Harters

Nope. But the Heinekin isnt bad. Which is more than I can say for the zero alcohol red wine, served by the glass, in the restaurants. I think it's a Merlot but it had very little flavour, IMO. Most nights I stuck to sparkling water.

That may have been something of the definition O used. And it certainly may account for a Muslim contributor on an unrelated forum saying they couldnt drink them. Although where I am in the world, the law defines an alcoholic drink as having above 0.5% ABV, so one at 0.5% or less can, for example, be sold to children.

(4) I doubt whether Oceania's take on Bermuda will differ significantly from any other line's take on the port. By the by, we were due to have a day there on our transatlantic cruise earlier this year but weather prevented docking. (3) Yes. Martini's is the ship's main bar and usually has a piano player. Horizons Lounge features a live band later in the evening. And a string quartet usually plays somewhere. Oceania is not well known for its entertainment - which generally suits us. (2) You will be able to book one meal at each of the speciality restaurants before departure. And make requests for further reservations once on board, on a daily basis. I've not cruised with the other lines you mention so cannot make comparisons.

I've enjoyed it previously on O ships and in land-based restaurants when we've visited the States. A rib roast isnt something often seen here in the UK. Actually can't recall ever seeing it as it'd usually be a sirloin roast in upmarket places and a much cheaper cut in most restaurants that offer a Sunday roast. I remember we bought a rib to roast for New Years Eve dinner a couple of years back - almost needed to take out a second mortgage to pay for it, even though it was a small one just for the two of us.

Thanks for the post, ButterSpoon. I now know quite a bit more than I did before. Prior, about the only thing I really knew was that my brother-in-law's father did his military national service in the enclave. And, of course, it can be a great response if you should come across a Spaniard arguing that Gibraltar is Spanish. What about Melilla then, mi amigo?

I suppose if children being children is a problem for someone, then I can see how it might be ruined.

I would never send something back for a relatively minor matter such as cooking times being a bit off. It destroys the enjoyment of a meal together. It means I watch my partner having dinner, then they watch me having dinner. Far, far better to put up with a slightly over/under cooked steak and enjoy our time together. I can only recall three occasions, in our 52 years together, when we've needed to send something back - such a rare occurrence that I can even recall one date (12/8/72).

And, as I recall, at prices in line with "real beer" - so expensive. It's the same with their alcohol free wine and "spirits" such as Lyres. I can't find it now but the website had a suitably vague definition of non-alcoholic drinks that means they charge for these but not for the likes of Coke. I might not agree with them but we play by their rules.

This was actually our last but one road trip in the States. Nashville for country. Memphis for the Blues and rock and roll. New Orleans for jazz. We also visited Elvis' birthplace in Tupelo. And Lafayette, LA, for Cajun music (of which I'm also a fan). Listened to live music at all the stops. Great trip . I agree that there were some lapses in the narrative but I enjoyed the show on board.

It used to be a popular place for Britons to retire to but, since we left the European Union, that is now so difficult as to be all but impractical. It was also a popular thing to buy property there using it in the winter months and renting it out as a holiday let in other periods. Also now denied to us as restrictions are placed on how long we can stay in an EU country.

I remember going to the Madurodam with my parents on my first trip to the Netherlands. That'd be around 1961. Went back a second time in the mid 1970s when my wife and I spent a couple of weeks holiday in the country.

The walk is rated as "moderate" . According to the NT website, the path is surfaced and only has one steep section. Bear in mind that you do need to take some care as the path runs along the cliff edge

Another place near Galax is the Blue Ridge Music Center which has daily free afternoon performances by local bands - bluegrass and old time. For example, today's show: https://www.blueridgemusiccenter.org/concert-events/scott-freeman-willard-gayheart/

Before Monroe developed bluegrass as music to listen to, it was music to dance to. That earlier style is now known as "old time". A great place to hear live performances of both is the Rex Theater in Galax, VA. And , yes, customers are encouraged to get up and "flat foot" dance in front of the stage. We had a great evening there (and the town has a pretty good BBQ restaurant, so that was dinner sorted). I'm something of a fan, having over 300 CDs of country, bluegrass and old time music.

We did a Canaries cruise last year which included Arrecife. We didnt fancy any excursion and originally planned just to have a mooch round the town. However, I have a couple of e-friends who regularly holiday on Lanza and advised that the town was no great shakes. We treated that day in port as though it was a sea day and don't feel we lost out. 😀

I think (but may be wrong) the discount for residents is because of subsidies from the central and regional governments. Discounts for taxpayers, if you will, due to subsidies funded by taxpayers. It helps, say, residents of La Gomera to be able to access the greater work opportunities on nearby Tenerife.

We were there once when there was a local fiesta. There were bands and supporters from lots of the bars and they dress up and all parade round the area, stopping at each participating bar for the bands to play. It is on what in the UK we'd call Whit Monday. Very much a fun evening

It is. But you will usually see it as Gymru on "Welcome to Wales" road signs. Something to do with grammar I understand (not that I actually understand any detail of that).

I remember a few years back being in a hotel bar in rural mid-Wales. Two couples sat on the next table. Their conversation, over the half hour we were sat there, moved seamlessly between speaking Welsh and English. Nothing that I could work out seemed to trigger the change but something must have done it for one of them. So they would all follow the chat in English for a few minutes then there must be another trigger and they'd move back to Welsh. An ex-colleague of mine was Welsh but could only speak English. I recall chatting with her once and she mentioned that around the town where she lived (Wrexham), one village might speak English as a first language but in the next village it would be Welsh. I suppose it's a good indication of the diversity of our country that folk are comfortably bi-lingual. I see similar in my part of the world where we have many folk whose parents or grandparents emigrated from South Asia. You'll regularly hear folk speaking Urdu to each other but. they also speak English and speak it with a local accent.

I've ordered these as I'd never previously heard of them and thought they might be something interesting. A bit disappointed to find they are just what I would know as normal pancakes.

I'd generally agree these would probably be the easiest two routes. Check out the British Isles ports of call sub-forum for threads discussing (1) getting from London/Heathrow to Southampton and (2) Hotels near the port.

Possibly. But probably not as taxis are not obliged to provide seats. Here's a link to the government website summarising the legal position. https://www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-rules/when-a-child-can-travel-without-a-car-seat

I'd read about this on here before our cruise and had thought "Nah, it won't be that bad". It was. We are not tall and quickly realised most of the seating arrangements were going to end up blocking our view, even if the person in front also wasnt tall. There were seats in the room (mainly off to the side) where you had a reasonable chance of not being blocked but even there it was not guaranteed.

As already suggested, the HOHO bus is the key to getting the most out of a single day. There are two companies (the red bus and the blue bus). They operate on pretty much the same routes and both offer two different routes. Prices are the same. The routes take about two hours each just driving round the city so, with time spent getting off to look at places, I reckon you'll probably only have time for one of the routes. Buses run about every 15 minutes so if you just miss one at a stop, you've never long till the next. Check out the websites to see where they go and what interests you. We've been to the city on previous occasions on long weekend trips so, when we had a day there pre-cruise last year, there was only one place on the routes that interested us and we'd not been to before (Joan Miro museum). But we still got the HOHO and used it just as a tour bus as, indeed, most other passengers seemed to be doing. One part of the city that we like that rarely gets mentioned here is Barceloneta - the part of the city that's next to the beach and was the original fishermens area. Maybe somewhere to have a nice dinner - lots of casual seafood restaurants - nothing fancy but plenty of absolutely top quality fresh fish, etc. I love it - it's Catalunya at its most vibrant.

I visit Tenerife each winter and can only comment on that, as I've never been to Lanzarote. We did all the touristy things many years back so trips now are of the "fly and flop" variety for three weeks winter sun. Cicar and Autoreisen are consistently recommended on travel forums so I would pick whichever one is most convenient for the cruise port. Things to see: Teide - Spain's highest mountain with great views, assuming the weather is kind. Bear in mind (1) you need to apply for a permit in advance if you want to take the cable car to the top of the volcano and (2) it can be very cold up - take an extra layer. San Cristobel de la Laguna - large town which retains its 15th century layout. La Orotava - another well preserved town. The carved wooden balconies on many houses are well worth a look. All three are doable in the day.