P&O Cruisers - What are things like where YOU are?

[Angel57]

Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 Dermotsgirl.

I hope you are having a great birthday and that the sun is shining for you.

Gill x

[kalos]

Whilst the weather was not too bad we decided to have a walk.

Our local cemetery is in a countryside setting and so we had  a 

walk around there . A good choice as apart from the deceased

we had the place to ourselves, very peaceful it was .

The only downside was a fair few of the graves I knew the occupants

from working with them or used to live nearby.  I said to Mrs Kalos ..

" Only seems yesterday I was talking/working or having a pint with some

of them, makes you feel old  ."

[Adawn47]

23 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

Good morning all. A lovely sunny day here, the daffodils are coming up at last and it feels like spring has finally arrived. 
 

I’m on the mend with a normal temperature. It’s an ill wind that blows no good as they say, I have lost a few pounds over the last few weeks (a few stone would have been better but every little helps).

 

I’m enjoying just sitting up and watching the birds start to build nests, we have several in the garden.

I'm glad you're feeling much better Eglesbrech. It's nice to see your sunflower again🌻. The first signs of spring lifts everyone's spirits doesn't it?  It's been a long old winter for many reasons. Nature is showing us that there's so much to be positive about now if we continue to look forward. Take care, and I'm sure you'll soon be pottering around in your garden.

Avril

[kalos]

52 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

Good morning all. A lovely sunny day here, the daffodils are coming up at last and it feels like spring has finally arrived. 
 

I’m on the mend with a normal temperature.

 

Great to read your on the mend , a few bottles of Bru and it will be back to bending the girders for you 

[davecarr]

17 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

THESE ARE ACTUAL COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY "THOMAS COOK VACATIONS" FROM DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS:

1. "On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don't like spicy food."

2. "They should not allow topless sunbathing on the beach. It was very distracting for my husband who just wanted to relax."

3. "We went on holiday to Spain and had a problem with the taxi drivers as they were all Spanish."

4. "We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our own swimsuits and towels. We assumed it would be included in the price."

5. "The beach was too sandy. We had to clean everything when we returned to our room."

6. "We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as white but it was more yellow."

7. "It's lazy of the local shopkeepers in Puerto Vallartato to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during 'siesta' time -- this should be banned."

8. "No-one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared."

9. "Although the brochure said that there was a fully equipped kitchen, there was no egg-slicer in the drawers."

10. "I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local convenience store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts."

11. "The roads were uneven and bumpy, so we could not read the local guide book during the bus ride to the resort. Because of this, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday more fun."

12. "It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the Americans only three hours to get home. This seems unfair."

13. "I compared the size of our one-bedroom suite to our friends' three-bedroom and ours was significantly smaller."

14. "The brochure stated: 'No hairdressers at the resort.' We're trainee hairdressers and we think they knew and made us wait longer for service."

15. "When we were in Spain, there were too many Spanish people there. The receptionist spoke Spanish, the food was Spanish. No one told us that there would be so many foreigners."

16. "We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no air-conditioning."

17. "It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel."

18. "I was bitten by a mosquito. The brochure did not mention mosquitoes."

19. "My fiancée and I requested twin-beds when we booked, but instead we were placed in a room with a king bed. We now hold you responsible and want to be re-reimbursed for the fact that I became pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked."

BE AWARE ...THEY WALK AMONG US and THEY VOTE.....

My favourite quote from a cruise ship passenger, do the crew get off the ship at night

[yorkshirephil]

3 minutes ago, davecarr said:

My favourite quote from a cruise ship passenger, do the crew get off the ship at night

There are so many of them.

• Does the crew sleep onboard?
• How far above sea-level are we?
• Is the island surrounded by water?
• Does the ship generate its own electricity?
• Does this elevator go up as well as down?
• What time’s the midnight buffet?
• What do they do with the ice sculptures when they melt?
• Was the fish caught this morning by the crew?
• Do we have to stay up until midnight to change our clocks?
• How do we know which photos are ours?
• Is the mail brought on by plane?
• Is the doctor qualified?
• Should I put my luggage outside the cabin before or after I go to sleep?
• Does the Sun always rise on the left side of the ship?
• Does the ship dock in the middle of town?

[Eglesbrech]

45 minutes ago, kalos said:

 

Great to read your on the mend , a few bottles of Bru and it will be back to bending the girders for you 

Can’t stand the stuff Kalos. It’s like liquid bubble gum but thank you for the kind thought anyway

[Eglesbrech]

53 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

I'm glad you're feeling much better Eglesbrech. It's nice to see your sunflower again🌻. The first signs of spring lifts everyone's spirits doesn't it?  It's been a long old winter for many reasons. Nature is showing us that there's so much to be positive about now if we continue to look forward. Take care, and I'm sure you'll soon be pottering around in your garden.

Avril

The picture of the sunflower is from my garden. I’m looking forward to doing a bit of gardening but for now will content myself 😀

[Bloodaxe]

1 hour ago, kalos said:

Whilst the weather was not too bad we decided to have a walk.

Our local cemetery is in a countryside setting and so we had  a 

walk around there . A good choice as apart from the deceased

we had the place to ourselves, very peaceful it was .

The only downside was a fair few of the graves I knew the occupants

from working with them or used to live nearby.  I said to Mrs Kalos ..

" Only seems yesterday I was talking/working or having a pint with some

of them, makes you feel old  ."

 

I know how you feel, my old company used to send out a magazine with an obituary section.

My Wife would try to get access to it before me and bin it, she said reading it was making me depressed 

[purplesea]

56 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

There are so many of them.

• Does the crew sleep onboard?
• How far above sea-level are we?
• Is the island surrounded by water?
• Does the ship generate its own electricity?
• Does this elevator go up as well as down?
• What time’s the midnight buffet?
• What do they do with the ice sculptures when they melt?
• Was the fish caught this morning by the crew?
• Do we have to stay up until midnight to change our clocks?
• How do we know which photos are ours?
• Is the mail brought on by plane?
• Is the doctor qualified?
• Should I put my luggage outside the cabin before or after I go to sleep?
• Does the Sun always rise on the left side of the ship?
• Does the ship dock in the middle of town?

Ones I like are

 

Do the stairs go up and down?

 

Are the balconies above the water?

Edited March 15, 2021 by purplesea

[grapau27]

Just got back from our beach walk.

My knees and hips have stopped moving.🥴

[Dermotsgirl]

Just wanted to say thanks to everybody for the birthday wishes.

 

When you consider that this time 4 years ago I was in Fiji and 3 years ago I was in Tromso, this will rate as one of my quieter birthdays, but we are going to have a takeaway delivered for dinner, so I'm looking forward to that 

[Beckett]

4 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

Good morning all. A lovely sunny day here, the daffodils are coming up at last and it feels like spring has finally arrived. 
 

I’m on the mend with a normal temperature. It’s an ill wind that blows no good as they say, I have lost a few pounds over the last few weeks (a few stone would have been better but every little helps).

 

I’m enjoying just sitting up and watching the birds start to build nests, we have several in the garden.

That's good to hear Eglesbrech.  I wish you many more sunny days.  Best wishes.  Jane.x

[Adawn47]

21 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

THESE ARE ACTUAL COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY "THOMAS COOK VACATIONS" FROM DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS:

1. "On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don't like spicy food."

2. "They should not allow topless sunbathing on the beach. It was very distracting for my husband who just wanted to relax."

3. "We went on holiday to Spain and had a problem with the taxi drivers as they were all Spanish."

4. "We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our own swimsuits and towels. We assumed it would be included in the price."

5. "The beach was too sandy. We had to clean everything when we returned to our room."

6. "We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as white but it was more yellow."

7. "It's lazy of the local shopkeepers in Puerto Vallartato to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during 'siesta' time -- this should be banned."

8. "No-one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared."

9. "Although the brochure said that there was a fully equipped kitchen, there was no egg-slicer in the drawers."

10. "I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local convenience store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts."

11. "The roads were uneven and bumpy, so we could not read the local guide book during the bus ride to the resort. Because of this, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday more fun."

12. "It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the Americans only three hours to get home. This seems unfair."

13. "I compared the size of our one-bedroom suite to our friends' three-bedroom and ours was significantly smaller."

14. "The brochure stated: 'No hairdressers at the resort.' We're trainee hairdressers and we think they knew and made us wait longer for service."

15. "When we were in Spain, there were too many Spanish people there. The receptionist spoke Spanish, the food was Spanish. No one told us that there would be so many foreigners."

16. "We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no air-conditioning."

17. "It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel."

18. "I was bitten by a mosquito. The brochure did not mention mosquitoes."

19. "My fiancée and I requested twin-beds when we booked, but instead we were placed in a room with a

king bed. We now hold you responsible and want to be re-reimbursed for the fact that I became pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked."

BE AWARE ...THEY WALK AMONG US and THEY VOTE.....

I can personally add another. The Imperial Tara Hotel in Mae Hong Son is situated in a beautiful idyllic setting on the edge of a rainforest. Going down to breakfast we were surprised to hear a very loud angry couple demanding an immediate change of hotel and the return of all monies paid, because the birds were so noisy on a morning that they couldn't sleep in.🙄

Avril

[zap99]

10 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

I can personally add another. The Imperial Tara Hotel in Mae Hong Son is situated in a beautiful idyllic setting on the edge of a rainforest. Going down to breakfast we were surprised to hear a very loud angry couple demanding an immediate change of hotel and the return of all monies paid, because the birds were so noisy on a morning that they couldn't sleep in.🙄

Avril

Sometimes you feel violence coming on. Some years ago we went into Granada with Ocean Village. I think we were just about the first cruise ship in after a hurricane. The people there don't have much but were doing their best. An Lady who had a North American accent said " geez, how can people live like that, they have plastic sheets for their roofs." Simultaneously about every one on the bus put her right.

Edited March 15, 2021 by zap99

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, Adawn47 said:

I can personally add another. The Imperial Tara Hotel in Mae Hong Son is situated in a beautiful idyllic setting on the edge of a rainforest. Going down to breakfast we were surprised to hear a very loud angry couple demanding an immediate change of hotel and the return of all monies paid, because the birds were so noisy on a morning that they couldn't sleep in.🙄

Avril

My late mam and dad stayed in a hotel in the Scottish Highlands about 20 years ago and said a particular couple were complaining about everything which soured the atmosphere.

On departure this couple were smirking and pleased with themselves saying they got their money back from the hotel.

They said they enjoyed the hotel but by complaining they made everyone miserable and got a free stay.

 

[Eglesbrech]

8 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

My late mam and dad stayed in a hotel in the Scottish Highlands about 20 years ago and said a particular couple were complaining about everything which soured the atmosphere.

On departure this couple were smirking and pleased with themselves saying they got their money back from the hotel.

They said they enjoyed the hotel but by complaining they made everyone miserable and got a free stay.

 

Similar experience at the Midland Hotel in Morcombe. It is a beautiful Art Deco building with amazing authentic features. The rooms are quirky and don’t have the massive bathrooms and all the amenities of more modern buildings but they are totally in keeping with the style of the hotel and the place is well worth a stay.

The couple at the next table moaned about their tiny bathroom, moaned about the features which we found charming, moaned about the town, basically just moaned. Unfortunately they were next to us each night. Eventually we just turned a deaf ear.

 

The couple on the other side were by comparison a joy. They were actually dressed for the period of the hotel (Poirot fans and some of the episodes were filmed there). He in a stripped blazer with white Oxford bags and her in a fabulous beaded flapper dress. 

 

If you ever visit here I guarantee it will take you a few minutes to find the bathroom and closets etc as they are concealed behind beautiful wooden sliding panels.

 

It is well worth upgrading to a seafront balcony, feel a bit like being on a cruise ship.

 

[Eglesbrech]

So staycations, it looks like we are all going to be stuck in the U.K. for a while at least so.

 

Best budget hotels/ B&Bs you have stayed in?

 

Best luxury hotels for a break?

[yorkshirephil]

Well I am devastated, Thornton's are shutting down all their shops.  

[grapau27]

2 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

Well I am devastated, Thornton's are shutting down all their shops.  

Wow.

This is shocking.

[Eglesbrech]

5 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

Well I am devastated, Thornton's are shutting down all their shops.  

They lost their USP when they started selling their chocolates cheap in supermarkets.

 

They also stopped doing all the fancy things that people actually used to enjoy and buy.

 

We had shares with them for many years until they were compulsory purchased back a few years ago. Share holders used to get discount vouchers each October which encouraged a regular visit to the shop, another mistake stopping that.

 

Shame though, more job losses.

[AnnieC]

8 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Wow.

This is shocking.

What on earth is going to be left in our city centres when we finally re-emerge? In one small part of Norwich city centre Debenhams, Topshop and Thorntons have all gone and I imagine that's replicated in everyone else's nearest city or town.

[Peanut006]

17 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

Well I am devastated, Thornton's are shutting down all their shops.  

Oh no, Thornton’s toffee is the best. I have a lovely cheesecake recipe using Thornton’s toffee, looks like no cheesecake!!!

Michelle

[kalos]

As a kids our parents used to get us an Easter egg from Thornton's

Which had our names in white icing . We thought we had the world.

The Thornton's shop in our town centre was just confectionery until

they closed and relocated to our retail park selling balloons, cards as 

well as the confectionery but we preferred the old shop where some 

of the goodies were made in-store . Our hearts go out to their staff ,

after a  year like we have all had and now this for them  . 

[grapau27]

4 minutes ago, AnnieC said:

What on earth is going to be left in our city centres when we finally re-emerge? In one small part of Norwich city centre Debenhams, Topshop and Thorntons have all gone and I imagine that's replicated in everyone else's nearest city or town.

I Agree it will be.

Thorntons are going to rely on online sales and in supermarkets and department stores.

We used to like the cafe plus the personalising of names etc on chocolate eggs and boxed chocolates like their continental range.