MellyMoo1989

Evening all! I know I’m getting too far ahead of myself and that my cruise is quite some time away yet (I feel like a child going to Disney, to be honest!) but I was just wondering for those of you who have done British cruises and had Kirkwall as a port of call on your itinerary, was there ever an excursion to tour the Highland Park distillery? My friend who is joining me on the cruise won’t drink any other whisky and I’m sure she would love to be able to walk around it and maybe have a ‘wee dram’ or four! Thanks! ☺️ p.s I’m aware that the distillery is currently closed and having a refurb but this will be completed by the time we go 🙂

I sailed with Thomson in 2011 and they weren't all inclusive as standard. I had to pay for all my drinks. My parents got a free AI upgrade because we were on board at the time of their silver wedding anniversary, as I was in a different cabin and a relatively poor 20 year old with a zero-hour contract bartending job, I couldn't afford the AI upgrade 😞 yet somehow I still didn't break £100 on board spend for the week, and I bought myself two bottles of perfume too! Those were the days!

Having not cruised with P&O before I’ll just take your word for that one but for me, personally, there seems to be a lot of decent offerings and a lot of reasonable substitutions should I drink them dry of pink gin 😂

I don't think as many people as you seem to think will cancel their cruise just because they can't take a litre of spirits on board. People don't go on cruises just to be able to have a drink on their balcony.. Don't get me wrong I'm a bit disappointed I wont be able to take a bottle of Southern Comfort, but I can certainly do without it for two weeks, with the (IMO) generous choices on drinks menus I won't be going thirsty.

So it looks like the no spirits on board is all but official now and straight away people are advising how to get round it or announcing they’ll get spirits on board somehow.. exactly the reason for these new changes, no? A small few trying to dodge the rules and in the end ruin it for everyone else..

I've got in (super) quick and booked my drinks package now, before any increase comes along! It wouldn't surprise me if P&O did do away with the allowance to take spirits on board seeing as so many people think that it's ok to bend the rules to suit themselves when it comes to this, advising people to smuggle more on board etc. .. It seems P&O don't have Southern Comfort on board which is a shame for me and I was considering taking a bottle on board but never mind - at least they have Pink Gin!

I doubt it would get me dancing and I was born in '89 so once I'd gotten over my obsessive Boyzone phase, music became more R&b, Rap and the like.... Give me a bit of Duran Duran or Kenny Loggins any day! Let's hope said DJ's have taken that advice on board (excuse the pun) by next year otherwise I'll be playing my own playlist over my headphones and dancing to that! 😂 Glad you had a good time!

I suppose it's a better way to make sure everyone does it, rather than relying on people to do the right thing and watch the video in the cabin. Reckon they'll let me take a pint with me? 😉

Back to all standing on Deck/sitting in theatre in lifejackets again?

Pink Jammie and a pint? Perfect. 😂

Pop a Babybel on DW's pillow every night...kill two birds with one stone that way. 😉

Thank you! 🙂 From what I can see on the deck plans, we seem to be below deck 16 toilets (next to Ivory Suite)

Hello! Back with my silly questions again! As I may have mentioned before, I'm off on the 10th Anniversary sailing round the British Isles in June next year and will be staying on Deck 15. I've heard that the higher you are on the ship the more motion you feel with some saying "you feel every little bump, wave and breeze" so I was just wondering if anyone has had experience of staying on Deck 15 on a similar cruise and what was it like? Was it really as bad as some seem to suggest? I'm taking plenty of sea-sickness tablets with me just in case as I know the North Sea can be choppy at the best of times and my friend I am going with has never cruised before.. Is it worth breaking her in gently as it were and looking at contacting P&O to see if we can change our cabin? I did have the option to select my own cabin and stayed with the one P&O allocated (A216) but now I'm thinking I wish I had researched a little better! 🤦‍♀️😂

Thank you so much Selbourne & Lady S for taking the time out of your holiday to do the blog for us! I will miss it very much, though! I look forward to hearing your review of Cunard as well. 🙂 If they happen to be aboard the same time as you while on Cunard, I highly recommend going to see a band called The Four D's. I've been lucky enough to see them while in Blackpool a few times and they put on a blinding show. 🙂

Marco's recommendations sound wonderful - apart from the Black Truffle! - I wonder how easy it would be to get it without... and if that's not possible it's getting splatted on to the tablecloth! 😉😂

I heartily reccommend it! 😂

probably. One or two when back on the ship and three in the evening as an example.

I went on a different tack with working things out, I'm going on a 14 day cruise and I'm a girl who likes her lager. If I was to have 4 or 5 lagers throughout the day/evening and a couple of glasses of wine at dinner, every day, without ever ordering anything different, by the end of those two weeks I'd be £51 under the total cost of what it would be if I went for the Classic Package**... For the sake of £51 and the additional bonus of small costa coffees, soft drinks, cocktails, spirits.. it was a no brainer.🙂 ** Basing prices on pints of Birra Moretti & New Zealand Sauv Blanc.

MDR Menus looking much better today! I'd be tempted to try the Clam Chowder... but I'd be too embarrassed to leave it if I didn't like it! 😂

Lovely menu tonight 🙂 Lunch one didn't look too shabby either. Definitley going to be leaving that ship at least 2 stone heavier when it's my turn, ha ha!

We were given the option on our select fare (?) I think to opt for free terminal parking with CPS at Southampton so have gone for that, never used them before but my friend who will be doing the driving seems happy to leave her keys in their care as she says, and I quote "It's one less thing for my clumsy butt to accidentally drop overboard". 😂 Good to hear other people have not had a problem with them either. 🙂

Would you like a bit of pastry with your sugar there Selbourne? 😮😮

Nice looking menu, I'd be very tempted to give the Haggis & Cranachan a go! Hopefully there'll be some sightings of it on my cruise next year.. Actually I would expect there to be considering most of it will be in Scotland!

Not looking for any judgement here please... I'm aware that there is a partially covered smoking area on Deck 16 and a couple on Aft side of Deck 7 near Java/Live Lounge however I'm hearing rumours that when Britannia goes in for her refit in April that the smoking areas are being removed and not being relocated elsewhere? My friend and I both enjoy having the occasional cigarette or vape (especially when drink is involved! 😂) so we'll be a little disappointed if that is the case... was just wondering if anyone else had heard anything about this or are a bit more "in the loop" than I am? Thanks 🙂

That maybe so, and it wouldn't be something that would be easy for my Dad either should he decide to cruise again, but as far as I can see, that wasn't the point of the reason why this thread was started or at least, nothing seemed to suggest it was. It was the fact that someone is choosing to IGNORE an arrival time, turn up early and get on board early because IMO, they seem to have the opinion of "I'm alright Jack". Can you honestly say, that if you were given an embarkation time of say.. 12:30, and someone with an embarkation time of 14:30, turned up at 12pm and got on board before you - just because they have decided that's what they want to do - that you would be ok with it? I'm going to assume it'd be a no... We can "whataboutery" til the cows come home about it but that wasn't the initial point of the thread.