Coravel

Try turning the temperature down before you go for your evening meal. It can take longer than you expect for the cabin to get cold. Make sure your cabin maid doesn't increase it when you are away. If she does just ask her to leave it on the setting you have chosen.

We were supposed to be going to Israel, Egypt and Algeria on the Bollette on February 25th but they soon changed it to Majorca and Croatia at the first sign of trouble. Personally I like a bit of adventure but FOCL won't take risks and I don't blame them.

I forgot that insurance is included! That's a great saving.

I welcome that development as much to my wife's annoyance I'm a very fussy eater and find fault with much of what's served up for Dinner. Breakfast and lunch is fine. My wife will eat anything that's put in front of her so has no problem at all with the food.

If it's not safe to go, FOCL won't take you there. They always err on the side of caution. It's a shame their information department is not forthcoming but it's always been thus.

But I've been told you get free taxis to the port, free WiFi, free excursions and free drinks packages. Never been on one so don't take my word for it!

I will be very happy when smoking on balconies is no longer allowed. We recently had a junior suite on the Bollette but couldn't use the balcony because the person in the cabin next to us chain smoked. Whenever we opened the balcony door our cabin would fill up with smoke. Fortunately my wife's twin sister had a junior suite on the opposite side so we were able to share her balcony when the weather was suitable.

I think Covid put paid to all those theme nights that we enjoyed so much. At least we didn't hear about a single Covid isolation on this cruise and there weren't too many coughers either.

We were on the 3 ship meetup in Funchal and there were no theme nights at all. No British night and no Halloween either. Fortunately we were on the Bollette which made all the ports.

It will say on your pass card where your muster station is and you can ask any crew member to assist you in locating it. No need to take your lifejacket.

Yes, aka Wizard of Oz. I've also seen Friends of Bill W which refers to Alcoholics Anonymous. All these specialist gatherings may be under the radar but might still be available if you enquire at Reception. The Freemasons gatherings are not mentioned in the Daily Times anymore yet on my last cruise a table companion told us he had attended one that afternoon.

They used to call it "Friends of Dorothy" but they don't seem to advertise it since Covid. But we have seen lots of gay couples on board.

When we first started cruising we often had quite good upgrades, particularly on the Black Watch. When we celebrated our 40th Anniversary they upgraded us from a deck 9 cabin on the Balmoral to a suite on deck 10. But it took another 12 years before we had another (small) upgrade on the Bollette. Since they had been holding our money for two years and had completely changed the itinerary it was a bit of an insult.

Sorry to learn about your health problems Barbara and I hope all will be well for you on the 9th. This forum would not be the same without you.

Many thanks for the heads up Eglesbrech.

I think the company they use is CMA Travel Management Solutions which is very efficient. They don't want to hear from you until a few weeks before you cruise. They will send a local taxi company to collect you then a Southampton company to take you back home.

I've heard that Tui has scrapped all Covid paperwork on boarding and wonder if FOCL has followed suit?

When we were on the Bolette in June we were given an adapted cabin as some sort of upgrade but it didn''t have any extra space as far as I could see. Maybe the bathroom had a better layout but don't get too excited about it!

I have a feeling that Peru might also be cancelled from the Antarctica cruise because the Foreign Office is advising caution owing to civil unrest after the ousting of the President on December 7th. This could turn into a round Britain cruise!

It appears that the price of drinks has gone up recently. Two glasses of wine that previously cost £10.90 are now £12.

Trust me, you won't need it. If the one restaurant is full the one opposite will have tables. They have a shared buffet. For some reason many passengers don't seem to know about these restaurants and simply stick with the main one on deck 6. The Avon and Spey have good views and are very light and airy.

You can also go to the Avon or Spey restaurants on Deck 10 where there are lots of tables for two. We recently disembarked from a 28 night cruise and hardly ever sat at a larger table apart from our evening meal in the main restaurant. The food upstairs is usually better anyway.

We are going to the Adriatic hence the difference. Thanks for pointing that out Shower from the East.

We have received a letter from FOCL to say that they now only require passengers to take a lateral flow test 24 hours before embarkation but proof of a negative test must be provided upon checking in. This must be the spent test cartridge - a photo won't do. Not sure how that would make things any safer as it would be easy to submit someone else's negative test instead! They will take a few random tests at the port but anyone who turns up without proof of a negative test will be charged £25 each. Face masks are no longer required by passengers or crew but can be worn by those who feel more comfortable wearing one. I see this as good news and more in line with what we were used to before the virus struck.

During the past 10 months we've slept in three different cabins on the Bolette and all would have been very quiet if it hadn't been for bawdy behaviour by Fred Olsen staff late at night.