arxcards

In the past I would do that on the non-benny days. I am amazed at my level of restraint. 😁

Not showing on the app or cabin TV. We will be having lunch there tomorrow, so can get photos then.

Take care, and I hope hubby stays on top his symptoms and gets well soon. There are no requirements for screening tests, and they will only test people who are presenting with symptoms + cabin contacts. People with minor symptoms can freely walk around untested, sharing it. Coughing is also on the rise on Majestic ATM, and no masks required. We are 1/2 way through 11 nights, but wonder how this is going to look by the end too. Not just the coughing, but the cough etiquette is generally really bad too.

How was the French restaurant last night?

It could be longer. You need to test negative to come out of cabin isolation.

The opposite is happening on Ovation. The quarantine deck has insides & outsides. So even if you booked a suite, your isolation is indoors.

Barb loves her mangos, and her mango margaritas

Can't quite work out what it is, but there is something Majestic about Princess eggs benny.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. After all, you can't get sick from numbers. Just take the precautions you need.

Your friend needs to go down to the crew decks, so that we can get an accurate count. 🤣 The obligation for them to announce covid being present is at 3%, so I suspect it something like that - would kick in somewhere around 80 passengers/crew.

Today is a wonderful. Today is a warm and calm sea day. Today starts with eggs benedict.

At 3% infection (the old orange status), the ship is required to inform passengers. I am thinking you might be there abouts. Ovation is the place to be for covid ATM.

Yes, they were for us. We told them on the app, and they also asked us if we had tested negative in the terminal. The photo proof is randomly sought. We are not required to wear masks, and we are largely going with that recommendation. Inside of a tender is the only place we feel compelled to wear one. We face more risk in our jobs, and have no more cruises till February, and are less risk adverse.

The last time we cruised with them, a few years back, the wine options were extensive, and the food was a rung above Princess. That should be a tick for you. Christmas/New Years on HAL should be awesome. If you book and our dollar slides, it is tough to get value. But if our dollar climbs after booking, it is better bang for your buck. I feel their ships are comfortable, restrained, and I feel they are a lot like what Princess used to be. As we age disgracefully, we are likely to spend quite a bit more time on HAL.

99 bottles of grog on the wall .... I did try to count them, but got stuck in the 40's. Good Spirits at Sea Bar staff are very helpful in helping us try to drink the menu over 11 nights.

1.2 metres at peak tide, I believe. Looked ample from the promenade deck of Majestic on Thursday.

The dietary stuff falls with the head waiters. Let them know you aren't happy..

We may have sat nearby at lunch yesterday, while the waiters struggled to find a GF order in Concerto. We have enjoyed our meals there, but no comparison to Crown Grill. We are trying the French one tomorrow night. We have a bit of OBC left, and will decide on which restaurant will get another booking. I figured UBD still wasn't being offered because of covid, but after hearing about staff shortages on P&O, that could also be an issue.

Hi Anna, Great to hear from you. The sun did have a bit of bite today, so we bought some hats in the markets. As mentioned, boarding is chosen on the app when you tick down to 59 days. That all works fine and good, and on most days boarding has started early and it has been an open boarding flowing through the terminal. This embarkation was was delayed, so that threw up some problems (as it always does). Some terminal staff were accepting the - "I have priority boarding" rule, while other terminal staff were applying the boarding group letter only. It led to a few frustrated people that we saw, and we were near the front of a long queue. I can't imagine how pi$$ed some way back in the queue were feeling about it. We have the best of both worlds, both having priority on the old system, and being savvy enough with the new system. Still, after boarding on Thursday, I consider it to be grossly unfair to a large group of loyal cruisers, and suite passengers, to tell them they only have priority when they come back 3hrs after boarding has started - that is not priority boarding. This is where having the app makes a difference. Those that just showed up with paper copies, even elites, were being turned away and told to come back at 4pm. Personally, I think all elites and full suites should be the only ones to have access to group A, platinum and club-class to groupB, then the app savvy can fight over C & D.

Melts in your mouth.

Given a choice of contracts in multiple countries and multiple ships, it seems P&O is not first prize for money and/or workload.

I love my bacon the US way, fully tortured till it can't take any more. Barb was not enjoying hers, so she told the water she doesn't like it crispy. He responded, you want English bacon? Barb is more than happy with that, akin to what we have at home.

The tender life - say ahh

I don't sense snobbery, but there is a disparity in the plus and Premier packages when it comes to wines. You can drink 100 different cocktails with plenty of them having upper shelf sprits in them. For wine on the package, the choice is far more limited. I thought the Pinot was OK, but Barb doesn't like it. She quite likes the rose and the cab shiraz. Sitting around Good Spirits last night, and I can see why the by-the-glass options are limited - there is barely enough room at the bar for the bottles they have. More variety means every bar needs to stock it, and that might not be physically possible.

We have arrived to a calm morning in Airlie Beach, and I think the weather is still making up its' mind. Being naughty this morning, typing from the breakfast table. Just passing the time - service soooo slow. Even though seated at a table for two, your dining pace is set by the other twin tables around you, as they work their way through bowls of museli & stewed prunes - very P&O. When they eventially get to their bacon & eggs, you get to have yours too. Listening to the conversations around me, most people are pretty happy today, and you learn all sorts of things. My favourite this morning - we thought Airlie Beach was just a beach, but apparently some people live there. Sadly, it was spoken in an Aussie accent.