Megabear2

MSC beat us to it though, they have a ship called Bellissima.

I see you passed Queen Anne yesterday, any sightings from onboard? Sorry about the rain but it is apparently due to improve soon.

Presumably because you purchased through the US offices of those companies. You would have no need to know but all these companies have separate UK websites and offices within the UK. If I click into the US site of one of these it will direct me to a UK website as the computer recognises where I am based and assumes I need to purchase under UK terms. As an example, when I am in the US visiting friends in Dallas we often plan a future trip but I am unable to book until I get home as I am immediately directed to the UK site of whatever cruise line. Also if I click into the P&O website anywhere in the world other than in the UK I can see cruises but with no pricing and a message to Call to Book. This is because as a UK resident I need to book under UK law and terms. With the other lines mentioned their IT is better refined and so I am just redirected based on my URL extension being the UK. As consumers we just want to buy what we are looking for and very few of us actually look to see where the website we are looking at is based. Incidentally I can for those other lines book a cruise in the US under US law (I know a few who do) but apart from refundable deposits and a few freebies from travel agents there are little to no benefits in doing so because UK consumer law is so strong.

Actually P&O do not offer any insurance. Holiday Extras is a recommendation but they are not stating passengers have to buy from them and actually a very limited number of passengers do buy that policy, preferring to buy elsewhere. Basically the Holiday Extras/P&O link is a business agreement but nothing more than a recommendation. Just so the matter is clear, the terms and conditions about insurance are not exclusive to P&O, all the major cruise lines including Cunard, RCI, Celebrity, MSC, Princess and NCL have the same clause regarding insurance being a requirement to travel. Holiday Extras is an independent business offering exactly what it states: extras that travellers may require such as parking, overnight accommodation, transfers etc and insurance is just another arm of their business model. Freedom has absolutely nothing to do with the requirement for insurance. It is a protection for customer and company alike. It is not just cruise lines that ask for travellers to be insured but is across the whole travel industry. UK travellers have very high level of legal rights built into their holiday packages (with a cruise coming under that heading) and the insurance comes into that. You need to remember that residents of the UK do not have private medical insurance as a general rule as health care is provided free by our Government at the point of need with no ceiling. Unlike US guests we therefore do not have a fall back in the event we are taken ill or have an accident whilst onboard a cruise ship so to offer protection to individuals travel insurance is a mandatory requirement imposed by the cruise line or other travel provider. It is not anything other than a protection for both the passenger and the provider and is designed to offer both peace of mind in the event of a problem. With respect it is a cultural difference to risk not freedom that dictates the requirement. UK travellers are much more risk adverse and as such would prefer to have the peace of mind that in the event of the worst they do not have to worry about possible enormous bills and financial stress or ruin. Incidentally we are heavily charged by insurers for travel to the US due to the very high cost of medical treatment there due to no state provision as would be available in most other countries in the world.

Happy birthday Avril and Grandad John. I hope you're both having a splendid day with lots of jelly and ice cream.

Just got the message re the new timings, looks like she's going to be quite a bit later if we now board at 5.00pm.

Blue Funnel Cruises - sorry autocorrect changed it to Ferries. https://bluefunnel.co.uk/events/queen-anne-arrival/ Also local newspaper produced this information from Cunard. The following vantage points have been recommended to view Queen Anne as she makes her way to her home port: Ryde and Gosport: 12.45pm Lee-on-the-Solent: 1.10pm Cowes: 1.10pm Calshot: 1.20pm Hamble: 1.30pm Royal Victoria Country Park and Weston Shore: 2pm Hythe: 2.15pm Mayflower Park: 2.30pm Mayflower Cruise Terminal: 2.45pm No idea if its correct but as I say a lot of people expecting this or very near.

Blue Funnel Ferries seem to think she's coming in at the earlier time as they're selling tickets at £25 each departing 12.15 from Southampton to join the flotilla and various Isle of Wight sailings all leaving around that time too. Local papers are telling prospective viewers she will be at Mayflower Terminal at 2.45pm as well. Going to be a lot of disappointed people if she's not going to be there.

I don't doubt it. However all claims with All Clear apparently have to be accompanied by an invoice, whatever their nature. Under my own insurer there was a separate form just for missed ports and it was very simple. All Clear however required full documentation the claims handler informed me that it was required as proof of booking.

I have claimed from All Clear for my aunt and they required the original invoice as proof she was actually on that cruise. It was very quick once I'd supplied all her documents.

Who do you want to play the role of you, though? You'd need a dashing young man and a venerable aging James Bond type. Mind you with political correctness you might end up as a person of colour, one armed, wheelchair user with Tourettes ...

You'll note I didn't say the vloggers but those filming as influencers for their blogs on various social media forums. However I can confirm in the past 12 months I have encountered loud speaking into a mobile, being told to stop I'm filming, don't walk here and could you not go through here on Arvia in June 2023, on Britannia January 2024, at the Epsom Racecourse for both The Oaks and The Derby. Goodwood House (both Goodwood Speed Festival and Glorious Goodwood), the O2 Arena for a Peter Gabriel concert - this was in the Amex Priority area and halted by O2 and Amex security staff. Living in a city which has many tourists I've even been accosted within the grounds of the cathedral and on one notable occasion actually inside it while waiting for an organ recital to commence and havingan American visitor stand up and announce to the gathering, can you all be quiet please as we are recording for our blog and we don't want background noise.

If professional filming is taking place there are generally notices advising the general public of the fact, be it on land or on the ship. We were on Regal Princess in 2022 on a Barcelona sailing and the new Love Boat was being filmed. The daily programme gave advance warning of which areas would be affected each day and there were warning notices if you chose to enter the area. Newbury Racecourse did the same for filming for Peaky Blinders so clearly the companies are aware it is a touchy subject with some. The problem with a lot of these so called bloggers is they aren't actually really the full item. Those you mention such as Emma etc are well known by the cruise companies and no doubt do try to use discretion and really are interested in helping/giving views on cruising. They are primarily giving views and experiences about cruising not their entire lives. However the "swarms" are more than likely just people who post their entire lives on the internet in the hope they will become influencers, most of whom are actually talentless individuals making a living from the seemingly unending desire of some people to live vicariously through the internet. These people are not vlogging on cruising, they are using the ships as a background to "look at me, aren't I successful" so that they can garner clickbait and hopefully catch the eye of advertisers who will pay them to name drop their products. The people doing this are just as likely the next week to be doing the self same thing in Dubai or New York. These people see themselves as being in the "in" place. It's also a generations issue. Young people will think it's fine, they are very happy to use social media and the internet to show how they live their lives and won't think anything is odd about doing so. The cruise lines could control things better by saying only approved vloggers/bloggers can post full reports on social media accounts, it should be very easy to see who is a "professional" cruise vlogger as opposed to attention seeker looking for advertising.

I've booked on the Blue Funnel Ferry to join the flotilla and my boarding time is 12.15pm. These are the estimated times from local paper: Ryde and Gosport: 12.45pm Lee-on-the-Solent: 1.10pm Cowes: 1.10pm Calshot: 1.20pm Hamble: 1.30pm Royal Victoria Country Park and Weston Shore: 2pm Hythe: 2.15pm Mayflower Park: 2.30pm Mayflower Cruise Terminal: 2.45pm0

Tuesday 30th April. She's currently en route stopping in Gibraltar.

The lady I currently see is contracted to Wiltshire Council and the course I have been following is actually provided by them as part of something called Healthy Wiltshire. I was recommended to self refer by my GP surgery as I have struggled with weight issues since I had cancer a long time ago. At that point I was on trial medication and my weight ballooned as a result - I was a very skinny size 10 at diagnosis and in four months went to a rather large size 20 whilst on the medication and after 5 years of that medication losing the weight is a never won battle to date. My course is in three stages. The first is a nutritionist who provides monthly plans, the second is a fitness coach and the third is the health coach. It is a year course for free, although I do pay a subsidised rate for extra gym classes. The first phase was 6 months which started in late October and consisted of the nutrition plan and exercise coach. There were 6 weekly meetings to start (one to one) which went to fortnightly. That phase finished this month - I was a little behind due to being ill in January. I am now on 6 weekly meetings which will after 4 sessions go to two three monthly meet ups and one final one six months later. The health coach and exercise plan continues through the entire 12 months and now I'm past my commitment to attend a class, workout in the gym or swim twice a week the frequency is down to me. I swim three times a week by choice and add the odd session the gym or a class of some sort if I have time. At the end of October I can choose to continue at a cost of £25 per month which will cover the health coach once a month, the health club membership and the fitness coach. I intend to continue as I find the support very helpful. I had the choice of zoom or in person and chose the latter because I'm very lacking in control unless everything is regimented! I understand quite a lot of councils used to offer this programme in conjunction with the NHS but unfortunately due to cost issues many no longer do.

Excellent news. I hope you enjoy your cruise. Perhaps you can let us know how it went at some point as it is always nice to hear back. Have a wonderful time.

I've only ever watched one of these things, a guy caught up in the Maleth 12 hour overnight fiasco, and to be truthful I could not believe that people actually tune in to any of this. However the filming bloggers do not irritate me anywhere near as much as the general passengers who choose to Facetime or whatever with their families in public areas. I object very much to hearing Billericay Dickie and co giving vivid discussions of their days to Uncle Ernie back home. By all means contact home but do it in a private area where I do not have to listen, okay Babe...

That's good. Unfortunately not on Britannia in January or surprisingly Arvia last May. Strangely the thermal suite did show in our diary but not treatment

That's an excellent example. The classic drinks package includes P&O's own brand gin and not Bombay Sapphire. The "app" is indeed the halfway house the same as Cunard's. However I have found the Cunard one more helpful with additional information such as the daily programme and spa bookings shown in it. P&O's is rather more basic with these items not showing. You can book dinner slots on it in the same way as the Cunard one, it shows restaurant availability, theatre information, your onboard account log in to your wifi, and book/see excursion availability. I'm unsure why - could be number actually using it - but although an identical set up the Cunard one seems to be more reliable. Not having sailed on the two smaller ships to date I cannot say how the freedom dining options work on them, but there have been reports it can be messy on Arcadia. However a lot seems to depend on your choice of dining time, we dine earlier and have had no problems with freedom dining on Britannia or Azura yet others report that they have encountered troubles on the former. Ironically my biggest delay in getting a table in recent times was on QM2 last year so really it is more likely governed by numbers and times than a precise science.

There has/intend to be an across the board price rise which will affect the drinks prices and speciality dining. Currently boarding Britannia today AndyMichelle are going to source new bar menus and post on their thread so worth looking at before deciding on the drinks package. I assume you are used to Cunard's somewhat enormous wine and drinks menus and you may find the choices of gins etc somewhat small in the Classic drinks package. The deluxe drinks package will offer more choice in brands although it too is considerably smaller than Cunard's. Regarding the ships both are scheduled for a large investment and upgrade, Arcadia in November 2024 and Aurora in April 2025. It was stated this will be major" so hopefully both will be in tip top shape. For familiarity Arcadia of course was meant to be Queen Victoria whereas Aurora is unique and one of the last of her breed. I have not travelled on either but have taken the plunge on an August Aurora cruise this year, chosen on itinerary.

Have a great cruise. If Hyacinth gets too overcome with excitement perhaps you can don your Onslow persona and wear her out on the dance floor. I would be very interested in whether the spa has undergone any upgrade and if the thermal suite in particular has had the warm beds and ice room sorted - they were not operational in January along with various other niggling broken bits and pieces. Thank you, have a fabulous time, I'm not jealous at all ....

In fairness I don't think John was asking for your personal information more we UK residents are interested in what US travellers do to cover themselves in the event of medical problems and return home if they are unable to travel on their arranged flights. You need to understand it is completely alien to UK residents to partake in any packaged holiday without full travel insurance, it is in the contractual terms and conditions for us hence the possibility of being asked to prove we have it - there is a section on the cruise personaliser where we are obliged to fill in our policy details. From personal experience I know some US guests use their own medical insurance that covers them at home and I believe John to be asking if that is the normal thing. There have been a few US guests asking here on the P&O board about insurance, something that was quite rare but occurring more regularly since the restart. It is just helpful to know how their fellow countrymen dealt with it, not intended as an intrusion into personal details.

Selbourne, I believe Queen Anne's actual naming is going to completed in the same way Arvia's was last year in Barbados - I posted a video link of that on the roll call last week. The Liverpool port area with it's tunnel etc is presumably not going to host the viewing area, most likely more along the front where Eurovision was when we were on QM2 last year. My Cunard PC indicated to me that fireworks/music will be much grander than the hastily arranged Coronation effort, more in line with the 175th anniversary ones which were very spectacular and not just shoreside, hence the large crowds expected.

Free at the point of removal from the ship but before you get to that point there will be a very hefty medical bill onboard as that removal is very much the last resort. Then there's the question of if the hospital you travel to is able to treat the problem, something we take for granted but certainly not guaranteed. This is often where the problems start. Antigua for instance does not have a hospital equipped for major heart problems and any passenger arriving there would need an emergency helicopter to Martinique or Guadeloupe as these islands have an arrangement to assist. That transfer would not be free and assumedly any ambulance charges from arrival at the heliport would start the charging clock once more. Even in Civitavechia we encountered a hospital no heart team and after 72 hours had to transfer to Central Rome. Insurance companies only cover us for treatment in approved local hospitals and in the first instance that is where we end up. If special care is needed elsewhere you have to negotiate with the insurer or pay upfront and argue the need to have moved before they agreed.