Ardennais

Athens in 2015. First and only visit. Hoping to return some day. The last photo is of Melina Mercouri - so few statues of women in places, apart from Queen Victoria!

If the point of mustering is to keep us safe, then surely we need to be active rather than passive. Like most of you, I regard it as a necessary nuisance but the one muster which impressed me most was on Marco Polo when we actually had to wear our jackets, form a line touching the person in front of us and walk out on deck. After over 20 cruises, it was quite a timely reminder of what could happen.

Yes indeed, a truly magical setting. A few photos from 2015. There was a choir singing in the Catholic Church - I think it was a school choir from Paris.

We’ve seen her too, and I agree, she was great

Do you mean singing in the Ladies?

Actually there was a connection, but you demanded to know why the screenshots included your posts, as if I had deliberately selected your posts, which I hadn’t.

But when I used your posts from last summer as an intro into giving my own views a few weeks ago, you demanded an immediate explanation - and I didn’t even do it deliberately. It just happened that they were screenshots with some of your comments in sight.

Lovely photos of a lovely city. My photo was taken in 2018.

I know what you mean, but I don’t really want to be ‘entertained’ during the day so it doesn’t bother me what’s on offer. The one different thing that we really enjoyed on both RCI cruises was the ice show which was brilliant.

No way! I visited Venice as a student in 1984 and we were warned to avoid the 3Gs - Gondolas, Glass and Grand Pianos (i.e. cafes). 34 years later I could afford the Gondola and some Glass, but not the Grand Pianos!

I’m following this thread closely and the photos are all amazing. I’ve had had a new computer and I’m still transferring photos. We’ve been to every port mentioned thus far apart from Corfu. Two from Venice

It is easy when you’re a seasoned cruiser and know what you like, but it can get confusing for potential first time cruisers who haven’t got a clue that the P&O stable has a variety of ships. Different sizes, different atmosphere, family, adult only etc.

I wish Southampton was closer but we don’t really mind the drive down. We also like the first few sea days too - it’s a chance to switch off from work and ease ourselves into the cruise.

Which is why I was hoping they’d go for something beginning with a completely different letter instead of another beginning with A. Ventura and Britannia are memorable names. Iona is all right too. But with 2 Os and 5 As not long ago, it could get confusing.

There’s something odd about his death for sure! I loved the history behind the statue in Rio - it was all new to me. I’ve never been really interested in Australia (but Morgan’s Run was a cracking read) and coupled with the fact that CeCe wasn’t very likeable means that book 4 was the least enjoyable for me.

Just Googled and it’s 27 May - The Missing Sister. Looking forward to it now.

Yes, I agree. The one I least liked featured Australia and I wasn’t very keen on that sister either.

It’s lovely hearing about people meeting in their teens and still together decades afterwards. All of my friends who were married that young have long since parted. I married at 27 and was a very different person then to the girl I was at 18 and I know that my earlier relationships would never have worked long term. My OH and I are very different people and we’re both very independent with lots of separate friends and interests but we do have some common ones too of course. I’m so glad that I talked him into cruising!

Something fishy going on in the basement!

I binge read them all last year and now waiting for the last one to be published. I loved the one about Bergen but my favourite was the very first one - Rio.

How many of you pronounce it with 3 syllables? Ar-v-ia? Or just two as in Ar-via? To me, it sounds softer with 3 syllables and giving it a long A sound!

I’ve been mulling over the name since the announcement, and I still think it’s just ok, nothing more, nothing less. Boring, colourless. No romance to it at all, and quite a hard edge to it. Feels very flat.

I raced through the first HP book purely to be able to chat to the children in school about it, but they’re definitely not my cup of tea. My eldest loved them all and is hoping to visit Harry Potter World. I’m into biographies and books on social history. Read a very interesting book last year about the role of women post WW1. Very well written and still relatable as I knew my paternal grandmother into my early 20s and we would love talking about those days.

It’s ......OK. Nothing special or beautiful sounding, just ok.

But it’s not that simple is it? Am I right in thinking that you’re younger than most in here? I might have thought that 25 years ago, but I’m trying hard to think what’s best for my parents and also my children who are all in their 20s. It’s a dilemma for sure.