Harry Peterson

Sounds good. I like golden miles, whether it’s Blackpool, Belgrave Road Leicester, Southwold or Lido. All different, all interesting.

Often considered that as an alternative, but never tried it. Sounds a good idea. Our best trip to Venice was a couple of weeks with our son when he spent a whole term there as part of his history degree. He knew all the best - and cheapest - places to eat! Never stopped reminding us since though that although we spent a fortnight with him in Venice, somehow we didn’t even manage a full day with him at Warwick.

An interesting viewpoint. Care to provide any evidence for it, though, beyond your particular view of one tiny part of it?

I’ve never seen one, but Which? have carried out this same exercise in previous years, with much the same view of P&O being taken by Which? readers. You could certainly argue that by definition they’re likely to be looking for good value for money, but aren’t we all? And unlike most other publications Which? doesn’t take money from the companies it reports on, so the usual bias isn’t there. It isn’t perfect, but it’s about as good as it gets.

Me too - it's an invaluable (and, unusually, independent) tool for aiding decisions on a very wide range of goods and services. Particularly useful recently in deciding on a new printer - and its comparative running costs. Our next cruise will probably be with Saga, after many years with P&O - and the reviews of P&O in Which? pretty much match our recent experiences, and those of friends. As for 'small minority' and 'minor group', I wouldn't dismiss Which? readers quite so readily. Around 600,000 subscribers (roughly 75% that of the Daily Mail) plus family members, plus copies read in libraries across the UK and online. That's not exactly a small minority group in most people's book - it's a pretty large chunk of people with a pretty substantial buying power!

You're missing the point though. This is a Which? survey, publishing the results of the findings in the Which? magazine, primarily to members of Which?. Those readers tend to come from particular demographic groups, and those groups tend to have higher than average levels of disposable income. Income that they spend on activities such as holidays and cruises. They choose those holidays and cruises very often taking into account Which? surveys, and a lot of them will already have crossed P&O off their list of potential cruises - particularly because P&O hasn't done well in those surveys for many years. Some people will certainly have forgotten about it in 7 days, but not the people it was produced for. They will see it on the Which? website every time they research cruises and holidays. And they do very much tend to trust these surveys. It will inevitably cost P&O sales, and in the sort of free-spending group they'd probably rather like to keep.

As a long-standing Which? subscriber I accept that it’s not a true cross section of society, or even those who cruise, and it’s likely to be a bit ‘picky’ about quality. Still interesting, though, and it’s just a repeat performance for P&O, which hasn’t been well regarded for years. The even poorer performance this year does reflect a lot of the comments on these forums though, so Which? readers may not be all that unrepresentative. A glance at that table doesn’t produce any surprises. It’s not a million miles from where I’d expect it to be.

This is where I duck out, on the grounds that the contribution of my two images (one showing us as perceived by the English and one as perceived by the rest of the world) might breach some of the guidelines. 😇

Come back Roger - all is forgiven. 😉

Thanks for the information on that - I had no idea it was possible. Hope they work quickly for you. The drug shortages are far more widespread than the government admits - nationwide issues on quite a lot of drugs, some of which are critically essential for some people. Perhaps that was what was meant by the extra £350m per week for the NHS!

Whatever you choose to do, or wear, may I wish you a happy holiday and a great cruise. I'm sure you'll enjoy it, and the staff onboard will do their very best for you.

That’s just horrendous Dave. I feel for you. Are you managing to get back to some form of normality?

I’m absolutely no lover of formal dress on cruise ships, but there is a very simple answer. If P&O requires a particular dress code, take whatever clothes are necessary to meet the requirements. No fuss, no arguments, no doubt that way. If, like me, you don’t want to dress formally (and a dark suit is quite sufficient), avoid any cruise lines that require it.

Morning all - anyone manage to see the Northern Lights last night? Quite a show for Scotland, but visible as far south as Cornwall! https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2023/feb/27/northern-lights-dazzle-across-scotland-ireland-and-south-through-england More to come this week, apparently.

If you based your buying decisions on the negative threads of any owner forums you’d never buy another car! Every brand, every model, has its faults (Lexus probably having the fewest) but they’re somewhat overemphasised on forums. Perhaps like the ‘lowering standards’ threads here? 😉

Or they’re selling Aurora!

One of the most reliable brands available in the UK. And probably our next car too, for precisely that reason. With luck, you’ll spend less time in the garage with the SatNav!

I think your succinct statement about sums the position up. It's a very different P&O Cruises now, which will no longer suit many - but will better suit even more. And that's likely to be the more profitable route.

Somerset’s a lovely county with a bit of everything. Pretty cheap when we lived there, near Taunton, but much more expensive now after it became fashionable. Hauser & Wirth kicked off the Bruton set, and it mushroomed. When we moved down the M5 hadn’t long reached Taunton and it was a very different place from the way it is now. Very much the rural county town, with a wonderful old provisions shop, The County Stores, in the centre of town. All changed now.

Thanks - please don’t take any chances though. We’re all genuinely concerned for you, as will be your husband! Congratulations on the weight loss - the one spin-off benefit! 😄

How are you this morning?

Sorry to hear that you’re still so unwell. Sounds horrible. I know you know your own body, but I also know that you’re very much not one to complain. Really not wanting to pry, or to interfere, but as it’s now affecting your lungs and your sats are down, might it not be a good idea to contact 111 or its Scottish equivalent sooner rather than later? An early intervention might be helpful, or at least some advice? Harry

Much nicer in Dorset - beautiful county, with delightful towns. We still have a spinning wheel which my wife bought in Dorchester when we lived in Somerset. And a lot of happy memories.

Thought you’d have worked there too! You didn’t miss much. Unless you count a neighbour of ours who was a local dentist but spent most of her time in a drunken stupor and down the local off licence. Or the bloke who built our house and then decided to proposition my wife. Unsuccessfully (she’s always claimed) but he then succeeded with one of the other neighbours and broke her marriage up. It was an odd place, and we escaped out of the London area as soon as we could. Mind you, in Streatham (Norbury actually), which you also know, there was a GP who used to prescribe iffy drugs in the pub at lunchtime for cash. Do anything on Hutton Mount? Now that’s a place with some stories!

My father’s advice, a long, long time ago, when I was a law student, was to become a patent agent - on the grounds that it was one of the most lucrative branches of the legal profession. He was probably right! But it always struck me, a naive 20 year old, as very dull. Was I wrong?