Harters

Red Ginger was the only place on our previous O cruise, in 2017, which was disappointing. We have made our two reservations for our forthcoming cruise but if we find the food is again medicocre, we'll cancel the second one.

The search facility brought me here, looking for boarding day lunch options, and it's good to know Waves will be open. My recollection of our previous cruise in 2017 was that it wasnt and we battled our way through the bear pit that was the Terrace. This time, we've taken the boarding time slot of 11.00 to 11.30. It will fit nicely with checkout from our previous night's hotel. That's about a 30 minute drive away - so a leisurely breakfast, drop the bags with the porters at the terminal, pop over the road to leave the car with the parking company and stroll back over to actually check in. I'll need to find coffee either before or after boarding but can then settle down, catch my breath and start to feel on holiday. Later on, lunch in the Terrace if not crowded, or Waves if it is. I'll have a small carry-on with my photographic kit and medication. It doesnt leave my side until I'm in my cabin.

Thanks. It had popped up for me before I posted but I couldnt find a docking schedule page. I've just looked again and still can't find one. Unless someone can point me to it, i'll probably now wait and see where I wake up. If it's going to be near to the Place de la Bourse, then I can rejig our walk starting from there.

Very probably. There seems to be strong evidence of illegal people trafficking in this industry, right across Western Europe. .

Absolutely. Their weekly (?) group testing informs their analysis. Since the government changed its ground rules about testing and reporting, it's the only reliable infection data available. They've regularly tested the same large group throughout the pandemic so the base data has been consistent. FWIW, a family member has been one of those tested. It shows that, whilst numbers are decreasing, they are stubbornly high. Factual data about hospital admissions and deaths show a similar pattern. We are currently suffering about 100 deaths a day. That actually compares unfavourably to earlier periods of the pandemic. I had two UK breaks during that time. According to the government Covid dashboard, on the Friday I went away in 9/20 (before anyone had been vaccinated), the deaths recorded were 24 and, in 6/21, just 6.

A quick Google finds four nail places in the town centre - Lush Nails, Nail & Nail, Nail Blossom & Beautiful Nails. I'm a tad surprised to see so many in a smallish town but then I suppose it's a growth industry. LOL. I've not looked further to see if they are open on Sundays but, if you find one that suits, I'd recommend making an appointment rather than taking a chance on a walk-in.

Although, today, the BBC reports that the Office of National Statistics latest infection data is not clear about whether numbers are again rising in several English regions including the West Midlands, North East, Yorkshire and the Humber and the South East.

The issue I have with Saga is the issue I have with other British orientated cruise lines - that's the formality which I find old fashioned and outdated. I do not go to restaurants at home where I'm required to wear a jacket and have absolutely no interest in doing so when I'm on holiday. It's why Oceania suits us well

Posts 27 & 28 - many thanks for the confirmation about shorts at breakfast & lunch.

That's a depressing report - as we're on Sirena shortly. Sorry to hear of the quarantine. We've managed to avoid Covid so far and it would be a real pain to catch it on holiday. I'm unsure what the hassle might be about the electronic paperwork. There's O's online check-in form to complete. And we need to download our vaccination status but that's it. Nothing needed to enter France or Spain, which are our ports of call. And we need to get our antigen test done for boarding as O's requirement. No further tests needed to enter EU countries unless you are from one of the handful of high risk countries.

Here in England, there are no longer any Covid restrictions. No quarantine. No reporting - effectively ther eis no longer anyone to report it to. No restrictions on what you might do or where you might visit, if you are positive. No mask wearing (except in health care locations) No nothing. You're free to get around as you wish. Our government no longer cares that you are likely to pass on the virus. Here's the link to the government website to confirm that any sensible precautions you might take to protect others are entirely your own choice - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/people-with-symptoms-of-a-respiratory-infection-including-covid-19

No. PLF's are no longer required for France or Spain. You'll know that "fully vaccinated" for EU countries means that you'd need a booster jab if your previous jab was more than 270 days before. So, all you'll need is your NHS Covid vax record and your negative PCR/antigen for boarding. See you in Southampton next Friday. John

You would not have seen that line of taxis over last weekend. There were just no cabs around. As I mentioned earlier, family members were unable to make a short trip because of the likely difficulty of getting a return cab and being stuck in the countryside. Even getting back to the airport required booking the day before, as it is simply very difficult to get a cab "on spec". As in the UK, drivers have given up the fairly poorly paid work as cab drivers and found other jobs post- pandemic. I am not putting a dampener on the Palma/Soller train - but I am confirming my own experience of it being crowded as Kjorg's son had also found out. Lovely experience if you are OK with being jammed in.

Kjorg - it's some years since I've travelled on the train but my recollection is that it was certainly very full. My companion in life had a few days in Port de Soller over last weekend, with family and found the tram to/from the town to be very over-crowded. Fortunately, it is a shortish journey (currently costing €8 each way) but it was not pleasant. FWIW, it is all but impossible to get a taxi for short journeys round the Soller area - they have far fewer dirvers than pre-pandemic and they are all concentrating on the much more lucrative airport trips. It curtailed their plan to visit Fornalutx, where one of the family lived when she first got married.

I'm struggling to find that. Would you have a link, please? We'll be on Oceania's Sirena, which is a smallish ship, so I'm guessing we'll dock fairly central. It'd be handy to know where, so I can plan my start/finish point for the touristy walk I've put together for us. TIA

I know I should know this from our one previous O cruise - but do I correctly infer from this statement that shorts & casual shoes are OK in the GDR for breakfast and lunch?

Worth noting that the UK no longer requires quarantine for a positive Covid test. Our government says you're free to go out and infect anyone you might come across. Richmond would seem to tick the boxes. It's a small town area (although in the general London urban area) with a variety of hotels, to suit different budgets. Two good outdoor areas in the form of Richmond Park and the Kew Botanic Gardens. And it's on the Thames, as well. Good selection of restaurants (with several serviced by home delivery firm, Deliveroo). I've often stayed in Richmond and the surrounding area when I've been visiting to do research at the National Archives. For these visits, I'm usually OK to stay in one of the budget chain hotels but, one trip, I scored a deal at the 4* Richmond Hill Hotel and can thoroughly recommend it. Perfect location, literally across the road from Richmond Park and ashort walk into the town centre.

And certainly not at present, if you can avoid it. My companion in life is just back from a long weekend on the island (staying in Port de Soller, where some family members originate from). It is very hot for the time of year - midsummer temperatures. Uncomfortably hot - and that was just lying round the hotel pool.

It's one of England's 52 (?) cities. In fact, it's one of our oldest cities, predating 1189, according to Wikipedia.

At school in the UK during the late 1950s/early 60s, our "uniform" was shorts, shirt, tie, blazer. Those days are long gone with regard to the shorts and, nowadays, young children will attend school in long trousers.

To tip on top of a service charge would be the height of generosity. It would indeed make the server's day (and make them think that the customer hadnt actually spotted the service charge).

We're booked into Carey's Manor for a night pre-cruise next month. Hotel looks fine and has three on-site restaurants. And a lot more reasonably priced than soem we looked at. Leisurely breakfast the next day and it's then just a 30 minute drive to the port for us.

We phoned a couple a weeks ago to swap one of the freebie excursions. Realised that there was more walking than we were able to do. It was amended on our booking within a few minutes.

Thanks for that tip. I had assumed a wipe-out. But I'll now do some Googling to see if there's anything about specific locations. I do know that three of my local men are buried in the largish war graves cemetery on the edge of town, so I may go and pay my respects.

Learning that ruined my original plans for our day in Le Havre. My local battalion landed there in September 1914 and spent a few days around the town, before moving to go into action. I'd originally hoped to visit some of the places mentioned in letters home but all seems to be gone.