Mareblu

It reminds me of Iceland.

I’m delighted we’ve found a common source of agreement 😉

I’m really sorry you had that experience, but Kirkwall is lovely, with a truly interesting museum where the rich archeological and cultural history is revealed to interested souls, and the independent shops are treasure troves of exquisite jewellery, artwork and many other crafts, all created and produced locally.

That’s a really challenging, awful experience. Conversely, our exit was smooth and efficient. We left to join our tour at about 8.30. The elevator arrived quickly to our 7th floor, we walked straight out on Deck 2, down the gangplank then were promptly boarding the bus. The whole exercise took about 7-8 minutes. What time did your disastrous fiasco occur?

Quite a few.

Yes, remains open till late evening. Only a few steps from dining tables. Great for post-dinner drinks.

That brings back nightmares. I can still smell it.

No bar stools, and the bar actually opened at 11am today. Still too late, but a definite improvement.

I only ask because so far, and that’s important because we’ve only been aboard three days, the only occasions I’ve noticed the G lounge with a substantial gathering is just before or just after meal hours. It’s a natural area to enjoy a pre or after-dinner drink, and we also prefer to linger over the coffee there, because it’s till now been a superior cup to that served in the restaurant. It’s not just the machine that’s important, but the Barista’s expertise. While heavily patronised at these times, we’ve so far always found a seat. A few times on QE last year, there were no spots available, and several fellow passengers experienced the same situation. Of course, the vessels are different in size, so the lounges are designed accordingly, but Elizabeth’s is just too compact for the number of Grills passengers, IMHO. Anyhoo…it all boils down to opinions and perspectives, really. We simply find Anne’s Grills lounge inviting and comfortable.

What time, approximately, were you sneaking around the Grills lounge?

And I respect and understand your opinion completely. For us, it’s not a major factor, we simply find a view nonessential. We are truly enjoying the cosy comfort of this lounge, much to our surprise. We called by Carinthia this morning, hoping to relax over a coffee and croissant as we had skipped breakfast. It was packed, with not a spare table either in the general area or out in the walkways. We eventually scored two barstools, which were rather awkward to mount and perch on. Because it’s such an open area, and packed to the rafters, it’s naturally noisy, so not a cosy, relaxing experience. The huge plus: the coffee and croissants were excellent.

No, not at all. I at first assumed it was excellent soundproofing in the glazing, but even out on the balcony, and at a good steady rate of knots (pun intended), it’s a very soft “swishing”. Quite soothing, in fact.

He and his wife are delightful, and unassuming.

Not all cabin balconies. We are in the middle of the stern, directly above the propellers, which affords a wonderful view of port and starboard, as we progress. It’s as interesting as forward views, which we’ve enjoyed on several lines. The wake is mesmerising, almost hypnotic. Right now we are facing the entire span of the magnificent, original Firth of Forth bridge.

There is a slit on the return of the marble shelf, just to the right of the basin. I only discovered it this morning.

Actually, we find it very comfortable and pleasant. After we enjoyed QE’s Grills lounge so much last year, we were a little concerned that Anne’s wouldn’t measure up, being so radically different in positioning and design. For us, to our surprise, it’s actually superior, being more spacious and with both good conversation areas and cosy niches. Bear in mind that Grills passengers have balconies from which to enjoy land and seascapes, virtually all day if they wish. We enjoy chatting with other folk, reading our books and tackling crosswords in the lounge. A view is unnecessary for such activities. Our one gripe about the Grills lounge, and it’s a big one, is that the bar doesn’t open until 11.30am. That opening time is ridiculous, being too long after breakfast, and too close to lunch, for a mid-morning coffee or tea. As tea and coffee in the lounge is inclusive for Grills folk, perhaps it’s Cunard’s bottom-line trimming at work here.

She certainly did. We really enjoyed that series.

They look delicious, Lyle. We enjoy the occasional pizza, but not often really. We like thin crispy pastry and a scant amount of fresh, homemade sugo as a base. Margarita, with buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil, is our favourite.

I should have began by stating that for all the above to happen, you firstly must have a phone associated with the email account. Then, in order: 1. Open Safari 2. Search Big Pond email 3. Click on link to login 4. Enter your credentials and click “forgot password” to get it to send an unlock code to the number already associated with the account You should then be allowed to change password, and enter that new password in “mail” under Settings in each device.

Hello Gerry🥰 so lovely to see this message. I fear I owe you an email, please forgive me, and by now you realise I’m not punctual with emails😔 I haven’t found gelato on this extended trip to match that of home, either. Maybe absence makes etc., etc. We are presently In Southampton, ready to board Cunard's Queen Anne tomorrow, after which we begin the long journey home. Saturday, our first sea day, is Meet and Mingle day. I’m glad to be a willing participant but non-organiser for this one! Writing when we’re settled aboard…

It’s a tad complex for all the details here, but during our recent Oceania cruise in the med, our Big Pond (altered here, but you know what I mean) also failed. Fortunately, I have a team of tech wizards in the family, but as our daughter explained, most of the solution can be googled. I trued that first, of course. Basically, you need to change your password. To do that, you need the telephone associated with your Telstra a/c to be switched on. We share an email a/c now my husband is retired, but his phone is the Telstra a/c number. We had to do that in a port, of course. We had to switch his phone on (we are both on the $10 per use day Telstra plan whilst away) in order for him to receive a code to change our bigpond password. Once that’s done, you need to go to your settings in each device and enter the new password. Voila! Hundreds of emails flooded in, and we could also send. It meant we didn’t have to create another email address, which is a real bother, because all messages and regular accounts come to our Big Pond address. All sorted, but so very frustrating.

There’s another coincidence, Leigh. I also received my manual licence in 1970.

Good point.

We’re usually the same about reviews, but on occasions a familiar thread through the complaints can cause us to be cautious. Conversely, we don’t automatically accept good reviews, either, but look for consistency.

Lyle, we are currently in the UK and for perhaps the first time ever, were given the car we ordered, which is a Toyota C-HR. Mario says slightly smaller than the X Trail, but works well for us, and we have a lot of luggage, as we’re travelling for just over 2 months. We paid $AUD4,000 approximately, for 20 days, but that amount contains a relocation component, because we collected the car in Edinburgh, and will return it tomorrow in Southampton. We are boarding Cunard’s “Queen Anne” on Friday, which will be a unique experience because we’ll be aboard for her naming ceremony in Liverpool on 3 June. Anyway, back to the car: Mario wouldn’t consider a sedan either, as comfort is as important as economy he thinks. We shopped around extensively online, and yes, prices certainly vary. We settled on Hertz even though it was slightly more expensive than a couple of others, because reviews weren’t great for those. We have a Hertz gold card and the service has always been reliable. Had we found a more reasonably priced option with good reviews though, we would have chosen that. So, after all that, it seems a major factor worldwide is the relocation component.