Once a waiter or stewardess "receives" "gratuities" in their "gratuities" account, do they have to pass on some of these "gratuities" to the assistant waiter, the kitchen staff, the restaurant management, the people who clean the restaurant... or indeed in the case of stewardesses the guys in, the laundry department and so on? And if so, how is this organised by FOCLs accounts? 3, Also are "gratuities" passed on any member of staff automatically or is there some sort of performance management criterion that the member of staff have to achieve first? SAGA and P&O have now made "gratuities" part of the cruise fare. It would be interesting to know why FOCLs haven't followed suit.

There may be no evidence of norovirus because of the emphasis on handwashing onboard. We had norovirus a few years ago and now with age and the collection of various ailments that we, like most people, seem to collect as time goes by... we most certainly never want to contract it again! Even at home we never prepare food, eat or drink without wasting our hands in hot soapy water.

Whereas in the US restaurant and bar staff tend to be on low pay and make their living by providing good service and earning tips, the staff on Fred are paid a decent wage under international maritime agreements. Unlike P&O and SAGA where gratuities are included in the cruise fare... FOCLs will also charge a supplement for each passenger per day... we have always found that can significantly push up the tab by the end of a cruise. FOCLs also have a line on their till receipts that allow a passenger to add a bit more. An interesting point is that in the last year that detailed figures are available FOCLs paid almost £38 million for the wages, salary, social security and pension costs for 1,906 staff. So we think that the answer to a question from across the "pond", where we've always found that the culture of "gratuities" is very different from that in the UK, is you don't need to add anything and it would be unusual if you did... but it's your choice. If we want to thank a member of staff we do it discretely and personally in cash rather that have it go through the FOCLs' accounts!

We have a new measure of wind speed. Forget the Beaufort scale, m/s, knots and all of that scientific stuff... it is all about how far the wheelie bins can travel on their sides... we currently have one trying to get through a neighbour's fence... another one further down our shared drive than we've ever seen before... now expecting that there will be a few other things that go "bump in the night!"

Well it is -5˚C this morning... most definitely a "keep warm and cosy day folks!" Good news... a face-to-face medical appointment has been changed to a telephone appointment... possibly because of the Amber Cold-Health Alerts issued by UKHSA and the Met Office... best not to mention during the appointment that we were Northern Light watching in Norway last February at -20˚C (not counting the windchill!) Plan for the day... Keep warm. Lots of layers. Mugs of hot drinks. Scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast with lashings of piping hot tea and coffee. Later a very hearty home-made soup for lunch. Hope everyone keeps warm and well.

A lovely quote from Lily Bollinger. The Scottish version that we've heard is... ""I drink Glenmorangie when I'm happy Bells when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink Ardmore when I'm alone. When I have company I consider Fettercairn obligatory. I trifle with Lagavulin if I'm not hungry and drink Highland Park when I am. A lovely thought!

We have a relatively balmy -4˚C this morning, a hard frost, clear skies and it's bin day! Forecast is that we can also look forward to -4˚C tomorrow. Decided to be busy inside today! Once upon a time the lyric was "Stay young and beautiful, if you want to be loved!" Now that we're fully paid up members of the "Wisdom Club" (membership comes to us all with age)... it is more like (Keep warm and comfortable, it you want to be cosy!) Keep warm... it could be a three pairs of socks day! 🥶🥵

It is -1˚C this morning but feels colder and there is a hard frost on there cars. Just successfully migrated 120,000+ high res photos to the photo editor after a bit of fiddling so lots to do today as well as a medical appointment. Stay warm and cosy!

We've cruised with SAGA four times in the last year or so and from memory the wines could differ from day to day... so there may not be a set list for the dining rooms. We remember CYT Chardonnay, Tolva Merlot, Mountain Range Cabernet Rose and Versare Pinot Grigio. Certainly not great wines but around £8 to £10 a bottle if bought by the case from Waitrose, Tanners, Lathwaites, Majestic and so on. These are all pretty easy-drinking table wines. We were once in the hospitality industry and for years I was the "banqueting manager" for a charity... if we were retailing these wines in a Gastro-pub, we would be charging about £10 for a large 250 ml glass and around £30 for a bottle. In our opinion... good enough to serve with most meals and similar to what I would put on for a banquet. These wines are better and would retail at a higher price that what's available in many of our local restaurants. Interestingly while we've tried a few wines from the sommelier's pay-extra-list, we found that we were very unusual in doing so... most folk just seem to go with the flow.

It's 1˚C here this morning but promises to be bright. Will try to have a walk over the Heath before a dental appointment.

You can do it. Go for lean meat, skinless chicken, game and more fish... like salmon. Go wholemeal with bread, rice and pasta and keep up the fruit and vegetables. There is lots of advice... some on the NHS site. We promise that the NHS guidelines can work and can make a difference. Best of luck.

The lifts on both ships are regularly serviced even during cruises.

Today it's 2˚C and grey. The forecast for lunch is 1˚C and sleet. The forecast for later this afternoon is 0˚C and snow. It currently feels like -3˚C and the forecast is to feel like -5˚C. In other words Brrrrrrrr! and Double Brrrrrrrrrrrr! We saw the film "One Life" yesterday afternoon. We expected the story of "kinder-transports" from Prague at the beginning of the second world war to be moving but what really disarmed us were some of the scenes shot in Prague... places that we'd walked past only a few months ago... and the main railway station. Buildings that we remember from just last autumn took on a totally different look with the black, white and red banners of the time...1939. It was a thought-provoking experience and the faces of some of the characters still haunt our thoughts this morning.

https://www.fredolsencruises.com/faqs/on-board/do-you-have-bathrobes-in-all-the-cabins

SAGA's package for employees is impressive. It allows couples to work on the same ship, makes provision for children's schooling and care back home, looks after elderly relatives and lost more. This company have very impressive ethical people-care credentials and that's why they have such a loyal staff.

We've had the sun deck a couple of times... we think that it's a tad more costly because folk like to wander out to the pool area. Generally speaking we'e found is very quiet but we've been close to the front and there is no through traffic but there is a stairway up to the observation deck as well as a lift... great advantage for sea or sky watching. No noise from either the gym or from the Britannia Lounge in the cabins but music can be detected on the cabin balcony.

Just a sideways look... but a whole new world of possibilities!😅😅 And 3˚C here... actually fallen in the last couple of hours... but bright and sunny, Off for a light lunch and to see "One Life" later this afternoon.

A late breakfast this morning after a very late night yesterday celebrating the 12th Day of Christmas. We traditionally celebrate the 12 days of Christmas (The Old Christmastide) with the add-ons of Christmas Eve and Epiphany... the traditional day that the Three Kings/Wise Men reached Bethlehem with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Christmas Eve is always a very quite reflective candle-lit non-Christmassy meal for two... often after having put up the tree and decorations. Epiphany is always a Middle Eastern meal just prior to taking the tree down and is usually inspired by our independent travels in Lebanon and Syria (try doing that these days!) But the 12th Day of Christmas is for fun, frolics, laughter and cake! So last night it was to Kew Gardens... and we substituted sound, light, music and toasted marshmallows! At least we can share a video snippet. IMG_3334.mov Let's hope that this is a better year for all.

The Balmoral left Southampton earlier this evening heading for the Canaries and Funchal but has found itself in a near gale. It's currently a little over 10 miles south of Swanage and is keeping close to the coastline. By comparison the Spirit of Discovery is a little further South on route and on time. Unless it changes course, the Balmoral, which is currently doing 17 knots in 2.1 m seas in a Near Gale, is going to end up at Dartmouth.

Such a pity that they've not used their talents to train to PhD level as Fluvial Hydrologists, Civil Engineers or Chartered River Engineers so that they could offer their professional expertise, experience and skills to local authorities, consultancies, public bodies and construction companies currently planning and building some of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country! 👷‍♂️👷‍♂️

It's 11˚C, the sun is shining, bits of the sky are blue and we're off to the Panto... "Oh! Yes we are!" Friends said, "You can't be. Christmas is behind you!" But our reply is "Oh no it isn't!" And it's a proper old fashioned panto... "just like the ones we used to have" with "girls" in the "male" lead... Jenifer Saunders aka "Capt'n Hook" and Julian Clary as Dame? No! As Seaman Smee... "Oh dear me!" Ah-well!... Epiphany not until the weekend and today we hope to see 10 lords a leaping and then... tomorrow and the next day the pipers and the drummers! As Dickens wrote: “For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas!" "There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour.”

FOCLs never cease to surprise. The Balmoral left the usual route across the North Sea to line up to enter the Channel hours ago and is now striking out across the area of the Dogger Bank... if it carries on the same course... Whitby will have a new attraction tomorrow! Currently a near gale at 15 m/s and waves of 2.7 m. So... best not to have ordered the soup in the MDR this evening. Too many after-dinner cocktails might also be a problem tonight and give the impression that the ship was rolling! We will wait and see what happens overnight!

Just seen that we've gone from a Yellow to an Amber weather alert. Bins are already all over the drive and we've battened down the hatches in the garden... so to speak. We were on our way to Wisley Gardens for the final evening of the "Glow"... that, Christmas at Kew and the Wakehurst Glow have all had to be cancelled. A little worried about the tree in a neighbouring garden... 60'+ high and taking the full wind... goodness knows what the squirrel family who have a drey near the top are thinking... certainly wont have any cob-webs at the end of this blast.