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Well even the cruise companies have that view with a position of 'Hotel Director' onboard looking after 'Hotel Operations'.

I am glad you now understand that you were wrong regarding 'Schengen law' but the point was that you indicated the law as it related to the starting point of the cruise was irrelevant - it isn't it is entirely relevant. And it is relevant because the law is one of the factors which will influence a cruise line's decision as to whether they will accept or decline the request, so actually knowing the law is quite helpful when presenting an argument where you are seeking to persuade someone.

That might be your opinion, but I would suggest that an awful lot of people disagree with you, and on the newer ships likely the majority of people - not helped by Iona and Arvia looking like floating tower blocks and not ships.

The start point is relevant because it determines whether the cruise ship qualifies for cruise ship treatment for passengers entering the Schengen area as covered by EU law for EU ports - there is no such thing as "Schengen law" - the law applying to countries in the Schengen area will either be the EU law for EU countries or the laws that those counties in Schengen but not in the EU have enacted for those Schengen rules.

EU law certainly does apply to travel into the EU from outside the EU not just travel between EU countries! And so it is relevant if the ship is starting and ending its journey from a non-EU country, such as the UK, with port stops in EU countries.

Particularly as most people on cruise ships are not under the 65kg weight they use as an average person... I find it easy to resolve, by simply putting my foot in the lift doorway so it isn't going anywhere until people do move back and make space.

Of course it is rude and unacceptable to jump the queue. However I would suggest that issues with the lifts are deeply exacerbated by not filling the lifts with the number of people they can comfortably accommodate. Too often have I had to stand there with my foot in the door asking people to move back to let others in because there is clearly space for half a dozen more people in the lift.

It certainly does. The full EU rules are here EUR-Lex - 32016R0399 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu) and the Art 2 definition of cruise ship is - ‘cruise ship’ means a ship which follows a given itinerary in accordance with a predetermined programme, which includes a programme of tourist activities in the various ports, and which normally neither takes passengers on nor allows passengers to disembark during the voyage; and the checks on cruise ships are different and more relaxed compared to checks on people arriving to stay via aircraft, ferries, trains, buses, etc. because of that and the information that the cruise line provides in advance. That might happen where you are, but I have seen many occasions on European cruises when people have missed departure - it seems to happen most at Civitavecchia with people who made their own way to Rome being late back because of the complexities of needing to link together multiple forms of public transport which some people are not used to. However the passengers just make their way to the next port, which is usually in Italy and embark again there, usually looking a bit bedraggle, tired, and a little poorer having had to pay for accommodation and taxis or trains. If the cabin was cleared and the contents handed over to the port staff, then for a ship that is already due to depart do you think the captain is going to want to delay another hour or more? Emptying the cabin is a real hassle for the ship because it has to be done carefully and under supervision to ensure the company can rebut any claim of damaged or missing items. And that I experienced on a recent cruise where yet again there were passengers who were going to be late back from Rome because they had missed the train. However they phoned the ship to let them know and when they were due to arrive and the captain decided to delay departure 90 minutes. Why did he do so, well it was because the next stop was Valetta in Malta for final disembarkation and waiting 90 minutes was less hassle than clearing the cabin to offload the contents in Civitavecchia which would have delayed departure by that time anyway. And if they hadn't offloaded in Civitavecchia but cleared the cabin during the next sea day then they were going to have fun dealing with the authorities in Malta offloading those bags and repatriating them to their owners who would have probably just flown home from Rome rather than trying to catch the ship in Malta. It would be interesting to see where that provision exists in the cruise booking terms and conditions, and if it did then anyone doing a self-guided trip from the ship is taking a very very big gamble if they are accidentally late. Yes, there did seem to be an awful lot of people leaping all over you, but it was an awful lot of people who didn't seem to have any knowledge themselves. Asking the question of the cruise company was the correct thing to do - and if they say 'no' then no it is. And obviously deliberately being back late and causing hassle for the captain and their crew is not acceptable, and from everything you said that was not your intention, but the 'world will fall on your head' doomsayers... well I suggest that they actually do some research before typing.

Ireland already offers an option of a credit card sized Passport Card that counts as a full passport and can be used on its own without a paper passport book (i.e. it isn't just an ID card) if you are travelling within the EU, the UK, or the members of the EEA. Passport Card - Department of Foreign Affairs (dfa.ie)

Yes, but in reality nobody does eat in the MDR or Buffet for a a full meal as well as the Epicurean, and if they do then what does it say about the food in Epicurean that they needed to do that.

The cost of using Epicurean (or the Beach House or Sindhu, etc.) is a supplement to what you have already paid to use the MDR not the whole cost, so to compare it to the whole cost of a meal in a pub or restaurant on land is not comparing like with like.

Ah, photos of 'the puddle' as it is known by the locals, but yes Arrecife isn't great. However if you get out other parts of the island it does improve substantially.

A great idea if you don't actually care about what you send them - the two occasions I have used the service (not that I paid, but provided as an apology for food being spilt during meal service), the items did not return in the same condition I sent them. Not so bad they were obviously ripped or torn, but the material showing wear from the industrial machines the items had been through.

The quietest time is in the evening during the early dinner sitting, and with the newer machines with a timer you can easily return just before they finish washing or drying.

I wonder how P&O would feel if you sold your OBC onboard to other passengers - they give you cash, you buy the product in store and hand it over to them. And I wonder what the exchange rate would be.

The only difference you might notice is the menu. On one (and I can never remember which way around they are) the menu is a slight step up to something worth getting dressed up for, and on the other it is 'Shepherds Pie' or something else not very special to eat whilst sat their in black tie.

I don't think the jury is out. Do you get to buy things in the shops, bars, and restaurants onboard unless you have handed over money first - no. When people choose to buy a cruise with OBC they have bought a package of a cruise and OBC. The OBC was not 'free' - and in respect of the veteran and shareholder's OBC that wasn't free either, because again you had to actually buy a cruise to get it. And that is crucial to the profitability of the shops onboard. And that is equally crucial to the profitability of the shops onboard. Convince people that they have got 'free' money, put a time limit on spending that money, and put a limit on what that money can be spent on, and the result is lots of profit for the shops - sufficient profit that you can spend money on staff stood around doing nothing for lots of the time.

It is entirely clear, and entirely relevant to the original question posed by Bin man of "I can never understand how these shops work in terms of making profit". By using the word "given" to the £1050 of OBC it indicates that you have overlooked that this wasn't money given to you freely, but you had bought the OBC as part of the cruise fare - you handed over money and received OBC in return. And that's exactly what the shops onboard rely on - people who think they have 'free' money that they must spend, without reflecting on the point that they are actually spending OBC they bought, and thus 'splashing the cash' more freely than they would do if they were handing over pound notes.

Sorry, but you are still not making things any clearer. Was the OBC given to you my P&O as compensation for something that went wrong? If so this is still no different to OBC that you paid for with a booking as it is still your money. The only way what you say makes sense is if someone from P&O picked you out at random and thrust £550 of OBC into your hand for no reason other than they wanted to, and told you that you either spent it or it vanished. Did that happen?

So it was someone else's OBC - Does that make any difference to the 'spent £550 because there was £550 OBC' story when the topic is about the shops onboard and how they make money?

Wasn't your point that you spent £550 because you had £550 of OBC to spend?

This year I spent two months in Lanzarote last year, from January through to March (last year it was Fuerteventura and next year it is Tenerife). Is there enough to see and do? Well it depends what you want to see and do. There isn't an awful lot in the way of historic sites, or lots of culture, and shopping is pretty limited, but for a place to go where the weather is an awful lot better than the UK in order to chill out and relax then it isn't a bad place, particularly as the flight times from the UK to get that better weather are quite reasonable. The island is very different from the north to the south and inland, so it is worth driving around to see it and hiring a car is cheap (use Cicar or Autoreisen - *nobody* else. Both do fully inclusive packages, so none of this added CDW nonsense or worrying about damage when you return it). The cliffs on the north are impressive, the volcano interesting to walk around, lots of markets (some better than others), diving, kitesurfing, cycling, or just a lazy fish lunch looking out to sea. The three main tourist areas on the island are Puerto del Carmen - hilly and mostly British but the old town does have a small bit of history, Playa Blanca - flat and international but lots of development going on, and Costa Teguise which was a purpose built holiday resort in the 70s/80s and continuing. All have a mixture of accommodation, restaurants, bars, etc. to suit whatever you want.

According to The Man in Seat 61, three days from London, and it looks to be a great journey.

Better off for the passengers, but not better off for the profit line of the shop operators. How much do you think that £350 non-leather handbag cost them wholesale?

The first time I went to Marrakesh (I have been many times since) the riad I had booked in the centre of town offered to arrange a taxi for me. 'Great' I thought, and the booking details arrived explaining that the taxi driver would be at the airport to collect us and take us to the central square where a 'chariot' would be waiting for us. A 'chariot'???? Anyway I went along with it, and we arrived at the central square where a man was waiting with a home made wheelbarrow made out of planks of wood and pram wheels - Ah the 'chariot'. However what followed next was hilarious as he put our suitcases in the 'chariot' and then set off at a run across the square and then down through the maze of alleys to the riad, with the narrow streets full of goods spilling out of shops, motorbikes and donkeys in the road, and all the while we were running to catch up and trying to remember the route - altogether rather like something out of Indiana Jones film...