Harters

Have to say, a "proper" lunch in the GDR on a relaxed sea day is one of the highlights of the cruise. Either the classic French bistro classics or the day's "Taste of the World". Such a change from day to day normal life. I find the food offerings in the GDR to be fine at breakfast but service always seems to be slow.

I've made a note to buy some ligonberry jam next time we got to IKEA. We do occasionally have pancakes for breakfast, although more usually it's dessert, and the jam sounds a good change from our usual sugar and lemon Always maple syrup though with American pancakes.

Impossible to predict, I'm afraid. I've sailed from Southampton through the North Sea to the Shetlands with no problem. I've also taken the ferry from Holyhead to Dublin with no problem. However, the fast ferry between Liverpool and the Isle of Man earned its nickname of the "vomit comet". Ferries between Dover and Calais have been mixed but generally OK (fortunately, there's only 22 miles to cross O not a major issue even if rough)

Booking Concierge/PH, we've been able to get a 2-top at 7.30 or 8.00 on all three cruises. Occasionally, not on our initial choice of evening but it's been an easy juggle to swap plans around. We've always said that, if we can't get the table and time, then we'll pass on the speciality and eat in the GDR but that hasnt come to pass as yet.

Probably get more results if posted in the Northern Europe ports of call forum.

Something we've found with Red Ginger, to our disappointment. Mrs Harters could do a full 10 minute rant about the dish she had on Vista earlier in the year - and the restaurant manager's insistence that it was cooked traditionally, right down to the underflavoured, but incredibly tough meat Yep. European pancakes are pretty much the same thing everywhere - the Francophones call them crepes but most northern countries call them something like "pancake" (pannkaka in Swedish, Back in 2017, I'd sort of hoped there would be something Swedish about them - even if only served with lingonberry jam. But no.

When we did our first cruise with O, back in 2017, I was intrigued to see "Swedish pancakes" on the breakfast menu in the GDR. I'd never previously heard of them, so gave them a try. Disappointed to discover that they are just, erm, pancakes.

As is Joan Miro. The museum of his work on Montjuic is absolutely worth a visit. In fact, it was the main focus of our day in the city prior to a cruise.

I like both the Bakery and Ember. Both do a really good job, IMO.

So late spring, early summer or early autumn. As anywhere in the northern hemisphere, the summer weather is likely to be better than spring or autumn. June is also the month when we usually have a UK holiday. But, bear in mind this is Northern Europe so there's no guarantee of good weather - expect hot & dry and cold & wet, often on the same day. I remember being in southern Ireland one June. One day we went out to visit this place that I needed to take photos of for a project. It was fine when we left. And, when we got there, raining so heavily I was literally soaked to the skin within minutes

We overnight in Bordeaux next year on an Oceania cruise. We've tried to do this itinerary before and had done research for a dinner reservation at what seemed a nice place. However, it's changed its menu and is no longer "French bistro" but seems more "international tourist". I've already started the planning process again to find somewhere else. Other ports will, as usual, provide opportunities for lunch.

Suggest also Googling for "port guide" for each place. Often a good source of information about what to do and, in particular, what's nearby. And check out the forum roll call to see what others might be planning FWIW, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona will be very easy to do yourself without an excursion. Palma is a very walkable small city with the port area within easy walking distance of the city centre. Barcelona is, of course, a very large city and pre-planning will be essential to get the best out of the day - it may well be worth considering the hop on-hop off bus

You're welcome, Cathy. Just a thought to bear in mind - the tapas places in the actual market are really only open at lunch time, the more restauranty places on the perimeter will have longer hours.

Yes, there are definitely eateries in the market and others on its perimeter. Some are tapas bars and others more restauranty. I can't guarantee that a place will have papas but it'd be pretty surprising if they didnt - they really are ubiquitous, even in tapas bars. Don't waste time looking for "the best" - it's a comparatively easy preparation so all offerings are pretty much the same

I agree. Good quality pastry work, IMO. We tended to go there for an afternoon snack, rather than afternoon tea in Horizons.

Which ports? And then, what interests you? My initial advice would be to look at Oceania's excursions for the various ports. See which have things/places that interest you and take it from there. FWIW, that's what we've done for our Vista cruise next year (as we've done for our two previous cruises). For most ports, we will simply stay in the port city and organise our own walking tour of things that interest us. For a couple of ports, we're going to take a ship's excursion.

Good to hear you're enjoying yourself, V. And good news about the mustard. Always seemed to have been more trouble than it was worth to get some to have with a steak.

Particularly if they do savoury, as well as sweet, pancakes (like a gallette)

Marc - just a suggestion for a tweak on the Palma de Mallorca one (and possibly others). You are not consistent in the currency you mention for attractions - sometimes in Euros, sometime in dollars. Suggest that you check things over and have everything priced in local currency, as that's what folk will actually be paying (it's also irrelevant to cruisers like me, who not American, what the dollar equivalent is).

I wonder if that's going to replace the space occupied on Vista by The Bakery. If so, I'm not convinced replacing the pastries and quiche, with pancakes is progress (much as I like pancakes).

Not the best I've ever eaten, but the "copa" I enjoyed on Christmas Day in Tenerife last year was special. That lunch had been a bucket list meal for a long time. It had to be eaten in sight of the ocean and there had to be a steak for the main course. Absolutely no "turkey and tinsel" about this. The "sight of the ocean" requirement meant it was always going to be a touristy restaurant rather than a gourmet place. So, the copa was fruits of the forest ice cream, topped with a lot of squirty cream and finished off with thin slices of apple. One ticked off the list.

My best suggestion would be to walk up to the main market - the Mercado Nuestra Senora de Africa. It is a lively market selling fruit, vegetables, seafood and meat. And several of the stalls also have a casual "eaterie" attached to them, mainly selling seafood (and you are not going to get fresher seafood on the island than here). Also quite a number of stalls selling craft work - jewellery and the like. For me, it's the most interesting single place in the city. Pretty much everywhere will have papas, with the red and green mojo sauces. We visit the island for three weeks each winter and, to be frank, they are so commonplace that you get completely sick of the sight of them on almost every plate.

And maybe see if the moderators would create a "sticky" for them in each of the relevant forums, so they don't disappear down the list?

Simply Less And Very Expensive?

Pulling this back to changes with Simply Less, I certainly regarded it as progress when O incorporated gratuities into the cruise price last year for European customers (as had been the case for Australian & New Zealanders for a while). Knowing just how deeply ingrained the process of tipping is in the culture, it'll be interesting to see how North Americans will view things now it's included for them as well.