Canal archive

May sound a bit cheeky but if you have the ships contact details ask them they must be aware of what is available locally. Good luck!

Not to sure about other lines but with Scenic no problem you should advise them before boarding and there are facilities for you to do this, the restaurant manager will seek you out to discuss your requirements and it’s dealt with. So no reason to discuss on your table although there are many of us who would be interested in the challenges and I suspect there are many. Luckily so far I only have one and that’s with the Merlot grape so imagine my consternation when I realised the challenges this gave me on our Bordeaux cruise with the wonderful help of our lovely wine waiter we sorted it. He discovered something  and I happily discovered some absolutely superb wines.

Don’t wish your  days away it will be here before you know it.

Not getting into that one! 🤣

I much prefer a gentle aroma than that overpowering smell that is used to cover smells from most body washes and I do include the ones provided on board. I take my own fragrance free.

Well I do feel for you and there goes the French perfume industry but I have yet to see any signs I will look out for them.

Moored up in Bordeaux and after dinner our cruise director invited us to the sun deck for an impromptu duo guitar concert, we actually had two impromptu evenings on the top deck that cruise, wonderful surprise and great evenings. 

Love the Australians there always wonderful at putting anyone in their right place love them for their absolute ability to do so. There is absolutely no reason to not talk about previous cruises nearly everyone has a story and those who are cruising for the first time will be enchanted. In an eight table group especially an over the top person could soon be put down or in their place. Don’t worry you’ve got plenty of opportunities to talk to many others on board. Enjoy.

I love this photo and count it as one of my favourites, so worth the early rise. I think it shows just why he painted it so many times, I just wish I had one iota of his talent.

Richard the Lionhart is revered in the history of England and I’ll ask the question ‘why’ he hardly set foot in the country but left his mark across swathes of Europe. 

Ohh dear now there’s a pickle barrel of thoughts. Maybe it’s the quality of the fragrance, it should not be intrusive just a slight tickle of the olfactory nerves. Who wants to spend a small fortune on an aroma if one is upsetting others and how on earth do you know. An expert once said it’s not what you smell it’s how you smell! Think about it!

Sharp, crisp, buffed & polished and maybe gentlemen a rather pleasant cologne. Ladies a nice scarf or wrap maybe a little touch of bling and of course a slight aura of perfume. I take mix and match so not a lot of clothes. We’ve never been advised on what not to talk about or what to talk about. You’ll soon realise if your dinning companions are willing to converse some aren't and some can be very shy. You will soon make new acquaintances from all over the globe relax and enjoy.

Go to Giverny first thing in the morning it’s worth getting up early for. When we left the queue at the entrance was huge. The photo of the bridge with no one on it was the bonus.

Ohh it can get you when you least expect it. Just go to see The Gurnica.

Thought I would let you all know ‘we have snow! woke up to a mini white out, slowly dripping now one guy clearing his driveway. Just a little unusual for Wiltshire but I’m not going out to build a snowman although my grandson has decided I should much to the enjoyment of my daughters and son in laws.

Scenic has a small bookcase, board games, sudoko and crossword of the day etc. There is usually something extra for about half maybe slightly less evening entertainment, we’ve had - wait for it - cow bell ringing - you can imagine the raised eyebrows for that one but the joke was on us absolutely spectacular, they actually got people singing to ‘cow bells’. Over the years several other different musical events the first South of France one was, well for me exceptional a group from the Camargue one of the guitarists was a born again Manitas de Plata. We’ve had local folk dancers, singers, musicians one exceptional violinist even if your left cold by a solo violin this young lady was superb. Oh and the quiz often music based. If you don’t want to join in no one is hassled to do so there is plenty of room on board to have a quiet bedtime drink served by a steward and you don’t have to retire to your cabin.

He was just about the best tour guide I’ve ever encountered and when he did his WW1 talk on board it was one the most moving I’ve ever had the privilege to be part of.

Not a good photo but this is how he arrived on board.

Now you just have to decide which of his WaterLilies about 250 different paintings you prefer, he outdid Van Gough and his Sun Flowers many times over. It could of course be something to do with trying to achieve perfection. Some of his Water Lily canvases are huge.

Scenic boats are amongst the shallowest draughted  on the rivers and conversely Viking amongst the deepest and carry more passengers but I wouldn’t be surprised if their next ten due this year are shallower.

Just to note the car transfers were only introduced as an inducement for first time and gold members about 2016/7.

CPT now that would be worth seeing, I wish.

That’s what we’ve done in past years so for some there is transport still included we’re not so far out as you just that bit closer to the M4. It’s such a more civilised start to the holiday.

Just to say Emerald not to be confused with Scenic’s sister company just the next tier of how many times you’ve travelled with them.

So precise so Dutch!

Oops dah, just realised what the discussion is about as we just automatically expect it and include it in our calculations and have done for years. You may (don’t forget we’re in the U.K.) have to give a small nudge but usually the booking team are on the ball and everything is automatic. We are Diamond members I doubt we will ever become Emerald members.

Wow!