SeaJane

We also had thick fog here in Polzeath this morning. It’s now cleared, but still very grey and gloomy. Sunshine is promised for tomorrow and it’s looking much better for next week too. Just hope the forecast is right for a change!

There is only one narrow road that runs through Polzeath. They repainted the lines on the road leading down into the village before Easter, but were unable to complete the job due to the awful weather. Over the Easter holiday cars were parking on both sides making it very difficult to get through even in a normal car. There is no excuse for the inconsiderate drivers as there are plenty of car parks in Polzeath, but of course they charge ………

We are currently staying in Polzeath (a couple of miles from Rock). We’ve eaten in the Mariners many times over the years, but have not been there since Paul Ainsworth bought it - he’s certainly put the prices up, but the food looks delicious. We’ve also eaten at Rick Stein’s St Petroc’s In Padstow on several occasions and found the lunch menu very good. The weather has been windy with heavy showers for the last couple of weeks here and sadly we didn’t get to see the eclipse last night due to thick cloud. After last night’s storm, strong winds and torrential rain today is bright and sunny although still very windy. The sea looks spectacular, but it’s a day best enjoyed from indoors rather than walking the cliff paths!

That’s one of our regular walks - we were there on Monday. Our other favourite is around Denbies vineyard as it’s been much drier during this wet weather!

Am I right in thinking this is looking at Tanners Hatch from Polesden Lacey?

Completely agree. We like a few drinks, but do not do specialist coffees, juices or buy water. We always have a bottle of wine with dinner and a few glasses of wine or beer for OH at other times on a sea day. When in port we usually use the local restaurants or cafes. For us the drinks package isn’t worth it. For a family with children having a lot of soft drinks as well I can understand it totally makes sense.

Thank you @mrsgoggins for your interesting blog. Our longest cruise so far has been 22 days and I’ve often thought about a longer trip to visit further afield. Reading blogs such as yours gives food for thought!

We met Ian and his wife on our first cruise on Adonia in 2012. He was a very amusing guest speaker and they were both lovely friendly people.

We had already booked internet for our October cruise at 15% off plus our loyalty discount. With this new offer we have cancelled and rebooked with the additional discount.

Many thanks for your review - an interesting read.

You are absolutely right - we also have a relatively short journey to Southampton in comparison with many CC posters.

We have a tracker on our vehicle so we know where it is kept. We generally have longer cruises and my husband regularly checks on the location etc whilst we are away.

We always use CPS. It may not be the cheapest, but the service is excellent and we need to know our car is being kept safe and secure so for us it’s worth the extra cost.

We had this one on Ventura in May. It was the first time we had seen one since our first cruises in 2012.

Me too! It drives me mad and I’ve been told that it is now often not only allowed, but taught in schools. I accept that language changes and adapts through time, but “haitch” is just wrong!

Many thanks again @Eddie99 I’ve really enjoyed coming with you on your cruise and reading about your experiences.

Happy anniversary Avril and Frank 🥳🥂 Hope you have enjoyed celebrating with your family.

@Eddie99 thanks so much for your great blog. We have friends joining Iona today for her next cruise so I’ve enjoyed getting a flavour of what they can look forward to.

We like both ships in particular as they are adults only. Having tried Ventura, it was not for us so we are back to these two as our preferred P&O ships. We like the theatre on Arcadia and enjoy meals in Ocean Grill. We also think the flow of the ship is better. However, we usually book a suite and prefer those on Aurora as well as enjoying having a permanent Glass House and a much better cinema. Overall we have a slight preference for the feel of Aurora, but in the end choose due to dates/itinerary. This year we have booked Arcadia as the particular cruise suits us, but next year we are back on Aurora.

@Selbourne thank you for your continued posts I’m enjoying following your progress and so sorry to hear about the poor weather you have experienced. Captain Robson was in charge when we were on Aurora for 19 nights in October and we were very disappointed in his lack of visibility and failure to provide information. He would broadcast as we left a port, but not on sea days and when we experienced 3 days of force 10 and massive seas on the return to Southampton we heard nothing from him. We spoke to a lot of passengers who were inexperienced cruisers and very worried about how the ship would cope with the weather. The Captain could easily have reassured and allayed fears by providing more and better information. Various other captains we have sailed with in the past have made a point of making daily announcements - Robert Camby and Neil Turnbull in particular come to mind.

So they’ll presumably be cancelling the 3 night (13th - 16th) Guernsey cruise as well.

Our first cruise was to the fjords on her in 2012 and got us hooked on cruises! We then did 19 nights to the Med on her in an aft suite a few years later which was lovely. We certainly noticed her pitching a lot when we sailed through a storm, but we loved that she was able to visit the more unusual small ports.

We were in a suite on Ventura last May and Aurora in October. On both ships we had nightly turndown apart from the day of embarkation.

Just caught up on everything. @Adawn47 so pleased to hear the good news about Frank - I can only imagine how relieved you must both be. Hope you have a lovely relaxing weekend.

@Eddie99 and @Presto2 - hope you both have a fabulous time on your cruises with lots of lovely sunshine.