Eglesbrech

I’m sure they are open now, the smiley was to indicate a joke. Like you once I’m on holiday I enjoy it, whatever it is. A day on any ship is better than cooking, cleaning etc at home? A discussion on a cruise forum is a different matter.

Indeed, we don’t all like the same things.

If Epicurian and Sindhu are open😀. Our last few P&O cruises we mostly booked the speciality restaurants and they are very good. For the odd cruise in the quiet season we would still book P&O, your comments on comparative pricing is spot on. For main holidays we would now go elsewhere. To each their own and many people clearly enjoy the new offering. You don’t tend to miss what you never had.

Go for it!

Tried the wall once, once was quite enough!

Personally I have moved on but for standards, not any sense of elitism. Respectfully, I don’t agree that only the new generation should get to decide. Turn that statement round and there would be complete outrage. Age discrimination however seems to be last of the acceptable ”isms”

I could live with the older Fred ships in a suite if the suite offering was better. I don’t mind paying for example for the Retreat on Celebrity as there is added value in terms of the services offered to suite guests. They could create the equivalent of Luminae in the smaller restaurants. On Fred once you step out of your suite, which is not the plushest on the market, then you get exactly the same as someone paying a last minute saver fare for a few hundred pounds when you have paid a few thousand. There is a lot of competition and the main USPs for Fred (imo) are the interesting itinerary’s and regional departures. Princess now offer some of the more interesting places to see and the new Ambassador ships are doing regional departures so there is more competition now than ever. If they want my business in a higher priced cabin then I expect more for my money than just a slightly bigger cabin. Otherwise I can get the small ship experience with the big ship facilities in a ship within a ship in the Retreat, the Haven, the Yacht club etc.

I agree, pricing is an issue. We booked a cruise recently and the price dropped just a few days later which is really annoying, to the extent that we are putting off booking another one we had planned. Once bitten twice shy. Im sure someone booking when the brochures came out is paying even more than I am and will be equally peeved. We only book Fred to avoid the long drive south so “regional” departures are an essential and I’m sure I’m not alone in that point of view. New management please note, if regional departures go and we have to travel anyway then we have wider choices and Fred would not be the first choice. On every other line we travel in a balcony or suites but I can’t bring myself to pay the inflated prices on Fred for what is just a very basic balcony cabin. We did buy a “suite” once and it was just a glorified balcony and no extras (the suite dreams package is poor, no enhanced menus or services that I could see for the much higher price). I do like the more unusual itinerary’s.

So do MSC regularly change booked and confirmed cabins? We are looking for them first time so any insight would be appreciated. The OPs post has given me pause for thought. I’ll be interested to see if they manage to get a satisfactory outcome.

Same for Emerald in late October which has gone way up in price but is at the moment half empty? Lots of free cabins but price hike overnight.

I miss what it was as well, I know the world moves on but in terms of cruising it’s not an improvement imo. I have been exploring other lines as for me things are being watered down just too much and I don’t mind paying a bit more. MSC is wintering from Southampton so no flying and while the main ship doesn’t appeal, the Yacht Club does.

I think that on balance I would rather have my cruise cancelled than get onboard and find that I didn’t get what I expected and paid for. While cancellations are always disappointing perhaps they are a better approach than selling “business as usual” and not delivering it eg closed restaurants, reduced services.

It’s always possible but then the same is possible walking along a corridor in a school, office, supermarket isle etc with people who don’t have to isolate now under current guidance, even if they are well aware that they are positive. Cruise ships are at least trying to reduce risk as as far as possible. It’s not perfect but then nothing is against this virus.

They are neither really. It’s a cabin with patio doors that open right out onto the promenade deck. The glass is one way for privacy and the cabins have allocated deck loungers.

I don’t tend to worry about Andy and Jane quite so much as they tend to pop in at out, particularly Andy when he is busy at work. There are a few who have dropped away, life is perhaps more normal so folks have less free time.

Harry has been a bit quiet recently for a good few weeks and I haven’t seen much of Avril. Have just missed their posts?

I used to hate getting hand me downs. I was the youngest and got all my older sister / cousins clothes. I can’t remember getting much that was just mine apart from underwear and my Guide uniform. Its fine for older siblings as they get the new stuff and get to pick a style that suits them. While as an adult I obviously understand the economics of why it happens, as a child I always thought it was so very unfair.

Are you there at the moment? If so I recommend you try cafe fish which is not far from the harbour. The best seafood you can get and fresh out of the water.

Other lines seem to be managing it?

When is Labour Day please? (And what is it)

If all the little niceties of cruising are systematically cut away then it is no more or less than a floating hotel. To be honest that’s where it seems to be heading, for P&O at least. I understand that it is insignificant to some and that’s fine for them but when they cut something you value, then you might get it.

Travis has the official anthem for outdoor concerts up here, everyone knows all the words. Watch the Gastonberry video, it did rain on him!

I’m glad you were able to answer the OP Barbara. It’s been a while since we had a guarantee so I wasn’t sure if my information was up to date but my last was just as you describe above in terms of being allocated a cabin.

Like you we have had plenty of rain, a couple of days ago it was so heavy it was bouncing off the pavement. I keep seeing all these headlines about heatwaves and droughts. Right now here it is cloudy and threatening yet more rain.

Bon voyage Sharon.