Harters
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12 day British Isle Cruise in June....Help please
Harters replied to Derbie's topic in British Isles/Western Europe
Knowing how wrecked I've been, from jetlag, returning from the States, I can only echo John Bull's advice not to bother with London touristing until you can devote a decent amount of time to it. If you do decide to go straight to Southampton, check what time your hotel check-in opens and, if necessary, book the previous night as well, so you can get straight to your room (something I did a couple of years back travelling to South Africa). You want to board your cruise as fresh and rested as possible and ready to enjoy it. -
Basor - I seem to be having one of my stupid days. Yes, of course, only a deposit has been paid on board so, presumably, the TA would only lose commission on that proportion of the full price. It must suit O to reassign the contract to a TA even though they'd have to pay the commission. Good point, LHT28. The UK cruise specialists, of which Google only found me a handful, do not appear to generally offer the additional benefits, often mentioned by North Americans, available via their TAs. I'd be interested to read the experiences from other Britons who have booked onboard and transferred to a British TA.
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How does that work then, please? I would have thought that, if I had booked direct with O, then the TA has earned no commission on the sale. What's the benefit for the TA - would O pay them a commission, even though they had done nothing? And what's the benefit for the customer - the deal has already been done, so to speak? On the face of it, it doesnt seem to be in anyone's interest.
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When my BiL worked in New York, he used to torment his American colleagues by asserting, with a straight face, that in the UK we celebrate 4 July as Thanksgiving.
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We were originally offered similar flight times, also via London, on a very tight schedule. It was really difficult to get O to understand that this was not acceptable and what we needed was a Manchester to Heathrow flight the previous day (where we would stay overnight at our expense) and then the onward flight to Miami. Eventually, we got the arrangements we needed but it was very stressful, having to keep going back to O because elements of their revised proposals were still wrong for us. It was the biggest driver for us using a cruise specialist travel agent (ABTA bonded) this time and booking our flights direct from Manchester to Barcelona.
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Major taxi companies in Manchester will happily drive you to London. My brother in law used to drive a cab and loved such trips, as it was always extremely profitable (ven though the company would have agreed a rate with the customer). The in-laws will, presumably, know the major operators in their area of the city and I'd suggest that be the first contact. FWIW, StreetCars is a major operator in the south of the city and holds an official contract with Manchester Airport. I've regularly used them for trips from home to the airport but have no experience of them for long journeys. https://streetcarsmanchester.co.uk/ As already mentioned, this will be an expensive option and I would seriously look at the train option.
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Yep, I was also able to finish work when I was 53. Nearly 20 years on, there's never been a regret.
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I recently came across a guy on a Tripadvisor forum who was doing similar. He was still working but the nature of it was that it was all web based, so could be done anywhere. His query to that forum was trying to find an apartment with good broadband.
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You say tomato and I say tomato. 😀 I did have the other side of that "leg covering" coin a year or so back on another non-travel forum when an American asked me what the heck were these "trousers" I was mentioning.
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Absolutely.
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I am pretty sure that is the case. I have recently booked a cruise which attracted Extraordinary Savings. The pricing was very transparent on O's British version of the website yet, on a thread specifically about the savings, Americans were saying they needed to contact O to get the sale prices. I do not know the details of UK consumer law but I do know that "sales" need to be transparent. I imagine other European countries may well have their own differing legislative requirements.
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I did indeed enjoy that trip. It was the first of my four "war" holidays in VA, twice meeting up in real life with an American e-friend from a military history forum, who worked for the FBI in Washington. Hope you get to visit your new friends at some point
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It's many years since we cruised with P & O. We became, erm, disenchanted with its formality. Dinner jackets and suits are not what I want to wear anytime, not least when I'm on holiday. Apart from a couple of short, very casual, cruises, it wasnt until 2017 that we did another "proper" cruise. That was when we'd discovered Oceania. It looked as though it would give us exactly what we needed, in terms of comfort, good food and a lack of stuffiness. And it did. A variety of reasons mean we havent cruised since then but do have our second O O cruise coming up in a few weeks. My late in-laws cruised with P & O until about 10 years back and, to be honest, their accounts confirmed that I still didnt want to cruise on their ships. I'm obviously loathe to make direct detailed comparisions, without direct personal experience, but would suggest that food quality is much better on Oceania and is probably sufficiently more luxurious to justify the significant extra cost. But only you can make that judgement. By co-incidence, I saw some P & O pricing a couple of weeks back - it is substantially cheaper, per day, than Oceania. But then, P & O is generally selling to a perhaps generally less affluent British market, whilst Oceania's customer base are generally more affluent Americans. Congratulations on your forthcoming retirement. I was also able to finish work in my mid 50s. Never a regret, nearly 20 years on.
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Thanks. By the by, I visited your home area a few years back. I have an interest in military history, including the American civil war. We stayed near Arlington and visited Manassas and Fairfax, before following the war south over a three week trip.
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With our Nautica cruise only a few weeks away, I'm really looking forward to reading it. Are you intending to post it here on the forum, or in CC's review section? If the latter, may I ask that you post a heads-up to it on this thread.
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The FAQs only mention that "sandals or tennis shoes" should not be worn.
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I didnt think I owned a jacket either but I came across one in a cupboard a few weeks back. I've certainly not worn it since I retired (20 years this coming September). And, no, it doesnt come close to fitting me now. 😀 Got a black tie - for the occasional traditional funeral. FWIW, we first cruised in the late 1990s, on P & O, but after three cruises fell out of favour with all the formality. We did one casual cruise on the shortlived Island Escape, which we didnt really enjoy. And that was us done with cruising we thought. Then somehow, we discovered Oceania and realised that it was possible to find good quality (particularly the food) in a relaxed atmosphere. That matched our restaurant eating onshore - I won't go to places that require jackets (I waited nearly 20 years for one Michelin 2* place in London to relax its dress code). Fortunately, they are very few and far between in the UK now and, in truth , I think I've come across "jackets required" more often in the States
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Ah, yes. Just re-read the FAQs and see that "casual jeans" are not acceptable which presumably means "non casual" ones are fine. Now, that could be an interesting debate as to what is casual. A Michelin starred place near me is more specific with its dress code "our dress code is smart and informal. Sportswear, ripped denim or shorts are not accepted."
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Which I think also means no jeans.
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Absolutely. It's why I never diss another persons food/restaurant choices.
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As such, I've nothing against dinner taking two hours. We go to a number of restaurants at home, where multi course tasting menus are served and a 2 - 3 hour slot is indicated. I know what to expect in those places and am fine with it. But I wouldnt expect dinner to take that long for three courses in a well organised restaurant, on shore or at sea. But, yes of course, if I was having a couple of starters, main course, cheese, dessert and then coffee, it would be taking a lot longer and I'd be fine with it. It's the gap in between courses that can ruin an evening when it's overly long - we went to one place last summer (just before it got a Michelin star) where there was a 15 - 20 minute wait between each course. Not through anything of a hitch in service but simply becuase that's the gap the chef thought appropriate. Michelin or not, he's wrong.
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Of course, you don't know there's going to be an issue till you've eaten the dish but it would be something to consider for a future visit. Although the fact that a number of dishes seem to be westernised creations or heavy adaptations, rather than a traditional dish which just needs tweaking, makes it tricky. It's no biggie to miss out RG.
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Indeed so. But tough veal is tough veal, so I've made a mental note of that. And I've also made a note of the beef carpaccio - I've had it before but only in a European style so what I assume was an East Asian version that you describe sounds great.
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Red Ginger was our only disappointment on Marina. Found the food very dumbed down in comparision to what I'd find in East Asian restaurants at home, whereas the other three specialities were on par with equivalents. Probably wouldnt bother with RG again.