Harters

On a past holiday, we stayed a few days in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. One day, we took a tour boat trip round the estuary of the river which separates NH from Maine. Lobster are fished in the estuary where, we were told by the boat's skipper, that if they are landed in Maine, they are described as "Maine lobster", and if they are landed in NH, they are described as "lobster". It didnt make sense to us until we realised "Maine lobster" are believed to be a superior product

It was more a general enquiry, Joe, rather than specific. I'd just thought there would be contributors here who have booked UK/Miami flights through O. If there was a pattern of using a particular carrier, I'd wanted to look at its website to see how direct, or not, a flight might be.

I'm sure you're right. It's just that, when you live in a small country, 80 miles is a heck of a distance. And this is a small country - none of us live more than 70 miles from the coast.

Is that booked through O, hutner. As far as I can work out, the carriers with the most direct flights are Virgin Atlantic, American, British Airways and Aer Lingus. So, unless O is using one of them, their route must be less straightforward

It's always on dinner menu of one of our favourite restaurants in the nearby city. In the "Classics" section of the menu https://www.samschophouse.com/_files/ugd/295c92_539882569ff6426d8eb2a8511d90e98d.pdf Hashing (based on the French word for "chop") is a traditional British dish but I suspect the modern corned beef version is American in origin.

Seemingly so - at least in the current form. I had never come across them until my first trip to the States in 1980. And it was quite a few years after that, until I noticed them on sale in my local supermarket. Of course, here, they are just called "muffins". "Muffin" is also a regional word in parts of the UK for a bread roll (the sort that in my part of the world, I would call a barmcake). There are historical references to muffins but these seem to be more like a pikelet or crumpet than the bready "English muffin". This link to an American website seems to confirm that they are a Yank invention, albeit by a British emigre. https://www.goldmedalbakery.com/blog/the-history-of-english-muffins/#:~:text=Who Invented English Muffins%3F,he worked in a bakery. I suppose there are reasons why a nationality is added to the name of a food product. I've seen mention of "English" cucumbers and peas. And, on the other side of that coin, Americans might call it a "pancake" whilst we would usually call it an "American pancake" (or occasionally a "buttermilk pancake". We call it that to distinguish them from our own pancakes - for which Americans take the French word and call them crepes. It can get confusing. Not least when O has "Swedish pancakes" on the breakfast menu - which just seem to be like any other European pancake (or crepe if you prefer).

It was disappointing to read about all the WW2 damage. My local Territorial battalion (similar to an American National Guard unit), landed there in November 1914 before going in to action a couple of weeks later and, in 1915, spent several months in and around the town. I'd hoped that there might have still been some buildings from the period that had been mentioned in the accounts. But, no, everything was gone

I know we're not allowed to name British cruise specialist travel agents (although there's a good list on Cruise Critic itself). But do you usually use an agent or deal direct? We've done both in the past and can't really see any benefit of one over the other. I know Americans always seem to prefer to use an agent and seem to get big discounts, or other perks, when they do. But those perks don't seem to be available in the UK (possibly because of the tighter regulation of the industry , with the ABTA and ATOL bonding, makes the profit margin much smaller). So, am I missing something here, or is there really no difference for Brits who we use? TIA John

In the event, Staysure wouldnt cover us but we got an annual policy from All Clear, with cover for European cruises. At £1400, it's much more expensive than we'd hoped. But it gets worse. We're considering a transatlantic cruise and have just got a quote from All Clear for upgrading the policy to cover us just for the few days in America and the Caribbean. It's another £1600! And would obviously have been much more if it had been for a full year rather than just part of it. If we go ahead with this cruise, I suspect it'll be the last time we visit the States for any reason. By the by, we made an enquiry on Staysure's website for "single trip" cover for this cruise. Came in at £2100.

I'm sure it will be a great trip. We've twice looked at previous versions of that broad itinerary (hence my comments at post #2). First time we caught Covid two days before boarding so were cancelled. This year, we were waiting for a medical "all clear" so we could get travel insurance - and the day before that happened, it got waitlisted. We might well have had a third attempt and be joining you but, instead are looking at a transatlantic. For us, there's lots of appeal in being able to drive to/from the port. It does always make me chuckle when I read O describing it as "London" - Southampton being a city some 80 miles from the capital.

St Malo because of its small, but interesting, town centre. Depending on exactly where the ship docks, and how long you're there for, Bordeaux lends itself to a self guided walking tour. I designed one for a cruise we'd planned but were cancelled, as we caught Covid a couple of days before boarding. I used GPSmycity.com, which allows you to select the sights you want to see and it then puts them in order for a walking tour for you. Excellent resource, IMO.

I'm curious about who they are using. Reason is the difference between the price for with or without air is comparatively small. Certainly quite a bit less than I've been able to suss out online from known carriers on the route. O's price difference is about £1000 (probably plus an internal flight MAN - LHR). Whereas BA's price for MAN - LHR - MIA is over £2000.

In Bruges, look out for the popular Flemish dishes - mussels with fries, grey shrimp croquettes and stoverij (Flemish beef stew). The local language is Flemish - a dialect of Dutch - but you'll find most folk will speak English (generally more so than in the French speaking areas of Belgium, in my experience).

Just wondering if O generally uses a particular airline for flights between Miami and the UK. TIA

Many thanks, both. Now it's just a matter of whether we can go forward with the transatlantic we have in mind. Just had a quote from our travel insurers which more than doubles an already expensive policy, simply by adding in the few days spent in America and the Caribbean. It brought a sharp intake of breath from both of us.

Apologies if this has already been discussed, but I couldnt find it. In the past, with O Choice, we've taken the excursion option booking, say, three trips, all of which had to be from the "basic" group. Of course, we could then pay for any additional excursions My presumption, with SM, is that we will have a credit, which we can spend on any available excursion, without being restricted to just the basic ones. So we could use it to book, say, an "O Exclusive" trip. Is this correct? TIA John

Aren't local politics contentious everywhere? I can't think of any country that I've visited where it isn't.

I'm not sure I want to do a 42 day holiday of any sort. Our maximum up to now has been 21 days (all our previous visits to America and our annual winter break in Spain). By the end of those trips, I'm ready to resume enjoying normal life. And, of course, I doubt whether I could ever afford such a cruise

JB - I claim my Ham Sandwich (with mustard, of course) 😀

They might. But they'd be wrong. 😀

Fisherman620 - you probably need to give a bit more information about what you're looking for. Of course, every pub in England is inherently English.

I don't obsess on the cost of a meal and, really, am only interested in whether I had a nice time. I'm not at all interested in the breakdown of the cost knowing it will be divided between food costs, employment costs, overheads and owners profit. I'm not really fussed whether part of the employment cost is by cash tips, service charges or, as a number of European countries, all covered in the menu price. It's all a price to be paid. Of course, sometimes, I do reflect on whether I felt the cost was value for money.

Agreed. Winner gets a Ham Sandwich. It's a nice part of the world. Last time we were on t'other side, visiting the battlefields in Belgium, we tacked on an extra couple of days to nosy round that part of Kent (and have a Michelin starred dinner in Seasalter)

Ah, that's interesting. In the UK, I'm a member of the AA (roadside assistance for breakdowns and other motoring business) which gives me associate membership of the AAA. Something to bear in mind if ever we travel round the States again - my eyesight isnt what it was for driving, particularly night time, so we may be done with those trips now.

Nice little town, with a couple of very decent pubs. And very near to the village of Ham (as the often stolen road sign confirms) https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-ham-sandwich-sign Whilst the Castle's role during WW2 is often mentioned, the part it played in the Great War is largely forgotten, even though it was then a garrison of 10,000 soldiers tasked with helping to repel invasion should it have happened. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle/things-to-do/fire-command-post/