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

[Splice the mainbrace]

Booked another long cruise last night, the discount was a lot more than we were expecting (15% discount). In the next 16 months we will be cruising for 106 days, think we’ll throttle back after that only Nile Cruise, the west coast pacific highway and USA to Australia via pacific islands are left on our bucket list.

[grapau27]

Good morning.

It is sunny and 15° C.

We had breakfast in our garden room and now I am relaxing on one of our sun beds.

I hope everyone is well.

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, Adawn47 said:

Gone are the days Harry, when we could pack up a bottle of pop, a jam sandwich and wander off for a 'picnic' with our friends during school holidays without a care in the world.

The safety of our children is just as important now as it was when we, and our children were young. We were taught to be careful around strangers, crossing busy roads, the danger of rivers and lakes etc, but we were allowed to be children. We could play in playgrounds climb trees and experience all the rough and tumble of play that children should. We fell, we got up, we got a cut or graze, we stuck a plaster on. It taught us all an invaluable lesson early in life that if you fall, you get up, brush yourself off and carry on.

Maybe I'm old fashioned or just plain naive but imo, children should not be cocooned in cottonwool and protected from a normal childhood. That won't build a strong character that will help them navigate the problems that they will face later in life.

Well that was a long ramble, sorry🤐

Avril

 

Absolutely, Avril. And I’m pleased to say that our grandchildren are being brought up - in Yorkshire - just like that. Just as their Mum was (though their Dad, lovely bloke that he is) was horrified when we introduced him to the alien concept of peeing behind a tree in a forest when there’s nowhere else to go! They live in a very large village, and there are always risks everywhere, but the main risks are roads and water - not strangers. That’s not to say that they’re not a risk - but let’s get things into proportion.

 

Not so very far from you, towards the end of the road which led to Cudworth station, there was a little bridge over a dyke. My father used to play round there back in the 1920s. He didn’t go near the water because my grandparents had told him that if he did the Troll would come out of the water and get him!

[zap99]

1 hour ago, kalos said:

 

Most people in our town do not go to the town centre as there is not much unless you 

like Bet Freds /Charity shops and a load of to let signs in shop windows .

I used to love our town centre in my younger years .

It's a bit bleak unless you live in some leafy suburb out in the sticks where you can watch your kids but I totally get why most parents are happy to keep their kids close by these days.

We go  to our town centre once a week. There are a good few empty shops ,perhaps due to high rents and power. Also lack of customers going through the door. Folk shop online and get it delivered, then have a moan about the empty shops. My pet hate is when I go in the bank and one of the employees stops me and tries to persuade me  to use the ATM instead. I explain to them that if everyone did that, her job would be gone.

Edited May 14, 2023 by zap99

[Son of Anarchy]

4 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

Now at Man airport, boarding soon for flight to Tokyo to join QE. Please be nice while I am away. I will trying update when I can.

 

Cruising Japan is on our bucket list.  Well jealous.  Have a great time.

[grapau27]

10 minutes ago, zap99 said:

We go  to our town centre once a week. There are a good few empty shops ,perhaps due to high rents and power. Also lack of customers going through the door. Folk shop online and get it delivered, then have a moan about the empty shops. My pet hate is when I go in the bank and one of the employees stops me and tries to persuade me  to use the ATM instead. I explain to them that if everyone did that, her job would be gone.

I agree.

A few years ago we were encouraged by our bank to do online banking.

Since then hundreds of bank branches have closed.

I was a bank cashier 1974-1977.

[Dermotsgirl]

39 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

I agree.

A few years ago we were encouraged by our bank to do online banking.

Since then hundreds of bank branches have closed.

I was a bank cashier 1974-1977.

I left school in 1976 and started as a cashier in Barclays. It was considered to be a ‘good’ job back then. I left Barclays in 1981, but the rest of my working life was in the financial world 

[kalos]

Yep same as you Zapp I hate it when the banks or the supermarkets do that .

If I wanted an ATM or even a self serve in the supermarket I would have used them.

As Graham has said ,online banking /shopping has a lot to answer for regarding our 

town centres .At the last count we had around at least five travel agents in our town .

As far as I know we have non ,they are all out of town on the outskirts, and our out of

town shopping centre.

This to be fair this has no detrimental effect on me personally as I have just rebooked the 

same holiday we just got back from, for next year .

With all the online discounts and the money off coupons the holiday company gave us ,

it would have been rude not to.

So I suppose we are partly to blame for our own actions regarding our towns shops.

Edited May 14, 2023 by kalos

[Harry Peterson]

3 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I left school in 1976 and started as a cashier in Barclays. It was considered to be a ‘good’ job back then. I left Barclays in 1981, but the rest of my working life was in the financial world 

It was. And in the 60s the clearing banks were advertising the fact that 1 in 3 entrants would go on to become managers. They had thousands more branches then of course, and a lot more opportunities for advancement. Very few people, relatively speaking, had bank accounts, and each statement was typed out on a typewriter!

[Harry Peterson]

9 minutes ago, kalos said:

This to be fair as no detrimental effect on me personally as I have just rebooked the same holiday we just got back from, for next year .

With all the online discounts and the money off coupons the holiday company gave us, it would have been rude not to.

 

Have to admit, Kalos, I looked up that hotel and did a bit of pricing up with one of the major travel companies. We’d noticed it before, when visiting Funchal, and it always appealed. Great location!

[kalos]

1 minute ago, Harry Peterson said:

Have to admit, Kalos, I looked up that hotel and did a bit of pricing up with one of the major travel companies. We’d noticed it before, when visiting Funchal, and it always appealed. Great location!

 

I think your thinking of the sister hotel across the road , this hotel only opened in July 2021.

Unless you have managed to sneak away then Harry 😉

This hotel is 4* the other two are 5*

[purplesea]

Just skimmed through the last days posts. 

I have made it! I am on board😁have just a bite to eat, found our cabin. Next I'm going to a bar for a drink.

 

 

 

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, kalos said:

Yep same as you Zapp I hate it when the banks or the supermarkets do that .

If I wanted an ATM or even a self serve in the supermarket I would have used them.

As Graham has said ,online banking /shopping has a lot to answer for regarding our 

town centres .At the last count we had around at least five travel agents in our town .

As far as I know we have non ,they are all out of town on the outskirts, and our out of

town shopping centre.

This to be fair this has no detrimental effect on me personally as I have just rebooked the 

same holiday we just got back from, for next year .

With all the online discounts and the money off coupons the holiday company gave us ,

it would have been rude not to.

So I suppose we are partly to blame for our own actions regarding our towns shops.

I'm delighted for you and Mrs Kalos.

Hotel looked fabulous with amazing views on a lovely Island.

 

 

 

[grapau27]

8 minutes ago, purplesea said:

Just skimmed through the last days posts. 

I have made it! I am on board😁have just a bite to eat, found our cabin. Next I'm going to a bar for a drink.

 

 

 

I hope you have an amazing cruise Pam.

[purplesea]

First drink of the cruise!

Edited May 14, 2023 by purplesea

[indiana123]

6 minutes ago, purplesea said:

First drink of the cruise!

I am not jealous, I am not jealous

 

Yes I am.. nothing like that first drink on board  Mine is usually from the bottle in the cabin hanging over the rail waiting to sail.   So exciting.😀

 

 

Have fun enjoy everything.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, kalos said:

Yep same as you Zapp I hate it when the banks or the supermarkets do that .

If I wanted an ATM or even a self serve in the supermarket I would have used them.

As Graham has said ,online banking /shopping has a lot to answer for regarding our 

town centres .At the last count we had around at least five travel agents in our town .

As far as I know we have non ,they are all out of town on the outskirts, and our out of

town shopping centre.

This to be fair this has no detrimental effect on me personally as I have just rebooked the 

same holiday we just got back from, for next year .

With all the online discounts and the money off coupons the holiday company gave us ,

it would have been rude not to.

So I suppose we are partly to blame for our own actions regarding our towns shops.

We have 2 travel agents where we once had 6. My fault as we always book direct online, or through an online/telephone TA. No real loss as the folk working in them didn't know much . The exception is that one of the TA's is a well known long haul specialist who seem to know their stuff. She talked me out of spending 2 nights in Lake Louise. I would only spend one night there sir. Spend an extra night in Banff instead. I reluctantly agreed. Turns out she was right.

[brian1]

2 hours ago, grapau27 said:

I agree.

A few years ago we were encouraged by our bank to do online banking.

Since then hundreds of bank branches have closed.

I was a bank cashier 1974-1977.

Those were the days and you never took your work home with you.

[Adawn47]

1 hour ago, purplesea said:

First drink of the cruise!

Cheers Pam.🍹 Have a wonderful cruise.

Avril

[Dermotsgirl]

2 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

It was. And in the 60s the clearing banks were advertising the fact that 1 in 3 entrants would go on to become managers. They had thousands more branches then of course, and a lot more opportunities for advancement. Very few people, relatively speaking, had bank accounts, and each statement was typed out on a typewriter!

By the time I started there were computerised statements, but, if a customer wanted a duplicate of their statement we’d have to type it out manually.

 

 

[Harry Peterson]

2 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

By the time I started there were computerised statements, but, if a customer wanted a duplicate of their statement we’d have to type it out manually.

 

 

My very first statements as a student back in the 60s were manually typed, but that went pretty quickly, along with the splendid manager who actually spoke to his customers - even students. It then became a sub-branch and I became a sub-customer. 

[AnnieC]

And I have just dug out some old school magazines ("Spectrum", Southgate Grammar School, 1965-1967), in which Barclays advertised for school leavers to join them. Under the heading "A Career in the Bank" there is a salary scale and career outline for "ambitious young men" and a separate one, heading "And there's scope for girls as well", with a lesser salary, along with the boast that Barclays has "two women branch managers".

 

We've come a long way...

[P&O SUE]

On 5/13/2023 at 10:56 AM, kalos said:

There lies the other problem or trap you can fall into .

Filling in your online holiday insurance  they ask ..

 

Has your Cholestrol levels been known to be raised EVER in your life time ?

 

The minute you say yes ,up goes your travel insurance costs .

 

You could not declare this and when things go wrong ,hope they do not go down the 

fail to disclose route and dump you .

Yes this annoys me greatly as after my stent my insurance has obviously risen. I can tell by the questions I’m at the lower end as it were eg have you had a heart attack (no) how many stents (1) but that cholesterol question bugs me. My cholesterol level is pretty low since I was put on the statins but I bet there are loads of people walking around now with very high levels who have no idea.

[P&O SUE]

Afternoon all, we did get out yesterday, went to Hole gardens near Rolvenden. The sun eventually came out but it wasn’t wall to wall sunshine as predicted. However we left home with grey skies and it was the same when we came home so we were glad we went.

 

 

[P&O SUE]

3 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

By the time I started there were computerised statements, but, if a customer wanted a duplicate of their statement we’d have to type it out manually.

 

 

Do you remember looking them up on microfiche? If a customer had a query they had to wait two days for us to get the microfiche!