Oceana E025 Review

[DamianG]

We are just back from this cruise and had a great time apart from the flights both ways. I thought that I would attempt a review. I've rambled on a bit but here goes...

 

22/11/2010: Our Manchester flight was scheduled for 9am so we had to check in by 6am. Our taxi was booked for 4:15am but turned up at 4am. We were ready so we set off early and after some very quick driving we ended up at the airport just after 5am. Our check in was smooth and our cases weighed in at only 17kg and 19kg, easily within the 23kg limit despite us packing everything we wanted. At about 8:15am boarding started and we were seated on the plane and ready to go within 30 minutes. We were then advised that the cases were still being loaded and this delayed take-off until 9:40am. The cabin crew were friendly and hard working and we had a good flight until it was time to land in Dominican Republic for refuelling. The pilot attempted to land twice but had to abort both times due to cross winds. He therefore abandoned landing and diverted us to another airport in the south of the island (we were scheduled to land in the north). We eventually landed at around 7:30pm UK time which was 90 minutes after the first attempt. The atmosphere was really stuffy by now and several passengers had used sick bags. We could not get off the plane due to immigration implications so we just had to sit there and wait for the replacement crew and refuelling. At around 8:45pm we were told to buckle our seat belts to prepare for take-off and the new crew went through the safety checks again. However nothing happened and after another 30 minutes the captain advised that we had missed our slot over Cuban air space and it had to be re-negotiated. The new cabin crew were a complete contrast to those departing, being very stern and unhelpful. I know they had suffered the delay and change of airport but it wasn’t our fault either. There were various announcements such as “Please do not ask for further information as the door to the cockpit is locked and we cannot contact the Captain. If we can be of any assistance please don’t hesitate to ask.” Another personal favourite contradiction they offered was “You are free to undo your seatbelts and move around the plane but please keep all the aisles clear”. Eventually at around 11pm we took off shortly after which an older lady fainted causing more commotion. We were also finally served a snack having not had anything for over 7 hours. Eventually we landed at 3:30am UK time but there was a problem with the doors lining up with the gangway and we had to buckle up again while the plane was inched forward. At 4am we were allowed off and after going through airport immigration we got on the coach at 4:30am. The coach transfer and embarkation took over an hour so we got to our cabin at 5:45am UK time (11:45pm Acapulco time) and were exhausted.

 

23/11/2010: Acapulco, sunny 28 degrees. Despite our tiredness we still awoke early and headed for Cafe Jardin for breakfast ahead of our excursion. For us this is still the best place to eat breakfast and lunch on the P&O fleet (though we haven’t been on Azura yet) and we were pleased to see Eggs Benedict and Smoked Salmon on the menu. It was every bit as good as our expectation, and it is so nice to enjoy a proper pot of tea in the morning as well. We were booked on the bay cruise and cliff divers excursion (mainly due to Captain Pugwash’s recommendation on his review of a similar cruise – thanks Captain) and very good it was too. There was an option to extend the trip “free” afterwards but we suspected that this was a ploy to take us shopping somewhere so instead we did our own thing, walking the promenade, visiting the Cathedral and taking a drink at one of the harbour bars. I was very interested to see the dress standards in the evening given all the debates recently, and apart from one pair of light blue jeans and one football shirt with logos most passengers looked to be in accordance with the evening’s code. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect everyone to want to wear a suit or whatever but do think that when it says “dark jeans” or “shirt with collar for gentlemen” then that is what it should be, not light blue jeans and a collarless t-shirt. However I’ll never worry enough about it to spoil our holiday. Interestingly several gents were wearing tropical shirts already (all with collars of course!).

 

24/11/2010: Huatulco (sunny 27). We were booked on an “Eco Bird Tour” due to visit the Botanical Gardens in the morning, but received a letter stating that this had been transferred to the afternoon and would miss the gardens out. So we politely cancelled on that basis. It was a very pretty port with lots of taxi drivers hawking for your business, but instead we found a guy who had a small boat and offered us a tour of the bay and beaches for as long as we liked for $40 each. I was surprised that he did not fill the boat with any other tourists and we set off straight away. He had a lot of knowledge and we saw plenty of birds too, including an eagle. At one point we saw our first set of pelicans so I asked the guide what they are called in Spanish and he took great delight in slowly enunciating “PE-LI-CA-NO!” We stopped at an unspoilt beach with just us on it, then after further sailing he took us to another beach where there were bars and ensured that we headed to one owned by his friend. We had a nice lunch and drinks (2 mains, 2 soft drinks and 2 beers $31) before he picked us up 90 minutes later to take us back. Once back we had a stroll round the port, a few more drinks then headed back on board around 4pm. My mother and father-in-law were also on board and they certainly had an interesting day. They shared a minibus taxi ride with other passengers to a nearby village and on their return saw P&O passengers boarding a small bay cruiser. My father-in-law approached the guide and asked if they could get on as well. He sneaked them on for $30 each and this included the tour and free drinks. The P&O official excursion price for comparison was £32 per person. In the evening we didn’t fancy the dinner menu so we made our one and only visit to The Plaza for the Indian buffet, which was as good as ever.

 

25/11/2010: Sea day (sunny 28). We enjoyed a full breakfast in the restaurant then ventured out to try find a sun bed without a towel on it. Whilst on the Lido deck we saw occasional turtles and then the most spectacular porpoise display I’ve ever seen. It was almost as if they were performing for us, truly memorable. Later I went to the gym followed by lunch at Cafe Jardin, and in the afternoon we watched a film in the theatre which was very good with the big screen. It was the Captains’ Welcome On Board drinks in the evening but we sat on the wrong side of Tiffany’s as all the shrewdies were intercepting the waiters as they came out of the bar on the other side with the complementary drinks. Eventually I just went to the bar and brought some back for us, not a problem on my part but I think that it put out one of the head waiters slightly though I did try to re-assure him that it was not a reflection on the service. The formal dress code seemed well observed in the places we went with odd exceptions here and there. We also saw the Cruise Director Rob Boyd for the first time, but more of that later. We were on freedom dining so there was a rush for tables after the event and we had to take a pager. This would be a recurring theme throughout the cruise no matter what time we turned up for dinner. Afterwards we didn’t fancy the show or cabaret (Les Bryan who we’ve seen before) so we thought that we would try the 80’s disco. Not many passengers were dancing until my wife asked for Bruce Springsteen which completely filled the dance floor. I congratulated her on a good choice then jokingly asked how long it would be before the DJ alienated everyone with a bad selection. Sad to say that it was just one song later – a Phil Collins number had kept everyone up but then he switched to a Madness number with a different tempo altogether which completely cleared everyone. Isn’t it amazing how many times that happens?

 

26/11/2010: San Juan Del Sur (sunny 28). This was an unusual place, industrial but also pretty in places. We had to use tenders and once within the gated harbour compound there was a market, a couple of bars and various taxi drivers hawking for business. Once outside the harbour gates there’s a rough road lined with various ramshackle houses, businesses and bars. We decided to walk the length of the beach to the far side but halfway round some other passengers warned us that on the far side of the bay a couple had been threatened with a machete. We therefore decided to go no further and headed for a beach bar that we had researched pre-cruise “Henrys Iguana Bar”. The staff were very friendly though spoke little English but we got by with my broken Spanish and lots of menu-pointing and smiles. We had a leisurely lunch with soft drinks then my wife tried a cocktail whilst I had a bottle of the local beer. It is not every day you get to try a Nicaraguan brew so I decided to buy a couple of bottles for friends back home, but it took a lot of effort to make them understand that we wanted 2 bottles unopened! We got there in the end though, and the bill total (2 soft drinks, 2 mains, cocktail and 3 beers) was just $20 (though I left them a big $5 tip as well). My wife’s parents had taken a minibus taxi tour with others which I think would be the way to go here. We never felt threatened but if we went out of the main port area I would want to be on an official excursion or have safety in numbers. In the evening we enjoyed a pre-dinner drink in Pennant Bar above the Lido deck and for me this is a best feature of a Caribbean cruise, i.e. that it is warm enough to enjoy a drink outside in the evening. We enjoyed a nice dinner in the main restaurant (a very good steak was served) then we went to the “Swinging 60’s” show by The Headliners which was very well performed but there were some odd songs (with a whole Australian set including an odd number called “My Boomerang Won’t Come Back” – a Charlie Drake hit apparently). Departure was delayed due to some problems with the tenders but the islands are all pretty close so it did not appear to be a problem. Oh, and we saw the Cruise Director for the second time (not introducing the show or anything – he was just walking through the Atrium).

 

27/11/2011: Sea day (sunny 27). The clocks went forward one hour overnight but I still hadn’t adjusted to the time difference so got up very early and was in the gym at 7:30am with 6 other insomniacs. And yes, on the decks outside there was the usual array of books and towels on the sun beds. From there it was on to Cafe Jardin where the breakfast menu had changed and bacon croissants were now being served, with a very odd tomato and onion compote (which sounds far nicer than it actually was). Later in the morning we headed out on deck and were lucky to be in the right place at the right time as they were putting additional sun beds out in a small area at the front of the ship. It was a nice, quiet place to read though a bit breezy and despite my best efforts to cover up I did get a little sunburn. There is not much on during the day and this is very much a cruise for sunbathers some of whom just seem to lie there all day. Each to their own of course and I never get bored on a sea day. Late afternoon we went to the daily men vs. women quiz in the Yacht & Compass. It didn’t seem as good as on our other cruises but I guess that it is all down to the passengers. On our last cruise on Oceana the Yacht & Compass was one of our favourite venues, mainly due to a fantastic resident band. Unfortunately this time the resident band is very poor so we didn’t go in much. We had dinner in the restaurant (after another wait with a pager) then did a general knowledge quiz later on.

 

28/11/2010: Sea day – transit Panama Canal (tropical rain showers – 26). We were woken at 6:50am with an announcement that we would shortly be going under the Bridge of the Americas. We quickly dressed and went out to find 100’s of passengers already on deck. Luckily we had a plan B which was to use the door at the forward end of the corridor on deck B to access a viewing area beneath the bridge. Clearly not many passengers were aware of this as it was not at all crowded and even has partial covering to retreat behind (though the rain was only light “liquid sunshine”). Sorry but I had to laugh at passengers retrieving towels and books from sun beds when the rain did start. The transit has been well documented previously (Captain P amongst others) far better than I could describe, suffice to say it was fascinating and a must for all ship enthusiasts (are you reading this Tom from Sheffield?). We were lucky enough to have a balcony so we had pre-ordered a continental breakfast for 8am which we returned to the cabin in time for (and it was delivered right on time too). We had a port side cabin which is probably the wrong side if you are heading north in the canal, but the whole journey was still fantastic. We saw some Limas, plenty of exotic sea birds and another Eagle which landed on the ship briefly. We cleared the Pedro Miguel locks at 10:45am and the Gatun locks at 4:30pm and for us the trick was to be out on deck for the locks and use our balcony for the rest of the passage. Overall the day passed very quickly. In the evening we had booked an outdoor table at the Horizon Grill (again one of the pleasures of a Caribbean cruise) and the weather cleared up long enough for us to sit down and look at the menus. It then started raining and though we were under a canopy it was drifting in so the waiters moved us further and further in until we admitted defeat and moved to a table under full cover down the side. The service and food were wonderful and it was a very pleasant meal, though we were all stuffed especially me after I chose the lamb burger which was huge. We finished too late for the shows so tried “Le Club” again and it soon filled up with crew and passengers from the Motown Deck Party which had been washed out. Shame no-one told the DJ who took an age to finally realise that he should switch to playing Motown numbers.

 

29/11/2010: Sea day (sunny then showers 27). We ate breakfast in the main restaurant then “walked a mile” round the promenade deck, and already it was being blocked up with passengers or books and towels on chairs and loungers. We both did a bit of reading on the balcony, and then I went to the gym. After that there was a “Football Theme Quiz” on the Lido deck so we took up a position in the Pennant bar and joined in. Just after this finished the steel band started to play and the heavens opened. Passengers on the Lido deck went scattering and there were numerous books and towels that got a good soaking. We spent the afternoon reading and got ready for dinner a bit earlier so that we could get out for the 9pm showing of “Stop in the Name of Love” by The Headliners. As it turned out there was a partial power failure just in aft of the ship so everything was a bit delayed anyway. We guessed something was up as the restaurant lights flickered for a split second then it got very warm (Lord knows what it must have been like in the kitchen) as the backup generator did not cover the air conditioning. Still, it was a pleasant dinner where we met some nice people on a shared table for 8 and the show was excellent.

 

30/11/2010: Curacao (sunny 27). After another good breakfast in Cafe Jardin we left the ship around 10am and checked out the bus tours on the quayside. All were $15 and pretty much doing the same tour at 11am so we walked across the bridge to see the floating market (very disappointing) before returning in good time to get a seat. Eventually we chose a tour on the “happy bus” with Big Larry as driver/guide and I can thoroughly recommend it. He sang, he got us singing, he gave us language lessons and above all was very knowledgeable about the island. Now if I was reading this I would think that maybe he would be a bit too much, but in reality he is just one of those bubbly people who you have to join in with. The tour took in parts of Willemstad, the Spanish quarter and the liquor distillery where they make (you guessed it) Curacao (most may know Blue Curacao best). We got to try rum & raisin flavour, chocolate, coffee and orange and of course there is the opportunity to buy some too. We finished on a very nice beach (admission $6 per person) where we relaxed a while though unfortunately we both got bites, probably from sand flies. The tour took 2 hours overall. After the coach tour we returned to the town centre to find a particular Dutch restaurant that we went to 4 years ago and it was still as good. There was just time for a beer at the quayside before we returned to the ship in time for one of my favourite sailaways (mainly because the ship docks right next to the town). There was a sailaway party on the Lido deck but the previous one we went to on this cruise was a bit dull so we gave it a miss this time, and I enjoyed the departure from the back of the ship on deck 12. We had a table for 4 in the restaurant for dinner and were rushed through it by the eager waiters who only had 2 tables to cover at that time. Unusually we all had 4 courses this evening with both a starter and soup, and even with the additional course we were in and out in 70 minutes. In an attempt to prevent indigestion we spent some time walking round the promenade deck before heading to the Lido deck for the deck party. It was okay and the entertainment crew were working hard to get people involved but it was very windy so we didn’t stay too long.

 

01/12/2010: Sea day (fine and dry 25). It was a bit cooler this day and I had finally got used to the time difference which meant that we had a lie in and a late breakfast. Late morning we attended a birthstone talk which was okay but we were only really interested in our own months. I went to the gym before lunch then we spent the rest of the day reading. In the evening it was the Portunus Club party which was in between both club dining sittings, which we presumed was because there were not enough qualifying passengers to justify two events. Oh, and we saw the Cruise Director Rob Boyd for the third time (in fact at this point we’d seen more of the Captain than him). At dinner in the restaurant we again took a table for 4 but did seem to be squeezed in a bit. In fact, it was so tight that one point a waiter walked past me and knocked me on the head with a tray. I can’t remember asking for 3 courses and a bump on the noggin but there was no real harm done and the waiter quickly apologised and disappeared with his embarrassment. My wife said “bet he doesn’t walk past you again” and as usual she was right, as he carefully negotiated a different route round our table for the rest of the service. After dinner we took part in a “James Bond” quiz in the Winners Bar which was good fun (though we were pretty poor) and we ended the evening watching the ballroom dancing in the Atrium.

 

02/12/2010: St Maarten (sunny 25). A few weeks back we saw a TV programme about the World’s most dangerous airports and St Maarten was something like number 5 as the landing strip backs on to the beach, and we planned our visit accordingly. At the port there were lots of taxis being organised by tourism reps and after a short wait we were loaded into a minibus with 10 others heading the same way. The single fare was $7 per person, pretty good for a 40 minute drive. We arrived at Maho beach which does indeed back straight on the runway and the whole experience is just spectacular. There are bars at both end of the beach selling reasonably priced drinks and food, and although I’m not much of a beach person I could happily have stayed there all day. Seeing the planes land so closely is just amazing. Some even tried standing in the sandstorm created by the planes preparing for take-off which was quite a sight. Our taxi driver had arranged to collect us at 3pm but in reality there was plenty of choice and clearly some of our passengers had left earlier which meant more room for us on the trip back to the ship. We enjoyed the sailaway from the Pennant bar and in the evening after dinner we enjoyed the latest show “School Daze” by The Headliners which was very good once again.

 

03/12/2010: Tortola (warm and dry 28). It never fails to amaze me that no matter what time you get off the ship there is always someone getting back on. Today was no exception as we left around 10am and there were some coming the other way that had clearly been there, seen it and done it. We headed straight for the tourist centre at the end of the berth where taxis were being organised. A bus was filling up with passengers for Cane Garden Bay so we jumped on and enjoyed the $8 per person ride up and down the mountain into the bay. We had been to Tortola before but to a different beach and found this more developed but still very nice. We hired 2 sun beds for $5 each and settled in for a pleasant few hours, mostly reading for me and a bit of everything including swimming for my wife. The nearby bar was selling 2 bottles of beer for $3 which I enjoyed and my wife had a rum punch also for $3. Later on we shared chicken and chips for $12 and the portion was huge (glad we didn’t get one each). Our driver collected us in good time and stopped on the way back to the ship for panoramic photos of the town. It was tropical evening (though for some of the gentlemen it seems like every day is a tropical day) so we all dressed accordingly and headed to dinner. One lady stood out as she was wearing a grass skirt and bikini with a few trimmings. Seriously, and she wasn’t that young not to know better either. Apparently she was worried that she may not be allowed into the restaurant but we saw her there so I guess they were being lenient or something. The Headliners were due to present a show outside on the Lido deck so we took seats on the next level giving us a good view of the temporary stage. At that point one of the spotlight operators came to set up and a lady got very annoyed that he asked her to move. Her point was that P&O puts the seats out (not her) and that she was going to sit there. I could see her point in some ways but what happened next was appalling. She shouted at the spotlight operator so he went and got an entertainment officer. She was then very aggressive towards him though he remained calm and polite. Then the lady sat next to her offered to move and we offered to squeeze up a bit and she shouted at her too. Finally her husband arrived and seemed happy to just squeeze up but he just got an ear bashing as well. She was nasty, rude and aggressive. The light operator tried to reset his position and the entertainment officer just decided to back off whilst the rest of us in that area cowered. I really felt sorry for the operator and entertainment officer and there was no sign of anyone senior to try appease her (where was the Cruise Director, Assistant Cruise Director etc?). Anyway the show was fantastic and the disco that followed was pretty good too so the evening ended on a good note.

 

4/12/2010: Antigua (warm and dry 27). The cruise log stated “warm and dry” but this seemed like the hottest day to us. Alongside the berth there was a good choice of taxis and we joined a minibus tour for $25 each. There was a mix of passengers from different ships which made a change. We went to Nelson’s Dockyard where we had to pay $7 admission and sadly I found it a bit of a disappointment. The rich peoples’ yachts were all spectacular of course but most of the old buildings had been turned into shops, bars or restaurants which detracted a bit from the history for us. From there it was on to Shirley Heights which had spectacular views, after which we drove through a rainforest and stopped off at a beach to drop off some of the passengers. We were a bit beached out so stayed on and just returned to the town centre. Once there we took the short walk to Antigua Recreation Ground, former home of test match cricket and most famous for being the location of Brian Lara’s’ record scores (375 and 400). We walked through the gate and luckily were met by Amazon who was the scoreboard operator who insisted on showing us around. He even took us out onto the field and square which absolutely made my day. It certainly wouldn’t happen in England. He also told us all the English football scores from back home. He wasn’t asking for anything but we tipped him a few dollars anyway then headed back to the ship. There was probably a lot more that we could have done but it was so hot that we all just wanted to take it easy (though I did make my final gym visit later). It was a formal evening and interestingly there was a stern reminder in the daily newsletter about dress codes. I wonder if they had the grass skirted lady in mind? We had booked a table at Cafe Jardin which becomes a “Marco Pierre White” venue after 6pm. The food was fantastic but the portions were so large that we all only had 2 courses. Much as we like Cafe Jardin however, we didn’t find it as enjoyable as other speciality restaurants on the P&O fleet mainly because of its location, i.e. above the Atrium where there is always some kind of hubbub. After dinner we took part in the “Body Part” quiz in the Yacht & Compass (which was more fun than I expected) and then listened to a few songs by the “Oceana Trio”. This was made up of musicians who usually play for the shows and they were far superior to the usual resident band. Unfortunately however, they were very disorganised and played about 5 songs in 30 minutes. I’m sure they’ll improve the set with time.

 

05/12/2010: Sea day (warm and dry 26). Last full day, we managed to do some washing even though there were only 2 machines on each deck. We don’t place too much store on doing this but as we have to return to work after the cruise it is handy if we get some done (and not the end of the world if we don’t). I attended the church service and Rob Boyd read one of the lessons so he won some of my admiration. I don’t dislike him, I just think that other cruise directors (e.g. Leon de St Croix or Gary Gladding) get so much more involved in activities around the ship and you see them every day. In the afternoon we went to a talk about the Falklands war by a former submarine officer which was delayed. That was a shame as he had to rush through the last part about the operations and final victory having spent so long on the detail about the equipment and forces. In the evening we returned to the same table where we had been rushed previously and the waiters remembered us which was nice. This time they had full tables to deal with so the service was well paced and a lot more pleasant. After dinner we went to Winners Bar to see singing duo “Jango” who were very good but a bit loud. Oh, and there was a gentleman in the casino part wearing t-shirt and shorts. Well, after 2 weeks there was bound to be one somewhere.

 

06/12/2010: Departure day. We enjoyed a full breakfast in the restaurant and went through the immigration process which was very straightforward. We were issued with a pass to allow us off the ship as we weren’t due to disembark until 3pm. In the harbour area there were plenty of taxis and we arranged an island tour for $40 each. Initially there were 6 of us in the minibus but 2 of the others were simply getting a lift to a hotel so the rest of the tour was just for our party which was even better. It lasted around 2 hours and was a great way to finish our adventures. Disembarkation was announced slightly early so we left the ship at 2:45pm and the airport transfer was straightforward. We settled in at the airport ready for our 5:50pm flight. We never heard the flight called even though we were at the correct gate but became conscious of the large queues forming so around 5:40pm we joined. It then became apparent that later coach parties from the ship had simply seen a queue and joined it (very British) even though their flight was not ready, so ourselves and lots of others were pulled out of the queue and ushered through. We eventually got on the plane about 6pm but were then informed that it was delayed anyway due to a refuelling problem affecting all flights. In fact it didn’t take-off until around 8:30pm so once again we had been sat on a plane going nowhere. At least this time the cabin crew had the good sense to serve food and drinks. The captain had advised that all flights were affected but as we taxied down the runway there were no commercial or scheduled aircraft waiting, only a couple of Thomson and Thomas Cook planes which I presume were the other charters for P&O. We landed 2.5 hours late at 8:30am and after baggage reclaim and the taxi ride home we eventually got in the house at 11am. This time the journey from cabin to home had been 15 hours.

 

Summary: We always enjoy our cruises and putting aside the flights this was another good one. I am not one for inspecting the ship looking for faults (e.g. cracked or dirty tiles or similar) so to my eye Oceana is still in good condition. The atmosphere on board was very friendly, a huge majority of passengers followed the dress code and I didn’t hear too many moans with the exception of the nasty woman at the outdoor show. For me it is noticeably different to a European cruise, with many passengers more interested in sunbathing than what the actual ports have to offer. There’s nothing wrong with that of course; each to their own. Although some of the Caribbean islands do not have many attractions it is good to just “go with the flow” and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere in most places. For ship enthusiasts the Panama Canal is an absolute must. I’m sure that we will return to the Caribbean in the future, though maybe not for a couple of years at least by which time we’ll have forgotten about those horrible flights. Give me the 240 mile drive to Southampton any day!

[tom_uk]

The transit has been well documented previously (Captain P amongst others) far better than I could describe, suffice to say it was fascinating and a must for all ship enthusiasts (are you reading this Tom from Sheffield?).

 

Yes I am! Sounds like you had a good cruise. You missed the snow, too, which was very handy. I don't know how much they had in Leeds but we had at least 18" in Sheffield (blog entry about it here).

 

Those flights sound awful. I wouldn't mind another fly-cruise, but Val is very enjoying cruising from Southampton. But one day we'll do the Caribbean.

[OfficerCadet]

Sounds like a good cruise, pity about the flights though! I used to be cabin crew myself, it can be difficult and there's a lot of crew who make thing unpleasant for various reasons - such a pity!

[katy161]

Thanks for a brilliant review, we are on this cruise in January, so good to hear positive remarks,. We are really looking forward to getting some sunshine and seeing different islands. The canal will be the highlight for us Im sure. Regards Katy:)

[steelerannie]

Great review, we are doing this cruise on 31st January, but we fly back from Accapulco. Hope it won't be as long a flight as yours was!!!;)

[DamianG]

Yes I am! Sounds like you had a good cruise. You missed the snow, too, which was very handy. I don't know how much they had in Leeds but we had at least 18" in Sheffield (blog entry about it here).

 

Those flights sound awful. I wouldn't mind another fly-cruise, but Val is very enjoying cruising from Southampton. But one day we'll do the Caribbean.

 

Thanks Tom, I really enjoy reading your blogs. I discovered that Bolsover CC actually chartered a whole flight for our cruise from Doncaster which flew without any problems outbound. I wish we'd been on that one and it might be a handy option for you in future. Cheers, Damian