Slugsta

Sadly, I fear that you are right.

They take your cabin number at the desk, presumably they tie that in with your dining allocation?

I am so sorry to hear this terrible news and am thinking of you and your family.

I don't think that Noro is any more prevalent on FO than other lines. P+O had cases on Iona earlier this year . . .

Pearls are for daytime darling, diamonds for dinner don't ya know! 😆

We disembarked QV 2 days ago (still dealing with the washing mountain) and open dining worked well for us. Some friends had booked a time on the first night but were told they had to queue with everyone else, so didn't bother again. As it happened, the only real queue was on that first night, I think we might have waited about 10 minutes. After that, we were seated quickly each night. We tried to use the app on the first night but got a message saying that we could not be accommodated so just went along to the Britannia. We didn't even try to use the app for meals on other occasions. We like to share tables and deliberately dined with the same people several times - we all turned up together and requested a table for 8. The dining room was pretty full most times we were there, although numbers dwindled after about 9pm. We found that eating around 7.30 got us to the theatre in good time for the 10pm show. Leaving it til 8pm was a bit of a push when we had a large table but we still got seats. We didn't rush through the meal and spent a lot of time chatting, we could have been faster if we had chosen to do so. In summary, the open dining worked very well for us.

Indeed, especially as pads are not used solely for menstruation.

I was an only child and didn't get chickenpox when I was young. I did catch it as an adult (from a patient with shingles) and was quite unwell, so I really feel sorry for the crew who are affected. It's a miserable illness, even for those who don't develop complications. I have read that people, such as teachers, in regular contact with children tend to be less prone to shingles, this article seems to back that up https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2020/adult-exposure-chickenpox-linked-lower-risk-shingles-does-not-provide-full As an aside, the oldest (not immunocompromised) person I have seen with chickenpox was in her 80s!

Yes, we have taken my electric wheelchair in a non-accessible cabin on P+O, it is scooters that have to be in accessible canins. Old Stavanger is pretty hilly and has some cobbles but there is a flat path around the bay to the oil museum.

None in our cabin on Iona at the end of January. I completely agree that one shouldn't have to ask.

@Lucysnan Welcome to Cruise Critic. I hope you have a wonderful time, first cruises are always special.

Well, to be fair, 3035 is quite a long way off . . .😉

I didn't get one after either of our last 2 cruises (which were the only ones we have taken since the start of the pandemic).

We live an hour or so from Southampton so are happy not to be first onboard, but would still not be happy with a 4pm boarding time as it leaves so little room for manoeuvre. As it is, we have a leisurely morning, collect our house/cat sitter and then are ready to leave. Any boarding time much beyond lunchtime leaves us sitting around at home, twiddling our thumbs, looking at the clock every 5 minutes and getting restless.

We have 4 in 16 days on Queen Vic, departing in 8 days time 🙂 We both enjoy the formal evenings and are sad that they seem to be reducing even on Cunard.

I'm also looking forward to a break from hay fever. Also to having a couple of weeks without cooking, washing up or other chores.

Post #16 probably explains why!

Thanks for the update. I'm glad that you enjoyed your cruise after all the aggravation.

One cruise on Oriana, there was a glitch with the door which would almost close and then swing open again. It made things 'interesting' but, fortunately, was easily fixed.

This seems to have passed me by, had I not read this I would probably have thrown away anything I might have found!

No, gratuities are currently $14.50 per person per night in the Britannia restaurant (ie, basic cabins ).

The other thing I would urge is using whatever assistive devices you need before you become too exhausted/sore/etc. I would rather use my chair to get somewhere and then enjoy myself, rather than wearing myself out getting there and being in too much pain to enjoy myself.

We are back in Helsinki in May and our ship is overnighting there. We have been to the church in the rock and the island fortress so are looking for something else to do - especially in the evening. We don't really want to take out a mortgage for an evening meal and are not into clubs ( my hubby is in his 70's, I'm in my 60's and we both like classical music). Any suggestions please?

I am so sorry that some of us are still subjected to prejudice simply for who we are 😥 @ged1967 Your story reminds me of my mother when we were on a coach holiday together - On the coach behind us were 2 men and across the aisle 2 women, all of similar ages. Mum had assumed they were 2 straight couples travelling together, the women sitting together to natter and the men relegated to the other seats (I confess that was also my first thought). One day, the men were on the coach but not the ladies. 'Oh' says Mum, 'The wives are not here today'. I replied that we had been mistaken and the gentlemen were travelling together (after all, I had no idea of their actual relationship). 'Yes' says Mum 'Their wives are not here today' so I repeated that the gentlemen were travelling together. It took about 4 of these exchanges, Mum - being a little deaf - not speaking quietly and me trying to make myself heard (in both senses) before the penny dropped. She blustered a bit and said that what other people do was not her business. The gentlemen concerned just smiled quietly . . .

I certainly found both Arcadia and Iona to be quite chilly.