DamianG

Fabulous photo, a contender for Cruise Critic Picture of the Year!

So sorry to hear your latest news @Josy1953 Although it’s no consolation the strength and support you’ve continued to show is admirable and inspirational.

Blimey, I’ve had a busy few weeks so I’m only just catching up whilst on the train to work in London & there are 30 pages to read! I’m glad to read that you gave your late dad a good send off @P&O SUE & that Lady K is okay @kalos. Also congratulations to Mr & Mrs @yorkshirephil I’m not a project manager by any means but having completed one alongside my day job I’ve put my hand up for another as it’s a subject I’m interested in & have experience of (risk management) & have been volunteered for a third one at the same time. There’s been some long days & early morning calls with colleagues in Australia including one at 7am (never again!). However, I’ve also got a promotion so hard work has paid off! I’m now just one position below the grade I was before redundancy in 2018 but who cares about that? I’ve caught up in terms of pay so that’s all I’m bothered about (even if payroll have messed up what they’ve reported to HMRC but hopefully I’m going to get that sorted in the office today). We’ve also finally got round to stripping out our son’s bedroom & completely refurbishing it. It’s almost done & looks great, far better than any bedroom I’ve ever had as a kid or adult! It’s been one year since dad left us & this week we attended the funeral of my late cousin who suddenly took ill & passed away within a few hours whilst on holiday In Lanzarote. Such a shock for everyone especially his close family who had to deal with it all. It was a lovely service & we had a smile when they played “On Days Like These” by Matt Munro at the crematorium. I knew it was the music from the film The Italian Job & my uncle turned round & said “He always said he wanted a fancy Italian sports car.” The other thing to stick in my mind was how many distant relatives said “We don’t want to see you anytime soon!” Said in jest of course but it’s a shame that seems to be the only time we all see each other. It’s still a great comfort to pass some time on here reading everyone’s news (even if it sad sometimes) & just sharing life’s experiences. Anyone got a Christmas tree up yet? Our new neighbour said that his wife loves Christmas & would be the first in the street to decorate. It turns out he wasn’t kidding! Best regards to all. Damian

I’m late catching up with this but may I offer my sincere condolences to you & your family.

Thanks Selbourne, your thread was well written, informative, entertaining & thoroughly engaging as always. Don’t put yourself out too much but I hope that you’ll be able to post some updates from your forthcoming epic adventure on Aurora.

Blimey! No cruises for a few years, then you hit Caribbean level and now it seems that you are just quickly passing through on your way to the heady heights of the Baltic Tier! Go Selbournes! Tier changes normally take place after the passenger’s most recent cruise is completed but I wonder if your 65 nighter counts in sectors and will make a difference mid-cruise?

We had a creaking cabin on Aurora many years ago. It was resolved by an engineer spraying WD40 in multiple places where the furnishings (e.g. wardrobes etc.) met the ceiling.

Thank you, I'll suggest that when we go to see the physio. He's had X-rays but nothing showed up so fingers crossed this will pass with the right treatment.

He is a cockapoo. For the last 2 months he’s had an occasional limp (which we’re going to try physio for) and has been sick a few times this week as well but he was on top form today, eating well and enjoying running round on the beach with my sister-in-law’s dog.

Last day in Wales, poured down again early but we got some nice sunshine for our trip to the beach at Fairbourne. Teddy loved it.

Lots of great advice on this tread so far. One thing I don't think anyone has mentioned is that the sea view cabins on Aurora are a very good size and worthy of consideration. I appreciate that your preference would be a balcony cabin, however with the fantastic tiered stern being just a short walk away from the mid to aft cabins (since Aurora is a smaller ship) we never ever missed having a balcony on her or Oriana (which will always be our favourite P&O ship with Aurora a close second). The only thing that has been mentioned that I would strongly echo is that since Aurora is significantly smaller than Britannia that should hopefully mean less chance of being banned from Oslo. Best of luck with the decision making and planning.

I now have an image in my head of you kissing the tarmac quayside like the late Pope John Paul II then being whisked away in a popemobile.

Every upper tier and suite welcome onboard lunch we've ever been to has been buffet style so I was absolutely blown away by the above menu. It's better than the current MDR offerings and unusually I'd be happy to eat any of the options for starters, mains or dessert. I hope we get similar on Ventura in 2025. Thanks for posting, your comments are enjoyable as always and I'm looking forward to following your adventures closely. Have a great cruise.

We’re back in Gwynedd for a few days, got drenched a few times walking the dogs but still enjoying being away from city life for a change. Today I managed to see the RAF fighter jets flying over twice, really spectacular seeing them fly low over the Snowdonia National Park area. This afternoon we went to King Arthur’s Labyrinth aka the Corriss Caverns. I wasn’t a big fan of the tunnels even though I didn’t think I was that claustrophobic, but it was worth it to see the fantastic caverns and I thought the story telling was pretty good too.

We really need a “dislike” option on here alongside the standard “like”, “laugh” and “thanks” options! 😉 Congratulations on a deserved win.

@P&O SUE belated condolences on your loss, it all sounds similar to when my dad passed away almost a year ago also with pneumonia. Thoughts and prayers for you and all your family. Damian

That beats a McDonalds Happy Meal hands down. P&O now offer this as a fine dining staple but upgraded with green beans instead of peas.

By the way, how much is that per person per night? £77? You’d struggle to find a room at a Premier Inn or Travelodge for that these days.

Wow! Just wow! Forget what I said then! Well done you, an even better deal and peace of mind! Fancy a commission as a travel agent? 😉

I've just caught up with this and echo other's thoughts on being decisive, "going for it", "taking your opportunities" etc. Rather than be bugged by the potential further saving I think you should just focus on the fact that there was one suitable cabin left at a bargain price which you grabbed with both hands. It could quite easily have been a case of holding fire, missing out then spending a lot of time early next year thinking about what might have been. I'm absolutely thrilled for you both and look forward to hearing about your adventure next year. Best regards. Damian

You simply logout of P&O WiFi on that device and login on the different one. My son, wife and myself were all taking turns on our last cruise.

When I try to add internet for our next cruise it automatically asks whether I want to book an individual package for each member of our party:

We were unable to share a single WiFi package across multiple devices on our last two cruises on Iona and Arvia. Previously (2018 & 2019) we were able to do this via a travel router but could not do that on either cruise. We couldn't use the Hot Spot function on a mobile phone either. Without knowing the technical details of how P&O have managed this it appears to me that they have somehow blocked sharing WiFi and instead have introduced different pricing for the number of devices requiring use of it when booking the WiFi package.

I love a ploughman's lunch and that looks a particularly fine example, all the right components and not bulked out with too much salad or an apple (often added in an attempt to make it look bigger than it is).

I paid a rare visit to Greggs yesterday. The coffee machines both ran out and there was just one lady trying to serve the big queue and refill the machines at the same time. When I finally got to the front of the queue the cavalry arrived and a 2nd staff member finally came out to serve customers. I was stood right in front of him with armfuls of goodies but he looked straight past me and said “Can I help anyone?” I honestly think I’m invisible sometimes.