Ranchi

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Just a thought, David. Did you apply using your current address and did you cruise previously using an earlier address?

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We have had ‘fun’ today booking with a stablemate of P&O. We were booking direct. We changed our mind about one aspect of ‘the offer’ and spent 2-3 hours with second row customer service (ie already booked as opposed to new booking.) My point is, that when we got through to someone who could help they informed us that bookings can be cancelled free of charge within 24 h of booking. We cancelled, got deposit refunded and rebooked with our preferred offer conditions. I don’t know if the same condition works with travel agent booked cruises but if so it could offer a way out & start afresh direct for the offer.

It’s a while since we were on Britannia but I have a vague memory that the socket in the bathroom is not a standard size shaver socket. If you need one for a toothbrush or razor then it might be worth taking a standard (3-pin) shaver adapter. Perhaps others could confirm or otherwise.

Thanks for that, David.

We have always used CPS and have just booked a cruise where I swithered about taking the larger obc and sort parking myself. The name that came to mind was Penguin so I logged in to their site and their quote was more (ok, only by about £5) than CPS so whilst P may often be cheaper it’s a fluid situation. It’s only a few weeks to our cruise so perhaps that was a factor.

As I understand it ( did I really hear it in F-Deck laundrette?) it’s to make you input your passport data manually rather than just scan what’s there & click the button.

A couple of grumbles from me re P&O food in MDR. The first, and more subjective, is the format of the lunch menu. I found the traditional menu far easier to navigate and many times I have heard table companions comment ‘oh, I didn’t see that on the menu.’ The second relates to desserts. In the past displays of desserts were placed at the entrance to the MDR. This gave some indication of the nature (& crucially) size of each dessert which isn’t always apparent from the menu. Good waiters will give further details but sometimes they are not accurate. I accept that you can always leave some dessert uneaten but…

Perhaps an Aral tier would be appropriate.

Like many others, we like the smaller ships. We have been quite a few times on Azura but until fairly recently had avoided Ventura. I must admit we now would probably choose Ventura over Azura. I think it’s probably down to lack of a sea screen on Azura which I found annoying as it blasted out films an adverts throughout the day. There isn’t a lot of difference otherwise, although Azura probably has a more traditional decor. We found the ships’ company very positive on Ventura and there was a very pleasant atmosphere on board. We tried Britannia once (as we had to be in the south of England on a certain date & the cruise fitted in with our arrangements…& was much reduced in price!) I was pleasantly surprised with the ship. I liked how the dining room was sectioned off so you didn’t feel you were eating in a massive hall. Also the upper deck was sectioned off and there was a quiet pool area. I did miss the traditional prom deck. Britannia also has quite a good dance floor -sadly missing on both Azura and Ventura.

Clockwise or anti clockwise? I guess it depends if you are face up or face down (don’t ask!) on the deck. Widdershins or deosil causes similar controversy wrt porridge!

We use the same insurance. This last year there is an option on the web site (bank) where you apply to Aviva for ‘Proof of Cover’ letter. This is then E-mailed to you about 10 mins after applying.

Any chance?…asking for a friend!

We have had family members join us (New York & Andalsnes) and leave us (Gibraltar) mid cruise. All of these were pre- covid. We confirmed with P&O before hand and it wasn’t a problem ( they were a bit discouraging about Andalsnes as it was a tender port but we said we were happy to take a chance.)

Ganglion? You could hit it with a Bible, or so I was told by my GP many years ago. I opted not to & it went away of its own accord. Now, whether the threat of a Bible bashing caused its disappearance…we will never know!

Cutting it fine…Quite a few years ago we were on Arcadia (not the current one) and as we pulled away from the tendering anchorage at Zakinthos a jet ski came out from the port. Nothing unusual in that as they often came out to sail alongside the ship. This time however, Arcadia slowed and then stopped. A door opened near the waterline and a ladder went down. The pillion passenger from the jet ski climbed aboard and the ship continued on its way. We met the pillion next day in the lift. He was the classical pianist and had misjudged his overnight watch changes (there had been a few recently as we zig zagged Turkish/Greek islands) and his watch was set one hour behind ship’s time. He had been asked to see the Captain to clear things up. No harm done. In mitigation the ship rarely kept to its departure time on that cruise as we had the Chairman of the day on board and he liked to lunch ashore!

I certainly found west bound quite challenging ( previous years.) My body clock refused to update and I kept waking up an hour earlier each day. After three twenty five hour days I almost dropped off one evening in the Crow’s Nest. We’ve just been trawling through some old scrap books containing cruises in the mid sixties & half hour were common on those cruises.

That’s how we used to do it. ( to be honest I’m not sure if we had different booking refs.)

My proof reader is having a sabbatical! ‘corner’ should read ‘former,’

Welcome aboard lunch/drinks for Caribbean and above were available on Ventura (June) & Aurora late August. On the corner due to restrictions a fully served lunch was given but due to relaxation of requirements, the Aurora reception had reverted to buffet. There was a syndicate quiz on Aurora (but in Horizon?- the buffet, rather than Vanderbilt’s.) There was also a loyalty lunch but wine/drinks/fizz vouchers replaced parties. At Mayflower a they seemed to segregate slightly but there was no roped off area. Passengers were called by tiers initially….

Not a sequence dance but I haven’t seen a ‘Taxi quickstep’ since before Covid. Can’t think why!

We were on the same cruise as Britboys and did enjoy it. It was certainly eventful. I must agree with Britboys’ comments. The MDR menus seemed to rotate on a 7 day cycle (I’m sure the numbers on the bottom rhs of menu were at least a 14 day cycle pre Covid.) We tended to use the buffet for breakfast & lunch which was unusual for us but the service was very slow in MDR. There were very few curries ( no regular sea day curry) and those that did appear ( with one exception) were pretty uninspiring. Whether the limitations of the menu was due to supply problems or inexperience/shortage of staff is unclear. Certainly, there were several evenings when the MDR doors were late in opening. In the buffet there were items missing towards the end of the cruise eg Weetabix & marmalade. I’m not sure if this was owing to shortages or simply not being replenished on time. We didn’t use Sindhu but had a lovely meal in the Beach House. We did enjoy the Irish Bar show which was new to us and was in Carmens. We didn’t fancy much of the evening entertainment in the Curzon (I find the sound set up in the theatre on P&O over driven and too bright- but that’s just me.) It was disappointing that all dancing took place in Masquerades. Re reading this it all looks like a moan, it’s not meant to be that. We did enjoy our cruise. It was lovely to be back on board Aurora.

If you can get a very low deposit then it puts you in a good position should the price of your cruise drop before the balance is due.

I believe Blists Hill is pretty good. Ironbridge etc. I say ‘believe’ as it’s many years since I visited. Worth investigating as a possibility.