Catchum

Cruising out of the UK there is always an Indian option in the always available/ favourites section of the menu.

My parents lived with through WW11 bombings. I grew up with the fear of being killed by Irish Catholic bombers, my son grew up with the fear of Islamic extremist bombers, non of us ever allowed our fear to influence our actions. Statistically I believe most people die within 5 miles of their home so travel is the safest option. Great book by Lesli Richardson (can't remember the tile) has a cruise ship as a terrorist target but it all ends OK and it is fiction.

Double double at vines is our standard order. Actually we don't even order - double red double white just appears. Just be sure to get the drinks split between your packages, if they all get charged to one person your 15 drink limit is in danger and you have to go to guest services to sort out charges if one of you goes over.

Hope the heck so - I need a safety certificate every four years to take a narrow boat carrying six people the canal system. Lovely bloke called Steve from Peterborough does mine!

Heck no I can buy two bottles of wine for that.

Basically do you want to see Rome or Barcelona and Venice. For a first time to this area I would do the Rome round trip and spend time in Rome. Barcelona and Venice are both amazing places we keep going back to, but neither have the coliseum (book a tour).

I wouldn't worry about booking anything - have a late lunch, order room service, hit the buffet, grab a pizza, snack at IC, turn up at a dinning room when it suits you. (yes you may have to share a table or wait a few minutes). You don't want to miss the best bit of the canal because you have mentally locked yourself into the MDR at a certain time. Timing of anything a ship does is subject to change but I can absolutely guarantee that you will get food.

Don't get me started on Irish coffee. Got a milky coffee with squirty cream on top in a paper cup. TBF there was a decent amount of alcohol in it.

We did Iceland and UK on the island princess this year. We tried the MDR a couple of times and were unimpressed- not unhappy but not amazing. Generally the buffet was excellent in the evening, not crowded easy to get a window seat, excellent drinks service (proper glasses in an evening) and the offer of decadent boozy desserts brought around. Also on formal nights far more opportunities to be seen than the MDR - vanity is a lifestyle.

Ships somehow cause an emotional response far greater than other pieces of machinery. We always seek out maritime museums and I sobbed unashamedly at the Edwin Fox exhibit in Picton. However unless they are of national or global significance (HMS Victory launched 1757 and still in commission to to Royal Navy), the viking ships in Olso, or the polar ship Maud which we were privileged to see being towed on her final journey, they are simply too costly to restore and keep ship shape. Metal or wood sitting in water is not a viable long term option without constant expensive maintenance, building a dry dock to showcase a ship works if there is enough income or it is a national heritage case - SS Great Britain or Cutty Sark. In this case recycle seems the best option.

We do try and track number of alcoholic drinks a day, I have a knitting row counter on a chain and click one for each drink, a golf shot tracker works too. Just ✖ the total by $12 for a good guesstimate of what you might spend. Yes I know drinks are various prices and you have to factor I tips but it will give you a ball park. If you loose track of numbers then you are almost certainly ahead of the game.

Three possible solutions, ask for an extra duvet/comforter/quilt to sleep on, make better use of the beverage package, or travel in China (every bed after feels like a marshmallow).

We only do the older smaller ships and totally love them, more space and easier to find your way around, go for it. If it is not for you at least you have no laundry or dishes to worry about for a week or two.

I am the one sent on a late night foraging mission for our night caps, after the second night I normally get asked if one is for Mr David and they split the tab or put everything on his if mine is full. According to PCL I'm a lush and DH is teetotal. One of these is not true.

Because we got a random charge which turned out to be for a glass of milk. I think I got charged because they thought I was denying DH his double Merlot - he just likes a cold milk with his protein mix.

We are THIS CLOSE to booking the Jade for next February. Do go ahead and book, if you like smaller ships at an affordable price. We love the Jade and Spirit size ships, no go carts no ques decent food and service. If you want gourmet food and extensive enrichment opportunities then NCL is not for you. If you want the mega ship activities the Jade is not for you. Honestly we have never had a bad cruise, we take the view that if we don't enjoy it it is our fault. This includes the covid cruise to South africa on the spirit where they ran out of milk (baileys in coffee works just fine) and a South sea cruise where we arrived early in every port to be met with the mortuary van (not covid pneumonia - when we got back the absence coughing through the wall kept me awake) Book, plan, enjoy, repeat.

Lovely to hear you had a great time, enjoy travel with your kid before teenage hits, I had a lovely toddler and a grumpy teen. Agree Europe is much more child friendly than US the only issue I ever had was persuading a waiter in Paris that he should not give my three year old a drink with fruit in it (it was Sangria!).

We don't have a TV at home and only use the one in the cabin for stuff like location, bridge cam etc. Unfortunately as an England cricket fan I sometimes can't avoid seeing sports on screens around the ship.

For ports in Spain, France and Italy you will be in the tourist areas and will be able to get by with English. Though Google translate off line is also your friend. In some ports you can simply walk off the ship and have a wonderful visit, others you will want to travel and may be if you are not comfortable with independent travel in Europe you may consider an independent tour. I would only take a ships tour to a destination a couple of hours away.

Can't comment on connectivity in Mediterranean ports as I connect to local networks. On a TA I would work on the assumption that some days you will not be able access the Internet at all. You may be fortunate and have constant, though slow, access but on our last crossing we had nothing for three days. If your boss is happy with that scenario you will be fine.

Basically Australia is a coastal country, you can see a lot from a cruise ship, far more than in most European countries. The exception is Alice Springs and Uluru which most Australians haven't visited. The Alice was a unique place to spend time in - Uluru is a rock no disrespect. Enjoy your time down under it is a strange and wonderful place.

Applying for an ESTA as a UK citizen is fast, cheap and painless. My next visit to the States is in December and I will apply a couple of weeks before. I always carry a paper copy and on one transatlantic voyage I was required to show it at check in or boarding would have been denied.

My Dad always said that there is no bad wine but some is a lot better than others. The food on a cruise ship is never as good as my DH prepares at home, but I don't bring my own steak!

I have downloaded books on to my Kobo e reader via ships internet on Princess. It is a bit of a pain because it is difficult to log onto the ships wifi as the screen is difficult to navigate - an issue with the e reader not the wifi.

If you are not comfortable being dishabille with your cabin mate then two separate cabins are the way forward. Think of it like sharing a tiny hotel room. No matter what the words say these are for people who are comfortable together. I read a great review of four men in an inside who usually did hunting trips together in a tent. For them it worked great as they considered it a vast improvement on four guys in a tent with no bathroom.