grapau27

Thank you Jane. Because of the thought of motion sickness which I sometimes feel as a car,train or coach passenger we didn't start cruising until I was 44. A couple of DFDS cruise ferries from Newcastle to Amsterdam and Norway proved sailing was okay and we have done 63 cruises since 2003. We love holidays and had 5 nights hotel in Tenerife in March. My late mam and dad took us to Spain when I was 12 over 54 years ago and I have been smitten ever since. Graham x.

Thank you Sandi. We had a great time. We just love being on a ship. Pauline bought some chocolates while I got a table and ordered hot chocolate drinks. Graham.

Gordon Lightfoot RIP. Sad news the Canadian singer songwriter died yesterday. Condolences to his family and friends. Graham.

6 hours plus a 20 minute coffee break and post on cc. On a working day I could easily drive 200 miles and do a dozen sales calls. Pauline does all the packing etc and I drive. We love cruising even a 3 night cruise. Speciality restaurant meal,bottle of wine then sit on the balcony with tea or coffee for an hour or 2 is heaven.

We used to fly from Newcastle to Southampton on Flybe but they went bust. The trains are too crowded. I often feel motion sickness on a long distance coach tour so coach travel is a no. When driving we can bring lots of luggage and I have driven up to 50,000 miles a year for over 35 years so not a problem for me. Pauline is part retired and we can fit in a few short cruises which don't use up her holiday allowance and have 1 or 2 week cruises with her work holiday allowance. 5 night hotel stays in our favoured Lake District can easily cost up to £1000 bed, breakfast,lunch and evening meal plus drinks.

I'm sorry to hear your news Lenny. I hope you don't experience the zero vision again. Graham.

Nice photos Sue and a lovely photo of yourself. Graham.

I hope you have a fantastic cruise. Graham.

A short while ago I remember a discussion on cruise cards and where they are worn. I kept our cards in my pocket but interestingly MSC cards had a small hole punched in the bottom left hand corner to attach to a lanyard. Graham.

I'm so sorry to hear Tana has pneumonia and things are not good at the moment Terry. I am sending you our prayers 🙏 and good wishes for Tana's recovery. Graham.

Thank you Maureen. MSC do a loyalty status match with most cruise lines. You need to provide proof of your other cruise loyalty to qualify. If you decide to give MSC a try join the voyager club loyalty which gives you an extra 5% discount off the cruise you book once you join and have a number and any future bookings. We got their top level diamond level through our Princess Elite loyalty which was a big bonus with excellent benefits. I'm pleased to hear your hips are working better. Good luck for your husband's eye issues. Graham.

QM2 had to cancel the last 2 transatlantic crossings at short notice because of a problem leaving a lot of peoples plans in chaos. I understand it is sailing again tomorrow so hopefully it will be good for you when you sail on her Roy. Graham.

Some pictures of the ship. It had 2 formula 1 simulators a 2 lane bowling alley and a lovely chocolate shop/cafe. Graham.

Cobh is a lovely town with a nice Titanic museum a short walking distance from the cruise terminal. Graham.

Sending you my sincere best wishes Jacqui @kazu on this a very sad anniversary day for you. You were blessed to have each other and your photo of you both was lovely to see. Graham.

The MSC ship was lovely as were the crew. It was as good as any Royal ship but not as good as Oasis class. There is a formula 1 simulator and bowling alley.

Thank you Joy. The feet thing is something several of us on the Royal Caribbean forums post. We visited Portland England and got a coach into Weymouth. We then visited Cherbourg France (pictures)

Thank you so much Sandra. We both enjoyed chatting to you and your husband at lunchtime in the restaurant and you were both so lovely and friendly.

Good afternoon. We have just got home from a 3 night cruise on the 2 year old MSC Virtuoso. We used our Princess Elite loyalty in a status match and got their top Diamond loyalty. This got us canapes and prosecco in our cabin. 1 night free speciality restaurant meal for 2. Late checkout of cabin at 09.30am instead of 07.30am for non Diamonds. We sailed to Portland England and Cherbourg France. We had 1 night pre-cruise stay in Southampton and 1 night post-cruise stay in York.

Good afternoon. We have just got home after 1 night pre-cruise stay in Southampton and a 1 night post cruise stay in York. We were on a 3 night cruise on MSC Virtuoso. The highlight of the cruise was by far meeting and Having lunch with the lovely Sandra @Purdey16 and her husband in the Minuet restaurant. We had a 10am check in and were on the ship by 10.45am but our cabins were not ready until 14.15pm. The ship was lovely but a typical 3 night booze cruise. We had a large aft balcony cabin. I booked a 2 night speciality restaurant on line. I did a status match with our Princess Elite loyalty and got their top Diamond loyalty status. The benefits of Diamond:- Bottle of prosecco and canapes in our cabin on embarkation. 1 free night speciality restaurant meal for 2 worth £90. We had our cabin till 09.30am on disembarkation day while everyone else had to be out of their cabins by 07.30am.

Good afternoon. We have just got home. We had 1 night pre-cruise in Southampton and 1 night post cruise in York. We had 3 nights on the 2 year old MSC Virtuoso. We had a large aft balcony cabin. We did a status match with our Princess Elite loyalty and got their top Diamond loyalty. We paid pre cruise for 2 night speciality meal package and the Diamond loyalty gave us our last night speciality meal in the steakhouse free. We had a plate of canapes and a bottle of Prosecco in our cabin on embarkation. We also got to leave our cabin at 09.30 am on departure day. while non loyalty had to leave at 07.30am.

From my contacts in Scotland Roy they still want to stay in the union. We do not get this in England but as part of the union :- Scottish students do not pay university fees for 5 years. Scottish people get free medicine prescriptions for everyone funded from London.