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

[Astrajet]

19 minutes ago, alpha whiskey said:

Please everyone, give drills and safety advice your full attention. You never know when you might need to be ready! 

Excellent advice.

[brian1]

45 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

Do you know if the Glass house is changing on all of the ships? we really enjoy having lunch there on sea days.  Good to know Peller Ice is still available.

Probably not,they need more suckers for the octopus.

[davecttr]

33 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

Do you know if the Glass house is changing on all of the ships? we really enjoy having lunch there on sea days.  Good to know Peller Ice is still available.

The original Glass House was La Ramblas on Ventura which was a Spanish themed bar, it even had an olive tree. Tapas was served including at the bar which was a substantial length and also served beers etc. In the evening there was a Spanish guitarist. Then came Azura and a change of name to Glass House. No Spanish theme but the same concept. Then came Aurora who's Glass House had a much reduced bar area plus the 'gentle hint' of bar stools which were designed for 6 foot six tall people with 12 inch wide hips. The change to a restaurant continued with the awful venue on Britannia with an even smaller bar and the added irritant of it being formal on formal nights. On Iona at least there is more eating AND drinking space but IMO the menu was better when it was the original one on Ventura/Azura.

 

I will use the Glass Hose on Iona but be very careful with my menu selections. It also appears to remain informal on formal nights which is a good thing IMO. It is a passenger transit area and these venues  do not work as formal as you have a constant stream of peasants walking through. 😁

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Astrajet said:

Oh yes, same here!  We found that we were constantly nudging each other and just grinning!  It was such a great feeling to be back on a ship again that we ended up doing three staycation cruises!

3 for us as well. 3 proper cruises this year, as long as you know what does a you know where.

[davecttr]

I have a Dental appointment tomorrow  just when the storm hits and I have a mile walk down to the village. The appointment has already been postponed once so I suppose I should give it a try as it is in the morning.

[zap99]

31 minutes ago, alpha whiskey said:

Worst for us was an emergency evacuation down the slides of a 747.

Cabin was filling with smoke. Cannot begin to tell you how fast those slides go! 

The following year we took our first ever cruise 🤣🤣

Hasn't put us off flying and have done many since. 

Please everyone, give drills and safety advice your full attention. You never know when you might need to be ready! 

 

 

We fly lots. DW said ' what are you doing '. Counting the seat backs to the emergency exit. Saves the panic when the cabin is full of smoke !.

[Dermotsgirl]

We recently paid for our British Isles cruise on Queen Victoria.

 

We've had an email from Cunard to say that the cruise will not take place.  The reason being that QV is to stay in the Caribbean longer than expected and then will have a dry dock on her return, returning to service on 5th June - which is the day our cruise would have got back to Southampton.

 

A mixture of feelings - Deflation mostly, as we had begun to talk about what excursions we'd like to do.  However, also some relief, as I have had a concern that Carnival UK would drop a lot of the Covid mitigations by May.

 

We've been offered 110% FCC, but will go for the full refund instead. We originally made our booking back in October 2019, and feel the need to draw a line under this, once and for all.

 

That just leaves our one remaining cruise which is in March 2023, on Iona.  I think our payment is due in November, so that gives plenty of time to see how things are going, so won't think about it until then.

 

In the meantime, we have two self catering breaks in July and September, so have something to look forward to. 

[davecttr]

Just checked the weather forecasts for tomorrow and they say the strongest winds in my area will be at the time of my dental appointment. The met office says wind over 30mph with gusts up to 60 mph. the beeb forecast says winds of up to 70mph 😱

 

However I do have sufficient food to last until at least Sunday

 

edit - the winds are from the SW and that means directly in my face as I struggle home up the hill.

[Adawn47]

1 hour ago, brian1 said:

Probably not,they need more suckers for the octopus.

Doesn't the octopus have enough already?🙃

Sis

[SarahHben]

50 minutes ago, davecttr said:

Just checked the weather forecasts for tomorrow and they say the strongest winds in my area will be at the time of my dental appointment. The met office says wind over 30mph with gusts up to 60 mph. the beeb forecast says winds of up to 70mph 😱

 

However I do have sufficient food to last until at least Sunday

 

edit - the winds are from the SW and that means directly in my face as I struggle home up the hill.

I think I’d be tempted to cancel 😳

[purplesea]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Just been checking the weather for Southamton tomorrow and they are forecasting wind gusts between 50 to 90mph from 5:00am until 7:00pm.

I wonder what time Iona is due back, having missed La Corunna she could be arriving anytime between then.

I had a message from my friend, who is onboard, saying they are coming back early due to the storms and going to be sheltering off the coast of France tonight and tomorrow. Hoping to miss the worst of it.

 

[alpha whiskey]

2 hours ago, zap99 said:

We fly lots. DW said ' what are you doing '. Counting the seat backs to the emergency exit. Saves the panic when the cabin is full of smoke !.

Tell DW to not wear flowing skirt either... with arms crossed on chest, no chance of holding it down when you hit that slide🤣😱

[kalos]

1 minute ago, alpha whiskey said:

Tell DW to not wear flowing skirt either... with arms crossed on chest, no chance of holding it down when you hit that slide🤣😱

I once saw an elderly lady in gale clung to a lamp post with one arm and holding her hat to 

her head with the other and her skirt was blowing up around her head 

I said " Your putting on a right show Mrs "

She just smiled and said.......

" I don't mind everything you can see is 89 years old but the hats brand new "

[grapau27]

6 hours ago, P&O SUE said:

Talking of mad emails I’ve just had one from Princess with a survey for me as I’ve had a balcony with them before. I’ve been on one Princess cruise and had an inside cabin!!!

We got the same Princess email.

I wish they would give an incentive to fill these surveys in.

Graham.

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, Snow Hill said:

My worst experience was on a BA Flight to Nice, France,  landing in a Thunderstorm and with very gusty winds,  pilot aborted landing twice, then circled around for about 30 mins before successfully landing the third time. 

We have had a few bumpy landings over the years.

I remember a couple of years ago I never heard the landing gear engage and just before we were going to touch down the plane suddenly accelerated and went up again,circled and landed but this time I heard the landing gear being engaged.

[indiana123]

BooHoo... just had an e mail from Travel Agent telling us our May Cruise on Queen Victoria has been cancelled due to the Covid Crisis!!!!     Strange. 

 

 It was a round Britain and Ireland Cruise and twice the price of going further afield!   Apparently Cunard will be contacting us shortly.

 

We only paid the balance a few days ago.

 

Oh well, such is life

 

 

 

 

[Snow Hill]

Only moved the patio furniture back onto the decking last week, today moved it again as don’t want it blowing into the windows, although made of cast aluminium it’s quite light so not taking any chances with gusts forecast up to 60mph or 67 mph on BBC.

 

Staked the cloches down that protecting some delicate plants using the ground anchors we had for our tent, long gone, but knew anchors might come in useful.

 

The birds have lost their feeders for a day, took them down as in an exposed position, blocked up louvre window on greenhouse with Perspex and duck tape as that side faces west which is expected direction of wind. 
 

The neighbours brick wall should give some shelter from the wind, but living at top of a hill might alleviate us from floods but gales can present a problem.

 

At least the strongest wind are in daylight hours so can keep watch.

 

Our friends in South Wales have moved to a Red warning with 90mph gusts and 8m waves, they like us are on higher ground, so no chance of flooding from a storm surge. 
 

Glad we are not at sea over the next 24 to 72 hours, shipping forecast has Violent Storm Force 11 for the Channel around to Fastnet.

Edited February 17, 2022 by Snow Hill

[Snow Hill]

42 minutes ago, purplesea said:

I had a message from my friend, who is onboard, saying they are coming back early due to the storms and going to be sheltering off the coast of France tonight and tomorrow. Hoping to miss the worst of it.

 

Currently doing 20.6kn off coast of France near Brest. 

[Angel57]

15 minutes ago, indiana123 said:

BooHoo... just had an e mail from Travel Agent telling us our May Cruise on Queen Victoria has been cancelled due to the Covid Crisis!!!!     Strange. 

 

 It was a round Britain and Ireland Cruise and twice the price of going further afield!   Apparently Cunard will be contacting us shortly.

 

We only paid the balance a few days ago.

 

Oh well, such is life

 

 

 

 

Oh no. I’m so sorry to hear that. What a disappointment.

I wonder what the reasoning is?

 

[bobstheboy]

Excellent jouurney today to just outside Winchester. Left 0930 arrived at 1500, with two stops. Very nice pub, lovely room, excellent beer and menu, which includes venison, a favourite of mine. Travelling to Southampton tomorrow, so will take it easy. Stay safe everyone.

[alpha whiskey]

8 minutes ago, bobstheboy said:

Excellent jouurney today to just outside Winchester. Left 0930 arrived at 1500, with two stops. Very nice pub, lovely room, excellent beer and menu, which includes venison, a favourite of mine. Travelling to Southampton tomorrow, so will take it easy. Stay safe everyone.

Sounds like a great place to sit out the storm! 

 

[purplesea]

We are only about a mile, walking distance, from the coast so I think we are in for a rough ride. My daughter called in on the way home and says that all the schools in Penzance and a lot of the others in Cornwall are closed because of the weather.

At present it is quiet, not a breath of wind!!

[indiana123]

2 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

The reason being that QV is to stay in the Caribbean longer than expected

 

 

I posted the same, but can't find it now.  I must be missing it.

 

Someone seems to be telling porkies.  Cunard say the above, but our Agent says it's covid related.  I'm inclined to believe Cunard.  We only paid up two days ago.  Surely the cancellation must have been in the pipeline then.

 

Never mind.  We will go for refund too I expect

 

 

[Vampiress88]

Oh gosh all these stories of bad seas. Makes me feel sick thinking about it. 
 

I don’t like bob. What does everyone use for sea sickness? 
is the back of the ship ok cos that’s where we are 😳

 

We were at the front last time we went and it’s only the second time in my life I was actually scared like that. 

[Angel57]

5 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

Oh gosh all these stories of bad seas. Makes me feel sick thinking about it. 
 

I don’t like bob. What does everyone use for sea sickness? 
is the back of the ship ok cos that’s where we are 😳

 

We were at the front last time we went and it’s only the second time in my life I was actually scared like that. 

I find Avomine (or the generic Phenergan) very effective.
I always remember the ship’s doctor saying that sea sick pills are better at being a preventative than a cure so I always take before the bad weather starts.