Megabear2

It might depend on the ship and individuals. As I say the young couple we lunched with last week had had the full menu on day 2 and were intrigued as to why I wouldn't be trying it. Incidentally he was a chef and thought as a one off it was good but boring!

Thank you for your kind thoughts which are much appreciated. Whatever this "viral infection" is it's been pretty devastating and determined to hang on. I see the doctor again this afternoon as the antibiotics run out today. I just hope the next steps clear it up so I can fly comfortably on Saturday. Unfortunately I've written this one off as one of these things that happen. I understand there's been quite a lot of this mystery illness this season so perhaps it's a shoreside thing not a ship one. The Radley bag looks like it's going to be coming from the leftover OBC so that will be a result!

Harry is totally correct. I can assure you that items such as these were offered in the MDR, generally on the black tie formal nights. Lobster thermidore was regularly offered on other days if the ship was calling somewhere with a special reputation for fish and impromptu items regularly appeared alongside themed dining in the MDR. The "Celebration Night" concept is new, it didn't exist until around 2019. The "Epicurean" is also a newish invention coming with Britannia at launching in 2015 with Ventura offering "The White Room and Azura 17. The venues rebranded shortly after Britannia launched the Epicurean. These three restaurants were rarely full and there were often special deals to encourage booking. Incidentally the "special" menu is inside the main dining room menu every night on Britannia. Before I succumbed to my lurgy I only met one couple, honeymooners and first time cruisers, who had bought it. Obviously uptake may have increased while I'm cabin bound.

Apparently these are standard late cancellation fees. I had the first two bookings on the day I fell ill and the following day, one Epicurean the other Limelight Club. When my husband cancelled he was told we would be charged so £40 deducted from our account. Rather stupidly I thought I'd be well before the next booking which was several days away (today).Unfortunately I'm still very rough so my OH cancelled yesterday evening but we are still in the late notice range so another £20 coming out.we know they took people of the wait list as the restaurant managers called to say thank you for advising in time someone else could go. We have now made a block cancellation of our remaining reservations for the remainder of the cruise just in case. My OH wanted to have an argument but I asked him to leave it as I'm so unwell I just want peace and quiet. I might query it when we get home but as this is our last P&O cruise currently booked I'm not sure what it would achieve.

I'm currently onboard Britannia and am also quite unwell - day 5 in my case. Surprisingly as covid tests were negative I was not instructed to isolate so clearly different rules on different ships. My trips were cancelled and fees waived but my speciality restaurants and Limelight Club reservations I have been fined for cancellation. The prepaid costs are apparently being repaid to my card used to book before leaving the UK but each cancellation is being charged at £10pp to my onboard account. I have not complained as the "fines" are coming off my OBC but it does seem rather odd, particularly as the Limelight Club reservations have been resold.

Hopefully I may make one or two ports before it's time to come home. This has really knocked me for six. I'm told the New Year cruise before this one was the start of it so its unfortunate. I had friends onboard over New Year who emailed to say their flight home was full of bad coughing so no doubt the medical team are trying to curtail it. Surprisingly no official request to isolate though. I'm just too unwell to even think about leaving the room.

Unfortunately not. Currently I'm isolating - day 5 - as I have a respiratory virus which has totally knocked me for six, it's not covid thankfully but it has been totally debilitating.

Lovely photographs. Whilst thrilled you had a good day, I'm very cross you were caught out on the return taxi fare. Fixed taxi fares used to operate for the airport and cruise port until mid 2022 when Dade County adopted a resolution to abolish flat rates for taxis. In December this year a taxi from the cruise port to the Lincoln Mall was just under $27.00 so your first fare was spot on. The minimum fare for air and sea ports is $15 and metered. If the meter shows a number greater than $15.00, then the greater number shown on the meter has to be paid. My guess is the hotel called what are known as airport taxis as these do operate a fixed fare regime outside the Metro Dade County metered rates. Like most US citizens Miami residents are firmly glued to their IPhones and use them for Uber and Lyfts calls. As a result "normal" taxis are pretty scarce on the ground except in the business district so I'm guessing the hotel receptionist called the number kept for taking guests to the airport or Port. Floridians are encouraged to nominate a dedicated texter on group nights out, so slavishly devoted to their IPhones have they become! I find the signs on the highways very amusing where they repeatedly mention the dangers of texting and driving rather thank drink driving or tiredness. Because of their rights it would be impossible to introduce a system of bans or points for text drivers and these warnings are the best the authorities can do on that front. Incidentally 70% of Miami's population have Spanish as their first language. Do you have plans for Key West? I note your comment that Lady S would have hated Bayside. Key West is very loud and crowded particularly as the day goes on - its known in particular for its drink and music exuberance and being home to a lot of Parrotheads. There are some great places to visit but if excess crowds and noise may be a problem it may be best to go ashore fairly early. I believe the Hemingway Museum complete with 6 toed cats has accessibility but only to one floor. Duval Street will be busy particularly at all times. Thanks for the continued great updates.

You're looking good ... thankfully you're missing the US cold snap. Port Canaveral struggling to hit 14 degrees today so great timing with a temperate 23 degrees down south. Hope you have a great time in my favourite US city!

Welcome home! Glad to hear from you again.

Just been catching up on all this. FYI my friend currently on Britannia has met Manchester passengers who were due to fly Maleth on Friday 29th but asked to volunteer to miss a day, travel down to Gatwick, overnight at Maleth's cost and be given £500 plus their out of pocket expenses. Seems the replacement plane again had no seats. So.not an Arvia exclusive. Not sure who paid the money, could be either.

This is to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a good New Year. I am leaving for my airport hotel very shortly and then off tomorrow to Fort Lauderdale to see my friends before boarding our Celebrity cruise on the 22nd. It will be into the New Year before we return and then a week at home before flying off to Barbados on the 13th to join Britannia. Special thoughts and wishes to those of you who have had some very sad and tragic family events lately. I hope you enjoy a restful and peaceful time and can recall happy memories and take comfort from them. To those who are currently unwell or in pain I hope you start to feel better and get relief soon. Life takes some funny turns. I learned yesterday that my cousin lost his wife to cancer a couple of months back and chose to tell no one but his best friend and then to compound it I learned one of my immediate family is receiving church handouts for their children this year as they are in dire financial straits. I guess the reason I say this is we should count our blessings, be kind to people and never be afraid to share if we have troubles. Christmas is hopefully a time for reflection. Have a great one all.

There is a card as I mentioned above, the clip at the bottom is to hold the card. Various disability organisations also offer a registration card, one notable one being the bowel associations as it is extremely common for people to be challenged on use of disabled toilets. The access card is available for use in public entertainment venues etc. It was intended as a small step to people being challenged or tutted at if they are slow. The lanyard in itself isn't intended to ensure or ask for assistance. It is worn to indicate the person may have a special need which if they require it could require help. Basically it is there to stop scenarios of people challenging someone's need. P&O along with the other cruise lines recognise the sunflower logo and lanyard. They are fully conversant with its use and application and to my certain knowledge encourage its use - when I was recovering from an accident earlier this year and had difficulty standing for periods they suggested the wearing of one to assist me and identify myself to staff without needing to go into detail. The question of lift etiquette, be it on disembarkation or other periods is really an individual issue be it for someone on a large mobility scooter, a wheelchair, a stick or just I'm using the lift because I'm perfectly entitled to. Unfortunately the judging by individuals and the downright rudeness with filthy looks and comments towards people perceived in the seconds a lift door opens are the upsetting factors. I do not intend to say any more on the subject but hope that perhaps a few who might spot a sunflower may in the future note it and understand its relevance. Ironically we travel to the airport today to fly tomorrow, no assistance requested but we have had a note from the airport (they provided a lanyard when ours was mislaid on one trip) to say people are on hand and aware we may need unexpected help so please ensure your lanyard is on view.

Thank you for your polite reply and for taking the time to read the link, which I very much appreciate. Just to clear up, at absolutely no point was I suggesting that members of the public should give priority to those wearing a sunflower lanyard for boarding a lift, I simply asked people who made flippant jokes about not seeing hidden disabilities if they ignored anyone wearing the lanyard. The replies indicate they had no idea of its existence so now they are aware and hopefully a few less people to be ignoring the handful or so I see wearing them on ships. People can be incredibly rude for example to anyone trying to enter a lift just because they perceive a person to be able bodied or for someone using a disabled lavatory as they immediately think queue jumper. The wearing of one is to try to prevent individual's embarrassment, a subtle sign to others. The lanyard was introduced for exactly that: a person is in need for whatever reason of more time or has a need that other individuals cannot see. It is intended to help individuals be saved the acute embarrassment of having to enter conversations with other individuals about what that condition may be and its expanded use worldwide is a sign that it was very much needed. People being challenged as to their motives should be unnecessary with awareness. It was as you say introduced originally to assist with airports and other transport hubs, a job it has done very well, as you will have seen from the website I posted a link to. The scheme was widely advertised and spoken about prior to the pandemic. It was never intended to give priority to the wearer, it was intended to assist with the rudeness and impatience shown by very large numbers to people who have often life threatening unseen conditions. I see comments in the thread that they read of people buying them to jump queues in the pandemic, ironically they don’t have the purpose of jumping queues and as so many stated they didn’t know they existed these sad individuals presumably didn’t jump many queues. Finally you mention the case I quote - I assume you mean my husband's. At no point did I say he needs priority, that's the assumption every single person who has launched their attack has made. What I did say was he needs lift access as it can be dangerous to his health for him to use stairs, particularly to walk up and when they are extremely busy - before any smart comments come back we are fully aware he would use them In an emergency and have completed the necessary forms with the cruise lines over the years to advise of this. The irony of all this has proven exactly the reason the lanyard was introduced: Joe Public is very sceptical and thinks everyone is trying to con the world and unless he can see physical evidence someone is disadvantaged will say tough luck. Thank you to those who have said they will now be more aware.

I'm so glad it's funny.

You clip your access card or the card from the organisation to it. I recall Vampiress mentioning she has the access card, she could therefore use the lanyard although it's a choice. The lanyard is acknowledged worldwide. Obviously they are not printed as they represent dozens of illnesses and disabilities. One use for instance is access to disability lavatories for people with bowel issues to save embarrassing confrontations. https://hdsunflower.com/uk/

It's been in existence since 2016 when Gatwick first adopted it. It is extremely well advertised particularly on transport. P&O apparently issue it and support its wearing. Not new or badly advertised, in a lot of cases (not yours) assumed to be irrelevant.

And there in a nutshell is my point. Not many lanyards with cruise cards are like these, which are officially recognised throughout the country. Sadly many say they don't know they exist.

????

So you ignore the lanyards then?

You try getting the ignorant people to move their suitcases because I can assure you they don't. In fact they are more likely to rudely announce there's stairs over there mate. I can't speak for others but standing in a cramped crowded space with lifts stopping at every floor isn't actually a good thing with what can be chronic low blood pressure early morning. I do have a lot of sympathy for the wheelchair user (I've said before my mother used one) but at least it is visible to all. As I said we no longer go for breakfast as the problems cause too much anguish.

My husband wears a lanyard and also carries a card. Basically he has two valves fused in his heart. He has an extremely strong heart muscle but a restricted blood flow meaning his heartbeat and blood pressure can at certain times of the day be very poor. Walking up and down stairs restricts the blood flow leading to a high chance of collapse. However other strenuous activities have no effect. Basically three rules: don't get cold, don't carry weight and avoid stairs unless a matter of emergency.

It is very difficult. Obviously you can see a wheelchair/mobility scooter but in my husband's case you can't exactly show your two missing heart valves. Everyone unfortunately is very judgmental and unfortunately nowadays it's all too easy to cause hurt and embarrassment. I cannot walk upstairs but I always walk down. The truth is lifts are for everyone and when large numbers are moving around such as at disembarkation it is inevitable there will be problems. The large suitcases take up an awful lot of room and often the people in control of them just park them to gain maximum space. Personally I'd like to see the self disembark period ending 30 minutes before cabin release time but no doubt those who use the facility would say that's unfair. It's a very contentious matter but I agree the amount of people who do not believe someone has a hidden disability has grown in recent times.

Well there are apparently over 100 on Arvia so you never know you might find out. If the ship is full no one can move, you're stuck with it. During my fiasco the cabin steward and deck manager didn't need telling of the problems. They knew already from the previous cruises and were actually waiting for me when I came out if my cabin. They could do nothing with the best will in world. If the ship is full, that's it.

I totally agree. Never able to access lifts on disembarkation day due to every lift being rammed with people with large suitcases. We encounter the "you should walk" brigade on every P&O cruise which is nigh on impossible for a man with fibromyalgia, ME and a myocardial bridge! The hidden disabilities lanyard holds no sway with these guys, so goodness knows how a wheelchair user gets on. We used to try to go up for breakfast in the buffet but the strain over getting two lifts quite simply became too much. Now we skip breakfast, full stop. I simply do not believe Jean has never encountered lifts where they see wheelchair users etc unable to get in.