Harters

Our usual dining time at home, or when we make restaurant reservations, is 7.30 - 8.00. And that's the time we've gone to the GDR on both our cruises (Marina & Nautica). Never been a queue. 6.30 would be much too early for us, so pleased to be avoiding what seems to be a busy time for many travellers. It was actually one of the reasons we stopped cruising with P & O, decades back when they operated fixed sittings. Our last cruise with them had us allocated to the early sitting and that was the final straw.

Thanks both. I can get that into my "stuff to do" schedule.

Can anyone please advise when the online check-in opens for a cruise? TIA. John

It's actually the best FutureLearn course I've done. Really engaging.

I found the course through FutureLearn, which I've done a few other courses through. Can't recall who had actually produced it. My wife's cousin appeared in one of the videos - He's employed by Newcastle museum's service and was involved with the eastern section of the Wall. The little museum at Chesters? Doesnt that house the stone with the penis graffiti?

The Wall is a couple of hours drive north of me and we'd often passed nearby driving up to the northeast, but never stopped. But, in 2022, we did a three day trip and saw pretty much all the major sites and quite a few of the small "milepost" forts. I actually did an online course about the Wall's history beforehand so had some decent knowledge of what I was looking at. A really interesting trip that surprised me about how well preserved the main forts are. Did you see the bathhouse at Chesters fort? Not a word I use often but - awesome. Referring back to my earlier suggestions of Winchester or Salisbury, both were founded by the Romans - although for Salisbury, the original Roman town was at Old Sarum https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/old-sarum/ Maybe for a future trip, perhaps I can suggest Chester. Roman amphitheatre and the walls round the city are Roman in origin (although much developed in medieval times). Lots of other non-Roman history in the area.

I generally prefer political folks with an agenda, to those without. You know where you are with them.

In recent months, we've flown from Manchester to Barcelona (for a cruise), Mallorca and Tenerife, flying with Jet 2 and Ryanair. No problems with check-in, security or facilities airside. For one of these flights, the ticket included fastrack security but it wasnt really needed. We don't live far away from the airport and use their "partner" taxi company, StreetCars, to take us from/to home. Probably not as cheap as whatever is your local taxi but they've always been reliable.

My wife's birthday was during our Marina cruise in 2018. We'd booked Jacques for dinner. We'd not mentioned the birthday - we'd never mention a special occasion. But they must have picked up the date from their records. Late in the meal, the manager whispered to me that "something" was going to happen. Cake, with candle, delivered to the table by servers singing Happy Birthday. Nice of them, of course, but we both felt a bit embarrassed. Hanoj's info might suggest they've stopped doing this sort of thing.

I see the roll call thread for that cruise is quite active and may be worth you checking out to see what others are already planning and, perhaps, looking for more to join in their arrangements)

If you do visit, please try and spend some time outside of London. See the country where most of us live our lives. 🙂

We've just received a letter advising of the "Pre-Cruise Savings Programme" which indicates that if we book within 30 days of our forthcoming cruise we would "enjoy the exclusive benefits that come with Oceania Cruises onboard savings offer". Specifically:- "Additional savings on the cruise fare - save up to £1100 per stateroom Reduced deposits - as low as £250 perperson Best price guarantee - if we release a better offer on the sailing you have booked, we will honour the lower price We work with your travel advisor - when you book your future cruise, your travel advisor will be immediately credited for your booking Indulge with US$250 shipboard credit per booking to enjoy, certain restrictions apply." Interesting but not a help to us this time. We are thinking about a 2025 Vista cruise but with the several comments about noise from adjacent cabins, we are holding off making a decision until we actually experience Vista in a few weeks.

Not just England but the whole of the UK. The other three nations don't escape the consequences of empire. Let's not drift into discussing modern politics - it'll only end messily.

Google finds multiple references such as Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aden_Colony As often the case in this part of the world, whether Yemen or Palestine, my country has a heavy historical responsibility for its modern problems - not something that I can be the slightest bit proud of.

Brighton is excellent. Bournemouth can bemixed. I've spent a short break break there and had a lovely time. However, my nephew did his Masters degree at the university there and said parts of the town are very run down

To answer the question posed in the thread title - not any time soon. The military threat from the Houthi movement ( Ansar Allah) is likely to continue for some time. Not least as it is the de-facto government for the majority of Yemenis, so unlikely to be displaced. FWIW, that part of the world sparked an interest in cruising for Mrs Harters. She spent her early school years in the part of Yemen that was then known as Aden (and may still be). At that time, P & O's ship, Canberra, spent its time on journeys between the UK and Australia. It would dock in Aden to re-provision and, each time it did, her mother would take her to see the "big, white ship" and she vowed that, one day, she would travel on it. Childhood ambition fulfilled in 1988 when, by then, Canberra had converted to being a fulltime cruise ship.

Possibly. I've certainly eaten something that looks like it in Spain. And had what seems to be a citrus lime flavour. My doubt is that, according to the Wikipedia article, it's not generally grown in Southern Europe so probably wouldnt be on sale in the town's Sunday market, where we stay, which tends to be local produce. I wonder what it is I have eaten?

Based on our own experience, your friends are going to struggle getting insurance, even from the "pre-existing medical conditions" specialists. We were unable to find anyone who would insure us while we had an "awaiting diagnosis" hospital referral. No overseas holidays for 12 months for us, till there was a diagnosis. That was going to involve fairly minor "day case" surgery but it bumped up the premium anyway. Other than trying several insurers just to see, the only way I see round it is for the friends to pay for a private consultation. And, of course, it's not worth the risk of either not declaring the condition or travelling without insurance. Either way it will be costly if medical treatment, etc was needed.

I've looked at a Memphis to New Orleans cruise in the past and might still be interested in it, as an experience. The reservation I have is that we've done that route as part of a "music" road trip we put together a few years back. . Great three weeks - Nashville/Memphis/Tupelo/Vicksburg/New Orleans/Lafayette

Take a look at Winchester or Salisbury. Both very pleasant historic cities

I've also read the several mentions on the forum of this issue. It seems to be random and may well be dependent on how noisy your neighbours are, although I have read comments about folk being able to hear the noise of normal conservations, even if actual words couldnt be made out. It could be an issue for our forthcoming Vista cruise. I always pack earplugs when travelling and was grateful for them last summer, when we'd rented an apartment and I could hear the snorer next door. My partner has bought a "snooze band" - basically a set of thin headphones which will enable her to play "white noise" through her phone. We had been intending to book a 2025 cruise on Vista but have decided to hold off until after the booked one in a few weeks.

Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs is a favourite Sunday breakfast in tis house. My most memorable occasion with this breakfast was served on the train from Manchester to London a few years back. Breakfast comes as part of the ticket price and I didnt want the full fry-up breakfast that day, as we were travelling to the capital for lunch and didnt want to spoil my appetite.

I think that may have been me. I get more forgetful by the day.

That would be a very decent thickness here, including quality steakhouses. Comes in at 350g weight at Hawksmoor near me.

Certainly in travel agent advertising that I've seen. It's partially what prompted us to think about Regent and for me to start this thread.