Harters

Gosh! I read about the small showers on the R class, which is why we booked a PH on Nautica - but I hadnt realised just how small they are. OK, I'm a fat man but not enormous but I'm not sure I'd fit in it.

We had planned an Alaska cruise (HAL not O) and Rocky Mountaineer for my 70th but Covid put paid to that.

I really only ever visit Dover to catch the ferry to France so don't know too much about the tourism opportunities in town. But the castle is the main attraction - construction started in the 1180s but the site dates backs to the Iron Age and was in some form of defensive use up to the time of the Cold War. If you have time, particularly if youre arriving the day before your cruise, it'll be worth a visit.

Not speaking English must be very difficult for them on a mainly English speaking ship.😁

Let's wait till Walt returns to the forum this afternoon and reports continued success. And tomorrow.

Thanks, Cotswold. I rely on your much greater knowledge to correct my errors.

As already mentioned, Jersey is a tiny island, only 14.5km x 8km and "things to do" are very low key. Wandering round St Helier will give you an idea what a small UK town is like. One "attraction" well worth visiting are the War Tunnels. Jersey was the only part of the British Isles occupied by the Germans during World War 2. The museum at the tunnels tells the story of the occupation and the resistance of the islanders. For an older bit of history, there's the 800 year old Gorey Castle.

Our first cruise was on Canberra. Small Inside cabin with bunk beds. It was like sleeping on a shelf in a cupboard!

I'm not sure I have a "favourite" as that implies some sort of enjoyment. I stopped drinking alcohol some 24 years back and, since then, have not really found a drink that brings enjoyment, as opposed to quenching thirst. I don't like sweet, fizzy American (and American style) drinks, such as Coke and the like. But it is difficult to find alternatives so, most of the time, whether on a cruise or at home, water is also my most common drink.

Tom - I'm a British retiree from t'other side of the Pennines from you. We first cruised in the late 80s & early 90s with P&O but became disenchanted with all the formality (dress code, set times for meals, etc). We didnt cruise for many years until, in 2015, we did a 4 day cruise from Miami as part of a wider trip to Florida. It prompted us to look again at a cruise and we came across Oceania. We liked the "feel" of it. Dress code is "country club casual" - pretty much meaningless to anyone not North American but think "smart casual" (chinos and polo shirt work fine for me at dinner). There's decent food and what I regard as a "small ship" ambiance. In terms of nationalities, you'll find that it's overwhelmingly North American. For example, we were on Nautica last summer - there were only 66 Britons on board. And, apparently, Britons are only the fifth largest group of Oceania's customers (after America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). Unsurprisingly, you'll find that food is very much geared to American tastes, so the flavours of some dishes may not overly appeal to our more European palates. Oceania's advertising claims to have "the finest cuisine at sea" . I don't have much to compare that with but my bet is this is more advertising puffery than fact. But the food is decent enough (an important issue for us - we are both foodies). We've done two cruises with them. 2018 on Marina and, as I mentioned, last summer on Nautica. We have a third coming up in a few weeks on Vista. Yes, it is expensive and I am not at all sure how long our savings will last to fund this sort of holiday. Maybe the third will be our last; maybe another one. We enjoyed Nautica. Didnt feel constrained by the smaller ship but, generally speaking, probably prefer the larger ones. When we sailed on Marina, we were happy with a Concierge cabin and have booked similar for Vista. However, for Nautica, we'd noted the similar cabins are smaller and there have been regular mentions of how small the shower cubicle is (check that out on the forum), so booked a penthouse. O isnt particularly into entertainment, so you won't find much happening during the day and evenings are fairly laid back affairs. Hope this helps a bit John

Not wishing to be overly pedantic but Le Havre isnt in the Med. But checking out the France ports sub-forum is a good idea as contributors often miss that bit of geography and post Le Havre questions there. This link to the tourist office website (in English) may help the OP. https://www.lehavre-etretat-tourisme.com/en/discover/with-children/

I also cannot recall that there was an option in the UK for cruise only without OLife. Maybe there was but, if so, they kept it very well hidden.

Not that I recall. But how does that matter one jot to my satisfaction with our booking? The price was the price. The SM inclusions were the SM inclusions. I am currently looking at a possible cruise for next year. O currently prices it at £5149, with all the SM inclusions, plus gratuities included and free car parking at the port. It's a complete irrelevance what that cruise may have been priced at prior to SM, as I wouldnt have been booking it then. Or indeed what it may be priced at for other nationalities. My only interest is whether we are prepared to spend just over ten grand for a twelve day cruise.

I used Parking4Cruises for a Southampton cruise and would certainly use them again. Their "check-in" was opposite the cruise terminal, so very handy for drop off and pick up. My recollection is that they move the cars from their to their secure storage facility and, of course, bring them back. I want to know that my car is safe while I'm away so have no interest in parking on a stranger's drive.

We booked our forthcoming cruise with SM. I know what we'll be getting and I know how much it is costing. It's acceptable. That's obvious, otherwise we wouldnt have booked it. I have no interest in knowing what it might have cost me before SM, because I wasnt booking it then. This discussion is going round and round in circles, with many contributors talking two different languages, neither of which seem to be understood by the other group. History is another time and place. Get over it folks. If O's current offer no longer suits you, please go away and find a cruise line that better suits you.

Under the previous offer, we took the included excursions, in preference to the other offers, in line with the very consistent recommendations on this forum to do that. Under the new SM arrangements, we now have "excursion credit" to spend on any ships excursion, instead of the very limited "bottom end" excursions that were the only ones previously available. In itself, that's an improvement for us - for our upcoming cruise, we've been able to book fewer but more interesting excursions.

The question about usage charges is regularly asked on the Tenerife Tripadvisor forum. It's asked regularly as banks change their policy about usage charges. It used the be the case that the Caixa bank also used to be charge free. Now it seems only Banca March operates ATMs which are free to use (although Santander is free to use for their customers who have accounts in other countries). Thanks for confirming that the usage charges will apply throughout Spain - our forthcoming cruise visits Cadiz and Malaga so, if I need cash, I'll look out for a Banca March ATM.

I visit Tenerife each year. As you suggest we either pay for things by card or withdraw euros from the ATM. Most banks make a usage charge (maybe 2 euro, sometimes up to 5). As at the time of writing, I know that the Banca March does not charge but all other banks do (unless you are an account holder). Is it common for bank ATMs elsewhere in Spain to also make this charge or is it something specific to the Canaries? Also worth mentioning that, when you pay by card or withdraw money from ATMs, you will be asked if you want to be charged in euros or your own home currency. Always, but always, select euros - that way you will be charged at the official interbank rate and not some potentially scam rate that the business has set up itself.

Have to say, I'm never that thrilled with B & J and never buy it at home. I did have to try it , of course, when we visited Vermont in 2018. We had a couple or so days in Burlington. Didnt make it to their mother ship but just had to go to their shop in the city's downtown area. Man, that was a 3 week trip to New England that was great for eating.

I always travel with earplugs, in case of a neighbouring snorer who, of course, cannot help their condition. Doesnt apply to someone being deliberately inconsiderate - as the member of staff to whom I complain would quickly tell you.

In the knowledge of what folk have said about being able to hear normal level speaking in neighbouring cabins, I imagine that TV noise all through the night is going to be disruptive for anyone in an adjacent cabin. Don't worry though, in the unfortunate event that I find myself next to you, you will learn about how annoyingly inconsiderate you're being very very quickly.

I'm sure I've read that South Korea has only recently banned its use as a meat.

Our largest budget hotel chain, with something like 800 hotels. Also check out Travelodge - the second largest with around 600. Travelodge tends to be a bit cheaper but some of its hotels are showing signs of age, so always worth double checking on, say, Tripadvisor for recent reviews.

I think that, before it was deleted, you'd given me a nod and a wink as to which TA that is. It and our usual TA are the ones we'll be contacting. I've never really understood by CC bans naming TAs, not least as it has its own very helpful article recommending the best British ones - https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles.cfm?ID=3850

We're considering a cruise for next year (Vista, departing on 3 June), but are not yet in a position to commit to it. The price on O's website for an A1 Concierge is £5149 ($6544), including gratuities and free car parking at Southampton (the company we've used before would charge £130). We'll make enquiries with a couple of the major UK cruise specialist TAs and go on our cruise in a few weeks, armed with their quotes. We''ll then be in a position to make a comparison with any onboard offer and, if better than the TAs, will hopefully be in a position to commit.