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If you are concerned about luggage going missing, then if you use an iPhone I recommend getting an AirTag to put inside each suitcase. For anyone who hasn't used them, these are the size of a large button and are small transmitters with replaceable batteries (that last a couple of years) that rely on everyone else's iPhone to report where they are (if you use an iPhone then, like it or not, your phone will listen out for any AirTags near you will then report its location back to Apple - there is no 'opt out'). That means at the airport you can actually 'see' if your bag has arrived at the aircraft you are sat on, and when you arrive you can 'see' when it is offloaded and approaching the conveyor belt, and with the additional short range transmitter in them, you can also 'see' when it is just about to pop out from behind the curtain onto the belt so you can step up to grab it at the right time. And if it all goes horribly wrong and your suitcase is sent to Timbuktu then you will know it is in Timbuktu even if the airline tells you that it is in London, Paris, New York, or wherever.

A long weekend - easy. When I fly down to the Canary Islands to spend a month or two away in the winter I never take anything more than a carry on bag.

Good luck justifying refusing boarding purely on the grounds a passenger is blind.

Being blind or having a visual impairment is utterly different from people who "require assistance with daily living (such as washing, toileting, eating, mobility)". Of course P&O has discretion who who it allows to sail, but P&O make no mention of needing to know if a passenger is blind or has a visual impairment before they book. And of course P&O wants the passenger to have the best time on board, which why they *offer* an orientation tour and not *require* blind or partially sighted passengers take one.

Should they? Do P&O impose a requirement that those who are blind or visually impaired inform them before P&O decide to take their booking? If so, P&O are silent on the matter on their website.

Why do you think that P&O would not have accepted their booking if they had no vision at all and did not have a non-disabled companion. P&O make no mention of not accepting blind passengers and they make no mention of blind passengers needing a sighted companion - a sighted companion being pointless unless they were handcuffed together for the whole of the voyage.

I strongly doubt we are hearing the full story here. P&O do not prohibit passengers who are blind or have visual impairments, and their website has comprehensive details on the subject - Impairments and Disabilities on Board | P&O Cruises (pocruises.com) There is no mention that passengers who are blind or have visual impairments need a sighted person accompanying them, so a solo blind passenger or a couple who are blind are not prohibited by P&O. I would therefore strongly suspect that some form of conversation took place that meant that P&O determined that it didn't want the couple on board, and as usual with these events, you have those individuals who feel wronged going to the press to say what they want, whilst the corporation is restrained in what it can say. Having worked with and known many blind and visually impaired people over the years, I have no doubt that would have been able to get around the ship by themselves - and likely far better than an awful lot of sighted passengers who have no clue where they are or which end of the ship!

Catch the train and then if the worst happens and you can’t get a train back just take a taxi back to the port - sure it won’t be cheap but you would be gambling a certainty of an expensive P&O tour against the vague possibility of an expensive taxi.

Madeira isn’t an issue, but poncha on the other hand…

Ah, that comes from too much celebration last night! How could I mistake the floating tower block that is Iona.

Well it’s Monday so Iona is back again, and after the final Sunday events of the Christmas and New Year celebrations all the decorations the Christmas market are being dissembled here in Funchal.

A few (bad) photos that don’t do justice to tonight’s show.

Aurora arrived about 23.15.

It had, just sat here in the last of the evening sun watching it leave.

Assuming Arvia is the same as Iona being the same design, the steam rooms are part of the spa complex which is chargeable.

On the positive side it is a slightly expanded menu to the MDRs on those nights and it is a fixed timed booking so no queueing for a table. On the downside it is in the cafeteria, although they do try to dress it up with tablecloths, etc. Some people like it and some people hate it - flip a coin.

Busy in port today - three on berth and sat with a cold drink watching two tendering. And several more turning up later for the fireworks.

Yes, Funchal came out here at the start of December and then heading off to Lanzarote for another couple of months in the middle of January - winter in the UK doesn’t agree with me! Far sooner be sunning myself and pondering which of the many bars I will be visiting for lunch. The town is certainly preparing for the big night, with stages being set up on the sea front and in the park overlooking the harbour. The dredger ships are moored outside the harbour being set up for the fireworks. All the bars are getting their outside beer pumps ready.

Another peaceful day sat in the sun as the second in a row with no cruise ships at all in port - but then tomorrow it will be chaos a SEVEN including Aurora are apparently due in - good luck those passengers getting a seat in a bar or restaurant.

It was quite cool and occasionally damp yesterday here for the passengers off Azura, although with their late departure I assume that some got to see the Christmas lights (and to make up for most of the town being closed as it was a public holiday). But today for Arvia it is a glorious 24c sunny day - but good grief do things get busy around town when all those people disembark.

Tui unlike P&O were not trying to save money as Mein Schiff 4 overnighted here, so their passengers got to see the fabulous decorations. Anyway exceedingly quiet here today as the 10,600 passengers from Ion and Mein Schiff 4 have left and there are no ships in port at all.

Out enjoying the fabulous Christmas decorations last night. For the passengers on Iona which sailed in the afternoon yesterday, this is a small selection of what they missed - a small selection because every street no matter how small is decorated with lights.

Another beautiful day in Funchal for the people who arrived on Iona today, but a bit too warm to sit out in the sun.

Perhaps the guest could have changed the subject slightly and asked Lady H what her experience was of being married to someone from an immigrant family that had gained their wealth from violence. Anyway, glorious day here sat in the 23c sunshine with a glass of something refreshing. Iona’s passengers arriving tomorrow are looking forward to a better day than the overcast day that Acura had yesterday.

A pleasant 22c here today, with a stroll out and sit in the sun for lunch. Looks to be damp tomorrow though for those arriving on Azura for the day, and then back to sunshine for the rest of the week after they have left.