Britboys

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

Breakfast is free, but does not include hot drinks, there is of course a kettle and coffee sachets in your cabin, which in all honesty is better than the lukewarm rubbish they used to serve.

Right up until the Covid Pause, I always had juice and tea delivered to my cabin. The tea was always nice and hot. Maybe that was a bonus of the smaller ships?

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

A couple more shots from La Palma plus tonight’s formal night menu (apologies for the poor angle, but the menus behind Perspex are difficult to photograph without getting your reflection all over them 😂)

 

 

None of the starters really work for me. Both soups sound nice (Two Soups?...🤣). Nice selection of main courses and could probably eat one of the vegan options. Desserts sound not bad but probably tasteless...

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

I just don’t get the switch from little jars of conserves to large open tubs. Makes no sense to me. There was nothing environmentally unfriendly about glass pots that could be recycled. The large tubs, which I’ve seen be moved around between tables, seem unhygienic and, as you say, far more wasteful food wise. Bonkers IMHO 😂 

I guess it is cheaper though...

11 hours ago, pete14 said:

I agree, it appears as though they are similar, which is not necessarily a bad thing but the point I am making is that there are alternatives to the MDR on all ships, which serve different dishes, if the food served in the MDR is not to your or my taste. Not all of them charge extra, especially on the larger ships which offer greater choice. The quality of the food however seems to be pretty good regardless of where a person chooses to eat, some better than others though. 

Although not necessarily a bad thing, it is possibly not a good thing either. I may be completely wrong but I would hazard a guess that the uptake of vegetarian and vegan dishes on Aurora and Arcadia is pretty low. To me it is much more understandable to have such options on the newer ships that attract a much more diverse set of pax. One of the ladies on my table in August was vegan but she was decidedly unimpressed with what was on offer most nights.

19 hours ago, TigerB said:

 

That would have been funny to see, the Les Dawson tribute act!😂  Eric Morecambe comes to mind too. What was it he said to André Previn, "I'm playing all the right notes sunshine, but not necessarily in the right order"?

 

The comedian you saw later, with the predictable punchlines; straight off Wheeltappers and Shunters, was he?😉

Surely you mean Andrew Preview.....😁

23 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

The buffet used to have an omelette station, but recently they now seem to have little bits of folded ready made eggy things masquerading as omelettes.

On Aurora in August, omelettes made to order were back in the Horizon Buffet fortunately. Those pre-made ones were dire...

26 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Strange, as I think Arcadia's Crows Nest is one of the nicest. Spent a lot of time in there to and fro from Canada last month. I dislike Metropolis on Ventura, cold and dark. 

I haven't been on Arcadia since they refitted her so it might feel a bit different now but I love Aurora's and loved Oriana's. I haven't been on Ventura but wasn't keen the Planet Bar on her either.

22 hours ago, snaefell said:

We sailed on Britannia the first year she was in service,at the time these forums were full of people complaining about her size & how they wouldn't go on anything that big,here we are years on & Britannia seems to have many fans & when you see her next to Iona or Arvia she looks small.

For us we liked her eventually,found her a bit dark & gloomy inside with some questionable,IMO,artwork,not the easiest to navigate but the Crows Nest is wonderful & Brodies is a wonderful room spoilt by the fact that there nearly always seemed to be Bingo,Pub Quizzes or Kareoke going on,all of which we hate!

We had a 19 night cruise on Arcadia earlier this year & loved her,I had read so many bad reviews on here making reference to her age mostly & wondered what the hell we would find but we loved the ship,we have travelled on many ferries at least as old if not older & didn't really notice anything age related,loved our balcony cabin,thought the Pub was a wonderful place to be,something about the Crows Nest that really didn't hit the spot for some reason & yes there is a shortage of places to eat but it wasn't a problem for us,made more so maybe by the fact that the food & service we received in the Ocean Grill was so good,probably the best we have ever had at sea,Sindhu wasn't far behind,perhaps the biggest problem with a small ship is that it isn't that easy to get away from people wining about nothing apart from the fact that it seemed to keep them happy!

I have seen pictures of the Atrium area on Arvia & Iona & think it looks awful,a bit like an airport/shopping mall food court,not something that attracts me to either of them.

Just to show that I am not entirely against big ships IMO the best ship we have travelled on by some way was RCI's Quantum Of The Seas,a beautiful ship,quirky artwork,always seemed light & airy wherever you went & despite being full never seemed crowded. .

We are booked on her sister ship Anthem OTS in April next year & Arcadia the following April just to mix it up a bit!  

I know what you mean about Arcadia's Crows Nest. Although it's a long time since I sailed on her, I had that feeling too. There are two possible reasons. I seem to recall that the ceiling is quite low for one thing and also the bar is an odd circular 'standalone' affair. I tend to use the Crows Nest late-night and unless it has changed, there was no way to secure the bar and it was emptied and bottles taken away on a trolley rattling across the bar area...

As regulars on here will know, I choose to only sail on the smaller ships (although tried Azura twice).

I like the more intimate feel with, generally, smaller public rooms. I have done a lot of solo cruises in the last 11 years and love that when walking around a small ship you continually bump into people you have previously met and chatted with. I like the fact that you don't spend half the day walking around the ship just in order to get between venues. I love walking whilst exploring ashore but walking what seems like miles just to get from, say, the restaurant to the theatre, is just dull. On P&O's smallest ships I love that there is a full, wraparound promenade on one level, close to the sea. I enjoy that there are fewer eating venue choices as when on a cruise I don't want to have to think "where should I eat tonight". My needs are simple and the smaller ships meet them.

Hopefully that's plenty of positives for you ICF...

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Yes Canaries. I swear by Stugeron and that has kept me feeling OK, but it hasn’t saved my wife this time. She’s now on Avomine and feels fine today. 48 hours of this is enough now though thanks 😂 

Hope you find some calm seas soon...

36 minutes ago, twotravellersLondon said:

 

Only a couple of days ago FOCLs sent us a "questionnaire" which invited us to compare SAGA unfavourably again the FOCLs offer.

 

FOCLs lost about 10% of their trade when SAGA launched the two new ships and FOCLs ceased to be a SAGA partner. It's likely that this cruisers where from outside cabins, the higher decks, balcony cabins and suites. Why... in those areas SAGA works out at better value for Money.

 

As you say.... perhaps FOCLs could try to cream off the higher fare customers from P&O but will enough of them be happy to sail from these norther ports?

A lot of P&O pax travel down from the North and wish P&O sometimes used the likes of Liverpool...

31 minutes ago, twotravellersLondon said:

 

She's been with FTY for only 17 months. Her role there has been COO and CCO and it's not possible in those positions to turn a company around in that period of time. The roll of CEO with FOCls is a whole different kettle of fish.

 

 

 

 

What is FOCL's USP?

 

FOCLs hasn't won the award for itineraries, food or entertainment for years.

 

A throughly comprehensive rethink may well rescue the company from oblivion.

 

 

I'm not sure what direction they could take with a "comprehensive rethink". They are currently sitting between the larger mainstream lines and the likes of Saga. They could easily steal pax away from P&O's two smaller ships just by modernising a little and moderating their prices. They are unlikely to take business off Saga with the current launch prices but probably could do so with more realistic fares.

I've been sailing with P&O for many years but am now finding that their product is very repetitive and with much less choice for those of us not interested in larger ships. I would love to give Fred another go but need to plan ahead due to other commitments and since Covid, Fred's advance prices are just crazy for what they offer - especially for a solo like me.

20 minutes ago, tring said:

 

I had seen that, but she does describe herself on Linked in as "International leader, Turnaround, transformation", though I have not got any further than that.  There will certainly be change, whatever that is, but I do feel Fred needs to keep his USP's to some extent. 

 

The future remains to be seen, but the whole cruise scene is changing a lot anyway. 

 

 

Indeed. Personally, I would like them to position themselves in between P&O (with the two smaller ships in mind) and Saga - but with realistic launch prices. With some of their fares at present, Saga are a better option taking into account what's included. I'd also like them to continue trying to operate more interesting itineraries.

5 hours ago, purplesea said:

On the panna cotta debate, I hate the texture of them.

On Britannia last month there was chocolate cheesecake on the menu, which I asked for until the waiter told me it wasn't like a proper cheesecake?

A little later he showed us what it was - the only way to describe it was as a chocolate panna cotta😕

Obviously we all have different tastes but imho whilst the hot desserts in the mdr aren't too bad, the vast majority of the cold ones (not including ice cream or fruit salad in this) are pretty dire. There is the exception of course but I found them generally pretty awful.

2 hours ago, molecrochip said:

On what basis?

A tongue-in-cheek remark based on the assumption that LNG vessels use more fuel when sailing faster, like other fuelled vessels. P&O - and most mainstream lines - now sail at much slower service speeds than they used to and seem to plan itineraries around saving fuel.

I do of course appreciate that emergency rescues are of course accepted as part of maritime operations.

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Hopefully the mushroom panacotta starter doesn't actually taste like mushroom lol!!

I think I had that and it was quite tasty - if you like mushroom... An unusual texture for a starter though but not unpleasant.

21 minutes ago, david63 said:

They are when Marco makes it on Britannia

I'm sure it would be. I just don't understand how they can call something "Limoncello" when it literally has no taste whatsoever...

After a lovely sunny start it has clouded over and light rain has started to fall. A lot more rain is forecast today so a wild few hours of ironing and kitchen clearing awaits me...

Wishing @brian1 and @Presto2 very happy birthdays!

12 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Still is!!

Obviously my feedback direct to the F&B Manager worked then...not 🙄

23 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

...i can understand why the Scottish Government and others are clamping down on short lets, it makes it difficult for locals to find somewhere to live, which has happened in many parts of Britain where much of the property has bought up as holiday homes or rental properties and pricing local residents out of the market. 

Not just Britain either. It is certainly the same in many Spanish Cities and resorts. I suspect a similar situation in many parts of the 'civilised, western' world...

12 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Had a busy day booking our (my first) ever trip to Scotland.  Three days in Edinburgh next July with the main event being a concert of Paul Weller at the Castle on the Saturday evening.  Flying up from Southampton on the Friday morning and back late Monday afternoon.  Hotels were difficult to source but I've found a Premier Inn on Princes Street at nearly £200 a night which seems about half the price of anything else so hopefully that will be okay.  My husband has been before but only on business so never as a proper visitor.

 

I'd be very grateful if any of our Scottish friends have any suggestions for things to see, places to eat and nice drinking establishments.  Needless to say I'm very excited even this far out.

 

I agree with @Son of Anarchy about the Royal Yacht Britannia - a must. Obviously, also the Castle and the Royal Mile. Such a pretty city but lacks the 'soul' that Glasgow has...

7 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Never ever seen panacotta as a starter before?

In my experience, P&O are not good with panna cotta. Two years running the Limoncello one has been completely tasteless...

Thanks for taking the time and effort to post regularly on your adventures and good to see you had an enjoyable cruise.

On 10/19/2023 at 1:36 PM, tring said:

She is to take up the post no later than Feb 1st 2024.  Announcement on a press release, accessible from Fred's website:-

 

https://media.fredolsencruises.com/pressreleases/fred-olsen-cruise-lines-welcomes-samantha-stimpson-as-its-new-ceo-3279874

 

 

 

Posted this before reading all the interesting and informative posts above!

Hmmm. The article doesn't give much information on her previous posts. Whilst I obviously understand that reviews are only a snapshot, her current Company only rates 2 out of 5 on Trustpilot...

4 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Have to laugh. Two tiny TVs. No binoculars to see them. They can’t hold a signal for longer than 10 seconds and we are still in Southampton water 😂 

 

In all seriousness, they really do need to pull their finger out and upgrade to the excellent TVs on Iona and Britannia (and no doubt Arvia). Whilst the reception

is still patchy at least you can put an on demand programme on!

Yes, that size of tv is fine in a standard inside or outside cabin (I always have one of those two) but in the larger, deluxe cabins is ridiculous.