davecttr

31 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

That is great news that you do not need to inject insulin Dave.

Watching your sugar has paid dividends for you.

Good luck in the future.

Your annual Europe and cruise quote from All clear is very similar to ours from All clear.

Not insulin Liraglutide. This group of drugs were licenced for treating obesity last year which led to a worldwide shortage and no availability for diabetics. Apparently it only works if the blood sugar level is too high and reduces the appetite as well. As my levels are not high I am trying  a trial period without it. 🤞

Fun day today. I allowed 2 hours to get to the surgery for my diabetes review and made it with 5 minutes to spare. Then the computer check in did not work, typical. Anyway the review went well. I don't have to inject daily any more because my blood sugar levels are well controlled. No new tablets needed either just keep taking the Metformin and avoid eating cakes and drinking pints. They will check again in 4 months time.

I bought an AllClear annual multi trip policy covering all europe including Spain etc. It cost £458.26 which is 19% more than last year. I did ring their helpline to check which region Svalbard was and the answer was, 'can you spell that please and where is it? Part of Norway I replied, this could get interesting so has anyone cruised to Svalbard?

3 hours ago, davecttr said:

I checked Fred cruises to Norway etc for Jun/July/August 2025 and there are no arctic offers. The most interesting is a 12 nighter from Dover in July costing £3199 for an inside single cabin on a lower deck. Dover is attractive as it is about 40 miles from home so a hotel stay not needed. The price is high though. 

 

P&O hav a 16 night Arcadia cruise from southampton to Iceland at £2499 for a inside single on the whale watching deck. £156 pn v £266 per night, no contest even with the additional cost of getting to Southampton. Fred have no cruises to Svalbard etc next year either.

I looked at Ambassador cruises as well but nothing attractive so I have booked the June Arcadia cruise. I have the single cabin location grade SC, forward on the sun deck. Shower only which I prefer.

I checked Fred cruises to Norway etc for Jun/July/August 2025 and there are no arctic offers. The most interesting is a 12 nighter from Dover in July costing £3199 for an inside single cabin on a lower deck. Dover is attractive as it is about 40 miles from home so a hotel stay not needed. The price is high though. 

P&O hav a 16 night Arcadia cruise from southampton to Iceland at £2499 for a inside single on the whale watching deck. £156 pn v £266 per night, no contest even with the additional cost of getting to Southampton. Fred have no cruises to Svalbard etc next year either.

7 minutes ago, davecttr said:

So on topic. I just noticed that Fred have 3 formal nights on my 14 night Balmoral cruise, times they are a changing. 

..and a captains welcome party😬 You can wear dark jeans on normal evenings though. I have a nice smart black pair.

So on topic. I just noticed that Fred have 3 formal nights on my 14 night Balmoral cruise, times they are a changing. 

I remember Captain Charlie from Ventura when he used to join the solo coffee meetings in Ramblas, Sad news.

I bought when they cost £2100 but have had more of that in shareholder benefit. This year i am only taking 1 P&O cruise and the return on that is still over 7% tax free.

3 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I'm sure your calculations work for you. Did you not lose 3 deposits as well?.

Yes but that was money already spent and I tend not to worry about that.

If you find the Premier Inn near the terminal is fully booked there is a Premier Inn about 4 miles away at Whitley Bay, right on the seafront (lots of grass) right next to the Spanish Village. I stayed there a few years ago and had a pleasant walk along the prom after breakfast before travelling to the ship. Look out for the Vera locations as well. I have booked for 11/12 June before boarding Balmoral for a cruise to Svalbard & Norway, my first Fred cruise.I am looking forward to lots of whale watching.

5 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I'm slightly confused. Am I right that you cancelled 2 P&O cruises and that nearly paid for 1 FO ?.

Yes but there is more. I have 4 P&O cruises booked for this year. 

14 nights on Britannia to the Canaries on 5 July - £1907 to pay

16 nights on Arcadia to Iceland/Norway on 30 July - £1844 to pay

7 nights on Britannia to Norway on 13 September - £1259 to pay

14 nights on Iona to the Canaries on 9 November - £1553 to pay

I will take the Arcadia cruise leaving £4719 saving £1520 after paying for the Fred 14 nights to Svalbard/Norway. That Fred Cruise is more attractive to me than the 3 cancelled P&O cruises combined. I could invest that £1500 in a private Carpal Tunnel Syndrome op on my left wrist, better than waiting 6 months or the appoinment falling in the middle of a cruise IMO.

I followed Dermotsgirl and visited the Mountain Wharehouse at the Chatham Dockyard Outlet Centre, eventually, after a 45 minute wait for a bus that is meant to run at 15 minute intervals. A 'free' flat white at Roos helped calm me and then into MW for a recce and gloves. Gloves sold out so I came out with a pair of socks and a 3 in 1 jacket with removeable liner and hood . Good enough for me at 39% discount. Trespass had gloves but the fingers are all too long. I will try on line. Then into Cotton Traders for a couple of long sleeve 'outdoor' shirts. I already have lots of layers so it is just the long underwear to buy. i will have to shorten the legs though. Luckily my Tesco delivery is not until 4pm.

2 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

We are in an inside cabin. Paid about £150 pppn for a grade one up from the basic.  13 night cruise.  Yes more than we usually pay but did get 400 obc.  Still on board and Azores tomorrow 

£160 pppn for a 13 night cruise suggests maybe £161.50 pppn for a 14 night cruise, a total of £3230 for the cruise. My superior inside cabin cost £3199 which is about a 38% single supplement, not bad as I have had 70% SS in the past. I also have £210 OBC.

It appears that price comparisons can only apply to the basic inside and ocean view cabins as Fred does not have any balcony cabins, or rather the balcony cabins are classified as suites.

7 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

+1 for Mountain Warehouse

 

When we did a northern lights cruise we went to the Mountain Warehouse at the Dockside Outlet in Chatham and got ourselves kitted out. 

 

In addition to what other people have already said, merino wool socks keep your feet warm. 

I think I will have a look around there tomorrow, good to know it is still open.

I am visiting Longyearbyen in June by cruise. The average temperature will be 2C to 5C. Any advice please on reliable brands of windproof/waterproof/ insulated clothing would be welcome. There will be a lot of standing around on open decks whale watching.

I have just booked a cruise on Balmoral in June from Newcastle, 14 nights to Norway and Svalbard in an inside single premium cabin. It did not come cheap but I always wanted to visit Svalbard and two new ports for me are Hammerfest and Alta. Lots of midnight sun for whale watching which is why I booked it. The fare was £3199 with £210 on board credit. I have September and November P&O cruises which I will cancel saving £2812 so the difference is only £387 and further savings will come from the lack of a casino. No Blackjack for me. I am pleased that the cabin only has a shower as well as I did not like the bath/shower arrangement on Arcadia. I can have my Blackjack fix on Arcadia in July with 14 nights to Iceland/Norway and two new ports, Belfast and Stornoway. My Arcadia cabin is shower only and only yards from the whale watching deck 🙂

The only problem might be a rail strike.

There used to be a hand sanitiser that worked against Norovirus, or rather it worked against a related non enveloped virus in cats. They had to change the formula because the low volume percentage active ingredient could cause skin cancer if you bathed your hands daily in it for about 20 years.

Apparently all the handrails etc should be brass because copper has anti bacterial properties. It kills them, apparently something to do with the molecular structure of the metal. Did you know RNA can form spontaneously on volcanic glass given the conditions on the early earth, amazing.

Oceana did not have a Crows Nest. Actually it did have a forward lounge with dance floor etc but that was converted into the buffet. I think the ship design was pre buffet era. I liked Oceana and she was my favourite ship.

9 hours ago, carlanthony24 said:

Honestly I found the crew canteen not to my liking that much. Mostly found it catered for the Indian/Philippine crew. It did have some British food like burgers, fish, chicken curry but repeated often. It was just better going up to the buffet or a specialty restaurant most days.

Crew members using the buffet is a problem on Arcadia which has the worst buffet on P&O IMO. In the evenings  one of the serveries and a significant part of the seating is cordoned off and reserved for 'officers', apparently Arcadia does not have a officers mess? There are also groups of staff in certain grades that arrive en-masse and demolish the buffet offerings. IMO the buffet is for passengers and staff who are allowed to use it should be mindful that it is a privilage and that the passengers pay their salery.

Smartphone apps have displays that are too small for my ancient hands It is bad enough having to type this. I have a smartphone without a SIM but use a dumb phone for calls and text. I find no problem with pressing a big key 3 times to type the letter c. A tablet is better than a smartphone but not for carrying around.

I have £150 OBC for my 16 night Arcadia cruise and that works out at £9.375 per day. As I average 2 pints per week nowadays that will be enough for one holiday drink a day and maybe a paid for meal. So no problem spending the OBC and then the 10% discount applies.

16 minutes ago, Cathygh said:

 

 

It has been widely reported else where that G532 and G533 (October 2024) have been cancelled and Iona will have her refit then instead of March 2025. It will be for 17 days. Lots of complaints, obviously, especially as alternative cruises have risen in price. I expect there to be replacement cruises for March 2025 to be announced soon.

That confused me. I am booked on iona G437 and that departs on the 9th November.

Just now, yorkshirephil said:

I find a lot of help lines very rude, you should have heard the suggestion I got from the suppository help line.

If it was an Italian help line about Inuendo

1 hour ago, twotravellersLondon said:

 

 

We would check very, very carefully.

 

We've had the same suggestion and after a little research removed the email from our system, removed all cookies and deleted all history. Why... we've not used that antivirus software for over 10 years and that was on computers that have long since gone to the IT-graveyard in the cyberspace.

 

There is currently a Microsoft windows defender security warning doing the rounds... it's a phishing scam used to gain to the a device.

The email is from North Face and I have no intention to email their help line. My anti virus software is current but I have not clicked any links. I will delete cookies and history.

My Anti virus software has been occasionally reporting a data breach since xmas and suggesting I pay for an upgrade. Now I think I know why.

I bought a North Face waterproof jacket last year and I received an email from them this morning. Their parent group had a data breach in December and potentially personal information such as name, address, phone number etc was stolen. However no passwords or bank/ credit card details were compromised and the only thing stored was I paid by credit card with no further details, the system has now been restored.

I supose paying for that upgrade is a good idea.