GlasgowGuy

Hi all and a big welcome to Geoff and Stephen.

We're sailing back towards Southampton on the Navigator after a lovely cruise around the Med.

There's been a few LGBT meetings listed in the daily compass and we've met some lovely members of our LGBT family.

We're looking forward to meeting you all. Look out for messages on the passenger bulletin board on deck 5 just adjacent to guest services as often there are notifications from other passengers.

See you all soon guys.

William & Dave

Less than 3 months to go. Kevin and I are really looking forward to this getaway because of the ports and length of this cruise. We are curious whether or not Navigator has LGBTQ meetings posted on the Cruise Compass or bulletin board on sailings from the UK. If they do let's all make a special effort to attend and meet each other. Does anyone know about must see or must do spots in any of the ports? Doug

Hello to niko40 and welcome back to Doug & Kevin,

If Navigator is anything like Independence there will be regular Friends of Dorothy meetings listed in the cruise compass. If not we can arrange our own with a card on the noticeboard near reception. Dave and I have been to all the ports on this cruise many times so feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Looking forward to meeting you and passing on any tips for what to see and do while in port.

Hi there folks!

Anyone else joining us for this 10 night cruise to the Italian Med?

William & Dave

Hello all,

Anyone else coming along to the Italian Med with us?

William & Dave

Just had confirmation from my agent the Indy will not be visiting Le Havre/Paris during this 3 night cruise due to strike action in France. Indy will now be visiting Rotterdam instead.

I've seen my fair share of ignorant and rude fellow passengers, it's as though they leave their manners at home for the duration of the cruise.

On our last P&O cruise I had a "gentleman" behind me on the gangway shouting and swearing at the top of his lungs at security, he blamed them for breaking his wife's camera. He quietened down when I warned him not to shout right in my ear like that ever again.

It amazes me how folk can get through life treating people like that. Roll on Karma!

3 days till our first B2B on Indy :D

I've only ever sailed out of the U.K. On RCI. I'm vegetarian so I can't comment on how the bacon/sausages etc taste but my OH says they're fine. If memory serves there's 2 or 3 types of savage available in the Windjammer at breakfast time, 2 regular and one turkey or chicken sausage.

Anytime we've been onboard The Pie Shop has always been less than busy, overpriced and unappetising. It doesn't look right, all the style and colours ( colors for my North American friends ) you would associate with a bakery and cupcakes but with pies on display :confused: On our last cruise on Indy they had a blackboard with the pie menu written on, no permanent signage, all temporary and easily removed for a quick change back into Cupcake Cupboard. I'll be on Indy on Friday so I'll have another look to see if anything has changed re breakfast.

I have did 27 cruise's and always used a local Travel agent. I have never received reward or something extra. I read the board and see all the people receiving on board credit, extras etc. I want this, how do I get it.

Find a knowledgable agent who offers perks and go from there. Its worth visiting the Future Cruise desk while onboard ship, you'll receive any perks/offers currently available but you'll also be able to pass any booking you make back to your travel agent......benefits and perks from both.

We lock ours up in the safe. Not concerned about the cabin steward, more concerned about someone else walking in and grabbing something that is out in the open while the cabin steward has the cabin door open.

My thoughts exactly. The cabin steward can be out of your cabin for a few minutes, it doesn't sound long but it's long enough for a sneak thief to duck in and pocket any valuables. We always lock phones/tablets/cameras in the safe. It's a tight squeeze but we're old hands at Tetris so we manage :)

i was just wondering what thoughts were on purchasing the drinks package on longer cruises. Im booked on Voyager in October for 16 nights. The longest cruise I've done before this is 9 nights. I'm concerned that after a week I will be over drinking.

Hmmm, 16 nights with a drinks package is quite an expense. See how you go for the first few days and check your onboard account, if it looks like you'll save money with the package then go for it. If you're on a port intensive cruise you'll find that you're hardly onboard long enough to benefit from the initial expense of the drinks package.

We much prefer breakfast in the MDR but prefer not to share a table. We've met some wonderful people onboard ships and made some great friendships but breakfast time is far too early for small talk. Often during a cruise we have dinner with new friends but I couldn't subject anyone to my morning moans and groans. I find that I can't hear others speak over the noise from my toast saw anyway ;)

A huge thanks to the poster who mentioned thick toast....I never knew it existed!

Hello gents. We are Kevin & Doug from Florida and have booked Navigator Sept 29. We will fly from Amsterdam to Southampton on Flybe and back to Amsterdam after the cruise. Have you ever ended a cruise in Southampton? We are trying to decide whether we should book our return at 920 or 1315, depending on departure from the ship and transfer time to the airport. Looking forward to meeting you both.

Hello there!

We have ended many cruises in Southampton, 14 at last count if memory serves. You may find that a 09:20 flight out of Southampton may be too early factoring in the need to be there at least an hour before. If you are taking all your own bags off the ship you can leave as soon as we've cleared and the gangways are attached. If not its luck of the draw what disembarkation slot you'll get. The 13:15 flight may be a better option, you won't need to rush and you'll have some breathing space should anything unforeseen arise.

Do you have a same day connection back to the U.S or are you staying in Amsterdam for a few days? We love Amsterdam, one of our favourite European cities. If you have the opportunity I would have a few days there either side of your cruise.

We're looking forward to meeting you guys too.

William & Dave

The scanners can accommodate a medium sized suitcase. I take a Kilter carry case onboard which is pretty large and I've never had an issue. Double bag your costume in dry cleaner sleeves, you can lay your costume flat on the conveyer belt yourself so you should have no problems.

Excellent, a necessary change.

OP, I wouldn't worry too much at all about your husband wearing a light coloured suit, I've seen many wearing light colours on formal night so it won't be an issue. Taking it to the other extreme we had a diner at nearby table onboard Arcadia who wore his hoodie, when I asked about formal wear and dining room requirements on the way out of the restaurant, the reply I was given by a crew menber was "It's his cruise sir" :(

Enjoy your cruise, you'll meet nice folk and have a brilliant time.

It was certainly fast enough for me to Skype/FaceTime without any distortion or disconnections. By far the fastest internet at sea.

Thanks to Cruise Critic we have become Cruise Addicts and did this the right way. We were Platinum for only one Cruise then became Emerald for this Cruise and the Next then Diamond.

I'm sure you and your parents will enjoy Diamond status immensely when you reach it. It's a nice little bonus for being loyal to the brand. My partner and I would cruise RCL all the time if we could but they only sail out of the U.K from April to October so it's taken us a while to climb the loyalty ladder. Hopefully D+ in 2019.

Enjoy your cruises!

The buffet on our recent cruise on the Ventura was probably the worst buffet we have ever had out of 10 cruises we have taken . It was not just one or two items but a series of them almost throughout the entire 2-weeks cruise.

I wholeheartedly agree. It was by far the worst we've experienced. I had a meeting with the F&B manager but all I received was spin. It can only improve, there's very little room left for the quality to decline any further.

Ooooo, its quiet in here. :)

Just a wee bump up the list :D

Does P&O have Twiglets snack-sticks on board?

Yum.

You'll find snack items available in the onboard shop but the prices are extortionate compared to land based stores. Pack a supply just in case :)

I would have to say that in our opinion P&O take loyalty for granted. We sail P&O for the itinerary but if RCL has a similar one we will choose them first every time. P&O would see a decline is passenger numbers if RCL decide to bring a ship back to the U.K for year round sailing.

Gone are the days we looked forward to fine dining and wonderful buffets on P&O, it's now all about the ports for us. The OBC does tend to be higher on P&O but compared to the perks we get on other lines there's no comparison.

Re cost cutting. Without seeing P&O figures we will never have a definitive answer, all I can base my assumption of cost cutting on is the quality and variety of food available. If I look back at menus and pics from our early P&O forays and compare then to our last cruise on Ventura.....it's like chalk and cheese.

We've noticed a decline in food onboard not just in the buffet but in all venues. Ventura being the worst by far, they would be as well not bothering with the late snacks as they were dire.

Hoping for improvements on future cruises :(

Hello!

Anyone else booked on this cruise?