DamianG

I understand folks wanting new ports to visit and we do too but we never tire of Cadiz. Despite having a constant flow of cruise ship visitors it retains its Spanish seaside charm without being “touristy”. We hope to visit for a land based holiday sometime in the future with getting there being part of the adventure (given the lack of direct flights from the UK).

In 2005 Aurora had a gap in the winter schedule due to a refit finishing early (imagine that?). P&O sent us a letter inviting bookings for a new “experimental” cruise heading to Northern Europe in the winter with the intention of visiting several cites with Christmas markets. We booked and it was a fabulous experience right from the start. As we departed we were on the promenade deck in the cold & dark drinking mulled wine & there was a band playing shore side. Every port had something extra to welcome us, from bands of different sizes to a full marching band with majorettes waving us away from Oslo. Onboard Captain Mark Symonds told the story of how P&O gave him some free reign to plot a course for the extra (non-brochure) cruise & him & his officers decided to go against the grain in winter & head North instead of the usual Canaries or Mediterranean. I really don’t care if he embellished the story a little as it just made the cruise even more magical. We had great table companions at dinner as well & it will always be one of our favourite cruises. As for the idea of Christmas market cruises, the rest is history!

Our favourite of all the ports we’ve been to!

Lulu often goes nose to nose with Teddy through the hutch grill and they are very relaxed in each other’s company. Vala is very excitable but it doesn’t seem to have phased Lulu at all!

We have my sister-in-laws huntaway Vala staying with us over the weekend. She is a handful on the lead but well behaved overall. She is obsessed with our guinea pig Lulu who lives in our summer house.

Good luck today @Megabear2

Instead of a tall “tower block” ship with dozens of decks let’s copy the Queen Anne design & stretch it instead.

Ha! I said exactly the same!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec86Q_aND9k&pp=ygUdUGF1bCBhbmQgQ2Fyb2wgbG92ZSB0byB0cmF2ZWw%3D

Good morning all, I’d like to request a one day pass for the wide awake club! Our dog Teddy accidentally brought a tiny slug into the house last night (we think that it stuck to a paw) & that was enough for our son to make a fuss & refuse to let him sleep in his bedroom. Ted slept on our bed & loves a snuggle so he was either pushed up against me or Michelle all night causing a very restless night’s sleep. I was awake at 4:30am & realised our son’s bedroom light was on so I went to switch that off then couldn’t get back to sleep. I had to be up at 5:30am anyway for my latest trip to London & it’s been a long day already. Looking forward to getting home around 9pm tonight! We watched the Queen Anne arrival & a few vlogs showing the club class balcony cabins. The ship looks fantastic & we’d love to sail on her one day.

“On tap” may be a bit misleading. It means soft drinks poured from the tap at a bar (i.e., those multi drink dispensers attached to a hose). There are no self service options so in the buffet it’s a case of trying to catch the attention of a drinks waiter. It also means no bottled soft drinks are included. Our son quickly got bored of lemonade and Pepsi on our last cruise so we ended up getting him a bottled soft drink on occasions.

I would like to request Oriana’s Al Fesco (maybe it could serve the Beach House menu in the evening).

Have a great cruise @AndyMichelle I hope that Britannia is well stocked with Peroni and Hendricks Perfect Serve ingredients for you.

We enjoy watching a handful of vloggers who make an income from it and are very good in front of the camera. By all accounts they need a huge amount of followers and views to earn a decent amount, but that doesn't seem to have discouraged the large amount of other folk who seem to think that it is so easy that anyone can do it. We've not encountered any onboard during school holiday cruises but I can well imagine that it's becoming more common on the cheaper cruises. As @Megabear2 stated, personally I've found passengers having loud conversations with someone whilst their mobile phone is on speaker mode more of an annoyance.

I’m not loyal to any particular brand either. I’m pretty sure you don’t need to use the app though, and I’ll be looking to get the deal before catching the train for my next working trip to London in a week’s time.