31 minutes ago, hamrag said:

 

Wow, never seen anyone drink pints of Sauv Blanc before! 🤣

I heartily reccommend it! 😂

7 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Would you drink 4/5 lagers every day on a port intensive cruise though.

probably. One or two when back on the ship and three in the evening as an example. 

I went on a different tack with working things out, I'm going on a 14 day cruise and I'm a girl who likes her lager. If I was to have 4 or 5 lagers throughout the day/evening and a couple of glasses of wine at dinner, every day, without ever ordering anything different, by the end of those two weeks I'd be £51 under the total cost of what it would be if I went for the Classic Package**... For the sake of £51 and the additional bonus of small costa coffees, soft drinks, cocktails, spirits.. it was a no brainer.🙂

** Basing prices on pints of Birra Moretti & New Zealand Sauv Blanc.

MDR Menus looking much better today! I'd be tempted to try the Clam Chowder... but I'd be too embarrassed to leave it if I didn't like it! 😂

6 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Todays MDR menus 

 

Lovely menu tonight 🙂 Lunch one didn't look too shabby either. Definitley going to be leaving that ship at least 2 stone heavier when it's my turn, ha ha!

We were given the option on our select fare (?) I think to opt for free terminal parking with CPS at Southampton so have gone for that, never used them before but my friend who will be doing the driving seems happy to leave her keys in their care as she says, and I quote "It's one less thing for my clumsy butt to accidentally drop overboard". 😂 Good to hear other people have not had a problem with them either. 🙂

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Day 24 - Friday 26th January 2024 - New Orleans (2nd Day)

 

Apparently there has been no crew shore leave permitted by US authorities since we entered US waters, due to the well publicised ‘jumping ship’ of a number of P&O crew members a few years back. This has been a source of frustration to them, but particularly disappointing for the new crew members for whom seeing the USA was one of their big motivations for signing up for a life on the ocean. I feel really sorry for them as they gaze ashore enviously from the top deck, but in fairness to them they are all being very professional about it. 

 

As yet another miserable day, weather wise, was forecast, we decided to limit our time ashore to the adjacent Riverside Outlet Mall. We are fed up getting drowned! We were a bit late for the MDR breakfast, due to it closing earlier on Aurora than the other ships, so we went to the buffet for breakfast for the first time. It didn’t take long to remind me why I dislike the buffet so much. I’m up and down like a blue arsed fly getting food and drinks because of the absolutely idiotic decision to ban trays. Needless to say we didn’t stay long. 

 

The adjacent Riverside Mall is supposed to be an ‘outlet’ centre, but prices didn’t seem cheap to us at all (probably because sterling is quite weak against foreign currencies these days) and then, of course, you have to factor in that they charge tax on top (whereas U.K. prices include VAT). There is a desk to claim back tax but a) you have to remember to ask for a specific form at each outlet you buy in, b) some outlets didn’t supply the forms, and c) there was a queue to get the tax back. As a combination of all of this we just browsed rather than purchased. 

 

As we hadn’t gone into Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter the previous day (which all the guide books recommend doing) we decided to end our visit with a coffee and beignet in their outlet within the centre. Here’s a top tip. The coffee and beignets that we had in Monty’s on the Square (on the corner of Jackson Square, opposite Cafe du Monde) the previous day were far superior. By a mile in fact. We both agreed that the coffee wasn’t as good in Cafe du Monde and the beignets were just plain, whereas the ones we had in Monty’s had a cinnamon filling that melted like chocolate, were a little less swamped with powdered sugar and also had ‘New Orleans Sprinkles’ on them! If you find yourself in New Orleans, go to Monty’s. The ambiance was far nicer as well. 

 

For the rest of the day we just chilled on the ship until the 5pm sail away. Whilst waiting for Aurora to pull off the berth we marvelled at the skill of the pelicans and other sea birds that could spot a fish in the brown waters of the Mississippi and nab it within a split second! I was able to take a few shots of the New Orleans skyline but, in a stroke of bad luck that just typifies the weather we have had, and continue to have, on this cruise, a huge cloud of mist engulfed the French Quarter as we cruised past. 100 yards beyond it and naturally it cleared 🙄. Transiting down the Mississippi sounds quite glamorous but the reality is somewhat different. The outlying areas of New Orleans are far from attractive. Sparse residential areas abut waste land and industrial areas. It was impossible to tell whether the area hasn’t recovered from Hurricane Katrina, is suffering from industrial decline or both. Either way, scenic it is not. Once clear of New Orleans it’s oil and gas refineries for mile after mile. As it was dark by now all we were seeing was lights. 

 

In an extremely rare informative announcement by our elusive Captain, he told us that there would be some more thunderstorms tomorrow but mid 20s temperature. So more of the same. He also said that our route to Puerto Rico would take us north of Cuba and Dominican Republic. This disappointment me for two reasons. Firstly we are on the port side, and I had anticipated that we would be passing them on our side of the ship (we may be too far from land anyway for all I know). Secondly (and could someone please correct me if I’m wrong here) but if we are north of Cuba and Dominican Republic, doesn’t that mean that we are still in the Atlantic and not the Caribbean? I had assumed that we would be in Caribbean waters in 48 hours time but now think it could still be some time away?

 

At 7pm I popped down to Carmens to listen to Polish violinist Izabella Zebrowska. She gave a good show with a wide vareity of musical styles. Her English is poor (but far better than my Polish) so the patter between tunes was a bit painful. During dinner we had a continuing view of the lights of the oil and gas refineries as we continued down the Mississippi. The theatre show was comedian William Caulfield, but as neither of us find cruise ship comedians to be funny we called it a day. Tomorrow is the first of 3 sea days en route to Puerto Rico.

Would you like a bit of pastry with your sugar there Selbourne? 😮😮

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Todays MDR menus

Nice looking menu, I'd be very tempted to give the Haggis & Cranachan a go! Hopefully there'll be some sightings of it on my cruise next year.. Actually I would expect there to be considering most of it will be in Scotland!

Not looking for any judgement here please...

I'm aware that there is a partially covered smoking area on Deck 16 and a couple on Aft side of Deck 7 near Java/Live Lounge however I'm hearing rumours that when Britannia goes in for her refit in April that the smoking areas are being removed and not being relocated elsewhere?

My friend and I both enjoy having the occasional cigarette or vape (especially when drink is involved! 😂) so we'll be a little disappointed if that is the case... was just wondering if anyone else had heard anything about this or are a bit more "in the loop" than I am?

Thanks 🙂

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

I get the impression on here that many have the attitude"I am alright jack" with there so easy nip drop your luggage off nip back into town and kill 2-3 hrs or go IKEA. Sorry but not easy to kill 2-3 hrs if you are old, disabled or in a wheelchair. IKEA is a long walk for people who have difficulties and many have attitude nip here nip there park here when isn't feasible for some. I just hope one day they don't become disabled or in a wheelchair they might suddenly have a different opinion. Sorry but many on here have a very selfish attitude and I hope they never have to be in situation of needing a wheelchair or have to push loved one in it or become disable or infirm and struggle to walk distances.

 That maybe so, and it wouldn't be something that would be easy for my Dad either should he decide to cruise again, but as far as I can see, that wasn't the point of the reason why this thread was started or at least, nothing seemed to suggest it was. It was the fact that someone is choosing to IGNORE an arrival time, turn up early and get on board early because IMO, they seem to have the opinion of "I'm alright Jack". Can you honestly say, that if you were given an embarkation time of say.. 12:30, and someone with an embarkation time of 14:30, turned up at 12pm and got on board before you - just because they have decided that's what they want to do - that you would be ok with it? I'm going to assume it'd be a no... We can "whataboutery" til the cows come home about it but that wasn't the initial point of the thread.

We're very blowy down in Bracknell at the moment but these storms do make me laugh sometimes... I've been chasing garden furniture round for most of the evening to (unsuccessfully) try to secure it, dragged a wheelie bin full of water up to the back fence to stop it blowing down, the wind has caught the roof of the mini greenhouse and almost taken that off yet the one thing that won't budge is a rickety old plastic table no heavier than a bag or two of sugar..  😂

6 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

Do you do a 9 plus hour journey through multiple motorways with numerous chances of delays?

 

Do you travel via multiple forms of public transport?

 

Looks like you are very close to the port. - an hour, or so no you probably don’t.

 

 

 

 

It doesn't matter whether I'm an hour away or not, I could still run into delays myself, considering I have to go on the motorway to get there. I could get stuck behind a fatal accident which would add hours on to the journey. You seem to be changing the goalposts of this argument quite often. Just now your main gripe was delays port side, which are out of anyone's control more often than not, and now you're not happy because I agree that an embarkation time is what it is, and shouldn't be swapped and changed because people feel hard done by? What about all the people who have an earlier embarkation time? Do they just have to stand back and be delayed themselves despite following the procedures because four or five other passengers have turned up three hours early and are basically demanding to be boarded?? Not very fair, is it? And I'm sure you would be very displeased if this was the case for yourself.

8 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

I have had delays but no OBC.
 

They have not resulted in change to an itinerary but have been an inconvenience. 
 

It still feels inequitable that a passenger arriving an hour early is left out in the cold but a customer left to wait several hours late - tough luck!

 Could be many reasons for that though (E.g. The deep-cleaning which delayed Ventura's (?) voyage recently) and not exactly a choice or option for P&O or the ports/terminals to take lightly whereas arriving early IS a choice. The fact that people feel like they can ignore embarkation times and show up whenever they see fit and then are unhappy when denied boarding until their alloted time just smacks of entitlement, IMO, akin to a z-listed celebrity's screech of "Don't you know who I am?"

If everyone did as they were asked, rather than what they wanted to do, Things would probably run a hell of a lot more smoothly...

Thanks everyone. I guessed it would be the case but I just wanted to double check - "Arkwright" head is firmly on at the moment! 😂

39 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Please don’t get the false impression that we have a ‘bad’ captain. We don’t. He sounds personable and obviously is extremely competent at being master of the vessel, but quite a few people have

commented on his lack of announcements and useful titbits of information. I’m sure that we can all cite Captain’s who have massively enhanced our cruises with announcements about dolphins, whales, things of interest, things to look out for and when etc. Our favourite was Chris Wells who eventually went on to be Commodore at Cunard. As the most senior representative of the company, I’ve always felt that their role is an awful lot more than the seamanship aspects which, after all, are mostly done by the bridge team anyway! 

When I was on Marella Explorer 2 last year we had a wonderful captain called Kostas. Many people would moan his announcements and little bits of information were hard to understand but I could hear him perfectly. He made me laugh signing off some messages on port days with "Don't be late please. I won't wait for you!"

I've only ever had one of, what I would say is a poor captain and that was the chap at the wheel of the Island Escape in May 2013. We were delayed leaving port because of very rough seas and late comers from excusions and he decided to set off against advice and we were hit by a wave that very nearly sent the ship over. A lot of guests got injured, Myself and my grandparents were thrown from our seats in the MDR, no apology from the captain and all we got off TUI was a half-a**ed apology and a voucher for £150 off our next cruise.

I believe a few guests who got off at the next port refused to get back on board and made their own way home.

15 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Good morning.

It is -2°C in Sunderland this morning.

I hope everyone is safe and well. 

Ah! Hello from one Mackem to another! Although I live in Bracknell now I lived in Sunderland for many years and miss it very much! -5 here this morning on my walk to work, but according to the weather app it "felt like" -10! 😳

Living up to my name with a question like this and whilst it is some time away yet, I do love to be organised... Will I still be required to have Travel Insurance for my British Isles cruise? I'm under the impression that you'd only need travel insurance if you were to leave the UK? Although I suppose the few hours we'll be spending in Cork on the final day will probably answer my question, but would still like some clarification please. 🙂

TIA x

Brilliant read, thank you 🙂

1 hour ago, Eglesbrech said:

One of my family members is a qualified professional in this field and his view is that January is not generally a good time to look at a healthier lifestyle as the psychological pressure of “New Year’s resolutions”, “dry January” etc set people up to fail. For those with issues one day at a time is apparently a better goal as if they slip they can simply start again without the pressure of having failed this January, so for this year.

 

The people who succeed would have succeeded anyway, regardless of the month. Good luck to them.

 

Lots of people pay for a Gym membership in January and quit by this point, get more depressed and actually do more of what they were trying to quit.

 

I suspect most of us could  wry easily give up alcohol for a month, we simply don’t choose to as we enjoy it (in moderation). Those who can’t are not going to manage just because it’s January.

I personally only drink on two occasions.. When it's my birthday.. and when it's not. 😉

this makes me worry for my British Isles cruise on Britannia in June 25.... 😟

With my little experience of cruising, I've often found the "older" passengers are a lot more fun and easy going, while most of the younger ones are sat around with their faces in their phones or just look utterly bored/miserable. I know what I prefer when I go on holiday, and if that means dancing away to Erasure at 1am with 70+ y/o Mavis and Jan from Scarborough then bring it on 🙂

Thank you so much Selbourne (and Mrs Selbourne!) for taking the time out from your holidays to provide us with such detailed reviews.. I'm getting excited for my holiday now, even if it's still 18 months away! Loving the sound of the menus, I assume it'll be typically the same fleet-wide (I'll be abord the Britannia).. although I am a bit concerned about their obsession to fling mushrooms on/in pretty much everything! Chicken Nuggets & Chips in the buffet for me, I guess..  😂😉

3 hours ago, mrsgoggins said:

Someone asked earlier about the activities on board such a long cruise. Now I've finally got the hand of posting photos, I'll attach today's itinerary.

 

I attended both talks this morning; Gilbert & Sullivan followed by the history of Hollywood and found both speakers to be excellent although the latter had technical issues with his presentation.  I'll be attending the follow-ons for both.

 

 

Oooh that Comedy Quiz sounds great! Let's hope they have one on Britannia when I'm on board!

1 hour ago, Pine Man said:

Honest Britannia reviews please?

 

An unfortunate title for your first forum post!

 

You only want honest reviews, suggesting that you consider some or many of them are dishonest?

when I say “honest reviews” I mean something that is a little bit more detailed than “Floating Butlins, don’t waste your money” with no further context or information which I’ve seen more than a few times on trip advisor/google. If someone has a negative cruise experience than that’s fine it’s not for everyone, I get that, however Fraudulent reviews can be found anywhere but I’d like to think somewhere like here may be a little more accurate. 

Having done a little bit of research on Limelight, I'm a little apprehensive about trying it to be honest as the menu doesn't seem at all enticing.. The sample menu seems to offer very limited choice (1 or 2 options).. Is there an option to go in just for the entertainment and no meal or is it a package deal, as it were?