sleepingcat

cant answer the question - would just suggest you copy your post over to the "UK cruisers" forum as well as here as that should find the people w ho might have experience of what you are thinking of. and maybe try a search of that forum.

As (bad) luck would have it, a gold crown fell out just as we were starting 3 sea days on our way back to Portsmouth from Funchal. I was not too happy about 3 days of sharp edges and food getting trapped in the cavity. Owing to the excellent free wifi on board (thank you Saga) I was able to email my dental practice and book in for the day after our return. Then I went to the ships health centre to see if they had temporary repair kits, they did, but only the one for dentures which they sold me for £16.00 and the doctor advised that I could use the paste in it to make a temporary filling. WRONG ! Just in case I emailed my practice again to check. They said NO! on no account use this kit, as the paste contains an acrylic which will be very difficult to remove from natural teeth. I dont in the least blame the doctor, after all he's not a dental surgeon. Next evening we were fortunate to have dinner with a couple who happened to have packed a temporary tooth repair kit and kindly passed it on to me. Don't you nearly always meet with lovely people on cruise ships? Using it to make a temporary filling for my gap was pretty difficult but I did succeed. (use much less than you think is the main advice). Happy to say the crown is now back in place. the temporary filling floated out just with the water scaler and left a nice clean cavity. So here is the advice, buy a reputable dental repair kit to take with you on your next cruise. If you dont need it, someone else probably will.

I think it's special occasions only. I had my birthday on another cruise line (Saga Spirit of Discovery) last month and our cabin steward prepared a towel animal/balloons birthday greeting... he also incorporated our stuffed dog who accompanies us on our travels if we aren't flying....

First of all check where the ship actually docks for each call. For example 'Bristol' will I think actually be AVonmouth which is a large, modern commercial (ugly) port about 4 miles from Bristol. Jersey is a tiny island. you could enjoy yourselves just walking off the ship and wandering around St Hellier. Or get a taxi to tour your round the whole island. Bristol is a large city but with lots of history and historic buildings . you could just take the train from Avonmouth into the city, or do the ships tour. I would suggest not to take a tour which involves hours in a bus (eg if they offer Stonehenge, even though it's unique, probably better not unless you are never likely to be in the UK again). One thing to know is that our roads are terrible, and mostly very busy. Fishguard is a small pretty port where ferries leave for Ireland. Again I would just get off and wander round. Cannot advise about Ireland, but again, check where the ship actually docks. If you search a bit more on this forum you ll find entries for your ports with better suggestions than I can make. Sadly you havent got a call in the lovely part of Britain where we live.

I dont understand the new format actually, maybe because I dont really do social media much. So its not working for me. Re the 'like' or other reactions feature, I dont post much but when I do I often get reactions, had two yesterday I think. However although it's nice for me to know that others are reading what I contribute, I am not sure that it helps anyone else. If I m following a thread, I probably read all the posts whether or not they ve been 'liked' by other people.

Looks like under way again now. There is a thick fog here, otherwise on waking I would have been able to see the ship out of our windows!* Let's hope all goes on well from here. Funchal and La Palma both pleasantly warm when we were there last week on S of D, happy sailing to all on board. * and wouldn't be the first time.

Suggest you see what is the earliest they would allow you to board. when we boarded in Auckland our ship also did not sail until evening. we got on the ship with our luggage about 11 am, had lunch and then got off again to spend the afternoon ashore. however it was a RWC and very few passengers boarding in Auckland so I might be completely wrong!

and this link might be the best place to start https://www.seat61.com/european-train-travel.htm

apologies, I ought to have searched it out before posting: https://www.seat61.com I think it's just the same as it ever was. and very useful.

a great source for English speakers is themaninseat61.com sorry this is nt clickable because I m doing it from memory. but you ll find it easily. As soon as Eurostar direct trains from London started, this site came into being and is the go to for British travellers going to Mainland Europe by train. agree all the comments above. if possible in continental Europe, always travel by train. In the UK for a different reason, our roads are mostly not good and pretty busy.

recent thread on this: the link I found will give you the info you need. it sounds a pain, though. on our just completed cruise I decided not to bother given the value of what we bought.

We disembarked from 2 weeks on SoD yesterday. There were 3 formal evenings. however one of them was on a port day, which I have never experienced before, and having been ashore all day it seemed like too much of a faff to get in to formal wear. and by the look of the numbers of people dining in the Grill, it may be that quite a few people felt the same as us. Plenty of DJs and sparkly dresses around on the 2 nights we did bother. And yes, @GerryL13 I had a well loved LBD worn with a brand new chiffon jacket to smarten it up a bit.

did not see this as had a dental emergency - crown fell out, fortunately a fellow passenger had a temporary r repair kit. re the question, I think Funchal departure was always scheduled for lunchtime. monday not a bad sea day, but tuesday and wednesday so wet it was impossible to even walk on deck. ship had plenty of time in hand, we could have been back in Portsmouth on wed evening easily. I presume scheduled extra time in case of B of B stormy, but in the event mainly it was just wet with zero visibility.

Yes agree, astern on E deck would be our choice too. We are currently aboard S of D on Ddeck as Ewas booked, so a slightly longer walk to the library and the prom deck. But still fab …..

Hi all live from S o D and using the WiFi . Seems good enough to me. And btw the satellite tv offering seems much better than our last trip 2 yrs ago. And need it today as sea conditions and weather poor.

very timely postings above for me to learn that paper maps are no longer supplied. we are boarding Discovery on thursday and this morning I was looking out some old paper maps from previous visits/cruises, thinking, 'well any we havent got we can get from the ship'. I have to say, though, that we usually head direct for the local tourist info if we are making our own way in a port and local maps and advice has always been good.

The EU took a very dim view of mobile providers charging EU citizens large roaming charges, so it introduced legislation which meant that a citizen of any EU country visiting another EU member state paid the same for their phone use as they did at home. I think this would probably mean that if you buy a temporary SIM card in any EU country you could use it in all EU countries. But note, the UK is now not in the EU, so while some UK providers have not introduced roaming packages, others have, so buy elsewhere to be sure. Be aware also that cruise ships provide their own on ship networks which are veeerrrryy expensive, so when on the ship be sure to switch to airplane mode. do a search as lots of advice on this previously on these boards.

Spurred on by this info I thought I would do a bit of research. found this https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/guide-vat-refund-visitors-eu_en If on a cruise ship it's not at all clear how the process described would work, in our case theoretically I would need to find customs officers in Madeira to stamp all my receipts as that is the last port of call. In practise it's not going to be worth the bother for the amounts involved. But the link maybe helpful to others. happy new year everyone!

I had a message yesterday from London friends who should have been on the MS Maud Christmas cruise and instead had a rapidly rearranged Christmas at home . I know they have already had an email with offers of future cruises they can transfer to. Best wishes to all concerned.

@vmax thanks for your reply, looks like I dont need to do anything. cheers

now that the UK is out of the EU, do UK citizens get tax refunds on stuff we buy? and if so, how do we get a refund. sadly havent been out of the UK recently to know this. any advice appreciated. And we are on SaGa S of D next week to Canaries...

on a 2 day cruise ship stop in Sydney we had a do it ourselves day out in Manly. took the commuter ferry from circular quay to Manly (so you see the whole harbour), had a swim then had fish and chips at one of the many pubs/cafes near the beach. just fab and easy to do. cant comment on the snorkelling.

Hi neighbour. Reids is walkable from the cruise docks if you are a reasonable walker, but for a special occasion you might prefer to arrive in a taxi as you suggest. we hope to be overnight in Funchal in January (with umm an other cruise line) and I m still trying to get to Reids for the tea, so if we do I will report........

Well if you dont mind spending your cruise in the company of a mainly British set of fellow passengers, have a look at the British departure cruise lines which do the fiords. P and O UK has two new ships, which I havent been on btw, as we prefer smaller ships) which are regulars for fiord cruises. Smaller ships are Saga and Fred Olsen (UK departures but as you can tell, the Olsens are Norwegian). There is also hurtigruten, Norwegian ferry company, which has new ships operating Fiord cruises from the UK. I m now sure how any of these would compare price wise with Celebrity. Plenty of reviews and comment on these companies and itineraries on the relevant boards. Enjoy your planning...

oh, now I am getting a bit concerned. Owing to rapidly changing family drama circumstances (a house sale fell through, argh), we ve just this week late booked for the 4 January cruise to canaries. Let's hope engineers are doing what is needed. I will appreciate updates from those in the know. (