Harry Peterson

Saga specialise in toe injuries…..convalescence rather than donations.

Assuming good weather, all of them are delightful just to wander around in, with plenty of wheelchair-friendly walking. Madeira has some incredible gardens, but wheelchair access might be problematic - it would need checking. Arrecife isn’t everyone’s first choice, but it’s still worth a bit of time, and there’s an excellent gelato and coffee place on the walk from the ship to the town if you’re into decent gelati!

Let’s hope so. I did hear a suggestion that @wowzz had run away with @Roger88on a late life Easy Rider thing, but probably just another internet rumour.

You'll be being picked up very soon and must be very excited! Enjoy the journey - and have a really wonderful cruise. Look forward to hearing all about it!

Cunard’s still doing proper talks, then. Good to hear. Rula Lenska - the wonderful Rock Follies!

This is true, though there is a real cost in the shape of lost income from the cabin of course. The other notional cost is the potentially lost income from other chargeable activities while passengers are happily listening to a 'free' lecture. It may be of course that the P&O demographic has changed, so that typical passengers no longer want the sort of 'educational' talks that used to feature; Swan Hellenic used to excel in this area.

Thanks. I’ll be following with interest, particularly as we’re considering moving to Saga from many years of P&O.

Came across this today. I think I can guess what’s occupying @wowzz’s time! https://powerwash-simulator.square-enix-games.com/en-gb/

Goodness……we’re fellow Which? subscribers too! I’d be inclined to ring them, explain what happened, and ask whether they’ll do the 50% offer for you. It’s still a lucrative sideline for them, and better than maybe getting nothing. Home made Christmas cake here too, but my role is only a VERY passive one!

Not cruised since 2019, and things have changed a lot, but we did like Azura - and the sister ship Ventura. The MDR was fine, but for a really special meal, excellent service and ambience, I'd recommend the Epicurean at a supplementary charge. Others who've cruised more recently may disagree though - for the first time ever I've seen a few negative reports.

Thanks for that. Funnily enough, the thing we miss most might well align with yours - the removal of most of the speakers that made helped sea days pass quickly. We’re not lovers of sea days, but the wide range of really good, well qualified speakers on interesting topics such as the history of cruise ships, films and the English legal system kept us very happy. All of these sessions were well attended, so their removal was simply an economy. We were also disappointed with the failure to keep the ships up to the standard we’d grown to expect from P&O. The suites used to be nigh on faultless, but they became tired and shabby, complete with plumbing issues. No issues with the food, as it was, but I’ve not been impressed by some of the reports I’ve seen - I’m glad your experience was positive though. We’ve been unable to cruise since 2019 for health reasons - simply too crowded, enclosed and therefore high risk of infection. The people who put us on to P&O in the first place have all now defected, some to Saga and some to Celebrity. Our next cruise, subject to the NICE approval of one particular drug, will probably be with Saga because it’s got to be right after all this time! Having said that, thanks for the suggestions - nothing’s ever ruled out. We weren’t very keen on the idea of cruising at all originally, but after the first one we were converts.

Sorry to hear that. I think you’re one of an increasing number moving away from P&O, and I’m probably another after years and years with them, very happily. Are you switching allegiance, or stopping cruising altogether?

Was this the ‘bunny run’?

I think you’d enjoy that programme, Avril, if you get the chance. It’s all about the ‘old’ Barnsley. And I entirely understand why you’re passionate about it. I’m much the same about Colchester and Ipswich. South Yorkshire wasn’t exactly flavour of the month in the 80s and 90s - the Wirral rather more so! Some interesting videos online about the centre of Barnsley in the 60s. It had a reputation over a wide area right up until, maybe the turn of the century. A very upmarket children’s clothing shop too, as I recall. And a fantastic market!

Frank Bird’s son was interviewed in the programme I linked to. His father set the shop up in 1939 with £200 (doesn’t sound much, but around £11,000 in today’s terms) and it did a roaring trade. A lot of money around in Barnsley back then, and freespending too.

Sorry Avril, thought you were Yorkshire born and bred! If you remember Eldon Street as it used to be in its heyday, though, you’d enjoy the programme. Just needs a free BBC account to log into. It’s Radio 4, so no TV license needed. I did find some fascinating videos from Barnsley Museums online though, digging about a bit. I gather it’s part of a regeneration programme now, but the programme’s a reminder of just what Barnsley used to be like when the miners were free spenders.

@Adawn47 Avril, I wondered if you'd listened to this as a Barnsley girl? You know I've got some family connections with the area, and I found it fascinating. Extremely well done too: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001qlzc The Ballad of Eldon Street - an unnatural history. A new form of radio ballad to mark the centenary of Radio Drama on the BBC. The story of this iconic Barnsley street told by the people who know it best, interwoven with specially composed songs written by LYR - Simon Armitage, Patrick J Pearson and Richard Walters. with Malcolm Bird, Ann Bunting, Alison Dixon, Wayne Johnson, Tegwen Roberts, Peter Roberts and Steven Skelley. Music performed by Simon Armitage, Patrick Pearson, Richard Walters, Matt Taylor, Beth Bellis and Mike Monahan.

How do you find the time for all this? 😉

Hey……I’ve got a great idea. Sell the ships, save on all those expensive fuel, staff and port costs. Just buy a few disused holiday camps, loads of deckchairs, loads of sunlamps, rebrand the whole lot P&O, and just sell drinks packages. The punters will flock to them!

The stock market seems not to agree, though. Maybe because occupancy is one thing, and prices/profitability/debt servicing another.

And for what it’s worth this is Hargreaves Lansdown’s view: Despite the recent strong performance, the equity valuation remains a long way below the long-term average. Carnival is well-placed to have a good year, but it needs to have a few in a row to make a dent in its debt pile. And with consumers under pressure from all angles, that could still be a big ask. Net debt is sitting at about 7x the mid-point of this year's underlying EBITDA guidance. That's very high. Until it returns towards a low single-digit figure, the risk of default on debt repayments remains higher than we would ideally like.

Presumably the market takes a less positive view of the company’s prospects than its directors do, or claim to do.

A review would be great! But absolutely no need for any kind of apology - you raised a very valid point indeed, and one which is actually keeping some people away from the ‘family’ here.

That’s the conclusion I reached. I’m still left unclear by all that.

That's very sad, Dermotsgirl. I've always enjoyed your posts, and always found them informative and helpful. I think we both know exactly where we're coming from on this, though.