End of Great British Sailaway ?

[Bazrat]

1 minute ago, jeanlyon said:

Err probably this Christmas!!  🤣

Sorry forgot about Christmas thought it was sound of music this year

[jeanlyon]

Not sure which is worse???

[Harry Peterson]

27 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

Actually reread your posts they seam a bit paranoid over the GBS

 

28 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

Let’s forget about the atrocities the Germans did in the war as for the dam busters theme when was the film last time it was on tv so how are the younger generation to know what’s it all about.

 

Keep on digging, Bazrat.  Nobody's forgetting what happened - on both sides.  That doesn't make it right though, and the Germans (and young people) are rather more intelligent and knowledgeable than you give them credit for.  Do you think they're stupid?  Or rely on films for a knowledge of history?

 

I don't know what your educational background is, but quite a lot of people do have degrees, A levels, GCSEs, O Levels and other educational achievements which provide them with quite a bit of knowledge of WW1, how it led almost inevitably to WW2, what went on between the wars, and how history repeats itself.

[Adawn47]

I too can remember the sailaways from Southampton, not the streamers but the brass bands and to arrive at dockside to see the ship dressed over all. A beautiful sight sadly gone. I can also remember in 2011 I think, when we had to miss Lybia because of the troubles and went to Malta. When Oceana left a brass band was blasting out renditions of Land of Hope and Glory and  the British National Anthem. They didn’t seem to mind. Before you say anything Harry I know they were our allies. 😊

[jeanlyon]

Actually we have university undergrads working for us in the summer at the harbour and most of them can't add up, can;t spell or write properly.  Now I have 2 O'levels, but I am numerate and literate.    One young man informed me he had A level Maths and he couldn't understand why he kept getting the money wrong.  He just didn't have basic arithmetic!!!

 

Stands back and awaits telling off.

[Harry Peterson]

9 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Actually we have university undergrads working for us in the summer at the harbour and most of them can't add up, can;t spell or write properly.  Now I have 2 O'levels, but I am numerate and literate.    One young man informed me he had A level Maths and he couldn't understand why he kept getting the money wrong.  He just didn't have basic arithmetic!!!

 

Stands back and awaits telling off.

Universities vary dramatically in quality, Jean - the Russell Group still represents the Gold Standard, along with a small number of others.

 

And I doubt there's much arithmetic in A level maths - it's taken as read.  I take your point though.

[Bazrat]

9 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

 

 

Keep on digging, Bazrat.  Nobody's forgetting what happened - on both sides.  That doesn't make it right though, and the Germans (and young people) are rather more intelligent and knowledgeable than you give them credit for.  Do you think they're stupid?  Or rely on films for a knowledge of history?

 

I don't know what your educational background is, but quite a lot of people do have degrees, A levels, GCSEs, O Levels and other educational achievements which provide them with quite a bit of knowledge of WW1, how it led almost inevitably to WW2, what went on between the wars, and how history repeats itself.

Please stop trying to justify your views getting a bit embarrassing now, but having worked in Germany and worked with them over here the biggest problem is people like yourself  you have the faulty towers syndrome.

[Adawn47]

Having also had to deal with teaching university students who were wanting summer jobs in retail how to do normal retail tasks, I came to the  conclusion that even though they were academically very intelligent they didn't have much commonsense. They didn’t seem to realise that not everything is supposed to be difficult. 

[KnowTheScore]

Interesting debate

 

I too have witnessed war related anthems at sailaways whilst berthed right in front of German AIDA ships.  It is somewhat uncomfortable to see.   I have no problem with people waving union flags however no more than people who do it at World Cup football events or who paint their faces.

 

I utterly abhor the relentless drive by the EU dictators and establishment to strip us of our national identity and effectively "neuter" everyone to become "nothing people" and it is simply something I will never accept.   We should never feel guilty to pronounce ourselves as British or indeed English, Welsh, Scottish or Irish.  

 

Finally there is a certain irony I feel in P&O ceasing to hand out union flags to passengers when the entire ship itself has the union flag plastered all over its hull !!!   You can but laugh really !

 

Just another nail in the coffin for a once glorious cruise line that has been utterly dismantled by the bean counters at Carnival imho.

 

 

[Eglesbrech]

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

We have always found the sailaways to be tacky, but know that many like them and I would defend P&O’s right to continue them. Deliberately provocative (e.g. anti German) songs are unacceptable though and an entertainment host encouraging Nazi salutes should have been dismissed IMHO. If I hear ‘The White Cliffs of Dover’ being sung on a P&O ship one more time I shall throw myself overboard. 
 

We fondly remember the streamers on departure from Southampton, with the large brass band on the quayside, on our first cruise in 1996 and were sad to see them go. We wouldn’t do flag waving but surely an environmentally friendly version could be found if that’s what people want?

 

One thing I do feel though is that it is very sad nowadays that being patriotic is seen as being a bad thing. I have always noticed that the Scots and Welsh are always (rightly) very proud to come from their countries, yet if you are English it tends to get lost in the overall ‘British’ banner, for fear of offending those from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. That’s wrong. The problem has been made worse by the English Flag now having unfortunate associations with football hooligans and far right groups. I am English and very proud of it, so I can live with some patriotic music, but it’s a shame that we have the most turgid and dreary national anthem. My favourite is the Italian one. Now that’s a jolly tune!

Yes the streamer and brass band sail always are one of the things from the last that I really miss, it was such a lovely start to a holiday.

 

It was interesting to read what you said about the English identity being lost in “British”, I would not see it that way, as an outsider looking in I have always thought that the regions of England have and celebrate very distinct identities, Yorkshire, Suffolk, Cornwall etc.  I had an office next door to a lady who was most offended if anyone referred to her lovely accent as Geordie as she was a proud Makem (which I had never heard of until it was explained). 

 

There is a great Billy Connery sketch about national anthems where he suggests something a bit more cheerful too. Rumty, tumpty, tumpty, tum. rumpty tumpty, tum tum.

 

My only objection the great British sail away is that it’s been done forever and they could do with coming up with something new. The sail always never change, they should refresh them as they do with the stage shows every few years.

 

 

Edited February 22, 2020 by Eglesbrech
Typo

[KnowTheScore]

Perhaps with Carnival being American we can expect yet another hull painting exercise across the fleet to put the stars and stripes on there?  Especially if it wants to attract a more international audience instead of the long standing traditional British loyal customer base!  Or maybe they should just paint all the hulls a mirky drab grey or yellow or brown colour to essentially eradicate any last vestiges or links to the long heritage of P&O Britishness.

[wowzz]

23 minutes ago, KnowTheScore said:

Finally there is a certain irony I feel in P&O ceasing to hand out union flags to passengers

That was done for environmental reasons, to cut down on plastic waste, nothing to with the sail away.

[Eglesbrech]

3 minutes ago, wowzz said:

That was done for environmental reasons, to cut down on plastic waste, nothing to with the sail away.

Yes they reduced a number of plastic items for the same reason, straws, butter pots etc.

[KnowTheScore]

24 minutes ago, wowzz said:

That was done for environmental reasons, to cut down on plastic waste, nothing to with the sail away.

 

And the replacement with paper flags with wooden sticks similar to those we used as kids on sandcastles . . . . .

 

where are those then?   Will they be forthcoming?   Doesn't sound like it if Carnival are intending to appeal to a wider audience and thus de-Britify the ships !

 

Perhaps passengers should just "Say No" to this relentless assault on our Britishness and bring our own flags with us and take them home again afterwards?   Just a suggestion.

[Eglesbrech]

3 minutes ago, KnowTheScore said:

 

And the replacement with paper flags with wooden sticks similar to those we used as kids on sandcastles . . . . .

 

where are those then?   Will they be forthcoming?   Doesn't sound like it if Carnival are intending to appeal to a wider audience and thus de-Britify the ships !

 

Perhaps passengers should just "Say No" to this relentless assault on our Britishness and bring our own flags with us and take them home again afterwards?   Just a suggestion.

Someone will correct me if I am wrong but I thought that they were going to be replaced by paper ones. I take it that has not happened?

[AndyMichelle]

4 minutes ago, KnowTheScore said:

 

And the replacement with paper flags with wooden sticks similar to those we used as kids on sandcastles . . . . .

 

where are those then?   Will they be forthcoming?   Doesn't sound like it if Carnival are intending to appeal to a wider audience and thus de-Britify the ships !

 

 

They have just painted a massive Union Jack on the front of their brand new ship and registered it in Southampton!!!! 

Doesn't sound like de Britifying to me.. 

Andy 

[KnowTheScore]

How long before alternative restaurants become American style Steak Houses?

 

Will they abolish Afternoon Tea in the MDR as it's quintessentially British?!

 

And the Great English Breakfast, is that destined to be pancakes and maple syrup?

 

Will on-board spend move to dollars instead of sterling ala Princess Cruises?

 

Will we have ship announcements in multiple languages?

 

Where does this all end?

 

 

 

[Eglesbrech]

1 minute ago, KnowTheScore said:

How long before alternative restaurants become American style Steak Houses?

 

Will they abolish Afternoon Tea in the MDR as it's quintessentially British?!

 

And the Great English Breakfast, is that destined to be pancakes and maple syrup?

 

Will on-board spend move to dollars instead of sterling ala Princess Cruises?

 

Will we have ship announcements in multiple languages?

 

Where does this all end?

 

 

 

All of that from reducing plastic waste? 

[AndyMichelle]

1 minute ago, KnowTheScore said:

How long before alternative restaurants become American style Steak Houses?

 

Will they abolish Afternoon Tea in the MDR as it's quintessentially British?!

 

And the Great English Breakfast, is that destined to be pancakes and maple syrup?

 

Will on-board spend move to dollars instead of sterling ala Princess Cruises?

 

Will we have ship announcements in multiple languages?

 

Where does this all end?

 

 

 

You have established all this because they have stopped giving out flags... 

Absolute nonsense... 

If they stop the GBS, it's because it has had its day and many don't want it anymore... 

Andy 

[terrierjohn]

2 minutes ago, KnowTheScore said:

How long before alternative restaurants become American style Steak Houses?

 

Will they abolish Afternoon Tea in the MDR as it's quintessentially British?!

 

And the Great English Breakfast, is that destined to be pancakes and maple syrup?

 

Will on-board spend move to dollars instead of sterling ala Princess Cruises?

 

Will we have ship announcements in multiple languages?

 

Where does this all end?

 

 

 

Even when Princess was owned and managed by P&O its currency was dollars, because its main market was in the US. So I doubt they will change P&O away from sterling, when its supposedly appealing to Saturday night ITV viewers.

[KnowTheScore]

Forgive me but the thread appears to be about the removal of the "Great British" sailaway.  Is that not correct?

 

It would be utterly naïve to think there won't be any type of sailaway event at each sailaway so the net result here is that it is the "British" element that is being curtailed.  Have I misunderstood that?

[Roger88]

6 hours ago, brillo said:

Anyone who thinks that the US is cleaner than the UK has never visited the rust belt or the trailer parks on the outskirts of most major towns or cities,

I lived in CA for many years and aside from DownTown LA the place is very nice. The east coast of the US is a totally different story tho. Way worst in the matter of overall cleanliness* 

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, KnowTheScore said:

Forgive me but the thread appears to be about the removal of the "Great British" sailaway.  Is that not correct?

 

It would be utterly naïve to think there won't be any type of sailaway event at each sailaway so the net result here is that it is the "British" element that is being curtailed.  Have I misunderstood that?

Yes you have, the GBS has always been the last one before the return to Southampton. There are others throughout the cruise but the GBS had patriotic songs and flag waving.

[Adawn47]

1 hour ago, KnowTheScore said:

Interesting debate

 

I too have witnessed war related anthems at sailaways whilst berthed right in front of German AIDA ships.  It is somewhat uncomfortable to see.   I have no problem with people waving union flags however no more than people who do it at World Cup football events or who paint their faces.

 

I utterly abhor the relentless drive by the EU dictators and establishment to strip us of our national identity and effectively "neuter" everyone to become "nothing people" and it is simply something I will never accept.   We should never feel guilty to pronounce ourselves as British or indeed English, Welsh, Scottish or Irish.  

 

Finally there is a certain irony I feel in P&O ceasing to hand out union flags to passengers when the entire ship itself has the union flag plastered all over its hull !!!   You can but laugh really !

 

Just another nail in the coffin for a once glorious cruise line that has been utterly dismantled by the bean counters at Carnival imho.

 

 

For once I actually agree with you 😉

[Bazrat]

Remarkable all these people heard all these war time songs but not one was brave enough to complain at the time.