P&O Cruisers - What are things like where YOU are?

[yorkshirephil]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

Apropos of nothing, do you know that B&Q and Screwfix are owned by the same company ?

I never understand why people go to B&Q when often the same product is cheaper in Screwfix . 

I hate B&Q, during covid I rang and asked how big the queue was, the lady said "It is the same size as the B sir"

[grapau27]

It has been around 19°C and sunny most of today.

[Josy1953]

1 hour ago, silkworms said:

Just to say we are on Emerald now and it has obviously improved since your holiday.

Cannot tell you how much better shape this ship is in than Azura at Xmas. No comparison.And

dont forget the ships are identical.

The food is great, the cabin very comfortable and the staff are superb.

Our next stop is Dublin and we have been blessed with good weather. Princess a step

up from P and O no doubt.

 

Terri

I am pleased that you are having a good cruise.  We have been contacted by Princess this week and have decided that we will go ahead with our October cruise.  We have done over 40 Princess cruises but Emerald was a real let down for us but we accept that it was just a lot of small problems that if it had been just 1 or 2 we would have laughed it off.  We do prefer Princess to P&O and I know what you mean about Emerald being in better shape than Azura but Emerald was not up to the usual Princess standards .

The final straw, which we can now laugh about, was that 2 days after we got home we both tested positive for Covid which we had obviously caught at some point on the cruise but fortunately didn't have any symptoms until we got home.

[grapau27]

[Snow Hill]

Back home now after second day at Commonwealth Games, Mens Hockey was our sport of choice today. We saw India completely outplay Canada thrashing them 8 - 0, followed by Wales beating a plucky Ghana 6 - 1. The Hockey games we played in the shadow of “Old Joe” as the University of Birmingham.

 

Glad we took hats and sun cream, there were a number of “lobsters” on view at the end of the session. 

 

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/study/campaigns/game-changing-moments

[Josy1953]

Another bright morning so keeping my fingers crossed that it stays this way.  I am going back to the food bank this morning.  My friend told me last night that they have seen a rise in numbers over the last 3 weeks so I am expecting that we will be busy especially given the way the news is reporting the difficulties that some people are currently experiencing.

[lincslady]

A nice looking day here in Lincs. as well.

 

Can I tap into the collective knowledge of posters here, some of whom I feel sure will know the answer to this.  For those of us, living in the countryside who do not have mains gas, does this mean that our electricity bill could go up to the maximum of the 'price cap', as most of us are obviously paying as well for oil for central heating?  I mainly have estimated monthly bills, with an occasional visit from a meter reader, so fear my monthly estimates might go up a huge amount.  I know I could and possibly will contact the electricity supplier, but they tend to send waffly answers.

 

I have so far resisted having a smart meter, as I know so many people for whom they have been trouble, and one friend who agreed and then was told, when they came, they could not fit one at her house!

 

I dare say I am not the only person this will apply to.   Thanks in advance.

[kalos]

8 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

Another bright morning so keeping my fingers crossed that it stays this way.  I am going back to the food bank this morning.  My friend told me last night that they have seen a rise in numbers over the last 3 weeks so I am expecting that we will be busy especially given the way the news is reporting the difficulties that some people are currently experiencing.

 

The sad part is ,reports say they are asking for foods that require no/minimal cooking as 

they cannot pay energy bills.☹️

[kalos]

4 minutes ago, lincslady said:

A nice looking day here in Lincs. as well.

 

Can I tap into the collective knowledge of posters here, some of whom I feel sure will know the answer to this.  For those of us, living in the countryside who do not have mains gas, does this mean that our electricity bill could go up to the maximum of the 'price cap', as most of us are obviously paying as well for oil for central heating?  I mainly have estimated monthly bills, with an occasional visit from a meter reader, so fear my monthly estimates might go up a huge amount.  I know I could and possibly will contact the electricity supplier, but they tend to send waffly answers.

 

I have so far resisted having a smart meter, as I know so many people for whom they have been trouble, and one friend who agreed and then was told, when they came, they could not fit one at her house!

 

I dare say I am not the only person this will apply to.   Thanks in advance.

 

Not sure who your supplier is but ours we send in our readings online each month ,which 

is far cheaper than estimated ,which tend to be on the high side 

[Josy1953]

4 minutes ago, kalos said:

 

The sad part is ,reports say they are asking for foods that require no/minimal cooking as 

they cannot pay energy bills.☹️

Sadly at our food bank it has always been the case that we often get people asking for things that can be thrown in the microwave because they don't do cooking either because they don't know how to cook or because they don't have "proper" cooking facilities.  It is heartbreaking to realise that in a "rich" country there are so may people struggling.

[gsmt47471015]

16 minutes ago, lincslady said:

A nice looking day here in Lincs. as well.

 

Can I tap into the collective knowledge of posters here, some of whom I feel sure will know the answer to this.  For those of us, living in the countryside who do not have mains gas, does this mean that our electricity bill could go up to the maximum of the 'price cap', as most of us are obviously paying as well for oil for central heating?  I mainly have estimated monthly bills, with an occasional visit from a meter reader, so fear my monthly estimates might go up a huge amount.  I know I could and possibly will contact the electricity supplier, but they tend to send waffly answers.

 

I have so far resisted having a smart meter, as I know so many people for whom they have been trouble, and one friend who agreed and then was told, when they came, they could not fit one at her house!

 

I dare say I am not the only person this will apply to.   Thanks in advance.

Sorry don't have an answer regarding your future energy costs but on the subject of smart meters we have been waiting for over four years for one and were repeatedly informed that our area was not compatible, lo and behold a month ago an appointment was made stating we can now provide one, , when we asked the general question of how does the smart meter show when our solar panels are generating  power and not using the grid , it turns out it cannot do that and only shows the cost of your usage by the minute/hour not where its coming from. We have therefore cancelled the appointment as we send meter readings in every month and also know exactly when we are generating solar power and how much is stored in the battery with our present meters     

[FamilyCruiserUK]

41 minutes ago, gsmt47471015 said:

Sorry don't have an answer regarding your future energy costs but on the subject of smart meters we have been waiting for over four years for one and were repeatedly informed that our area was not compatible, lo and behold a month ago an appointment was made stating we can now provide one, , when we asked the general question of how does the smart meter show when our solar panels are generating  power and not using the grid , it turns out it cannot do that and only shows the cost of your usage by the minute/hour not where its coming from. We have therefore cancelled the appointment as we send meter readings in every month and also know exactly when we are generating solar power and how much is stored in the battery with our present meters     

Ive just been and visited my mother in plymouth. She has a smart meter and solar panels. On her smart meter is a little plug symbol (plug wirh a lead) that shows her solar panels. When a minus (-) in front of the symbol she is using her solar panels. It gives a small reading of GW eg 1.5gw. this drops as she puts electrical items on. When the (-) disapears she is using from the grid.   

I also live in lincolnshire, coningsby. However we have mains elec and gas. I would imagine for the OP the elec will stay at the level of the area. I wouldnt understand if it went to the highest rate tbh. However my friends who are on oil have seen those prices rise significantly ☹️

[gsmt47471015]

2 minutes ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

Ive just been and visited my mother in plymouth. She has a smart meter and solar panels. On her smart meter is a little plug symbol (plug wirh a lead) that shows her solar panels. When a minus (-) in front of the symbol she is using her solar panels. It gives a small reading of GW eg 1.5gw. this drops as she puts electrical items on. When the (-) disapears she is using from the grid.   

I also live in lincolnshire, coningsby. However we have mains elec and gas. I would imagine for the OP the elec will stay at the level of the area. I wouldnt understand if it went to the highest rate tbh. However my friends who are on oil have seen those prices rise significantly ☹️

Thank you familycruiser for that information, from what we have been told not all smart meters are the same and apparently the one which was to be fitted at our property did not have the capacity to display when solar was been used/generated, that is what our provider told us but not sure if its correct

[Peanut006]

Morning everyone, not a bad morning here in Lytham, a mixture of sun and clouds and there has been a odd shower.

 

We are all packed and ready to fly tomorrow to Spain, taking four grandchildren with us. I will probably need another holiday at the end of it to recover. They are all super excited.

I must admit I am dreading going through Manchester Airport even though I have booked special assistance as we are taking my wheelchair and mobility scooter.

 

Dogs are going to dog sitter this afternoon, they love their visits to her.

 

Hope you all have a nice day
 

Michelle

 

[lincslady]

Thanks for the advice - I have difficulty in reading my meter, as it is outside, but can get it read this weekend by someone, so will try  to get it to the supplier (online) and hope they can do the necessary adjustments from whenever the last reading was, and send me the appropriate bill.  Just hope it might be less, and certainly not a lot more!  It is strange getting bills every month. not every quarter, and it is now as much per month as it used to be per quarter.

 

This is the one thing I think the government does need to help with, even though it will not assist bringing our national debt down, as for some people it must be really horrible to try to afford to pay the fuel bills and to learn how much worse they are likely to be.  I am lucky in that I, like,  I'm sure, the rest of you, will be able to manage even it it means cutting down a bit on extras like new clothes or meals out etc.

[pete14]

22 minutes ago, lincslady said:

Thanks for the advice - I have difficulty in reading my meter, as it is outside, but can get it read this weekend by someone, so will try  to get it to the supplier (online) and hope they can do the necessary adjustments from whenever the last reading was, and send me the appropriate bill.  Just hope it might be less, and certainly not a lot more!  It is strange getting bills every month. not every quarter, and it is now as much per month as it used to be per quarter.

 

This is the one thing I think the government does need to help with, even though it will not assist bringing our national debt down, as for some people it must be really horrible to try to afford to pay the fuel bills and to learn how much worse they are likely to be.  I am lucky in that I, like,  I'm sure, the rest of you, will be able to manage even it it means cutting down a bit on extras like new clothes or meals out etc.

We have a smart meter and it certainly makes you conscious of usage and can easily save a small amount of money, just by being more aware. Our problem is that when we took out our new 2 year fixed deal in June, with the inevitable rise in our monthly payments from our previous deal, it is still based on the previous prices because it hasn’t updated. The energy company are charging at the new rate, around double the old, but we are checking daily usage costs by making an identical comparison to what it used to be. 🥴

[gsmt47471015]

27 minutes ago, lincslady said:

Thanks for the advice - I have difficulty in reading my meter, as it is outside, but can get it read this weekend by someone, so will try  to get it to the supplier (online) and hope they can do the necessary adjustments from whenever the last reading was, and send me the appropriate bill.  Just hope it might be less, and certainly not a lot more!  It is strange getting bills every month. not every quarter, and it is now as much per month as it used to be per quarter.

 

This is the one thing I think the government does need to help with, even though it will not assist bringing our national debt down, as for some people it must be really horrible to try to afford to pay the fuel bills and to learn how much worse they are likely to be.  I am lucky in that I, like,  I'm sure, the rest of you, will be able to manage even it it means cutting down a bit on extras like new clothes or meals out etc.

Yes we consider ourselves to be fortunate, and as you suggest some budget trimming will need to come into play if things continue to spiral, however if you have no slack in your budget this winter is going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible for millions of people 

[gsmt47471015]

1 minute ago, pete14 said:

We have a smart meter and it certainly makes you conscious of usage and can easily save a small amount of money, just by being more aware. Our problem is that when we took out our new 2 year fixed deal in June, with the inevitable rise in our monthly payments from our previous deal, it is still based on the previous prices because it hasn’t updated. The energy company are charging at the new rate, around double the old, but we are checking daily usage costs by making an identical comparison to what it used to be. 🥴

Since having the solar system fitted we have literally become eco warriors with our electricity usage, and try and avoid using the grid as much as we can😃

[Ilovemygarden]

6 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

Another bright morning so keeping my fingers crossed that it stays this way.  I am going back to the food bank this morning.  My friend told me last night that they have seen a rise in numbers over the last 3 weeks so I am expecting that we will be busy especially given the way the news is reporting the difficulties that some people are currently experiencing.

Hope you have a good day at the foodbank.   I too volunteer at one up here and we have found numbers have actually gone down a bit in the past few weeks.  We think it might have something to do with the beginning of the “hardship payments” starting to roll out in July.  

[grapau27]

Lunch today.

[pete14]

48 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Lunch today.

Was the kitchen so busy that they didn’t have time to put whatever is in the cooking pot out onto your plate and pour the gravy? into a jug? P and O would never be so slapdash in their presentation. 😇

[grapau27]

Just now, pete14 said:

Was the kitchen so busy that they didn’t have time to put whatever is in the cooking pot out onto your plate and pour the gravy? into a jug? P and O would never be so slapdash in their presentation. 😇

It was gravy in the pot.

I never put gravy onto food so that suits me.

The shepherds pie was delicious.

[grapau27]

11 hours ago, Peanut006 said:

Morning everyone, not a bad morning here in Lytham, a mixture of sun and clouds and there has been a odd shower.

 

We are all packed and ready to fly tomorrow to Spain, taking four grandchildren with us. I will probably need another holiday at the end of it to recover. They are all super excited.

I must admit I am dreading going through Manchester Airport even though I have booked special assistance as we are taking my wheelchair and mobility scooter.

 

Dogs are going to dog sitter this afternoon, they love their visits to her.

 

Hope you all have a nice day
 

Michelle

 

I hope you have a relaxing and fantastic holiday in Spain with your 4 grandchildren Michelle.

Graham.

[Britboys]

11 hours ago, Peanut006 said:

Morning everyone, not a bad morning here in Lytham, a mixture of sun and clouds and there has been a odd shower.

 

We are all packed and ready to fly tomorrow to Spain, taking four grandchildren with us. I will probably need another holiday at the end of it to recover. They are all super excited.

I must admit I am dreading going through Manchester Airport even though I have booked special assistance as we are taking my wheelchair and mobility scooter.

 

Dogs are going to dog sitter this afternoon, they love their visits to her.

 

Hope you all have a nice day
 

Michelle

 

Have a super holiday all of you!

[Britboys]

26 minutes ago, pete14 said:

Was the kitchen so busy that they didn’t have time to put whatever is in the cooking pot out onto your plate and pour the gravy? into a jug? P and O would never be so slapdash in their presentation. 😇

Food presentation fads exasperate me. I do like a dish to look nice but for goodness sake arrange it all nicely on the plate. No little jugs, fancy paper underneath fish or chips in a little metal basket...🙄