Harters

I've no idea how this actually tastes but just have a sense that it'd be bitter, disappointing and not really good value for money.

I don't think that the Spanish hotels' policy particularly pleased anyone. But it did solve the problem they faced, which is why so many businesses adopted it. . As that wouldnt suit you, may I ask what practical solution you think would work for you? You see, I also go on holiday to relax and I certainly don't find it relaxing to be not able to get a sun bed because a hog has staked a claim.

I've been reminded that, unusually, there isnt only vanilla at present. We had a supermarket home delivery last week and pomegranate was a "flash sale", so was snapped up by my partner. No idea what it tastes like but may find out this evening.

About an 80 minute flight from Manchester. Just under 500km. My partner used to work for Shell, which is headquartered in the Netherlands, and used to travel regularly for meetings. The Europe-wide team they were part of, used to meet at a hotel at the airport, so was there and back in the day, never actually seeing anything of the country.

By the by, I have flown to another country, just for a meal. Flew to Amsterdam; had a rijsttafel at Tempo Doeloe, slept at the hotel, came home.

Green Apple, Fruits of the Forest, Pistachio. My sweet tooth has developed in my later years. Born in 1950, my early years were spent whilst the UK still had food rationing, post WW2, with sugar being one of the last items to become freely available. So, desserts never really featured at home - Mum's cooking skills (such as they were) had developed in the ration years. Through most of my adult life, I've passed on desserts in restaurants and it's still a rare thing at home. But (and it's a big but), on occasions I can now be very greedy with sweet things - which is a bit of an issue , as I'm Type 2 diabetic. Anyway, back to the ice cream. We have an annual winter sun holiday in Tenerife. We eat out every night and rarely have dessert. But I enjoy an after dinner stroll through the resort area, invariably stopping at one of the ice cream stands outside some of the restaurants. Love to get one and eat it watching the world go by. All of my favourite flavours come from those trips. At home, there's only ever vanilla in the freezer

On our cruise last summer, it was Heidsieck. Retails at £32 in my local supermarket. A lot more than we'd ever choose to pay for a bottle of wine. I don't drink alcohol but my partner said it was very enjoyable.

I think it's questionable. It is not a lot extra and we've booked concierge on our two cruises with O and a forthcoming one. I think, but might struggle to evidence, that concierge cabins are better located. You ask about the laundry service. Each of the three bags are limited to 20 items each and the bag is plenty big enough for that. Unlike the "paid for" laundry, the items come back folded but not pressed so perhaps more useful for items that don't need ironing but, in any event, we've found it a useful service. With regard to restaurant reservations, everybody is guaranteed a seat but concierge (and, even better, suites) gets you ahead of the game in choosing a time that best suits you. Folk in the cheaper cabins cannot log on to book until nearer the cruise dates so get the times that we richer folk have left 😀

Agreed. At least, as such. But I bet the hogs just move inside.

As someone considering an onboard booking, I'd appreciate it if you could give an indication of the current incentive. Good to read you're enjoying Vista. We have another couple of months to wait.

As I've commented before, the UK travel agency industry operates differently from what I gather, from posts here, to be how the American industry works. In this particular connection, a false advertisement would be challenged by the industry regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority, so the likelihood of a major industry player (such as the company I was referring to) deliberately making a false claim is most unlikely. If I've correctly understood OCAPP, it is only available through O's "preferred" TAs, all of which are I believe to be North American, so of no use or interest to me.

Won't this just be a TA offering a perk, as some have always done, rather than it coming direct from O? In the last couple of days, I've even spotted a UK cruise specialist offering discount, beverage package and free car parking. Unfortunately, we're not yet in a position to book that particular cruise and it will be just our luck that they withdraw the offer by the time we are ready

Maybe the solution is to adopt a version of procedures operated by many Spanish tourist hotels during the more relaxed parts of the pandemic. Due to distancing regulations, they were not allowed to have as many loungers out as usual. Solution was to require folk to to make a daily lounger reservation for a time period of maybe three hours. Comments on the Tripadvisor forum I follow indicated it worked.

There's a difference between us then. For us, a restaurant lunch ashore is an important part of our holiday. We put effort into researching where to go and what to eat (particularly if there are interesting local foods). Often, it'll be a significant focus of visiting that port - we might well take a self guided walk round the city, finishing off for lunchtime.

That's an amazing story to read in this day and age. Although that said, we had family members who lived in upstate NY for a few years. Small community called Painted Post. It was very different from what they knew in urban northwest England. FWIW, the latest crime report for my postcode (zipcode) area is for the last week of December - one mugging and nine house burglaries.

I'm not sure I'd drive anything like 5 hours for a meal. But I live on this small island off the coast of Northern Europe - I think our concept of distance may be different to folk who live in large countries. We usually reckon on only driving a maximum of 60 minutes for our weekly "date night" meal. Anything more than that gets planned as a short break, even if only an overnighter. By the by, we visited Mystic some years and I recall some good meals there.

When we first started cruising in the 80s , P & O always had a curry on its lunch menu.

I think this must be the thread, V The short answer seems to be that if you can't use it, you lose it. It's a bit similar to me not drinking alcohol but still paying for the SM booze arrangements. Or, IIRC, you also mentioned the new inclusion of gratuities for European customers doesnt account for those who get freebie gratuities.

That's a bad co-incidence, man. I've always lived a few miles from where I was born and don't think I'd ever want to move away. Illnesses getting worse are bad news. I have COPD which I know is a degenerative disease and which I know has got significantly worse over the last 12 months. Like you I get pleasure from food which is why, I guess, we both hang out on this particular forum.

Are you following your own suggestion made at #11 and are eating the same meal every day? Just in case?

In the UK, we also have an animal reference to March weather - "March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb".

I've stayed at the PI County Hall two or three times. Good location. Hotel is fine - as PIs usually are. I use PIs fairly regularly for short breaks round the country. I always book the full breakfast, which includes all the "continental" items as well as cooked. Price is £9.99 - only two quid more than the continental option. Both breakfast menus here - https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/why/food/breakfast.html

The UK is no longer a member of the Union, so we have our own rules as your link advises. Ireland and France are members. So, if you're departing Southampton and your next port of call is in Great Britain, then I don't think there's any issue at all, as you havent been to another country. On the other hand, if your first port of call was in France, then EU rules apply which, I think, (but am not sure) do not permit meat and cheese to be brought from outside the Union. Apologies for being vague. It's just that it's never occurred to me to take food from a cruise ship to eat on land, so I've never needed to check the regulations.

Some years back, we got chatting to one of the two brothers who own a Michelin starred restaurant. He runs front of house and the other brother is chef. He said the thing that marks out a really good restaurant is consistency. It should be able to deliver the expected quality night after night, whether or not the chef is actually in the kitchen. I hadnt really thought of that before but he was right.

Is that to do things differently or just to relive a great life?