Harters

It was and I did.

Back in 2017, we were on a cruise which stopped in the area. I had hoped to visit Sapa Flow, which was the main base for the Royal Navy in WW1. I just wanted to pay my respects to the 15 sailors from my borough who sailed off from there and lost their lives at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. None has a known grave. Unfortunately, my partner was unwell that day and I didnt want to leave her, so cancelled the excursion at the last minute. Another time, hopefully.

The forecasts were saying it was possible that today or tomorrow would be the hottest of the year. It has been warm but I doubt whether it will have hit 32 today. If it does, it will be remarkable - September is early autumn not high summer. But it is usually a decent month, so at least encouraging for your 2024 cruise.

Hi tine-tine. Thought you'd be interested to know I've completed my research. I bought a copy of MacDonald & MacLeod's book of the disaster as they claimed to have ID'd every casualty. Cross checked their list against the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website and I'm pleased to confirm that everyone they list is properly commemorated. I think there must have been some techie issue when I first looked and couldnt find names. But I have three possible cases where the authors have ID'd an actual burial place while CWGC only records them on a memorial to the missing. It needs more checking out but this could mean that those three burials will become official war graves. My thanks for this chance encounter. It's passed a few hours on the patio in the lovely sunshine we've currently got in the northwest. You'd almost think it was summer.

I know Soller well - my brother in law and nephew originate from there. Family members were on holiday there earlier in the year and reported that getting a taxi was difficult. Many drivers are concentrating on the more profitable airport trips and are not bothering sitting on the cab ranks for the short trips between Soller and Port de Soller.

I was interested to see the Titanic menu at post #11. It looks like the mainly working class passengers would have eaten well, in comparison, with their normal diet at home in Britain. Assuming that is a representative day's meals on board, most will be eating much more meat than usual, where it wouldnt be a daily occurance. The meals follow what would have been common in those days - a substantial breakfast, the main meal of the day - then generally called dinner but served at lunchtime. Many Britons will still call that meal dinner. And they will still call their evening meal "tea", even though it is now the main meal of the day for most. Then, tea was a more snacky meal, as the menu shows. And then there's supper - a snack before you go to bed (a word still very in much in use in this house).

It may also be worth your while posting your question on the British Isles Ports of Call forum which may attract responses from non-Brits who have docked ta Newcastle. On a more general point, I'd be entirely with Lemorvan. Seemingly appalling customer service from Olson.

If the pilot boat was alongside, either the pilot crossed to Sirena to control its entry to port or did not. Either way, s/he will have had significant input into the decision to abort docking.

Wow. I am genuinely amazed. Another thing to add to my long list of how different America is to my country. Sometimes good difference. Sometimes not.

If you had booked a cruise and subsequently Oceania increased its prices on that cruise, should they also charge you more? Or, if I'd bought a sofa a few weeks before the sofa company had a sale, would I expect them to refund me the difference in price. Maybe they would where you are in world. But where I am, the sofa company would tell me that's just business and tough luck. Of course, they wouldnt be able to tell me that for a while, until they stopped laughing.

So far, I've managed to get through life without having a mobile phone.

We took our second Oceania cruise earlier this year. The previous one was 2017. Didnt feel as there was any difference in the Terrace Cafe offerings.

Excellent, EJL. You open the door for me. I play on a small (but perfectly formed) food/restaurant forum which has an off-topic area. And, back in the spring, I raised the very subject as a general interest in the linguistics difference. The discussion may give you a chuckle or two. https://www.hungryonion.org/t/arse-or-ass-a-linguistics-question/34079/73

Ah, that's a whole different thing. Not so long ago, I read an article that nowadays most folk learning English as a second language, now choose American English, even in countries that were once part of the British Empire. You have to honour or honor their decision.

It'll depend on if its American pronunciation. Or British/Caribbean pronunciation. Or possibly Norwegian pronunciation, as that's its founding nation. It's another of those words where the syllable emphasis differs. I say Carri...be...an. I believe Americans will say Carrib...ee..an. In my experience, most folk from that part of the world pronounce it in the British style. But I've no idea how it might be pronounced in those Caribbean countries where English is not the first language.

All fair points, Steve. Thanks Safe flight.

I've been interested to follow the thread, as we're on Vista next year (for our third Oceania cruise). If not too much trouble, are you able to offer a very brief summary as to why you've decided not to cruise in at least the near future. By the way, your comment about the floating hotel room strikes a chord with me. Have a trouble free flight home, not least a hope that you are unaffected by our air traffic control problems of recent days John

Many years back, before my first holiday to Canada, I asked about words/pronunciation on a forum I used which had quite a number of Canadian contributors. The general response I got, presumably tongue in cheek, was that Canadians used the British English spelling so they wouldnt be thought to be as Americans. Although there was the old adage about "what's a Canadian". That's an unarmed American with health care. I'll pop my head back down in the trench now. 😀

Although this Briton pronounces it as "oh she ARN ee ah". There are , of course, quite a lot of words where Americans and Britons differ on syllable emphasis. "Tomato" is probably the best known. Aluminium is another - I say alum..inium, you say aloo.....minum. I used to drive a Skoda Octavia where even the car sales guys couldnt agree on the pronunciation of Octavia. Whether it was "Oct are via" or "Oct aaa via". I now drive their Karoq and it was only when I bought that car that I learned Skoda is pronounced Schkoda and not with a hard "k".

During the initial stages of the pandemic, we followed our country's advice for folk with serious medical conditions. The government called it "shielding". We called it being under house arrest. It went on for months. I still follow my country's advice - which is now, basically, to get on with life. Which I'm doing - with two holidays to Spain in the remaining months of this year and a cruise booked for next year. I have absolutely no intention of hiding away for however many years I may have left. Full stop.

Thanks for posting that, CE. I did have it in mind there was something left. Interesting link to the Great War Forum. Feels like old times. I know the OP on that thread - egbert. He's a retired German air force officer. Many years back, we hoped to meet in the area of the Battle of the Somme where we both had ancestors who fought but, we missed each other in the country lanes. And the guy who posted with the username of "Siege Gunner" is the guy I mentioned upthread as the expert on the , erm, siege guns unit.

I suspect you need to be prepared to be aghast. As indicated in the OP, lots possibly had Covid but did nothing. They either thought it was just a cold, fooled themselves into believing it was a cold or couldnt care less if it was a cold or not . The latter stance probably being "This cruise has cost me thousands. I'm going to enjoy it and not spend it confined to my cabin". It saddens me to know that I'm not sure what category I would put myself in, if it happened.

By the by, the port of Zeebrugge itself was the scene of one of the more daring actions of the Great War, when it was raided by Royal Marines, and supporting ships, on 23/4/18. Amongst many gallantry awards, there were eleven Victoria Crosses awarded - some allocated by ballot of the men involved as so much bravery had occurred, not everyone who might have deserved a VC could get one. I'm not sure if there's anything left to see at the port (except a memorial) but, at least for those arriving by cruise ship, you'll know you are standing where history was made. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeebrugge_Raid

By the by, my local dining pub (part of a small national chain), pays its serving staff around £10.42 per hour. And a chef de partie will earn an annual salary of around £28, 750. Both groups of workers benefit from a share in the tronc system (collected from card tips and paid directly into their bank accounts through the tronc administrator) and a share of cash tips. Presumably any new potential member of staff would be likely to ask at interview "how much might I expect to gain from tips", with the answer helping them to decide if they wanted the job or not. Disappointingly, cleaners don't receive any share of either card or cash tips, although their job is pretty important to customers having a nice experience.

Within a couple of days of returning from our Nautica cruise at the end of June, I started with a cold. Or was it Covid (I didnt test). Two months on, I still have a bad cough and often feel short of breath - just as I am when I have a flare-up of my COPD or get a chest infection. A course of antibiotics has done nothing (so presumably, not a usual chest infection). I have an appointment with the practice nurse tomorrow for my annual review of my long term conditions but am starting to think this might be a step change with my COPD. Or something else depressing.