wowzz

I think you'll find that Rudi's is going to replace Sabatinis down on deck 5, with Sabatinis moving up to deck 7, where BsM is currently, the idea being to give deck 7 an Italian atmosphere. There was a rumour elsewhere that a library was going to be positioned on Sky, but I find that fanciful in the extreme.

I would avoid July and August, not only because of the heat, but because of the number of tourists. We lived in Almeria, next door to Murcia, and as you no doubt know, the best months are April/June and September/October.

Professional fraudsters have far more sophisticated ways of cloning your identity than sticking up a bogus mail box and hoping for the best !

Ignore the gratuity - that is included in the package. So you can order any drink up to, and including $20.

I think Moley already indicated that a genuine refurb is not possible, as the modular construction of the cabins makes anything more than cosmetic changes unfeasible. I guess that if the ship was taken out of service for a lengthy period, anything is possible, but somehow I can't see that happening. Sweating assets is the order of the day.

But these days, does anything of value get delivered through your letter box ? If it happened to us, all the thieves would get after 14 days would be 11 Saga brochures, 2 Hillary Blinds leaflets and a Co-Op leaflet.

Agreed. The only time I recall hearing about obc not being given, is on discounted fares given to TA employees.

And boy, do they give you the hard sell, according to reports I have read !

That's a good summary. We drove around the area a few times when living in Spain, and one day in Motril and the immediate area was enough. Unless you are going to Granada, there is no reason to get off the ship.

I bet it was ! Are you scarred for life ?

Not a fan exactly, just prefer Princess to P&O. Capacity of the new ships will be around 4400. The first, Sun Princess, sails next Spring. Prices are eye wateringly expensive at present. As I won't be sailing in them any time soon, I haven't been paying too much attention to the details. But one thing that did strike me, was that there is a distinct move to a ship within a ship concept, with more expensive cabins getting private deck areas, restuarants etc.

I think the issue you will have, is that you can only use obc to book dining when you are actually on board.

I find Melatonin helps me to sleep the first few nights , but obviously that is just my personal opinion, not a recommendation.

Slow work day ?

Drink, speciality dining, drink, excursions, drink, shopping, and, did I mention drink ?

By which time the cabins and bathrooms will be totally unfit for purpose. As you said, they badly need a refurb now, let alone in a few year's time !

I assume your comment was tongue in cheek. Kettles in cabins are ubiquitous throughout the world, apart from the US. Indeed, the UK cruise industry would collapse overnight if kettles were removed from cabins !

E-mail today from our favourite TA, advising that I can now register for 2025 summer cruises ! Two new exciting Mediterranean ports, Kotor (nice) and Motril (not nice at all, but handy for Granada). Don't think I'll rush.

Not our experience. As others have said, ordering two doubles is not a problem.

Wine, certainly. We don't drink spirits, but as @Thrak says, that does not seem to be an issue either.

That's a basic cheap and cheerful kettle which is in every grade of cabin on Princess cruises out of Southampton.

Tea bags and coffee sachets are provided, as well as sachets of milk. A greater variety of tea bags are available from the buffet, if the English Breakfast tea bags are not to your liking. And, you can get fresh milk from the buffet as well, to keep in your fridge.

Plus 18% service charge !

Well, you can do what I did last week. Walk to the nearest bar, order a drink, and carry it back to your cabin. Or, in my case, two drinks. Two large (double pours) of wine, one glass for me, one for my wife. Total time: 5 minutes. Simples !

Now that so many passengers buy the Plus package, there is little need to revert to subterfuge. After all, you have already bought 15 alcoholic drinks a day - why smuggle more on board ?