End of Great British Sailaway ?

[Stokie33]

4 hours ago, Presto2 said:

 

Then again, being a Port Vale fan, every time they play 'Delilah' (Stoke City's anthem) it makes me twitch uncontrollably !!!

I have to agree but it was my best Xmas for a while since Vale beat Swindon on the 29th. It was really quiet in work yesterday (in Swindon) I'm just glad none of them sang Delilah 

[Presto2]

6 minutes ago, Stokie33 said:

I have to agree but it was my best Xmas for a while since Vale beat Swindon on the 29th. It was really quiet in work yesterday (in Swindon) I'm just glad none of them sang Delilah 

 

Is everyone on CC from the Potteries??? Makes me think that P&O need to move their base closer to us …. I think we have a canal not too far away ;-) I know a good brass band that could play us off and I could provide my recycled flags for a sailaway (trying to get back to the theme …. ha ha)

[pete14]

1 hour ago, Presto2 said:

 

Is everyone on CC from the Potteries??? Makes me think that P&O need to move their base closer to us …. I think we have a canal not too far away 😉 I know a good brass band that could play us off and I could provide my recycled flags for a sailaway (trying to get back to the theme …. ha ha)

The River Trent rises outside Stoke so maybe P&O could make it wider and deeper to base a ship here for us. We could then follow the Trent all the way to the sea, having a Great Stokie Sailaway featuring Delilah and Robbie when we get there.

[wowzz]

17 minutes ago, pete14 said:

The River Trent rises outside Stoke so maybe P&O could make it wider and deeper to base a ship here for us. We could then follow the Trent all the way to the sea, having a Great Stokie Sailaway featuring Delilah and Robbie when we get there.

Excellent idea. The Trent is close to my house, ( near the junction with the Foss Dyke) , so if the ship just slowed down a bit, we could jump on board as she passed by en route to the North Sea. 

[pete14]

4 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Excellent idea. The Trent is close to my house, ( near the junction with the Foss Dyke) , so if the ship just slowed down a bit, we could jump on board as she passed by en route to the North Sea. 

You would be very welcome but only if you are happy to eat oatcakes and drink Titanic brewery beer.

[wowzz]

Just now, pete14 said:

You would be very welcome but only if you are happy to eat oatcakes and drink Titanic brewery beer.

Not sure about the ost cakes, but no problem with the beer! Thanks for the invite!

[Josy1953]

Don't knock our oatcakes until you have tried them, they are nothing like the hard biscuit type oatcakes that you get in Scotland, they look like a brown pancake but are savoury.  The perfect breakfast is bacon, egg, mushrooms and tomatoes with oatcakes. 

[DamianG]

20 hours ago, majortom10 said:

We were on a P&O cruise in Gibraltar parked next to a German cruise ship and on sailaway the entertainment took great delight in playing repeatedly Dambusters theme and encouraged cruisers to sing we won WW2 doo dah doo dah so that those on the German ship could hear us. Cringworthy, disgusting and very embarrassing in my opinion.

We were on that cruise (or at least had an identical experience). I was on our balcony at the time & it seemed that the music was louder than usual. Lord knows what the passengers on the Aida ship made of it but personally I was completely embarrassed even though we weren't participating and were in our safe haven of the balcony.

[Presto2]

5 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

Don't knock our oatcakes until you have tried them, they are nothing like the hard biscuit type oatcakes that you get in Scotland, they look like a brown pancake but are savoury.  The perfect breakfast is bacon, egg, mushrooms and tomatoes with oatcakes. 

 

Just had an idea, let's start a new thread - things that P&O should introduce (to make up for all of the things that they are taking away from the cruise experience). I'll do that now and leave the poor people who are on here for the GBS in peace :-)

[Britboys]

Just back from being away for Christmas & New Year, so catching up on some threads here.  I am in the 'take it or leave it' camp but if I had been on board to witness clearly racist behaviour from the entertainment staff, I would certainly have taken it up with the P&O CEO!

With regard to the original post and 'Daily Hate Mail' article - yes, tabloid rubbish!

[Camberley]

On 1/3/2020 at 9:22 AM, uk338 said:

I've always thought they were a bit strange, as if i'd stumbled into enrichment time at a nursing home. Each to their own.

 

 

😀😀

 

I won’t open the Daily Mail link because it’s the Daily Mail and my iPad might explode!

On my first cruise last year on Britannia this was the one thing that made the cruise potentially seem very tacky and naff. But mercifully it was such a small part of the trip and there are other things to be done when it’s going on. But yes, each to their own. 
 

But I otherwise loved the cruising experience so much I have now booked several more.

Edited January 4, 2020 by Camberley

[Camberley]

10 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

Don't knock our oatcakes until you have tried them, they are nothing like the hard biscuit type oatcakes that you get in Scotland, they look like a brown pancake but are savoury.  The perfect breakfast is bacon, egg, mushrooms and tomatoes with oatcakes. 

Oh they are indeed lovely

[jeanlyon]

6 hours ago, DamianG said:

We were on that cruise (or at least had an identical experience). I was on our balcony at the time & it seemed that the music was louder than usual. Lord knows what the passengers on the Aida ship made of it but personally I was completely embarrassed even though we weren't participating and were in our safe haven of the balcony.

I have also been on a cruise where we moored near a German ship and the same thing happened.  All British war songs being played.  I thought it was really tacky and quite pathetic.

[purplesea]

On 1/3/2020 at 10:20 AM, Itsbeentoolong said:

I love them...paper flags in future?

We had paper flags on Britannia in May, but none on in November!

[stephen@stoneyard.co.uk]

The Great British Sail Away has never appealed to me. I am not a flag waving type of person. To me it seems a bit ridiculous and delusional.  I was on a mainly American owned, German built, Indian crewed ship and could be waving a Chinese made flag. Rule Britannia was a different world and not necessarily a world I wish to return to.
 

Just my personal opinion but I would not want to stop other people enjoying themselves. Though some of the behaviour described here seems offensive and make me sad for my country. 
 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, stephen@stoneyard.co.uk said:

The Great British Sail Away has never appealed to me. I am not a flag waving type of person. To me it seems a bit ridiculous and delusional.  I was on a mainly American owned, German built, Indian crewed ship and could be waving a Chinese made flag. Rule Britannia was a different world and not necessarily a world I wish to return to.
 

Just my personal opinion but I would not want to stop other people enjoying themselves. Though some of the behaviour described here seems offensive and make me sad for my country. 
 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

Stephen - my thoughts exactly. However,  some people seem to think that waving a plastic Union Jack is the height of patriotism!

By all means have a Sail Away party, but there are plenty of other great songs out there that can be used (obviously none of Ed Sheeran's!) 

[Monorail Orange]

I guess they can re-purpose the sailaway to the "Best of British Music". As a nation, we have produced some amazing songwriters and performers.

 

Trouble is, even with the hallowed names of the British music greats, you're not going to please everyone.

[Tablelamp]

On 1/3/2020 at 10:50 AM, pete14 said:

Happy with the decision to get rid (if that is true). It always seemed uncomfortable to be in a port located in another country that has welcomed us to visit and leaving in a noise of jingoistic patriotism. Our international reputation may not be as great as many of our citizens seem to believe and this sailaway may continue to chip away at it. Perhaps we should show greater respect to the port hosting our ships as many others do. 
I read this report on the Sun online. Lazy journalism, insulting to those who don’t like the GBS (snowflake is used in a derogatory fashion) and with a library picture of Oriana complete with yellow funnel!

 

I totally agree;  We are welcomed at these ports, and to leave in a noise of jingoistic patriotism makes me ashamed of being British.   If anything we should leave whilst playing THEIR National Anthem.  I hope P & O see my message and take note.   The three blasts on the horn are to say “Goodby and thank you”

[Britboys]

57 minutes ago, Tablelamp said:

 

I totally agree;  We are welcomed at these ports, and to leave in a noise of jingoistic patriotism makes me ashamed of being British.   If anything we should leave whilst playing THEIR National Anthem.  I hope P & O see my message and take note.   The three blasts on the horn are to say “Goodby and thank you”

That would be a nice touch.  On leaving Travemunde on a Baltic cruise, I suddenly heard our National Anthem blaring out from speakers on the shoreside!  There were also loads of locals waving us goodbye (and no, it wasn't a maiden call).

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, Tablelamp said:

 

I totally agree;  We are welcomed at these ports, and to leave in a noise of jingoistic patriotism makes me ashamed of being British.   If anything we should leave whilst playing THEIR National Anthem.  I hope P & O see my message and take note.   The three blasts on the horn are to say “Goodby and thank you”

What an excellent idea. And how much that would improve our reputation overseas. We’ve always avoided the sailaways as just too embarrassing, but that would temot me to join in.

[happy v]

5 hours ago, Tablelamp said:

 

I totally agree;  We are welcomed at these ports, and to leave in a noise of jingoistic patriotism makes me ashamed of being British.   If anything we should leave whilst playing THEIR National Anthem.  I hope P & O see my message and take note.   The three blasts on the horn are to say “Goodby and thank you”

I would also vote for this. An excellent idea.

[Pentlands]

On 1/4/2020 at 6:42 AM, Josy1953 said:

Don't knock our oatcakes until you have tried them, they are nothing like the hard biscuit type oatcakes that you get in Scotland, they look like a brown pancake but are savoury.  The perfect breakfast is bacon, egg, mushrooms and tomatoes with oatcakes. 

Sorry that completely ignores that you need to also black pudding to make a perfect brakfast ie on top of an oatcake.

[pete14]

47 minutes ago, Pentlands said:

Sorry that completely ignores that you need to also black pudding to make a perfect brakfast ie on top of an oatcake.

 

47 minutes ago, Pentlands said:

Sorry that completely ignores that you need to also black pudding to make a perfect brakfast ie on top of an oatcake.

No black pudding for me I’m afraid, just well done bacon and fried egg wrapped up in two oatcakes. You wouldn’t put anything on top of an oatcake because if you do you need a knife and fork to eat it. 

[philred]

we can take or leave the sailaway can understand the people who find it cringeworthy but there are just as many if not more that enjoy it just a matter of personal opinion 

[Monorail Orange]

On 1/5/2020 at 1:33 PM, Tablelamp said:

 If anything we should leave whilst playing THEIR National Anthem.  I hope P & O see my message and take note.   The three blasts on the horn are to say “Goodby and thank you”

That is a great idea. So long as they don't want to run the entire Greek national anthem.... (longest in the world with 158 stanzas)

 

Joking aside, it would be a nice touch - especially if you like experiencing a lot of the local culture.

 

If they wanted to make things balanced (emphasis on the if), play our anthem before/after it - as they do for international sporting events.

 

1 hour ago, philred said:

we can take or leave the sailaway can understand the people who find it cringeworthy but there are just as many if not more that enjoy it just a matter of personal opinion 

I have to agree there too. Sailaways are optional, and even if you attend you don't have to participate. I'm not overly keen on those times they encourage you to "dance along" (thats on most sailaways, not just GBS)

 

One thing that I find cringy - and it would also apply to playing the host nations anthem, is when they use some really tinny syntheic version of the anthem (same for Land of My Fathers/ Flower of Scotland/Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory). Surely its not that hard to find a decent recording of the songs?

 

.....

 

 

On a separate thought - just how much of the music can they hear dockside anyway? I remember being aside the Azura in Gibraltar as we both sailed out - you bearly hear anything. You could see their passengers dancing - so they were doing the same sort of sailaway, but what was playing - anyones guess.

 

 

Edited January 6, 2020 by Monorail Orange