Grumpycruiser60plus

Reply, According to the Horizon daily sheet. He goes by the name "Busker Bradley"......In my opinion .. he should stay performing in london on the Tube!!! when he does say something between songs, he mumbles. Sadly he was in Piano bar on last night of cruise, he emptied the lounge too.

Hello again, As mentioned above, we left Stavanger on Sunday for the return to UK. On the whole we enjoyed the cruise after being away for 3 yrs, yes there is some changes which I & many others have reported on, Was it worth it ?..........yes we managed to see the Northern lights ( just) our experience on board was very relaxing & we did what we wanted, The staff are ever, very helpful & I suppose we were lucky on this cruise being only 1800 people, space was never an issue, We was glad to experience the cruise without" the C" word being a negative dampener, the crew are now able to remove their masks. I noticed not many people wearing them also & as mentioned on earlier post no coughing among Pax. maybe only the usual A/C tickle. For those of you going on Arcadia in near future & only like to Dine on table of Two in freedom ...Top Tip ask for table no46. It is away from other tables too close. we had it for b/fast one morning. Well we are now at home, we returned to Southampton this morning, docking around 05.00am, we were given priority disembk for 08.30 & off loading, the car across rd in car park ( Park 4 cruises) by 08.45. I would note that we were along with everybody else ,asked to wait in the Globe, simply put this venue cannot cope with that many people!!!. So all from me for now, I will return in day or so once I have my photos sorted & (hopefully) add them to this post.

Hello again from Stavenger, to follow up from our Northern Lights tour, yes we did eventually manage to see them, although it was looking doubtful at the refreshment stop( a glass of Gluwine & a cookie in a lay-by in the rain). About 20 mins further on from stop, we pulled to side of Rd in middle of nowhere, but over in Sweden. We saw them briefly, so quite happy money we'll spent. Sadly pics will have wait till return, they will need enhancing. Also while on 2 sea days down to here, Captain announced that Crew masks can be removed if so wished, from now on, but only if no reported cases of you know what. Another cost saving from yesterday in mdr breakfast no more small pots of jam/ marmalade either, but they will place dollops of your choice on side plate. 😀 Sun & showers here in Stavenger, so I'm writing this outside Burgerking with crew all around me. 🤣 all for now.

Hello again. Today in Narvik. Arrived at 08.30 this morning to overcast & drizzle rain. So we just a wander into town into a shopping centre for a look around shops, coffee & a bun. Later today we are off on a guided tour to see/ photograph ( hopefully) Northern Lights. Sitting now on balcony the rain has stopped & weather app says brighter later. We were due to go back to Oceangrill last night ( a formal night) but as you can see in previous post, we were underwhelmed, so I cancelled & we went to our usual table & had a very good meal instead, on the menu for dessert was Baked Alaska, which I ordered knowing it was not "proper " baked alaska I would call it artic roll. see pic. Just to add a couple of observations since being aboard. Not heard anyone coughing, all staff wearing masks, only very few passengers wearing them too. Plenty of staff in restaurants & bars, but they do have some supply issues with drinks. Ie, some wines not available in mdr, no southern comfort & cointreau in any bars.( we like these as an after dinner treat). But you can order both from duty-free purchase to take home.just niggles really. All for now, hope to report again from next port Stavanger.

Hello again. Today in Narvik. Arrived at 08.30 this morning to overcast & drizzle rain. So we just a wander into town into a shopping centre for a look around shops, coffee & a bun. Later today we are off on a guided tour to see/ photograph ( hopefully) Northern Lights. Sitting now on balcony the rain has stopped & weather app says brighter later. We were due to go back to Oceangrill last night ( a formal night) but as you can see in previous post, we were underwhelmed, so I cancelled & we went to our usual table & had a very good meal instead, on the menu for dessert was Baked Alaska, which I ordered knowing it was not "proper " baked alaska I would call it artic roll. see pic. Just to add a couple of observations since being aboard. Not heard anyone coughing, all staff wearing masks, only very few passengers wearing them too. Plenty of staff in restaurants & bars, but they do have some supply issues with drinks. Ie, some wines not available in mdr, no southern comfort & cointreau in any bars.( we like these as an after dinner treat). But you can order both from duty-free purchase to take home.just niggles really. All for now, hope to report again from next port Stavanger. 20221012_213433.heic

We are currently on board Arcadia, Narvik right now, the mdr waiters take your wine order as you sit down & will keep for next night if you so wish. We also have nightly turndown/ tidy bathroom & towels. Plus the dredded chocs.

On the subject of current on board " Entertainment ". Underwhelming!! As a rule I don't like Musicals,Trebute acts. So we are avoiding the theatre this cruise. We do like to relax both pre- post dinner in the Piano bar, we have an excellent waiter who keeps an eye out for us table wise. But a couple of nights this has been a little off putting, because P &O has put a Guitar busker/ singer in there. It is to our mind a Piano bar. Moan over

Re Entertainment. As a rough guide, this is from today's horizon.

OceanGrill. As mentioned above, we had managed to book 2 nights here. Our 1st visit was last night. First off, they have same menu for whole cruise. Have To say the meal was nothing special. We have dined (pre covid) in Epicurean, Sindu &Limelight on Brittania and it was an event meal. No so in OG, to be fair the staff are excellent but the place is running 50% empty & there just is no ambience. Also not helped by us having to ask for my DW chips to be changed because they came out undercooked. Sure they very quickly brought fresh pot, but it does slightly spoil the start of main course. We are returning again tomorrow, hopefully our meal will be agreeable.

Hello from Tromso. 20221011_130916.heic After a sea day yesterday, which was very rainy & grey,+ windy which meant Prom deck closed. We arrived 08.30 to sunshine 8° but with a strong wind, especially up the top of the cable car. I have to say that our experience with the cable car down in Andalsnes, compared to Tromso was disappointing here in Tromso. The cafe up top was very lacklustre, poor coffee, no hot chocolate dismal cakes. We did not stay long. Views are stunning though. We travelled there & back on the local bus,using the tromso bus app very easy, I had prebooked the cablecar too. So much cheaper that P & O naturally.

Reply, sorry I missed this, we are on club dinning 20.30. First 2 nights we were queuing level 3 for some 15mins, I think this is caused by 1. Early diners taking time to leave. They do not let you in unless all clear. 2. Usual confused people joining wrong que who are freedom dinning level 2. I would note that freedom seems to be quiet & lots of tables from 8.15 onwards. Also age demographic with older people wanting to eat a 18.30 very busy. Then at 8pm they all surge thru levels 2 &3 rushing for the show.

Sunday 9/10. Good afternoon, time for a little update. We had 2 sea days before arriving this morning in Andalsnes. Can confirm NO Sindhu this cruise, but Oceangrill is open (we got 2 bookings & will report on those in couple of days) as of Friday is was booked out. MDR service so far has been good,same for the bar/ lounges that we have used. Staff are plentiful & seem happy. The food in mdr is as others mentioned for their cruises is OK. We now always ask for extra veg. The weather since leaving Southampton has been very good, most of yesterday there was 3-4 mtr swell but nothing to get excited about. There is a wide range of people on board,many like us doing this cruise after 2 cancelled yrs. IT is not full, in fact several empty mini-suite/ suites on our deck. We have had 1 formal night already, I would say about 98% dressing for the night. I'm always amused with "some people's " idea of formal attire, they have the outfit, but in my view no idea how to wear it!!. Andalsnes. Our 1st time here & very nice too. It has a brand new cable car ( open MAY21) With fabulous views from the top of mountain, a cafe/ restaurant & lots of walking viewpoints too. I have taken lot's of photos on camera so hope to show those later on when I have sorted them at home. But will leave you a shot taken on smart phone as a taster. All for now, time for cup of tea on balcony. 20221009_122257.heic

Hello, in reply. We boarded at 12.00 priority as we are in a mini- suite. Once on board set your phone to the holiday app loads of help available as soon you board, set your details @ go to dinning and book.

Hello everyone, as promised we are aboard. Our journey down from Kent this morning was very easy, no holdups on M25- A3- M27, we stopped at Petersfield on A3 for a comfort break, arrived at Mayflower term at 11.45, car checked into P4C, all very relaxing. Thru check-in, then security & sat down for peninsular lunch by 12.30.20221006_123313.heic then up to m/ suite on B deck, logged into holiday app, ( very easy) then booked 2 dinners in Queens grill for coming days. Could not open booking for Sindhu, but will check later. Sat on balcony writing this having a cup of tea. Will report further as & when time& signal available. All for now. Bon voyage.

Hello again, If i may add we very much like Madeira having visited in 2017 on Britannia & then a hotel stay in 2018. We shall be returning again in Jan23 for a further 2weeks stay at the same hotel. we can recommend driving out to the north west of the island, ( valley of the nuns) take a Dolphin watch boat trip perhaps. We shall be looking to visit some different places, as we are there for 2 weeks although we will use local taxis/ guides as i do not like to drive on holiday having being a professional chauffeur for 25+ years, i enjoy sitting in the back & "waving".🤣.

A Hello, Vamps, As others have suggested above do this trip DIY, please find attached current ticket price for the cable car.. The basket ride is a fixed price & they will "slightly" pressure you for the picture of you coming down when you reach the end of the run. it is onlyhalf way down , we took some advice from a local when there & took the local bus which stops opp the End of run. about 2 euros i think, which take back down to centre Funchal, which was much faster than the basket ride & more fun.

Good afternoon everyone, Well it is time to for me to come out of the "lurking cabin" I have been in for the past months, the reason is to announce that in 4 days, we shall be heading off down to Southampton to embark Arcadia for the Northern Lights cruise. This will be 3rd time "lucky" as we had it cancelled the last 2 yrs running because of you know what. We were last on board P & O Oceana Sept 19,so exactly 3 yrs since cruising. Starting to place bit & pieces in spare room ready for packing. I shall be writing a review from my perspective in the days ahead, depending on wifi!!. This is not our 1st time up to Norway, having been twice before with HAL. But it is a bucket list cruise to hopefully see & photograph the Northern Lights. We have had our cabin booked for over a year now & we have been given 12.00 noon boarding time. I look forward to sharing my views from onboard in the days ahead.

We are on this Arcadia cruise, But no extra OBC either, maybe because I have already £500+ from my DDS military card.

I think you have already answered the query yourself, i have attached the OBC list from the DDS website, to my knowledge these amounts have been available for some years now. (sorry if wrong way round) had problems with this before.

If I may add a little anecdote to this. I very briefly(about 3 /4 months) worked for Cosmos Holidays in DallasBromley. when I left after my military service. Then in June 1975 I was offered a job working for H A L in America sailing on SS Statendam. Which leads me on to receiving my extra OBC this week for our Arcadia Cruise in October.

If i can add an answer here................. you need to apply to Defence Discount service. register with them & you can use card to apply for extra obc. when you book a cruise. it is offered to Ex MN personnel.

Hello again, I almost forgot, I had the pleasure of looking after the late great George Best 2/3 times not long before he passed. had the try & lose the press following us from chelsea to Heathrow once , not easy but i did it..

Hello Everyone Again, I have been "lurking" since last year after posting lots of the Photos around the world. I do keep up to date with you all, but prefer to just enjoy your posts. So on the subject of above of who i have seen/ met/ stood next to.. may i add my list. I have met Lord Snowden, John Cleese, Brian May & Anita Dobson, Gary Moore(blues guitarist) sadly most of the spice girls, Simon Cowel & Simon Fuller (spice girls manager) Mark Owen (take that) various bands from the late nineties/ 2000s, Bradley Walsh, Des OConnor, Ken Dodd, Vic reeves & bob mortimer, Robson Green& Jerome , Mystic Meg, & lots more comedian's who are now big names but were up & coming when i looked after them...........My job..was for 25yrs a Chauffeur. So the list & my memory is fairly long. Iam retired now, looking forward after 3 yrs to return on board Arcadia in October to Norway.