davecttr

Yes, storage is needed for when supply exceeds demand and a back up production in case the demand exceeds the supply. Imagine a February day with no winds blowing and cloudy sky. Apparently in norway the domestic electricty costs about 6p per kilowatt-hour with a 90% government subsidy if the price goes higher. Example - 100KwH would cost £6 but if the price increased to 12p per KwH the 100KwH would rise to £6.60

There is no problem with electricity supply in Norway. They have an amazing amount of hydro power generation. Apparently in some parts of Norway such as Bergen they even had a negative price so you were being paid to consume electricity. Mega ships have a problem with zero emission propulsion but much smaller ships not so much, sorry, zero emission of anything the ship produces whilst the ship is in the restricted area. I was lucky in visiting Svalbard on Fred Olsen this summer. We had about 1000 passegers but that won't be allowed in the future. Apparently no more than a total of 200 passengers per day will be allowed to land. so no cruise ships just SMALL exhibition type ships. Imagine what Palma Majorca is like with up to 5 cruise berths available.

I cheked the cabin humidity throughout a 14 night cruise. It stayed in the low 40% which is fine for me.

...and you can get there from Carlisle using your English senior bus pass.

IMO the worst buffet in the P&O fleet. Two problems come to mind. 1. Arcadia has no senior staff mess so part of the seating and serveries is cordoned off in the evening. 2. Numbers of lower staff grades that are allowed to eat in the buffet can arrive like a plague of locusts and strip the serveries of the best food. Ever had beef in black bean sauce without any beef? The beef had been fished out of the sauce by 3 staff members. How about the last two sandwiches being taken by a staff member, when I complained he put one back, with his hand. Passengers should ALWAYS get priority, after all we are PAYING.

Another bad for Virgin could be experiencing US immigration. Marella and Virgin are in different market sectors with Virgin being more upmarket.

I can see a future where large cruise ships will be barred from entering any fjords, leaving P&O offering cruises to the fjords but not in them. Not fjord ports include Alesund, Kristiansund, Bergen (with bridge), Stavanger (with narrow harbour), Haugosund (the worst IMO), etc etc, What will P&O do with the likes of Iona then?

You could try booking a taxi before boarding to meet you when you disembark.

I works on my Samsung tablet and Samsung Smartphone, neither of which have a phone SIM installed. The connection is via WiFi.

I noticed that Arcadia is berthed at the deep water port, several miles from town. Is there a shuttle provided and is there anything interesting there?

Equally bad Ceasar and Brutus were visiting Dover, Brutus asked Ceasar the name of the road to London, Ceasar replied A2 Brutus. 🥳

More on BP tablets. There have been numerous problems with supply and on my return from Norway last month I had 1 tablet left. The surgery had said they would try to sort it before I returned. They sorted it, I have collected 3 prescriptions in the last 10 days and possess 20 weeks supply 🥳

I take a few boxes of loperimide as I have had IBS for a number of years and I use it as a prophylactic when travelling or going on an excursion etc. I also only go on long excursions if I know there are decent toilets available. BTW buy the supermarkets own brand, it is the same drug and dose and a LOT cheaper.

For a 16 night cruise on Arcadia I will take 2 pairs of 'trainers' and a pair of waterproof walking shoes. For trainers read casual shoes. No formal nights for me.

Ha Ha very funny NOT

Arcadia in August, formal night with a smart light linen jacket, black trousers and shoes plus shirt and tie, what's my chance of dining?

To make it worse IMO Arcadia has the worst buffet in the P&O fleet. So much so that I am seriously considering taking a smart linen jacket (not the creased variety) on my August cruise and wear it with black trousers and a shirt/tie, it is after all summer.

That perfectly healthy person could be carrying viral particles about their person. Apparently it is possible to be infectious a short time before symptoms appear

Because norovirus is spread by touching contaminated surfaces and it only takes a few viral particles to infect someone. My experience was cabin sanitation was cursory with several areas missed, possibly because there was no supervisor present to ensure the job was done properly.

IMO EVERYONE in the cabin should be isolated if norovirus is involved. Also buffets should be serving plated food at all times

Apparently hand washing does not kill Norovirus, nor does antiviral foams. Proper hand washing helps by washing the viral particles down the plug hole and then dry with paper towels. If using the buffet don't touch the serving utensils, I use fresh paper towels. Don't eat anything that a passenger could have touched such as bread rolls etc. On board remedial measures don't work well as EVERYONE in an infected cabin needs to be isolated and in my experience cabin sanitation was perfunctory with some surfaces and drawer handles etc missed, basically the 'team' needs a supervisor present to ensure they do it properly

Try as soon as they open in the morning

All in forward part of the ship Decks 4, 8, 9, 15, 16 and 2 on 17

Is the onboard policy on cabin isolation still the same? If one person in a cabin is infected and isolated surely other occupants should be confined as well. Having them wander the ship spreading the disease does not help.

Yes, the cabins have a different bed location depending on whether the bathroom is on the left or right of the door as you enter the cabin, the bed is either next to the wardrobes giving limited access or next to the balcony door. The cabins are not rectangular but have a narrow section which allows for squeezing in extra cabins.