Megabear2

Yes and also avoid middle deck 5 as under 710 Club where there's a show starting 12.15am every night so I was advised which was why I booked forward originally.

No, the joys of an upgrade from inside to balcony. I had booked a select inside but couldn't choose a cabin only area. I chose front, they moved me to aft small balcony. I could not change it back when I found out where it was as the ship is purportedly full. We shall see, I'm awaiting my visitor who's on his way apparently.

Thanks for letting me know about the mix and match, I will definitely give it a go. Hope your body clock adjusts to normal quickly. The clocks changed last night so it's now 7.30am on here and I'm fit for nothing after 4 hours or so sleep. At 1.15am ship time I conceded defeat and rang reception to ask when the music would stop and was told another 30 minutes. I was surprised the phone was answered so quickly. Anyway the outcome was a very surprising would you like another room and the deck supervisor is now visiting me at 9.00am to discuss options. This will be an interesting one, I must confess I was extremely surprised at how quickly this was offered and the sceptic in me says they know certain rooms are likely to usher in a complaint (apparently I've made one although I never actually used the word). Unfortunately I am almost deaf in my left ear and my right ear over compensates as a result. I also get regular infections in my ear so try to avoid putting anything in it to prevent flare ups. The side effect of the bad ear is that although I cannot hear normal levels low and high pitch sounds are acutely exacerbated and the thump and grind of the drum and bass guitar I experienced last night were such that even with my head good ear down deep in the pillow the sound was vibrating and reverberated through my left ear. I was quite surprised how loud the noise was, rarely can I not obliterate noise by turning my deaf ear up. Anyways I'll keep the deck 15 information in mind in case they try to move me there. I must confess I'm.absolutely shattered so hope they person is on time as I'm planning to try to get some more sleep when they've gone. Apart from the tiredness it's ironically super quiet this morning with no noise anywhere from my neighbours. In light of my unexpected visitor being due I'm going to try for breakfast brunch at 6th Street Diner at when it opens at 10.00am, assuming of course I'm not trundling around the ship with bags and a suitcase! Apart from that all is good, the Horizon looks full of things to do and I'm planning to visit the spa later to arrange a couple of treats.

It did have a label thankfully and was here when I got back a short time ago with a nice little note apologising for it's delay which was a nice surprise. Been a good evening wandering around. I had the theatre at 8.30pm for Rock On! which I thoroughly enjoyed. The queue formed at 8.00pm, stretching back a long way. I wandered in around 8.15pm and got a nice central seat, had to give cabin number on entry. The show was apparently full but I had no one sitting next to me and there were quite a few spare seats when I looked around. People seemed reluctant to fill every seat in a row leaving odd seats as gaps. I thought that was quite poor but there you go. The show was very good, loud with special effects which were extremely impressive. Earlier I sat in the atrium area and watched the acrobatic show. It was impossible to get a drink at that point, I waited 30 minutes before giving up when the ladies finished on their trapeze. I was very uncomfortable with the act as they had no safety harness and as someone not keen on heights I found it rather scary. I ate in the Quays, the black bean thingie very pleasant. A roaring trade in Yorkshire puds was occurring and it was quite busy. Wandering round after I encountered the Meridian restaurant dining queue which was quite long. A quick look at the app showed 75 people in the virtual queue at 7.55pm and 63 for Zenith. I'm very glad I booked all my meals etc in advance, I wouldn't be happy with the queues. After the show I sat in the Amber Lounge having a drink and chatted to another solo traveller, a lady who'd come by coach from the Wirral. She confirmed they arrived at 1.30pm and were held for an hour at the Queen Elizabeth Terminal. Apparently blue numbers were issued to them and this bypassed the queues outside the terminal. She was using the app nothing booked before boarding and it had taken an hour for her to be called to Zenith at 7.00pm after entering the queue at 6.00pm - she didn't realise dining started at 5.30pm on this ship. Overall been a pleasant first day, I'm now attempting to try to sleep.but the bass from below is very loud! Soundproofing clearly isn't Arvia's strong point. I have a feeling I'm not going to be very happy with the noise, but will give it a try and see what time it ends. The clocks go forward tonight so it could be 2.00am or later apparently. Apart from the noise issues the room is clean and tidy. I can confirm I have glasses in the bathroom and a pile of sanitary bags. On investigation the under bed box has 4 more glasses and nothing else. My cabin steward tells me there is no conditioner or body lotion available - I didn't actually ask but clearly others had. Tomorrow is meant to be a pleasant day sea and weather wise.

Need my charger for the app though, typically hardly any charge left as I've been telling the world where I've been! I'm sure it will get here eventually, just annoying they took it off my case before I could. It's always the little things you miss when they aren't there.

We are sailing at 6.00pm apparently. My steward has brought ice and biscuits but my small bag is currently lost!! That means no toiletries, no kindle, no books and no electrical chargers amongst other essential items! There's something about me and small bags with luggage... Been for a scout around but only on deck 16 where I saw the lesser spotted football shirts of Aston Villa and Tottenham encouraging their offspring to splash the water put of the infinity pool. Hopefully the trough will do it's job. Apart from panicking about my bag I've settled in and unpacked. The wardrobe seemed quite compact, but I never travel without the kitchen sink so it might be me. Definitely wouldn't be anywhere for my OH or a travelling companion to put stuff on the shelves though. I've successfully gotten lost on two occasions so am about to venture into the big wide world of decks 6, 7 and 8 ... it may be sometime before I return.

Collected and on-board in room by 3.40pm. Still.big queues outside when I boarded. Assistance man told me today had been a "good one", not sure what a bad one will be like!! Cabin found and very pleased with it although it does seem small after Britannia and QM2. Have 2 pairs of slippers, a sail away drink voucher and a letter saying no cocktail parties (although I have another one telling me I'll get an invite)! My WiFi logged straight in, no huffing about at reception like on Britannia and so far seems quite responsive. Ship looks like it's already very busy big queues for the lifts, glad I could use the stairs as the baggage guys took my small bag as well as my case. General observation from boarding queue: much younger demographic than I normally see at this time of year. Lots of babies, all very friendly and smiling. I liked the boarding gates being divided by muster station, straight on checked in and free to wander. Very impressive. App is behaving so far - would it dare not to with me! My tea/coffee drawer is broken, pulled it out, everything fell on the floor and it wouldn't go back in. Took me ages to get it back in. Big news: NO BISCUITS .... Please send those hobnobs urgently. Off for a wander and to find a g&t to recover from the trauma of this situation!

There's actually two queues. The shorter one is those on time waiting to go in. The longer one goes round the corner and is early arrivals. The queue to go in is stretching up the escalator. As I say, glad I'm not in it!

Arrived a bit earlier than intended as absolutely no traffic between Salisbury and Southampton. Luggage went in the hole, but a bit chaotic with coaches still arriving at 15.05. Big queues outside but seem to be being managed okay and doesn't look too bad at all. Reported to assistance and a lovely man took me through the side door and seated me. He offered to help me go through early but I've declined as seemed very unfair with hundreds outside. Just before 4.00pm he's coming to get me. I've made good use of my time waiting. Logged in to the ship and booked a couple of extra meals and shows and have the illusive 710 Club 8.45 performances for several nights as well. I'm all set and looking forward to getting on board. Decided to cancel my 6.00pm dinner for tonight as enjoyed lunch at home with the OH before leaving for Southampton. All looking good at present, I'm chilling watching the queue, couldn't be doing with the standing outside though!

The booking you switch to has to cost more than the one you are moving from.

The legal team no doubt breathed a sigh of relief, particularly as I'm boarding in a few hours!

And unfortunately he now has to declare higher than normal cholesterol when buying travel insurance and the question states has your cholesterol EVER been raised so even if he gets it back down to a good level naturally he will be rated and charged more. Sometimes these health checks don't help at all when it comes to travel insurance.

I just know it's bloomin' expensive now!

Interesting insurance story here. The end paragraph about possible new rules is rather intriguing. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/older-holidaymakers-face-prohibitive-travel-29948156

Great bargain. Just about to press the button. I looked at the Canada one later on as well. Also no supplements. I think Faroes went because of the animal rights issue with whales if I remember rightly.

Sorry to sort of hijack this thread but what are opinions on Arcadia balcony cabins if I took a saver fare? Are they disastrous? I've seen a saver deal on the 21 night Iceland, North Cape, Norway August sailing with a balcony at £1,999 for a saver single occupancy. As some may remember I hoped to see a real polar bear and whales and everyone suggested the North Cape might be best. Seems a bargain ... opinions sought on cabin, ship, ports (need for transfers etc) and possible Pipaluk sightings on that cruise. Thank you.

Oh dear. Apparently four ships in today Balmoral, Anthem, Virtuosa and Britannia. Another four tomorrow including Iona, Sky Princess and Celebrity Silhouette. I'm looking at four on Sunday including Arvia and Anthem with my dreaded late check in time. My other half is already stressing about getting me there on time with no trains meaning extra traffic, if this makes the local news he will have me camping out in the park overnight!

Definitely say nothing. It's now virtually impossible to claim on an insurance policy for covid cancellation of any holiday, let alone a cruise as all insurers want a positive covid test carried out by a medical professional and won't accept self administered tests, even if video observed. My Post Office annual policy is due renewal and I queried this with them and six other companies. Basically the covid cancellation cover is no longer worth the paper it's written on as Government policy on covid changed in April. As a result it's nigh on impossible to get an in person test which the insurers want. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/covid-19-testing-approach-from-april-2023

Nothing mentioned on my last 2 cruises just have you had covid symptoms recently asked at Gatwick. Absolutely nothing at Southampton for QM2 last Tuesday and they have same term in their documents. I don't expect anything on Sunday either. Mind you P&O don't seem worried about anything except don't get here early - I've now had 4 reminder emails for that!

We may well laugh but that's why arthritis carries such a high excess premium! According to FCA more travel insurance claims fail on non disclosure of arthritis than anything else.

I would be exceptionally careful about your reading of the policy. Most underwriters will insist on looking at your full medical history via a paid for doctor's report if you make a claim. This will be over a set period of in some cases as little as 6 months (eg Allianz) or 5 years (eg Staysure). Most policies of insurance state quite clearly if you do not declare everything in the required period (there's even a cold on existing conditions) then your policy may not be valid. With some (very few policies) you can opt to not be covered for existing medical conditions but this would mean not being covered for anything you may want to declare. It's either all in or all out.

Just looked at a few Iona 7 night Fjord cruises on the website and note they are not available to book until 12 May. Any idea what may be happening?

During the pandemic hotels and presumably the cruise ships were forbidden from allowing new occupants to reuse items the previous occupiers had accessed. As a consequence all items in a room were to be thrown away as the rooms were vacated. This included tea, coffee and sugar and other individual wrapped items. I'm still using up the vast quantities I accumulated over the last two years. I'm guessing having gotten into the habit these people are carrying on and using the they'll be thrown away excuse in case they're caught.

Online as well

I've just rung RBS/Natwest on the number on my debit card.. There is a recorded message saying the emails were sent by them in error and as a result there will be a delay in answering telephone calls. It didn't state how many affected but I just hung up and left the message as deleted.