Harry Peterson

Maybe because they’d prefer not to get punched?

They’re not ditching Arcadia are they?

Is any bad behaviour linked to the increase in drinks packages? £50 a day, or whatever, and I’d hazard a guess there’s a temptation to try to get good value from it!

The loss of the canapés on most nights we see almost as a bonus. They’re awful, and widely recognised as such! I suspect the number of blocked toilets was the clincher. For us the only worthwhile perks are the Epicurean and the huge space of some of the aft suites, and whether those justify the price depends very much on what’s being charged at the time of booking. Never been bothered about the branding of the soaps etc - they’re all much the same when the label’s removed!

Always the voice of reason, Andy. As for the socks, what sort, what colour, and where?

As Mavis' husband, I'd like to register a protest here - I wondered who the culprit was. She's never been the same since. Deserted, Scarborough

I do agree with you. Just remembering the arguments that used to rage on here some years back about whether it was cheaper to book on the first day or much later on. Plus ça change…….

We’ve been here before, haven’t we. All the bargains are with the late bookings, nobody wants to book at the opening prices, and suddenly the rules of the game change back. Again.

Absolutely. And well done - a really nice addition to what looks like a really nice cruise. Have a great time in the sunshine and warmth! 🌞

Have to say that I’m very disappointed in this thread. Drawn in by the headline “March canaries on Iona” I expected justifiable outrage at the suggestion of maltreatment of our little yellow feathered friends by marching them up and down the decks like Lincolnshire Yellowbelly soldiers. Such a let down. 😶

I see that as one of our greatest strengths. My wife, however, identifies fully with your viewpoint! 😉

I’m not aware of any single site or forum, but school holidays tend to be consistent across areas. So the Suffolk schools will tend to be much the same, but might differ from, say, Yorkshire. The variation probably won’t be more than a few days though. Scotland is likely to be quite different from England, though, particularly in the summer. Local authority websites usually carry school dates, but so many schools are now academies that these can only be a guide.

Lovely places to be in March - all of them! You’ll have a wonderful time. As for things to do, we’ve been a few times and not taken one single overpriced excursion. That might not suit some, but it suits us very well indeed just to wander, enjoy the weather, enjoy the scenery (Madeira in particular), and just enjoy the relaxation. The last place I’d want to be is stuck on a coach with 30 others on a fixed schedule. On Madeira there are wonderful gardens to visit - easily done on your own. Others will recommend other places. But just wandering, with serendipitous discoveries, is an absolute joy.

May I suggest you all check very carefully with Saga as to what exactly is required. Get this wrong, and it could be no boarding.

Here’s a little good news story about our wonderful NHS, despite all the attacks on it (not here, of course). About a week ago I woke up with a very noticeable loss of normal vision in one eye, which coincided with a very bloodshot eye a couple of days before that. Checked out the symptoms online and with my medically very clued up wife - decided it wasn’t an emergency but did need checking out. Sent AskMyGP request to surgery around 0800. Phone call from surgery an hour or so later with an appointment to see a GP just after 1100. Not possible for GP to contact eye clinic by phone (junior doctors quite reasonably on strike) but given letter to produce to Urgent Treatment Centre at local hospital. Arrived there around 1230, seen and checked by a couple of nurses by about 1400, escorted to eye clinic at about 1430, checked over and given a clean bill of health + diagnosis by registrar, who checked it out with his consultant. Home by 1545. Given that this is the usual winter stress period for the NHS, and that the junior doctors were on strike, I think that’s pretty impressive.

I have no problem at all with people choosing formal dress. By the same token, though, I hope they’ll be equally tolerant about my smart casual. 😉

But an incredible set of other ‘qualifications’………….💰

It’s called the old boys network, and it’s still very much alive. Likewise with certain schools. Impossible to defend, of course, but a fact of life. Like Freemasonry. I was expecting a really tough time at an interview once, back in the 70s. As soon as we got on to which degrees and which university though, magically everything changed.

This isn’t actually funny, but it’s extremely apt: ‘Get your burglary made into a TV drama and we’ll get back to you.’

John, we agree on something! 😉

At this point, mention in association with Bermuda of a certain geometric polygon with three corners and three sides is off-limit..........

There’s a knack to it, which you’ll soon work out. Even without any of the add on subscriptions you can find free out of copyright books (a huge selection of classics) by doing a search for a particular author, then sorting according to price. The free ones should then appear at the top. This also works for a lot of books still in copyright if you just do a general Kindle book search and sort according to price. Good luck! You can never have too much reading matter on a cruise.

I’d be very happy with those.

Beware of transposed letters when ordering Stugeron.

Once upon a time, some years ago, most of the mainstream cruise lines had formal dining. P&O was just one of many, and it fitted in quite nicely with the level of service and food on offer. No problems at all with that. But, and it's a very big 'but', cruising on P&O has moved very much away from those halcyon (but admittedly much more expensive) days. Arguably, others such as Cunard, haven't shifted their demographic as much as P&O has. Formal dress covered over some of those changes for a few years - presentation is everything - but there comes a point when the mutton dressed as lamb just remains looking like mutton. My knowledge of other cruise lines is limited, but I have known P&O pretty well and it's a very different product from the one it was even a few years ago. Much younger clientele, much less formal, and formal dress just doesn't work any more.