TigerB (not at all) live from Iona (G404 - Portugal, Spain, and Canaries)

[TigerB]

Thanks @Eddie99

Yes, she is being a little more aloof than normal, so is certainly making us have it. On thing is for sure though, if it is cold tonight she'll be on our bed. But that will be for her own benefit, it won't mean we are forgiven!😉

[Thedonkeycentrehalf]

1 hour ago, Eddie99 said:

Newspaper sales will soar once you’ve done, and Selbourne is home and our Donkey friend on Arvia finishes his holiday.  We’ll need something to read in the mornings

I’m on Britannia so you  have another week of my drivel to read yet🤣

[Goosebear Mum]

3 hours ago, TigerB said:

We're back home now. Left the ship at 08:10, and drove away from the port at 08:40. Did a bit of a shop and got in the door at 14:30 to find the kids had been in and put up birthday deccies.

I ramped the heating up […]

 

Thanks for your blog, I enjoyed it…. and welcome back to a very wet East Yorks! 
 

 

[TigerB]

2 hours ago, Thedonkeycentrehalf said:

I’m on Britannia so you  have another week of my drivel to read yet🤣

 

I haven't read any of yours yet, or had time to interact properly with other threads, as I've only had the time to quickly jump on t'internet and post on mine.  I have some catching up!

[TigerB]

2 hours ago, Goosebear Mum said:

Thanks for your blog, I enjoyed it…. and welcome back to a very wet East Yorks! 
 

 

Blooming cawld too! We're all toastie in bed, with kitty on top of it.

 

I have more posts to put up yet, over the next few days

[TigerB]

 

Don't take this as a sign of her forgiveness for us abandoning her. It's more for her own self interest, in keeping warm! 🙄

[TigerB]

Day 8 - Saturday 24th February - at sea (Part 1 - daytime)

 

 

During our dinner service last night the DC came on the tannoy to say that, due to an expected storm front, which would bring with it severe winds and high swells, we would not now be docking at Lanzarote today, as scheduled.

The new plan was to remain at sea and plough on to Cadiz, arriving a day early, and then overnighting there.

 

Our lass had mixed emotions; we had not visited Lanzarote before, but least she would not be at sea on the 25th, her 60th birthday.

 

Due to the egg fiasco yesterday, we decided to give the MDR a miss this morning. Additionally, as it was a sea day, and we were expecting a rough night at sea, we decided to not set the alarm and sea how long we could stay in bed.

Yes, it was a wee bit rough, but we've had worse.

We arose from our pit at 08:30, freshened ourselves up, and went down to the Quays, where we were joined by the kids.

 

Our lass was jonesing for a waffle and some crispy bacon. She said it was okay, but not great. I started with a veggie omelette, which wasn't that great. I then treated myself to a fried egg on a piece of fried bread...

A guilty pleasure, but I have been really careful on this cruise with my calorie intake!🫢

 

Afterwards, we went back to our cabin for a rest as we hadn't slept all that well.

 

 

Just the two of us went for lunch, today it was in Pearl. We were on table number 437, a two-seater in a row of six like tables, each about 60cm from the next.

Our waiting team were Irvin and Aya.

 

Today's menu...

 

Our lass wasn't very hungry, so she had...

 

 

Me...

 

Followed by...

 

 

For dessert...

My ice cream chaser today was cookie dough...

 

 

In the afternoon I had a couple of washes and some ironing to do; I went to do that while our lass watched a film.

The launderette on deck 9 was heaving, with not a washing machine, dryer, or iron to had. I went up to deck 10, where I got the last two washing machines. A woman with a suitcase filled three washing machines, removing someone's washing out of one of them to do so. I thought to myself, "Ooh, if the Laundry Police turn up she'll be for it".🙄 I left and returned thirty minutes later. All the washing machines were still in use. I emptied my finished load and put it in the dryer. A woman pounced on the empty machine like a cheetah bringing down a gazelle. Another woman entered and muttered something under her breath; she waited in the corner. My second machine finished and I emptied the load into a basket ready to press them and take back to the cabin to dry them. Suitcase Lady grabbed that machine. The woman who had just entered said something about coming in half an hour ago to find all machines taken, and now she still can't get one. Referring to Suitcase Lady, I jokingly said, "Well, this lady's doing a service wash for the entire ship". Suitcase Lady, pointed to three machines, and told the disgruntled woman that they were hers and were just about to finish. With that, the disgruntled woman piped up again, loudly stating that you're only allowed one machine at a time and that some people are selfish. Suitcase Lady did not reply and sheepishly looked elsewhere. I thought to myself, one machine at a time, that can't be right. A quick glance at the rule card affixed to the wall revealed I was wrong and there no way a jury would deliver a not guilty verdict in the case of R v Suitcase Lady. I was just relieved that the disgruntled woman didn't see me empty my machines!🤫

When Suitcase Lady emptied two of her machines, a muttered, "It's about time", could be heard from you know who.

About half an hour later, I was leaving when a guy entered and looked at the now empty washing machine that once contained his undies and socks. I wasn't going to say another word, I didn't need to; Suitcase Lady coughed it! I beat a retreat along the corridor, wondering if I would later read about the Iona Deck 10 Launderette Massacre in Britain Yesterday.

 

I rushed back to the cabin, eager to tell our lass about all the shenanigans. She said I had an appointment with someone or other at 16:30 in Sprinkles on deck 8.

 

Cometh the hour I went down to the ice cream parlour near the Quays; it's actually called Ripples, so that's my secretary on her first warning. I met a familiar face, Mladen Stankovic, the Assistant F&B Manager. I reminded him that I spoke with him last November about overpricing; he couldn't remember, but did say my face looked familiar.

I told him about the price we were being charged for a large lime and soda. I won't bore you with the details, but he said it was a shoreside error; the long and short of it is that they had one button to press on the tablet for line and soda, and the price of £2.15 for a large one would come up. Now there are two buttons to press, one for the soda (£2.05 for large), and one for the dash. He didn't confirm verbally, but his body language appeared to agree with me that £1.35 for a dash of lime was not right.

It was left that he would investigate and come back to me.

 

I learned something from Mladen. In May/June time there will be another price increase, but it won't be just on drinks; it will be across the board.

He didn't expand, but it may be likely that the cover charges for speciality restaurants will also increase. Both me and our lass think that they are all well due a menu refresh. Perhaps they may do that at the same time and use that as the banner headline to try and 'hide' the price increases.

 

 

Back to the cabin to shower and get ready for the evening.

[TigerB]

Day 8 - Saturday 24th February - at sea (Part 2 - evening)

 

Tonight's dining venue was Keel and Cow, with the kids. I'm not altogether struck, and neither is our lass, but the kids wanted to try it and we said we would join them. I joined the virtual queue at 18:01 and we went to near the venue, to meet the kids and have a drink.  By the time we arrived, at 18:11 we were being called to check in.

Our waiter was Cleophres.

 

As we were having our pre-meal drinks, Mladen approached the table and asked if he could speak with us for a few seconds. That was fine.  He said he hadn't yet received a response from shoreside, but did not want us to be inconvenienced any further. He had spoken to his boss about it, the decision had been made to refund the overcharges and then charge us just £1.35 each time we ordered a large lime and soda, for the remainder of the cruise. This was a special price just for us and we wouldn't have to do anything more, the staff will know what to charge us when we order.

 

Back to the meal; the four of us ate...

 

Starters:

 

Our lass and the lad shared this...

 

Our daughter-in-law and I didn't have a starter, but I did get to dip a bit of bread into the cheese.

 

 

Mains:

 

Mother and son...

 

 

 

Our daughter-in-law..

 

 

Me...

 

 

We were all too full for dessert; I know, even me!😲

As I've already written, me and our lass are not big fans of the Keel and Cow, and if we were on our own, we probably wouldn't bother.

 

Afterwards, the kids went to do something on their own, I can't remember what; our lass and I went to the casino to put £20 in Lobstermania.

 

We weren't in bed late, big day tomorrow!

[Dobbers]

Great blog, thanks.

Love the Keel and Cow, hubby has a thing for the sticky duck bao buns. This time in 2 weeks we’ll be on Iona, probably asleep at this time of night 🤣

Is the Captain Wesley Dunlop? 

[TigerB]

No @Dobbers, he got off as we got on.  We've had him previously, and he was on the tannoy a few times.

Andrew Wolverson was our captain, and will be yours no doubt.  I don't think I heard him for than twice over the tannoy; almost all of the addresses were by the DC or other bridge crew.

[jh1809]

"Prime Minister"?! What a strange name to give a menu item.

[TigerB]

Day 9 - Sunday 25th February - Cadiz, Spain (Part 1 - morning)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scheduled arrival: 10:00

All aboard: 17:00 (26th)

 

 

Well, the woman I woke up next to was not the same woman I went to bed with the night before; she was at least a year older!🫢

 

Today's 'birthday breakfast' was to be in Epicurean. We didn't have to book, I was told by Deepash, the Department Head, just to turn up when we were ready.

 

 

I have posted some photos and wrote a bit 'as live' on the actual day, starting at post #36 , but I will repeat the photos and videos in this and the following posts, so you don't have to go back and forth

 

 

Our lass opened her cards, I put them up, and we headed up to deck 17 to meet the kids at the restaurant. The birthday girl received a warm welcome and birthday congratulations from the staff, and we were shown to our table, an oval six-seater laid out for four.

 

Our waiter was Arman, who served me and our lass on the evening of the 20th, assisted on that evening by Lalit. The former was about in the restaurant and came to our table occasionally. When I asked him how he was, I received the expected response of, "I'm just ticketyboo, sir". 😂

 

The breakfast menu...

 

Sorry, I didn't take photos of all the food, just selected items.

 

Juices...

 

Me: Freshly squeezed orange juice with lots of pulp; delicious and just how I like it.

 

Our lass: Tomato juice with Worcestershire sauce. This time there was no confusion as we have had in the MDRs with the language barrier and our lass being unable to pronounce it. "Worcestershire sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Worcestershire sauce", said Arman, clarifying that he loved saying the word. His excitement reminded me of Buddy the Elf when he declares, "I love singing, it's my favourite". 😀

 

Our lad: Apple juice. "Dad, this is just like Copella, not like that cr@p you get downstairs". Yup! As straightforward as ever!

 

Our daughter-in-law: Pineapple

 

Me and our lass then had the fruit compote with plain yoghurt. It was lovely.

 

Good to see our long lost friends, the Bonne Maman pots

 

The lad had melon and his missus had orange and grapefruit segments.

 

 

Our lass then had minute steak and eggs...

 

 

I had French toast and a bagel topped with what I always have at home, every single day...

 

 

The lad had the cold plate with French toast on the side. Our daughter-in-law had the full English minus black and whit pudding. The didn't realise it would be so big; her hubby had to help her out.

 

I then asked for a croissant; not because I was particularly still hungry, more because I wanted to confirm that large croissants were still a thing, not like those doll's house one you get in the MDRs.

Nope, still the doll's house ones...

 

 

We all agreed that was a really good breakfast, and at £8.50 each, represented good value.

 

 

We hadn't yet docked so popped next door to the Crow's Nest to sit for a while and watch the process. There were two Carnival ships in for a refit, but I don't know which ones; the lad said one of them was being converted to a Costa.

 

We then all returned to our cabin where the birthday girl opened a couple of presents I had brought on the cruise with us. There's more waiting at home, I'm led to believe.

 

 

 

 

Not quite the holy trinity, there's no shoes!😀

 

 

We waited until all the hoardes had got off before we disembarked. The kids did their thing and we did ours. 

It was a bonus for them too, having the extra day in Cadiz, as they had booked a full day trip to Seville for the only day we were supposed to in port. Now they got to see a bit of this beautiful town.

 

For our lass, it was good that we were in port on her birthday. It was good for me too as, had we been at sea I would have have to shell out for the premium intenet package for the day, so she could video call the kids. Now, it will only cost me another £2 for the Sky Passport roaming for her. Later though, I realised I could have even saved that £2 by hooking her up to my hotspot. #Yorkshire

 

It was about midday when we got off the ship. She wasn't with us live, but one way or another our CoCo was going to spend part of the day with us...

 

 

As we walked towards the town we saw this lot, who I thought, with wearing the crowns, may have been part of a religious parade or something similar...

Our less said that had probably just been to Burger King.😂

[TigerB]

Day 9 - Sunday 25th February - Cadiz, Spain (Part 2 - afternoon)

 

We attempted to get to the square in front of the cathedral but it was absolutely rammed. It turns out everyone and their dog was out celebrating the Chiquita Carnival. Our lass doesn't do well with heavy crowds so we beat a retreat to the ship.

 

Once onboard I contacted Room Service to let them know we were on our way back to our cabin; they had something to deliver.

 

A little while later the delivery came...

I'm sure he was going to do so anyway, but she asked him if he was going to sing to her...

 

 

 

 

I was really pleased the package; I can't recall the full price, I think it was £80, but I saved a further 20% during the Black Friday sales.

It contained a personalised cake, a bottle of prosecco, a meal for two at a speciality restaurant, and a free 8x6" photo.

 

I had already pre-paid for an Epicurean meal in order to secure the slot. On our first day I went there to advise that we would be using vouchers instead; Deepash said he would keep the original booking on the system, so we didn't lose the time slot, and refund it on the day we dine.

As we left breakfast that morning, Deepash asked if there would now be four dining later; our son and daughter-in-law had already pre-paid to eat in there two days hence, and didn't want to crash the party, so I told Deepash that there would be just the two of us. He said he would make sure we had a nice table in Arman's section.

 

We hadn't eaten anything proper when in Cadiz, and our lass needed a little bit of food to take her tablets, so we popped to Vistas on deck 6 for a coffee and bit of cake...

The cake was £1.75 each

[TigerB]

Day 9 - Sunday 25th February - Cadiz, Spain (Part 3 - evening)

 

During the day our lass said that she really wanted the kids to dine with us, so they said they would come along. I said I would attend the restaurant early and make the arrangements for them to join us, and cancel their booked meal.

I attended Epicurean just as it opened at 18:00, and dropped off the prosecco.  I apologised to Deepash, and said that the kids would now be dining with us. Given that our reservation was for 19:00 I thought I was cutting it a bit fine. He really couldn't have been any more accommodating. He cancelled their reservation and said tonight's would be covered by our pre-paid reservation and the vouchers. He said we would have a nice table waiting for us.

 

The kids joined us in Tiger's Bar for pre-dinner drinks, and we then went to Epicurean for our dinner reservation.

We were seated at the same table we had for breakfast, in Arman's section.

 

Sorry, I haven't got the full menu to post; I did take photos but the lighting conditions were rubbish. I'm sure it will be online somewhere.

 

We had...

 

Amuse bouche...

Watermelon mojito

 

Starters:

 

Mum and son...

 

Daughter-in-law..

 

Me:

 

Mains:

 

Our lad...

 

Daughter-in-law...

 

Our lass...

 

Me...

 

 

Palate cleanser..

Ginger Sorbet

 

Desserts:

 

Me and our lass shared this...

 

The lad...

 

Our daughter-in-law...

 

 

We drank the bottle of prosecco and then ordered a bottle of the Balfour Brut English sparkling wine.

 

That was really excellent meal, made so much nicer by the kids being with us. Arman and Lalit were on top form too.

 

Afterwards, we retired to the Crow's Nest where me and our lass finished off the Balfour Brut, and the kids had something from the bar.

It was our original intention to finish off a wonderful day with a cocktail, but our lass was just about hammered, so we sacked it off.

 

It was now after 22:00 and the kids were tired (at their age😲) so they went to bed.

We retired to our cabin too; I know it was our lass's birthday, but I was hoping to be on a promise!🤞

[Eddie99]

😱 *Adult Content Warning*😱

 

 

Thanks for letting us share your, and your lasses, special holiday TigerB

 

What a lovely little community this part of the forum is ❤️ 

[Cathygh]

What great presents your lass got! Belated Happy Birthday.

I noticed there was no fresh fruit salad on the Epicurean Breakfast menu, just fruit segments or melon. Is fresh fruit salad still on the MDR menu? And is Greek yoghurt still oon it? Could be a deal breaker for me as it's how I keep my weight down on cruises!

[Angel57]

Wow, what a great day your wife had for her birthday. And I just loved the singing with the delivery- this is the sort of thing which makes P&O great.

Thank you for sharing it with us.

[P&O SUE]

Great photos and write ups thanks Tiger. Your Lass was truly spoilt on her birthday.

[Beckett]

A great read @TigerB. You did Our Lass proud on her birthday - gorgeous presents. How special this trip has been for you both.  Thanks so much for letting us share it with you and for being so entertaining. Jane xx

[mrsgoggins]

Loved your reports, loved your Coco pictures and just loved that shirt 😁.

 

Hope we don’t have to wait too long for another trip 🤞.

[TigerB]

6 hours ago, Cathygh said:

What great presents your lass got! Belated Happy Birthday.

I noticed there was no fresh fruit salad on the Epicurean Breakfast menu, just fruit segments or melon. Is fresh fruit salad still on the MDR menu? And is Greek yoghurt still oon it? Could be a deal breaker for me as it's how I keep my weight down on cruises!

I hadn't noticed that it wasn't on the Epicurean menu. But yes, the fruit salad is always on the MDR menu for breakfast, and occasionally on the lunch menu. It is often also available in the Cattle Market that is Horizon, and at the Quays.

We used to have it with plain yogurt at breakfast, it certainly wasn't Greek yogurt and didn't taste like the Greek style yoghurt either. To be honest, it did have that fat-free taste to it. These days we have it with fruit yogurt.

[Cathygh]

6 minutes ago, TigerB said:

I hadn't noticed that it wasn't on the Epicurean menu. But yes, the fruit salad is always on the MDR menu for breakfast, and occasionally on the lunch menu. It is often also available in the Cattle Market that is Horizon, and at the Quays.

We used to have it with plain yogurt at breakfast, it certainly wasn't Greek yogurt and didn't taste like the Greek style yoghurt either. To be honest, it did have that fat-free taste to it. These days we have it with fruit yogurt.

Thank you. Shame they don't have it on the Epicurean one.

[TigerB]

Just now, Cathygh said:

Thank you. Shame they don't have it on the Epicurean one.

That compote thing that we had was nice. I'm sure though, it you were eating in Epicurean for breakfast, and asked them beforehand, they would serve you it.

[TigerB]

53 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

Loved your reports, loved your Coco pictures and just loved that shirt 😁.

 

Hope we don’t have to wait too long for another trip 🤞.

Our eldest daughter got me it for Christmas, from a seller on Etsy I think. One of the best things I got🙂

[zap99]

43 minutes ago, TigerB said:

. It is often also available in the Cattle Market that is Horizon,

I refer to Horizon as..The trough.