Harters

Tips will always be accepted but are never required or expected. My brother in law used to drive a private hire taxi (near Manchester). When he first started it was fairly common to be tipped - not everyone but several tips during a shift. It declined over the years and by the time he finished, he would go for whole shifts without one, not even of the "keep the change" variety.

The cafe at al garden centre I went to recently only takes cash if the order is less than £5. Fortunately, I wanted a slice of cake with my coffee, otherwise it would have been no coffee.

Is that in Baristas? I have a vague recollection of bottles & bowls of fruit being near the snacks in the evening but didnt pay much attention (as I don't drink alcohol). If so, I'll remember to point it out to my partner who does enjoy alcohol and, in particular, a glass of fizz pre-dinner.

I'm a big fan of the Bakery. The quiche are always well flavoured. The beignet light as a feather and generously filled with the day's flavour. Actually I'm a big fan of Baristas generally. Including (and perhaps especially) when it morphs into Baristas Aperitivo in the evening. Nice snacks to go with your pre-dinner aperitif (and a particularly good location if dinner is in Polo or Toscana.

You'd probably get a similar result if you looked at Tripadvisor which, invariably, seems to have odd high ratings. Take a look at the listings for your own area - my bet is that top of the list are places that you know to be only mediocre. The mention of "picky eaters" reminds me of a travel thread on non-travel forum. The poster was asking about places to eat in rural northern France. He was going to act as guide for a party going to visit World War 1 battlefields and he had a few "picky eaters" in the group. The best reply he got was that they would become less "picky" as they got hungrier. And I think that sort of response might well apply here. Cook a dish as it's traditionally intended to be cooked. Folk can always look at a menu and not choose that dish - just as they might at a land based restaurant.

Knickerbocker Glory - an original American creation from the 1920s or, at least, based on one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knickerbocker_glory

Me neither.

I can understand the possible appeal of this. I've said before that I think the menu at Jacques represents the sort of dishes that tourists would expect to find in France, rather than the menu of an actual restaurant in a French town, that is catering almost exclusively for the local population. Something like this favourite place of mine - https://aquaraile.fr/

I don't have sufficient insight into American culture to hazard a guess. As reasonably well known, we Europeans tend to eat later, although there's a fairly wide spread of timings across the continent. I reckon Southern Europe generally eats later than Northern Europe. It's about temperatures - who wants to sit down and eat a big meal when it's still really hot. Most fellow Britons I know tend to eat dinner at around 7.30 - 8 unless work commitments interfere with that - my brother in law used to drive a taxi mainly working a night shift, so they would have an early dinner and he'd start work about 7. . Many years back, I worked with a much older guy who arranged his working day so he was usually home for 5 and would be eating dinner shortly after. Of course that was back in the days when the housewife wasnt out at work and would have dinner ready for when the man got home.

I agree. Capture them when they are younger so you can keep them longer. The greater inclusivity into the price of Simply More is part of that. As is the "almost retirement" for Pepin which in turn is related to the replacement of Jacques on Vista with Ember and the expansion of the Waves service into the evening. Whether it works or needs further adjustment is another question

I remember stopping overnight somewhere in coastal Mississippi and going in to the sports bar (and restaurant) next to the hotel for dinner. They had peanut butter as a burger topping which I'd not seen before. Had to try it. And it was very tasty. Surprise, surprise. Dessert was a Mississippi Mud Pie which I'd heard of but never come across before. It was OK but I'd be in no rush to try it again. Just too sickly sweet for me.

Thanks for the link, EJL. If I've read that thread correctly, the whole ship had been booked for the swingers. That's something of a relief that I'm not likely to be propositioned in Baristas on our next cruise.

Now, I really have to wonder if "swinger" in American English is the same as in British English. If so, then I guess a younger demographic for those cruises than the O cruises I've been on. But very, erm, progressive thinking on O's part.

No. As others hope, I would expect O to cater to a majority demand. There is clearly more demand from Americans who want to eat early, than there are Europeans, like me (and others), who want to eat later. Adjust the times so you cater to your customer base and tell folk like me to like it or lump it I would, in all probability choose to lump it - but then we Europeans are a very small percentage of the customer base, so O probably wouldnt care too much about the loss of our business if the change was appealing to more potential American customers. Alternatively, they could do what land based restaurants, which open long hours, do - just stagger the workforce's hours. This really isnt that difficult to achieve if O had the will to do it.

I agree about 9031. We were in 9063 and I recall the entrance being at "far end" of the room as we walked to it. Coffee set-up to your right as you walked in. Concierge desk on your left. And the seating area further to your left.

The more I've read this thread, the more I become surprised that O doesnt open its dining earlier. I see it like this:- The overwhelmingly number of O's cruisers are American. Many Americans clearly wish to eat at what I would consider a very early time, so opening dining would satisfy demand. And, if that happened, it would free up competition for tables for those of us who want to eat later at, say, 8pm Seems that everyone becomes a winner. I can't see a downside.

No, it's more important than that. The wrong dinner time can ruin a cruise. Many years back, when P & O had fixed sittings for dinner, we found ourselves allocated to the first siting at something like 6.30 which, to our mind, is still pretty much afternoon. Straight away after boarding, we went to see the restaurant manager to see about a swap to later. No joy, in spite of the offer of, ahem, a financial "thank you" if he was able to help us out. We were already becoming disenchanted with P & O's formality but this was the final straw and we didnt cruise with them again.

There are entrances both sides. I can't currently open the deck plan page so can't give you cabin numbers.

I think you're right.

Seen it happen, albeit on Norwegian. Couple came running down the pier in the Bahamas, frantically waving their arms. But we'd already moved off. My partner plays on an O Facebook group. Some weeks back, there was a post from someone whose flight to Miami had been delayed. Got to the ship just before it was due to leave, but the gangplank was still in place. They were denied boarding (which does seem unduly harsh).

You still have hair? 😁

It was ones with Charlie Windsor when we went to the ATM a few days back.

Thank you. That's the nicest thing anyone has said about me for ages. 😀

I play on a food/restaurant forum where most of the contributors are American and asked about rye bread there. For info, here's the thread https://www.hungryonion.org/t/onion-rye-bread-wot-that/39495/9

I've never had a significant timings issue in the specialities. Never felt rushed, never felt we were waiting overly long for something to happen. Usually a 7.30 or 8.00 reservation. Three or four courses, then coffee. The only issue, such as it was, was once we had to make the decision about whether to have dessert or pass on that and make the start of the show. We had dessert