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I was actually going to mention that , we have left from Ocean and I asked about an Elite Lounge and they said not here. The reason I asked was because I was following a blog on here where the lady said they were put in an Elite Lounge and I think she left from Mayflower.

Are they doing a full kids club at the moment as other lines are restricting it to a set number of sessions a day? Staff shortages I guess.

It’s the same with the Platinum and Elite priority boarding , it seems to have gone out the window now.

We got straight off the shuttle bus and waited in the queue for the HOHO, it was a Sunday so they didn’t start until 10 o’clock. They told us our commentary would be in English but the bus waiting behind had the audio in different languages.

We did the Hop On Hop Off bus last month. It was very good The only thing I would say is it all depends on which guide you get and which side of the political division they are from as to what you are told about the history ( well according to the lady doing the port talk on the ship) We were lucky we had a guide who appeared to be unbiased. When we went the Shanklll Road was still full of all the union Flags and bunting from the Jubilee. When you dock in Cobh ( pronounced Cove) you will also find a small museum dedicated to Titanic there as she called there on her voyage.

When you get off the water shuttle at Edinburgh just on the left under the Forth Bridge will be the X99 bus a one minute walk away . It is the Cruiselink bus to Edinburgh and only runs when a ship is in. It goes straight to Edinburgh and you can see the castle from where the bus stops and as you go in. I have a leaflet I picked up recently . On the 17th July the buses start at 07.55 and the last one leaves the city centre at 17.20. It cost £10 return and you can use any Lothian bus for the whole day as well with the ticket while you are there. For example if you wanted to go over to see the Royal Yacht Britannia. The day we went there was a train strike so we got stuck in a bit of commuter traffic on way in ( people having to use their car instead of train) but still didn’t take long. I have a list of dates the bus runs if anyone wants times, although all the Princess ships seem to be the same time except the Island Princess on 8th August which is running 08.00 to 21.20 Some people bought Hop on Hop off tickets at the same time ( you get a £1 I think senior discount) . There were 3 different HOHO buses in St Andrews Square right near where the bus stops ranging in price from £10 to £15 so you can pick when you get to Edinburgh. There were guys selling HOHO tickets outside the station ( Edinburgh Waverley) just behind where the bus stops as well .

Apart from those both P & O and Cunard give OBC to military and veterans so I assume all of the Carnival brands probably do as well. Similar amounts to Princess except P & O is in GBP One of the small things I was looking forward to when we got to Elite was the priority embarkation unfortunately that didn’t happen at all on our last cruise and there was no Elite area to wait which people had previously posted about.

We have never buy had a bag with the upgraded amenities in. Last month we got a shower cap , emery board and a small loofah. Not sure if the lotion and conditioner were part of the upgraded amenities or we were going to get them anyway as we did before Covid.

If the cruise is sailing out of Southampton there will be quite a few in dinner jackets (tux) and long or cocktail dresses.

In the UK only over 75s or those clinically vulnerable have been given a second booster

No Emerald

We have always had lovely Stewards. On our recent Emerald Cruise he always waved if he saw us up the corridor. He introduced himself and asked if we had received all our cases we told him we had 2 still to come and showed him what they looked like, he went down to look and brought them to us 5 minutes later We asked him for soap for the shower as my husband doesn’t like shower gel , which arrived straight away, The second day my husband did his usual and asked to swop the duvet for a blanket as even with the the air conditioning at its lowest it is still too warm. When we came back to the cabin it was all sorted. They were doing the evening turn down which we told him we didn’t need as long as we got the Patter for the next day. ( For new cruisers the Patter is the list of events for the next day) He still serviced the room for the first 2 days but after telling him each time we really didn’t need it he stopped doing it but if he saw us in the evening he asked if we needed anything. 👍👍👍 Always make sure if you are happy or even just thought they were okay with your cabin steward to give them an excellent report when you get the email straight after the cruise finishes asking for your thoughts. That is more important to them than the gratuities. Likewise for the waiters. It can make a difference as to whether they get re employed or not at the end of their contract.

Thanks That is what I was thinking would happen which is why we have never ordered. Got to watch the sugar. Thanks, handy to know . We would have to do that I think.

Has anyone tried the Canapés on Emerald Princess, we were on her recently and never tried them but are on it again soon and wondered if it was worth trying. Also has anyone tried the afternoon tea deliver to stateroom on Emerald? We didn’t try that either . I assume you can only get this once per cruise

It’s a cheap or not very expensive bottle of wine.

Not everyone has the drinks package. We didn’t, I don’t drink and OH has perhaps 1 drink a day. So the mini bar came in handy

Oh an on the Emerald we never got any gin, just 2 Vodka, 2 Barcardi, 2 Cognac and 2 Whiskey ( which we swopped for 2 more Barcardi)

On the Emerald recently we could only swap for Diet Coke, they had no idea what I was talking about when I asked about Diet Sprite.

I don’t know if you can get this series anywhere in the States but we have been watching a Series called Inside the Tower of London which follows the Beefeaters working in the Tower and the Curators etc. You get to know about them and where they live and all sorts. There have been 4 seasons so far since 2018 and it’s really interesting. https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/inside-the-tower-of-london/#gs.4ppakm There have been many other programs over the years called Inside the Tower of London so careful you don’t pick up the wrong one

We just had a little tickle in our throat the day we disembarked, it was nothing really but because so many were coughing onboard we tested mainly before we went to see the Grandkids. So the people being quarantined on the P & O ships are they testing voluntarily onboard then or are they doing compulsory tests?

I notice on other sites people are still reporting being quarantined on board and those on fly cruises being quarantined before they can fly home. Are they still compulsory testing onboard then or are people voluntarily going to the medical centre to be tested? I just wondered how they are finding out people onboard had Covid. We have just got off a Princess cruise and so many people on board were coughing and sneezing , we tested positive when we got home.

True but then if you are attending a service you should know the protocol. I was thinking more about excursions for example when visiting Saint Marks Basilica in Venice quite a few men ( sorry they were mostly American) walked in wearing baseball caps. Also seen in many other cathedrals in Spain and Portugal.

Isn’t it a bit of a no no for a man to wear headwear inside anyway? Especially in a church btw, I am always amazed that when on tours and you go into a church or cathedral how many men keep their baseball caps on. Now that is definitely a no no. Ladies wear hats ( although not really any more) and men take them off as they enter. I always believe in When in Rome do as the Romans do and respect whatever traditions go with the particular religious building. If I was visiting a Mosque I would cover my head and not wear anything at all revealing. Again I have seem Westerners going into Mosques wearing little tiny vest tops revealing their bras. Anyway I digress on that one. We have just come off a British Isles cruise and dressed formally, we ate early so didn’t see many dressed formally at first, so much so that even our waiter commented it wasn’t on and they shouldn’t be let in . Fortunately when we finished our meal and were walking round the ships lots were dressed formally or at least in a jacket and tie and ladies in nice dresses or evening trousers and top and very nice they looked to.

On our Emerald cruise just finished I registered my credit card to both our accounts but they put my Shareholder OBC to my husbands accounts and onboard I couldn’t see any of his purchasing on my app but he could see both our purchases on his. It didn’t make any difference to us but it could to other couples. I’m sure it’s because we are Mr & Mrs and they automatically assumed it was his card even though it had my first name on it which is obviously a female name.

Did you book them through the Cruise Personaliser?