SeaJane

That’s great news Avril, what a relief for you all.

2 hours ago, Vampiress88 said:

I struggled too.
 

It’s not something we would or have paid for. But lots seem to like it. 
 

Does everyone drink wine and beer or do you peeps also do the cocktails? 

We are wine drinkers especially a good bottle of red. OH likes a beer during the day, but neither of us go for cocktails. I find them generally much too sweet for my taste.

Sounds interesting - not tried Epicurean.

I’d like to try:

Jamon pata negra

Tiger prawns

Crepe suzette

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

Hopefully at least another 5 years away yet. She is one of only two ships I intend to keep sailing on in the P&O fleet.

Same for us. Aurora and Arcadia are the only P&O ships that are now of interest.

1 hour ago, Josy1953 said:

We have decided that they have bought back Billi Billi wine so we have a bottle of that.

Good idea Josy! Wish they would bring it back - we used to really enjoy it.

33 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

 

 

 

Chocolate covered Turkish delight  sounds very good, are there after dinner treats every dinner time? I'm going to need some clothes a size bigger for the second half of the cruise 🤣

You are right Sarah! I always take a few outfits in a larger size for the last few days of the cruise!

For me it would be:

Prawn cocktail 

Skate wings

Lemon posset

The treats usually arrive with the coffee after dessert Vamps.

We’ve never been tempted by Beach House, but as you are paying Vampiress .....

I’d have:

panko prawns

hanging kebab

lime sundae

6 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

Our 13 month old great grandson was just admitted into hospital. He has a high temperature and difficulty with  breathing. He's had a covid test done and is on oxygen. His mum says he's sleepy but cheerful so fingers crossed. 

Avril 

So sorry to hear that Avril. I’m sure he’s getting the best care - hope there is good news for you soon.

1 hour ago, Adawn47 said:

Absolutely agree with you. When the small ships leave , then unfortunately so do we.

Avril  

Same for us. If P&O get rid of Aurora and Arcadia we shall look at other cruise lines.

Not one of my favourite menus! 
I’d choose:

Caesar salad

Lamb steak

Blueberry cheesecake

and another shared bottle of malbec.

However based on your recommendation Avril I might choose the tuna next time! 

2 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

Tonights menu

 

sindhu- I know some of you don’t like this. But would you have anything from this even if it was free?

 

 

I would have 

 

soft shell crab

Tandoori half chicken

mango and passion fruit parfait

 

hubby is too busy in the garage to play my game 

Not really to my taste although I like most types of food especially Chinese and Italian.

However if I had to choose I’d go for the tiger prawns and the crab, no main course and then the mango and passion fruit parfait.

4 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

I won’t try oysters either. They look so slimy. 
 

 

 

I don’t like the texture of raw oysters, but find them delicious once cooked when the texture changes completely.

I don’t like the idea of black pudding, but the white version (Hog’s pudding in Cornwall) I really enjoy.

39 minutes ago, Eddie99 said:

Exactly!

We were late finding cruising but, having done so, found it to be our perfect holiday.  Pleasant, simple, the right balance between accessibility and up-marketness, a fabulous balance between adventure and being cosseted.

 

The envisaged restrictions would take away all the pleasure - even if cruising could go ahead.  I simply see too many obstacles, from check-in and muster, through massing together for meals and entertainment, to finding ports willing to accept 2 or 3,000 potential virus carriers.

 

I can only see cruising to foreign ports resuming if a vaccine is developed and widely available.  Some would say that makes me a pessimist but I’d say I’m a pragmatist

 

btw, Cameron Mackintosh says today that he does not anticipate West End theatre reopening until 2021.  I think theatres present fewer challenges than cruise liners

I agree Eddie. We only started cruising after I took early retirement and until a vaccine is readily available the restrictions likely to be needed to make things safe would take away many of the aspects that make it such an enjoyable holiday for us. 

For me it would be:

Rainbow trout

Cannon of lamb

Passion fruit pavlova 

a bottle of malbec (I’d let my husband share that!)

In 2017 we were on Oriana when storms forecast for the Adriatic caused itinerary changes. Or visits to Venice, Ravenna and Kotor were cancelled and we diverted to Trieste. We had had no time to research what to do so just wandered around and had an enjoyable few hours. It has an elegant main square with nice cafes and plenty of upmarket shops. It doesn’t seem to get many cruise ship visits so was not very touristy. 
Unfortunately we then sailed on to Catania where we spent 2 days supposedly avoiding the storm. We had been there before and it is our least favourite port so we just stayed on board! 

10 minutes ago, Denarius said:

To me nothing can beat Venice. But Dubrovnik and Kotor come close.

Those are 3 of our favourite places too - the scenery as you sail in to Kotor is beautiful. To us Venice tops everywhere though and we have been there on cruises 5 times and have also stayed a few days in a hotel on the Grand Canal on 3 occasions - should have been there last month 😢.

3 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Good point. Almost impossible in fact.  And without that interaction with other passengers at lunch and dinner in the MDR cruising would be a very much poorer experience, for us at least.

I agree with you Harry. For us meeting fellow passengers over lunch and dinner in the MDR has always added enjoyment to our cruise experience. We always opt for a table for 8 on club dining at dinner and have met some lovely people over the years, some of whom have remained good friends. We also enjoy the opportunity to have more in depth discussions beyond the where are you from, have you been on this ship before etc. We shall certainly miss that if the post Covid cruising world means we are limited to a table for two.

54 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Pleased to say that is the case for me. I was due on Aurora departing 12th October. Definitely pleased I haven't had to think about paying the final balance. Disappointed but relieved.

We were due on the same Aurora cruise so like you are pleased that the decision has been made. Sadly that means that all our planned holidays for this year have now been cancelled.

1 hour ago, pete14 said:

We always book select to ensure we get the cabin we want. We also say we don’t want any upgrade because it may be into a cabin we don’t want. Choice of dining and cancellation policies are also important.

We always book select for the same reasons and all our cruises have been booked direct with P&O.

37 minutes ago, Pine Man said:

Which, as far as I am concerned, is a plus as I don't want to be hurried during a meal.

 

I have never had an issue with the speed of service and, on the odd occasion I needed to be out quickly, a word with the waiters was all that was needed.

I agree we hate to be rushed through a meal. We have always found the waiters in MDR very good and anxious to please.

October is our favourite month for a cruise to the Med. As Son of Anarchy says you can get rough weather in the Bay, but we have had more good crossings than bad  - it can be flat as a millpond. Hope your cruise goes ahead and you have a great time.

1 hour ago, Adawn47 said:

Thank you. I'll make a note of that or I'll lose it when these threads dissappear. 

We much prefer to eat in traditional restaurants. The food is so much nicer than tourist restaurants where they often 'Westernise' the food. We were due to go Lisbon on November's cruise but it's seeming less and less likely as the weeks go on. Next year hopefully. 

Avril 

We were last there in April last year and were due to go back this October. Sadly we are resigned to that not happening now, but hopefully will get there again before too long.

1 hour ago, Adawn47 said:

That sounds like a lunch we would enjoy. You wouldn't like to tell me where your little restaurant is would you? 

Avril 

It’s called Maria Catita and is in Rua dos Bacalhoeiros. It’s quite rustic but in my opinion seems a bit more traditional than some of the ones on the main tourist routes and the staff are very friendly. There’s a website which gives more information. Hope you give it a try when you are next in Lisbon Avril. 

Sadly it’s not the one in Woking Zapp. We live near enough to visit if it were! 

57 minutes ago, zap99 said:

There's a Portuguese restaurant in Woking. I'm guessing that's the one.🦀

 

3 hours ago, emam said:

We've only been to Lisbon the once, the other times we have been we have been to Oporto.

 

We've got to laugh. The first time we went to Oporto, we came out of the port building to where the buses were parked. One was to take you to the gates at the end of the port and the other said Oporto. So just thinking we were going into the town a few minutes away,  we hopped onto that bus (or at least that was what I thought, don't know if hubby knew). Now we aren't very well travelled and a bit nervy of missing the ship (though we are getting better). Well when the said bus had been travelling for about 10 minutes and we hadn't reached our destination and was travelling further away from the port, panic started to set in. I didn't have a clue where we were going. Eventually we reached Oporto and when we got to the bus stop there was a big queue for the return journey. 

 

By that time it was early afternoon and we had been hearing all of the holiday about the last buses being at a certain time. I said to hubby, there's no way I'm not getting off in case we can't get a bus back. So we stayed on the bus. The lady letting people on must have been counting the people getting on the bus. I could see that she couldn't understand why there wasn't enough seats. 

 

The next time we went we just stayed in Lexioes. We really will have to go and visit Oporto sometime.

 

 

We had a stop at Oporto cancelled a few years ago due to bad weather, but eventually visited last year. It is a lovely city and well worth seeing. The port lodges are interesting and the tiled walls in the railway station are spectacular although it’s a steep walk to get there. There are lots of restaurants along the river front to enjoy a drink or lunch and you can also take boat trips along the river. Plenty to do next time you find yourselves there!