ann141

I am on the same cruise as Tring and would be interested to hear how others get on during the first part of her cruise Harwich to Leith.Any tips or advice welcome 🙂 

13 hours ago, tring said:

 

Thanks a lot for that.  Allan looked at about 10.30am onwards as tickets were usually cheaper then and we do not do early, but prices way up on that.  Worth looking again tomorrow.  We let our railcards lapse as never used them much + covid, but could renew.

I have set up a Roll Call for this voyage on the Roll Call listed 'Other Ocean Roll Calls' Hope you will join it so we can discuss further

3 hours ago, MX-Drew said:

I thought I was on the P&O board but I'm mistaken as it seems to be the Tradewind Voyages board.🤣

There doesn't seem to be a Tradewind Voyages board. However i have found a board for Roll Calls for 'other cruise lines' so have set up a roll call there. Just excited and hoping more on the P and O board will join us!!

We have booked on the 4 night voyage from Greenock to Liverpool.Looking forward to seeing how it goes

31 minutes ago, cruisenewbie1976 said:

I was told to self isolate by the app during the lockdown, at the beginning of the year. The one and only place I'd been was Sainsbury's. I always went late at night so that it was quiet, I didn't get close to anyone and yet somehow the app thought I'd been in close contact with a covid positive person!! 

That happened to my sister and she reckons she must have been close to someone in Tesco and that was late at night so quiet.Since her experience I have turned the track bit off

4 hours ago, Beckett said:

To Ann and Tring. Because I'm nosey, and because I liked the sound of a ship with sails, I looked up Trade Winds to have a look. It looks gorgeous! How lovely that you're meeting up on the same trip too. I hope you all have a wonderful time. Jane.x

Thank you Jane.By chance we are both booked on the Princess cruise Oct 22nd as well

20 minutes ago, tring said:

 

We stayed at The Holiday Inn Express a few years back now, but it was absolutely fine.  We had a meal at the Brewers Fayre attached to the Premier Inn - went about 5.15pm to get their meal offer but have never stayed there.  Hol Inn Express always have a free breakie for all residents, even those on points, but Allan has not got enough loyalty points to book that for Greenock, so decided to go with the Premier as a bit cheaper and we are happy with just buying something to eat in the room for breakie.  Premier Inn has got a good rate which allows cancellation up to three days prior to stay.

 

We do have some concern though as the trains are coming up very expensive as there are no advance fares and would not be refundable if need to cancel.  We have also discovered the ship has VERY few cabins booked by playing with the cruise line's website, so a are tad wary the cruise could be pulled.  So are we not booking the train at present, but hoping to book the free coach transfer along with another cancelable night pre cruise in Liverpool, to keep as a back up in case train becomes unavailable or a totally silly price.  Also considering a one way car hire for a day or two pre cruise, which may still be cheaper than the train, even if we booked the best train price by booking two different legs changing in Wigan or (I think Preston), rather than a through ticket.  We would need a taxi into Liverpool or a Birkenhead train station as well with luggage.

 

Getting very complicated, but am feeling my life has returned.  It is good to get back to making all these travel arrangements that had become a regular part of our lives, along with the traveling 🙂

 

 

 

Thank you.We can get an Advance train ticket from Chesterfield on tuesday 20 July for £23 though we are considering staying in Liverpool the night of 19 July so we can visit my Mum as well.There are train tickets available (with our senior railcards) for £17.95 on July 20 at 8 12 am from Liverpool to Greenock.The Premier Inn at Moorfields is only £37 on July 19th. If the cruise is cancelled we will just lose the £23 each or £17 each advance tickets as the cruise and hotels are refundable

8 hours ago, peteukmcr said:

Good afternoon all. Hope everyone is recovering from their illnesses and injuries.

I was going to post earlier but have been reorganising my life as my main job wants me back off furlough. So need to sort out my temp job (hate letting people down at short notice), rearranging plans in the pipeline (only yesterday we were told to plan to the date on our letter confirming furlough, which was 30th Sept!).

Not too happy really as still on enforced part time and reduced pay until July, that's when I wanted to go back. But beggars can't be choosers.

Only highlight is that we are sailing on Marella Explorer 2 at a colleagues concession rate (they work for TUI) in July. Will be nice to see what the old Celebrity Century ship is like now.

Right better go rearrange something else as this coming weekend will be my last on the Covid Mobile Testing Unit.

Thank you for helping with the fight against covid.You deserve the concession rate on Marella Explorer2. Enjoy the cruise! 

10 hours ago, Purdey16 said:

Good day everyone, just catching up on here with you all and I’ve just read Sharon’s post about the thread not moving yet 🙏 very happy with that . Seems a few of us have been having problems with bees and neighbours, mine is my grandchildren from last Sunday my granddaughter (8) fell balancing on poles up at the beach front , with suspected broken pelvis and wrist, waited over 2 hrs for ambulance which never turned up anyway sea rescue came to help in the end and made assessment to get her in the car to hospital but good news was she was ok in the end but very nasty bruises and lessons learned,  so this week now it’s my grandson who’s in hospital now , he 14 has cerebral palsy and fell at school and smashed his face in with a possible broken noise 😤 , and then there’s my father in law , with his plastered arm hurting him at the top and bottom of wrist decided he would cut some off with scissors 😡 which left it all jagged and sharp which cut him so I had to take him to hospital for a complete new cast  , so they say it comes in 3’s , hopefully things will look up for next week and you get your fence sorted out for your party next week sue .

Oh dear.Sounds like you need a cruise! Take Care

6 hours ago, tring said:

 

Allan had just been into the Tradewinds website and says there are quite a number of cabins available, so why not join us?

 

I had told the agent we would only be interested in mid ship cabins before she gave us the availability and she did say when we booked that she had given us the best placed cabins.  Perhaps more offers will come up, or you may be able to get a better price with the agent Anne has used.

 

 

Sounds good to me 🙂

 

Thanks for the help.  We have booked the Premier Inn in Greenock for the night before (£42, no breakie though).  Booked the Monday night as well for £36 on a separate booking, so can cancel just that night if we want.  That hotel is in a very scenic location as on the side of The Clyde with mountains on the other side of the river.  It is connected to a Brewers Fayre restaurant which usually do a two meals for £8.99 offer if you order before 6pm midweek.  On our last visit to Greenock we stayed in the Holiday Inn Express on an incredible loyalty points deal and had a meal at the Premier.  Not much in Greenock for two nights without a car, but can get an easy train ride into Glasgow if we want to (only 15 mins if I remember correctly).  We were previously able to book a train through to Greenock at the same price as Glasgow, but not looked at that yet.  Have stayed in Glasgow as well - we have done a few mini cruises with Fred as he used to do that run when he changed departure port.

 

 

We may stay in Greenock instead of Glasgow.Do you prefer the Premier Inn or Holiday Inn if the price was the same?We may use Tesco vouchers to stay at Holiday Inn but would prefer The Premier Inn if better.

32 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Jealous ? Me ? Hardly at all !!

I thought it was compulsory for anyone cruising on October 22nd!!

20 minutes ago, ann141 said:

Thats great that you have booked.We are in cabin 129 so will be near neighbours! The drink advice is confusing.On the general site it just mentions that alcohol is only served with meals but I think on Tradewind site it mentions our cruise as being one where drinks are included at all times apart from specialist whisky etc.We checked with our bank insurance and have confirmation that we are covered for covid and staycations.Just hope Nicola will let us in! Excited 🙂 

Just phoned Tradewind up.Although drinks are usually only free with lunch and dinner, for this voyage they are free all day and evening 🙂 🙂 

Just now, Purdey16 said:

That sounds fantastic Ann something different I hope you both really enjoy it and now tring is going too so both of you have a brilliant time .

Thank you.Really looking forward to it and not too long to wait as its in July

9 minutes ago, tring said:

 

We have just booked the cruise you are on.  I had been searching last night on my phone and thought I was into the Tradewinds website and requested a brochure, then realised it was an agent, one who seems to deal with cruise lines and I think they specialise in luxury cruises, though obviously not yours (I have seen your later post).  Anyway an agent rang me just after I wrote my last post and described themselves as the agent for Tradewinds, so thought she may be, so I asked if an offer is still available and she said she was not sure, but subsequently emailed me the details and availability on the two cruises I mentioned.  We decided on the shorter cruise and just two cabins available (124 and 125), so DH (who is my legal advisor) read through the T&C's and we fairly quickly booked 125 as 124 is by white space.  Cost £949 pp, which seems to be the going rate, but we are happy for what it is as a well placed cabin and will certainly be an experience.  I believe it is open dining (6.30pm to 9.00pm) and that they will have about three drink stations around the ship.  It seems alcohol is just available with meals, but that is fine for us as well.  No coach available with them, though we would not have really intended to get into Liverpool at some unearthly hour for that anyway and a stopover before is our normal thing.

 

Our main issue is that we need to arrange insurance, which the agent or cruise line do not offer possibilities for (and which we may have taken for a shortie).  We let our past conditons cover lapse on our annual insurance in the spring as did not expect to travel for a while.

Thats great that you have booked.We are in cabin 129 so will be near neighbours! The drink advice is confusing.On the general site it just mentions that alcohol is only served with meals but I think on Tradewind site it mentions our cruise as being one where drinks are included at all times apart from specialist whisky etc.We checked with our bank insurance and have confirmation that we are covered for covid and staycations.Just hope Nicola will let us in! Excited 🙂 

20 minutes ago, ann141 said:

It may be worth doing a search because although the special deal cabins have gone the ta may offer you a good discount if you mention it.When I phoned the last cabin had just gone. but the ta phoned tradewind who let me have it the same price booked through the ta It was a special offer linked with the Ta through an independent travel discount company that sends weekly emails

The price has increased on the TA website but still showing as the offer price (Top twenty) on the national site.Even for that you have to book the offer through the TA but it might be worth a try if you can find it.I know I am not allowed to name names but the TA with the offer is one of the TA s who people seem to have had problems with so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

12 minutes ago, tring said:

 

Looking into it now.  Has that offer now finished or is it worth me doing a search?  We may well get the train up the day before, have done that for Fred mini cruises at times.  We would likely stay in Greenock though as had a good stay in a hotel there last time.  What you say about cabin location is making me think the longer cruise would be very risky as a potentially noisy cabin would be a big problem for a longer cruise.

 

It may be worth doing a search because although the special deal cabins have gone the ta may offer you a good discount if you mention it.When I phoned the last cabin had just gone. but the ta phoned tradewind who let me have it the same price booked through the ta It was a special offer linked with the Ta through an independent travel discount company that sends weekly emails

2 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

More and more people are using ereaders so I  can understand if P&O decide to use the space for something that generates more profit for them.  We usually load our Kindles with plenty of reading material before we go but lots of people don't have ereaders and being an avid reader I remember the days when I would take several paperbacks with me and would then put them in the library for other people to use.  I do think for people who don't want to spend time in their room but want somewhere quiet to read the library maybe an essential.

Personally I am to nosy to read in a public place, I find that people watching trumps reading ☺️☺

Thats my problem with (trying!) to read in a public place on a ship as I keep getting distracted with people watching.However if we have an inside cabin I do like to read in the library as it is one of the few places that doesn't have music playing.I read a lot of books but prefer a paper version so don't own a kindle.I can understand cruise companies wanting to use the space to generate other income but on QM2 the library was paricularly good and had a bookshop next door.The librarian even led the book group that met on the ship.As long as there is somewhere to swap books (even if they are Jeffrey Archer and similar) I will be happy

2 hours ago, P&O SUE said:

I must admit this insurance business is one of the main reasons I’m not doing one of these seacation cruises! I’m already thinking I won’t go out much in the week or so before my July UK holiday as I’m afraid I’ll get ‘pinged’ by track and trace and not be able to go! 
 

I looked at P&O’s recommended insurance for next years cruise - £200 for 14 nights!! I paid half that for an annual policy in 2019!

We have insurance through our bank which helps and will cover if we get 'pinged' by track and trace before we go.However at the moment I have turned the contact tracing off my NHS app and am just signing in to venues with pen and paper.I don't mind self isolating if someone has covid at a particular venue that i have attended but I have heard there are errors sometimes and I certainly don't want to miss a holiday because I have been contacted but cannot be told where or who has covid who I have been near when it might be an error

8 hours ago, tring said:

 

You caught our interest there, so looked up Trade winds.  We are thinking of booking either the one from Greenock to Liverpool (I assume yours), or possibly really splashing out on the next cruise, Liverpool to Harwich (10 nights) around the South Coast.  Did you book direct with Tradewinds, or use an agent?  We would be looking at a midship cabin which is in the cheaper grades, so Marina deck.  Is that the bottom deck, which I suspect it is and if so, is there any indication what is above or below?  We cannot find a clear deck plan.

 

Yes, its the sailing from Greenock to Liverpool that we have booked.The South Coast itinerary looks great but obviously a lot dearer.I would have preferred to have booked direct but when I phoned Tradewind they wouldn't match the price (nearly 20% cheaper ) because I think they had done a special deal with a particular TA to offer 7 cabins at the special price- hence deal of the day.We have a mid ship cabin on Marina deck which I think is the bottom deck (Photos suggest it is the Marina area at one end that you can swim or do water sports from)and I presume that as there are only outside cabins on that deck and the dining room is 2 decks deep the cabins are round the outside of the dining room or possibly kitchen area?Let us know if you decide to book and perhaps we can meet up onboard? Although there is free parking and transfer back to Greenock from Liverpool we are catching the train to Greenock(overnight in Glasgow) and then train back from Liverpool

7 hours ago, MX-Drew said:

Taken on Britannia and QE, a few different looks but I don't have a pic of my green tux.

 

 

 

 

Great outfits! I  persuaded my hubby to buy a red waistcoat in the Debenhams sales to go with his red bow tie for our next cruise.

17 minutes ago, Pink-belle said:

That sounds wonderful, my DH is a sailor and he would love it. Have a wonderful time.

Thank you.I definitely won't be climbing the ropes etc!! There is a Spa and a pool so I shall spend my time relaxing 🙂 

20 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Thank you for asking Graham. 

She has just had me mowing the lawn at 8pm after a hard day's work, even though the grass is still too wet... 

So yes, normality has resumed...😊

Andy 

Glad Michelle is feeling better

4 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

That is true. Everything has to fit the corporate mould or it gets crushed. Quite a few now use other discussion forums where open discussion on any subject is encouraged, but this was always a friendly bunch of people too. I’m surprised that any commercial enterprise would go out of its way to lose such an active group, but so be it. It would be quite easy, if there were a demand, to meet elsewhere, on another forum.

Any suggestions how this may be possible.?I suppose the powers that be may feel that a title like'How are things with you'won't sell cruises.Perhaps if we change the title to something like 'Why not book a P and O cruise?' and make sure we add the word 'cruise' several times into each post (whether relevant or not!)it might make a difference(doubt it) I do think we have got to know and supported each other through the last year and it would make me more likely to book a P and O cruise if others on this thread had also booked.Perhaps even if the thread is moved those of us who have cruises booked could join the Roll Call for our cruise and might be able to continue to chat.

I have now got 2 seacations booked! Couldn't resist a 'Deal of the Day' offer to try a 4 night cruise on Golden Horizon( Tradewinds Voyages.)It will be very different to a P and O or Princess seacation as there are only 270 passengers and it is a ship with sails! Hubby used to sail when he was younger and with ports of call of Belfast and Portrush we couldn't resist!

12 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

Here you go....

Thats brilliant! Thank you very much 🙂