AnnieC

4 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

 Perhaps he thinks he’s so important that his cases should be on a plinth under spotlights so that he doesn’t have to search for them like us mere mortals? 😂 

Perhaps he does, but I had to google the name to find out who he was.😂

47 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Please make use of the report button.This is a moderated site and we don't tolerate bullying, passive aggressive or otherwise. 

Equally we don't have the resources to read every post so we have to rely on members reporting posts to keep the discussions civil and on track. 

Thank you for your assistance. 

The trouble is that it's so subtle only those of us who read very regularly pick up on it. Many others react favourably to the carefully phrased unpleasant posts.

5 minutes ago, Froxfield said:

We enjoyed Clare Balding very much and she is very far from the worst speaker we have had on a cruise!! (subjective opinion of course). Her frequent appearances on television are likely down to her undoubted competence and professionalism in a wide variety of topics. Except line dancing as observed in Queen's Room on QE and as she admitted on stage!

Isn't it wonderful that there's something/someone for everyone.😊 

5 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

I was annoyed this morning because they substituted replaced 24 large eggs with just 12 medium. And then charged for 24. It wasn’t the overcharge, though - just that they only sent 12. Most of the problems arise because of the store - couple of weeks ago a lot of the fresh food was on its BB or use by date. No warning on the invoice either.

 

Ocado is much more reliable - but often pricey. They once substituted a free range organic chicken costing £25 - and they don’t reduce the price to the original order price.

Never had this problem with Tesco, so it must depend on the local branch's efficiency. Had a very similar egg problem with Sainsbury's, who initially told me it was my fault for not rejecting the under-delivery/over charge... 

It does seem to depend on the local store pickers which, in my case, is mainly staffed by middle aged ladies who know what they're doing. I'm sure than sentence breaches many equality laws/rules/regulations but so be it.😂

4 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

For balance, we had Dickie Arbiter (former Buckingham Palace press officer) and a royal author (who I’d never heard of). Dickie Arbiters talk was packed but disappointing (IMHO and others). He didn’t add anything to what was already widely known about the Coronation. The only anecdote that he told I have heard him mention on TV before. Could have been a lot more interesting. 

I love balance, and think I've been unlucky with the guest speakers on my P&O cruises. Not seen Dickie Arbiter on a cruise (though he's frequently on TV), but Jenny Bond was on one of our Cunard cruisers and she was good. 

For even more balance, on our last Cunard cruise in (I think) June 2019, the guest speaker was Martin Bashir. Even without the benefit of hindsight, he was absolutely dire, though he was actually doing the lectures as the Beeb's Religious Affairs Correspondent, not their finest HR vetted appointment...

8 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

Morning everyone. Bit of an odd question this, but are people still having problems getting regular supplies of eggs from supermarkets - Tesco in particular?

 

We have to have stuff delivered and Tesco are still extremely unreliable for eggs. And expensive - more so than other supermarkets.

 

It’s the unreliability of supply though that’s annoying, when you rely on one delivery a week. Is it just our Tesco, or is this general?

Similar problems with Tesco eggs here, Harry, though they always send something plus price match; Sainsbury's has similar supply problems. Is Tesco sending you an alternative or just sending you nothing? Here they are the best of the major supermarkets for decent substitutes and almost always send the complete order with no omissions. Asda is not good, and always two or three items missing, usually items that must have substitutes available in store, but looks like they can't be bothered. 

11 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Yes, we’ve seen some really interesting talks over the years. Other than the odd music recital on Aurora, they are about the only daytime activities that appeal to us. We were on QM2 a few weeks ago and there was a surgeon giving a talk on plastic surgery. I thought that was a very odd subject matter 😂 

Gosh, that's an odd one; Cunard usually get excellent speakers: once went to one by Sir David Frost who was, of course, hugely entertaining and Lord Digby Jones also superb - QV theatre jam packed for every lecture. The low point was Clare Balding, just about the worst speaker I've heard on any cruise line (subjective opinion, of course). Her ubiquitiousness (is that even a word? Where's wowzz when you need him?) has been a mystery to me ever since.

Premium Bonds - a quick question:

This month (May) my winnings have not been paid into the nominated bank account, plus I have not been notified by email; normally it's paid in on about the 10th of the month. 

Gather from reading various press reports that NS&I are in a muddle - is that the reason, or have they singled me out, lol?😂 Has anyone had their prizes paid in  this month?

And I have just dug out some old school magazines ("Spectrum", Southgate Grammar School, 1965-1967), in which Barclays advertised for school leavers to join them. Under the heading "A Career in the Bank" there is a salary scale and career outline for "ambitious young men" and a separate one, heading "And there's scope for girls as well", with a lesser salary, along with the boast that Barclays has "two women branch managers".

We've come a long way...

1 minute ago, daiB said:

Please read what has been writen. Not what you thinl is written Embarrassment would not happen as any request would be given at the time of ordrring the meal.

I did. You said "no need for embarrassment". He would feel embarrassed, as would I.

Please read what has been written.

1 hour ago, Dermotsgirl said:

They are not solving issues in a review.  They are reviewing what happened.

 

 

Indeed. And recently, despite reported attempts, many problems haven't been resolved on board. 

1 hour ago, daiB said:

You ask when you give your order. Not in the middle. No need for embarrassment. Now clearly you can’t do this at you first meal but as I have said this is a 35 night cruise.

As it happens I rarely do this only on the rare occasions i fancy one of the meals on offer.99% of the time I am very happy with what I am given.

If Harry says he would feel embarrassed, then he would feel embarrassed. So would I. 

I often find that, on most topics, more than one opinion is available...

44 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Thank you. That’s very kind. It will be our first non-P&O cruise, so a brave new world!

I very much hope you love Cunard as much as I do. Bon voyage!

57 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Actual ball gowns are in the minority on QM2 TA. We have done a few roundtrip TA's and never seen that many women wearing actual ball gowns, elegant formal evening dresses are more common.

+ 1. In fact, cocktail length dresses and dressy trousers for formal nights were becoming increasingly prevalent pre-youknowwhat and I doubt things have become more formal since then, though haven't been on a Cunard ship since June 2019.

6 hours ago, wowzz said:

I know everyone likes a quiz first thing in the morning, so here is a simple multiple choice question for today.  Please note, only one answer is correct. 

Q. You are a middle aged, slightly overweight man, who is going out with his wife. You plan to wear a garish nylon looking football shirt, emblazoned with the name of a shonky online betting company. Where are you going ?

1. A family christening 

2. The theatre 

3. A restaurant for a nice meal and drinks

4. Wetherspoons for an all day breakfast and four pints of cheap lager.

Answer available tomorrow.

I always try, and fail, to imagine my late father going out to dinner dressed as Stanley Mathews.

15 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Unfortunately that is never going to happen as the cabins are all full, just that in school holidays there are many filled with 4, usually 2 adults & 2 children and rest of time just 2 adults.

Yes, but all the cabins don't magically become full; assuming the many reports are accurate, P&O are taking too many bookings during school holidays. I have no axe to grind here as my offspring left school long ago, and I'm retired, but some seem to also forget that teachers, dinner ladies, school caretakers etc. also have to take their holidays outside term time; are they not entitled to similar service levels to you and me?

On 4/23/2023 at 4:30 PM, majortom10 said:

No it was during school term. All ships are stretched during school holidays due to a lot of cabins having 4 (2 adults and 2 children) in where out of school holidays will only have 2 adults.

Surely a fairer way of approaching this is to suggest that P&O should not be taking more bookings than they have staff to properly cover, particularly as the unfortunate customers are paying a premium during school holidays. 

6 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

So where's all the bingo players and quizzers?

 

Must be somewhere?

I'm a quizzer, but only during the day.

Same here. Last show I went to was "Hair" in (I think) 1967.

4 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Which is the  cruise line where the price you pay determines the level of dining you receive?

 

Is that Cunard?

Yes.

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

Driving home from Southampton today, I saw two AA patrolmen on motor bikes. Talk about a blast from the past !

Anyone else seen them, or are they actually quite common,  and I need to get out more  ? 

Haven't seen them for years. Remember when I was a child that they used to salute when they saw my father's AA badge. Very ageing!

1 minute ago, Angel57 said:

I would take vet advice on nutrition with a pinch of salt….. they will often recommend something like Hills or Royal Canin….😢 

Good luck.

Exactly what I was about to say... just check out the nutrition ratings on Hills on AADF, for a start... 

A great deal of veterinary advice on dog nutrition is simply unforgivable, particularly when they proceed to flog you the dreadful stuff.

4 minutes ago, Angel57 said:

Freddie didn’t have any issues but we took a long time to find the right food for him. Every time we changed type or brand it would result in upset tummy.

We tried kibble, then raw and finally settled on wet which suited him best as anything containing peas, chicken or turkey did not agree with him.

The website allaboutdogfood is very helpful in rating foods and steering you away from the nutritionally poor brands!

For the last 4 years we have opted for Millies Wolfheart which do wet and dry and you can buy in pet shops or online. They have a very helpful customer service who will help you chose which is the right type and recipe.

Gill

We posted almost simultaneously, with similar advice so we can't both be wrong😂. Like you, we ended up with mainly wet food, but a mixture of Butcher's and Naturo, both easily available in supermarkets etc. and nutritionally sound, along with some dry food, Wainwright's Grain Free (Pets at Home own brand).

5 minutes ago, DamianG said:

Quick question for the dog owners please. Did your dog experience any tummy issues after switching to adult food?

 

Teddy is fine but has had a few tummy issues over the last few weeks and we suspect that this coincides with switching to adult dog food. We also wonder if it's because we swapped to a cheaper supermarket brand which was recommended to us.

 

We've found a company online that supposedly offers a tailored diet but of course it comes with a price to much.

 

All advice or suggestions appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Damian

My dog was an adult when I acquired him; however, he has always had a sensitive stomach. 

This website is incredibly informative and helpful: https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/

and once you have a little delve around, you'll find that a) supermarket own brand dog food is pretty awful, b) so is most of the stuff sold by vets and c) the price of dog food often has little bearing on its quality, for example one of the better quality wet dog foods is Butcher's, and it's also one of the cheapest. There is also a very good quality own brand dry dog food sold by Pets at Home. 

Allaboutdogfood has a search facility based on sensitive stomachs, but I've found that if you check the ingredients list and make sure it's simply meat and vegetables with few other additives, you should be ok. 

6 hours ago, bluemarble said:

I'll start with my favorite photo of QE2. This was taken during our one and only time on board QE2. It shows her final call to Geiranger, Norway on June 28, 2008.

 

Thank you, Bluemarble - your wonderful photograph has been my screen saver for the last five or six years and I often wondered from whence I snaffled it - now I know. 😊