tokyo

I have no problem with flying, but love starting our cruise from Southampton. We stay in an hotel the night before the cruise, have a nice meal in the town. In the morning we have no stress getting to the terminal as it's just a taxi ride away. As for the two days getting down to the med, we just relax. As for the bay, we are one of the lucky ones. Never had a bad crossing. YET:D

There is one on the A34 at Tot Hill services. About 30 miles from Southampton.

When I take my camera bag onto a ship I nearly always have take everything out to prove what is in the bag is just my camera kit. Not a problem for me. It proves that they are doing their job.

Nice to see someone making an effort for a formal night.

Don't forget, you can use your stick to fight your way to the front of the queue at the buffet :D

I see that Azura is due to depart Southampton 10pm:eek:

Having been on the Caribbean Princess to Norway in June of this year I would make a comment that I don't think she is not suited for a northern Europe cruise. There is a large area around the pool where in the evening people can sit and watch a film or just past the time. However, there is no roof and we found it got very cold sitting in this area. The result is that the lounges got very crowded and at times it was difficult to find somewhere to sit. I live in the UK and can say that it can be cold at sea, even in August. I have done a round Britain cruise and found it great.

I don't agree with AI. I think must people will not drink enough to get value for money. Also, if they make it cheap then some people will go mad and try to drink the ship dry.

As for trying something different to drink, not liking it, leaving it and getting another drink. That's on par with people filling up their plate with food and then leaving half of it.

Take care what you wish for. If Pando do introduce AI across the fleet and it backfires on them they could find it difficult to withdraw it and could earn the name booze cruises.

Was on a cruise to Norway in early June this year. The only rain we had was in Bergen and that lasted about 2 hours. It was mild for most of the time, but we did have one very sunny day where people were wearing shorts etc. As for the North Sea. This year it was fine, but a few years back it was a very bumpy in deed. It's a matter of luck. Don't let the risk of a bumpy north sea stop you going, it's a fantastic place to go.

If your going to the north cape of Norway I would suggest you pack a warm fleece. It was very cold when we were there.

Also, be prepared to get up early, as some of the best scenery can be had while sailing up the fjords before the ship docks.

Not that I know of. Just wish I had my camera with me at the time.

Whatever the reason, aircraft buzzing cruise ships are putting them in danger.

The one that buzzed Azura passed over the ship and could not have been more than 50 mtrs above her.

Also the aircraft approached Auzara at low altitude and some distance from her. The point about bird strikes was that it could well happen before it reached the ship giving the pilot little time to take any action.

The aircraft I saw from Azura would have hit her if it failed to pull up. That's not far fetched. Men and machines are not infallible. At sea, birds follow ships, so it's not far fetched that a bird strike could cause the aircraft to mal-function.

The French have no right to put a cruise ship in danger by just wanting to look at her.

It's ok for the French to say they just want to look at the ship, but while doing a low pass what happens if the aircraft malfunctions and hits the ship.

Lets draw a line under this thread as we are never going to agree :rolleyes:

We can dance around this subject forever and a day.

Times are changing, there is a new breed of passengers, passengers who after reading what formal nights mean refuse to adhere to it.

Pando needs the new breed of passengers money and have re-defined what formal means to satisfy these people.

I still maintain a lounge suit is not fit for formals nights, but after re-defining

what formal means, Pando have opened the door to all and sundry styles.

Mid is halfway between light and dark. I have a light grey jacket, a mid grey jacket and a dark grey jacket.

People can put any spin on it they want to, but mid grey is not the same as dark grey.

Whatever system is in place it's pointless if people turn up when they choose. Some posters say that other cruise lines have a system that works. How this can work I don't know. A lot of posts highlight the problems of getting to Southamton on time and mention leaving home allowing extra time in case of delays.

So whatever system that is used you will still have people turning up early. How do other cruise lines deal with these people ?

In the cold light of day there are a great many people who just want to get on the ship early and take no notice of the times they are allocated.

There will come a time when cruise lines will enforce boarding times.

but people will want toes poking out as it makes them happy.

Just had a look on the net and this is the type of aircraft that buzzed Azura. Not sure which variant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Falcon_20

Mid grey is not dark. So will not meet the dress code. However, the way things are going formal nights will soon be a thing of the past. What's next, people unhappy wearing a suit, so turn up at the MD in flip flops and shorts:eek:

The French use the Bay as a training area for military aircraft, but that is no excuse for buzzing cruise ships in international waters.

The aircraft that buzzed the Azura was defiantly not a fighter or bomber aircraft. It looked like a biz jet. The fact it did not have camouflage paintwork would suggest that if it was a French navy aircraft it may have been testing some new electronic gizmo and was using Azura as a "target".

We have been to Gib that many times, we no longer get off. Always been a half day visit.

We always stay in the Holiday Inn, just up the road from the terminals. They do good deals for staying one night and parking for 14 days.

However, yesterday I was in Southampton for a football match and went into the wetherspoons near the Ocean terminal. It is the best wetherspoons in Southampton. While spoons are not 5 star, the breakfast is fine and good value. As it was lunch time I had a steak, it was excellent.

I'm not sure I would go to a spoons for a evening meal, but each to his own

I was on the prom deck and saw it coming in very low, it pulled up and went over our bow. It was not a fighter jet, but if it was from the French Navy it could have been a radar/communication style of plane. To me it just looked like a biz jet being stupid and buzzing us. I know the captain said it was the French navy and that words will be had with them.

There was no possible reason for the aircraft to buzz us, in fact considering the date, it was plain stupidity.

That's fine, but what will the next step be. Jeans and tee shirts or scrap formal nights.

As for being happy. I find it strange that someone has to wear a mid grey suit to enjoy himself. A dinner suit is just the same as a normal suit, except a different style. You still wear trousers, Jacket, shirt and tie. If someone already owns a dinner suit, there is very little reason not to wear it on formal nights, unless it's to make some kind of limp statement about the dress code.

In all my cruises I have never seen anyone miserable in a tux. In fact I have not seen anyone looking miserable full stop.

The above is just my opinion and life is to short to worry about someone who can't be bothered to follow dress codes.