Jennizor

I am looking for advice on Aurora. As always I like to book early for our cruises and have this Christmas booked on Azura in the Canaries and the Caribbean on Arvia in March. I am currently looking at Aurora (first time for us) for Christmas 2024. Can anyone advise me on mid ship balcony cabins. What decks are best and which to avoid. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Regards Jennizor

We went to the Cookery Club on Britannia, pre-COVID. It was hosted by James Martin, it was brilliant. He cooked two courses which we had to then replicate with his and his team’s help. He was really amusing and we loved it. After we had cooked we sat round a big table and James came to comment on our efforts. It was a great morning.

Have you got a local TUI store? We have one quite close by and went in a couple of times with queries about recent holiday. They were very obliging.

Just returned from 10 days in Madeira. Lovely hotel and staff were great but food was average but we got by. I took the attached picture as it reminded me so much of the atrium on Iona. I’m sure, if you have been on Iona, you will see the similarity.

We have used Intercruises many times from the North West, last time in July. They have always been very good and the drivers have always been excellent. We would not hesitate to use them again but not for a while as for our next two cruises we are flying to meet the ships.

Michelle, so sorry for your grandson. It must have been terrible for him. Terrible for the rest of the family too. I hope he recovers quickly and is not too traumatised by the attack. Lots of love Jennizor xx

Josy, as a teenager, I went to Wigan Casino several times with school friends. We weren’t particularly soul fans, we just loved the atmosphere. As ‘O’ levels loomed, we stopped going and for some reason we didn’t go again. Lovely memories though.

Michelle, so sorry for this awful thing to happen. My daughter has just moved house and they had a worrying time of it. The house they were buying was owned by a divorced couple. The man was still living in the house and not doing anything about finding somewhere else. It got to the point that the people at the bottom of the chain were going to pull out. Fortunately, his ex wife managed persuaded him to go and they have now moved two weeks after the original date. The house is beautiful but was extremely dirty, you can’t see the gardens as the trees and shrubs have not been cut back for ages. I am back on cleaning duty today. It took two whole days to clean the kitchen and utility room. Today, it’s the downstairs loo, not sure what’s next as the electrician is also in and I don’t want to get in his way. Her 3 boys are very happy, they are allowed to play games all day at the moment. That won’t last though.

On out recent cruise on Iona I couldn’t get the app to work so gave up on it. Apart from the nights we had pre-booked, we just went to the MDR and joined a queue for those who hadn’t pre booked with the app. Sometimes we were taken straight in, other times we had a short wait.

I’m not sure what you need to apologise for Michelle!

We have used Intercruises many times, most recently last month. We have never had any problems and they are very well organised.

Sorry Michelle, not been on CC for a couple of days and only just seen your post. It’s great news for you. Jennizor

Never given a pager, nearly always taken in straight away. There wasn’t any agro from the other queue either.

On Iona recently we didn’t book any of the main dining rooms. I had struggled to download the app so just went down when we were ready and there were two queues. One for people who had booked on with the app and the other for those that hadn’t. Our queue was always the shortest. I had booked all the speciality restaurants prior to sailing so everything went really well.

I booked our cruises through our usual TA and haven’t had any emails either.

My husband thought this was hilarious, as did I. It cheered me up in between bringing my washing in as it starting raining, then the sun came out and I pegged it out again, now just started raining again. I am leaving it out as it’s only the cat blankets and she has plenty.

We have two more booked but no email for us.

We are on this cruise too, arriving in Barbados on the 15th of March. We have only done flying both ways previously but wanted to give sailing back a go. There seems to be quite a few CC members on this cruise.

Michelle, I am so, so sorry for the decision you have had to make. We all know it’s the right thing to do but it’s heart breaking. Just remember you gave him a brilliant life and he will always be in your your heart. Lots of love, Jennizor XXXXX

Hi everyone, back from our Iona Norwegian Fjords cruise. Despite the awful weather, it rained every day, we had a lovely cruise. We didn’t get off Iona at all. We spent a lot of time in the morning watching very brave people, dressed in rain gear, braving the elements. A lot of them said they came back earlier than intended as they were soaked. We had been to most of the ports previously, when the weather was lovely, so we weren’t too disappointed. We spent a lot of time in the Atrium and Brodies (we were rubbish in the quizzes, we did meet loads of lovely cruisers and had lots of laughs). We explored the ship as well. We read a lot which was great as I never seem to find time at home. We ate in the MDR on 4 nights and we were very happy with our meals, and company. We ate at the Chefs Table on Celebration Night, which was lovely. We went to the Limelight club and had a really amazing evening. The meals was excellent but we were unsure what to expect from ‘La Voix’. It was brilliant. He/she was so funny and great singer, people were crying with laughter and there was a unanimous stand up applause at the end. On our final night in the MDR we shared our table with two other couples. When the last couple arrived the lady looked at me and asked if I was Jennizor. She had asked a question on the Roll Call about the weather and what to wear. I sent photos of me and Ian in the Fjords in June 2019, me wrapped up as I thought it would be cold and Ian in a short sleeved polo. It was lovely to make the connection. Coach journey home was fine, apart from the miserable weather. On countdown now to our Madeira hotel holiday in September. Still catching up with you all.

Not sure this thread is working, very unusual that there is no activity today. Anyway, just to say we are off to the Fjords tomorrow. Hopefully the coach journey will be OK and we manage to get to the docks for our boarding time of 12.45. The weather forecast is wonderful - 6 days of rain but lovely on Tuesday. We will still have a great time, been on Iona already and we love her and been to the Fjords on Arcadia in 2019. I don’t think we will be getting a tan though!

We were on Iona in Feb/March. There were some children board but not a huge amount. We never saw any bad behaviour either. We loved Iona and are going on her again tomorrow. We have also been on most other P&O ships with Britannia being our favourite. We have never had a bad cruise but wasn’t keen on Ventura or Arcadia. Everyone has different favourites and views. I hope you enjoy your fist P&O cruise.

Not long to go before our Iona cruise to the Fjords on Saturday. Just looked at the weather forecast and it shows rain every day. When we last went to the Fords on Arcadia in June 2019 it was sunshine all the way. We will make the most of it, our waterproofs will be packed and we will enjoy just being on the ship, on the balcony or deck when we can find shelter. We will be relaxing as much as possible as my daughter is moving house the week after we return and we will have her two youngest boys for a couple of days. Happy days, but sad as well as they have lived up the road from us for the last 17 years (630 steps door to door). They will only be a 15 minute drive away from us but I will miss the close contact. The three boys are 10,12 and fourteen and all need there own rooms and space. They are no longer my little ones who loved baking with Grandma when mummy was working. Happy memories though.

Selbourne, we saw Joel Harper Jackson on Iona in March. He was really good and would go to see him again. Apparently he has been in several West End shows.

Thanks Graham, much appreciated.