kruzseeka

Very true but cheaper still (if available!) if you can use your obc supposing like many you have a large amount to spend.

Only to be spent on board. You could wait until boarding and hope your chosen excursions aren't sold out.

It's a tricky one. We once had a cabin under the Jacuzzi on the lido deck. The noise of the pumps kicking in and out all night meant we had two sleepless nights. We had complained and they said theyd get their engineering dept to look into it. At 3.30 am the next morning we rang reception. They said a deck officer would come. He eventually arrived. No noise! But thankfully part way through our discussion the pump started up. He immediately changed his tack and said would you like to move to a cabin further down the corridor to get some sleep and move your things tomorrow. We did! (They really couldn't be unaware of this situation - they must have had complaints before.) But it has made us very wary of cabin location - checking out what's above and below. No doubt the greatest percentage of cabins you could be allocated would be fine - but it is just how comfortable you are with that uncertainty. (Sun lounges being put out on the lido deck early morning, being under the running track, nightclub etc.) Price differential is obviously going to be a deciding factor and obc contributes to that consideration but as already mentioned spending the obc can become a bit of a project. Nice to have no drinks bill and 'free' excursions/speciality restaurants etc. but the amounts involved especially with additional benefits like share holders can make it a bit of a challenge. Not one that would beat me though! We left with 6x bottles of gin last trip and some nice whisky (and did try to go through the 'Something to Declare' but no customs staff to be seen anywhere!) Of course obc is worth a great deal more to us than it costs P&O. It's a marketing strategy to pull us in and creates this very dilemma. 🤔

And if it does: a) it's not my fault and b) someone else should sort it out.

Also been early May. Weather a bit variable - best take layers. They'd had a late fall of snow and there was snow on the mountain tops - looked magical. Like others, I'd have no worries going again in May.

Pleased you enjoy visiting Nico's as much as we do. We've even made a point of going for an ice cream in the pouring rain - although a rest with a Spritzer (and huge bowl of crisps 😉) wasn't an option on that occasion. Hopefully we shall go to Venice again and ensure standards haven't dropped. 😁

A three day pass on the vaporetto is another good deal - at least it worked really well for us. We bought it early afternoon one day so it ran out 72 hours later which allowed us to use it get to Piazzala Roma the morning we were leaving where we were able to catch the airport bus (also very reasonable/direct 20 mins to outside the airport entrance). We elected to use it one evening at dusk to travel from San Marco to P.Roma via the Grand Canal (iirc at least an hour's trip) then just stayed on and came back by which time it was dark and all the palaces along the grand canal were lit up with their chandeliers. It was like a excursion! We used the pass to go to the islands in the daytime (Burano, Murano and to Lido) then came back by mid afternoon by which time the cruise passengers were making their way back to port (I know - I've been one of them often enough!😀). But when you're staying there you have the advantage of wandering round the city late afternoon/early evening when it's very much quieter. Fabulous city. Recommendation - Nico's for icecream along the Guidecca Canal. Ice creams are superb but they also have a terrace on the waterfront where a Spritzer was extremely reasonable - probably gone up now but a favourite find of ours - just off the main tourist hotspots and therefore not a rip-off.

We like to go for a coffee to Camera de Lobos. It's a pretty little harbour where Churchill liked to paint. We just catch a local bus (it's close to Funchal) but this link,gives you some ideas of what else to do . You might like to include it in on your travels. https://www.madeira-web.com/en/places/camara-de-lobos.html We went from the harbour area on a Noddy train up to the cliff view point - second highest cliffs in Europe (or something like that) - where you get spectacular views if somewhat vertigo inducing! Safe travels. Have a lovely time. It will certainly be a lot warmer than it is here! ☺

But above Azamara 😲 Cunard only 1% higher Marella 6th place 9% higher Makes interesting reading but depends entirely on who has responded to the survey, what their expectations are and what your priorities are - star ratings for different categories don't seem consistent with placings. Regent equal or out-perform Marella under star ratings but are one place lower. Quite difficult to interpret.

https://v.ftcdn.net/02/15/14/13/240_F_215141337_EXru6hJ3gtbYL8bw5gXnEDjtaJdtYIKc_ST.mp4 If this link works it gives you an idea of its location and the immediate area.

There are a number of options https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Stavanger/Sverd-i-fjell There's not much there apart from the monuments though by the looks of it on Google Earth. Have you been to Stavanger before and exhausted all it has to offer? We researched the monuments as we'd been to Stavanger several times but decided against going as we felt there was more of interest in Stavanger itself.

I don’t know why I am cos I can prove the sale of the phone and the motorbike- properly could for other stuff too. In that case I'd have no problem taking however much to deposit in the bank. Why would they refuse it? Is there a limit on cash deposits? Tbh I'd be more concerned about the large amounts of cash from buyers of expensive items you are selling. What's wrong with a bank transfer?

Only perhaps if you wanted to take advantage of the 5% interest they are giving on balances up to £1500 at the moment on FlexDirect accounts. From their site: 5% AER (4.89% gross a year) in-credit interest fixed for 12 months on balances up to £1,500.

I don't think it's a matter of upgrading your FlexDirect Account but opening a new additional FlexPlus Account and then perhaps getting them to switch your Direct account transactions to the Plus account - or keep your Direct a/c and just have the Plus account for the travel benefits making sure you finance the monthly payments. We had both at one time but only have the Flexplus now for the travel insurance (but we're not too mercenary as we do have other Nationwide products. 😁) Pleased the figures look promising. Hope you get a favourable outcome tomorrow.

Correct.

The Flexplus gives worldwide cover and as joint count holders you are both covered. The age extention last time we paid was £65 p.a. and also covers both account holders. Some restrictions like max 30/31(?) days for any holiday (but you can extend that, presumably at a cost) and of course the critical medical declarations which may be covered or come with a surcharge. Cruises are covered but for £40 p.a. you can add on additional cruise cover for missed ports and cabin confinement. It doesn't need to be your primary current account i.e. one in which you pay in a minimum each month or have 2 or more DD going out. Hope it fits the bill for you.

On Ch4 Travel Man: 48 hours in...... , the destination this week is Split (Ch4 Series 12 episode 2). Not my favourite presenter and quite a lot of 'fill-in' with various activities but if you persevere, it does give a flavour of what you can see in the old town for anyone interested in perhaps staying in Split for a DIY day.

It always used to be a tender dropping you off at the harbour in town. Last time we went we were docked in a port area to the right of the town as you look at Split from the sea. Not far to walk into the centre - about 10 minutes.

Agree about the DiY in Dubrovnik. I'd recommend getting off as early as you can and going straight up to the cable car as it can get busy with queues and it's quieter before the organised tours arrive - so perhaps best tackled first.

Exactly. There are always disclaimers. Weather and unforeseen events can impact on anticipated port times but that is true for all cruise lines who do publish timings.

Not an answer to your query but depending on what you plan to do there it's a really good port to walk off and explore yourself. If you've not been before there's Diocletian's Palace on the waterfront to explore, plenty of cafes along the promenade, a 'beach' round the promontory (a concrete beach/ramp gently sloping into the sea - popular with locals and easy to go for a swim should you wish). So if you were to do your own thing there you can tailor your time to suit. That's not to say I find P&Os policy in respect of port times acceptable - I think it's cynical as they have to book a berth so know when they're supposed to be there (unforeseen events and weather to one side) so why not let passengers know? I still think it's to promote sales of excursions deterring folk from planning DiY for fear of not having sufficient time. But if you're happy to stay in Split then it's easy to DiY without having advance notice of port times. Anyway, hope you can get some info as I know I feel happier knowing specifics too but enjoy Split whatever you decide to do.

That's good. Will try that for our next cruise. 👍

I think that there is an element of this in their strategy. We happily explore independently using local trains, buses, ferries etc to get about if it is practicable. However to do this with confidence you do need to have an idea of your port times to plan and be sure it's doable giving plenty of time to get back before departure. Early/late morning/afternoon could give you perhaps 2/3 hours difference in terms of earliest arrival and latest departure compared with the latest arrival and earliest departure within the vague P&O windows. I don't think the stressy comment was being critical - more directed at P&Os agenda. I too think it's a rather customer unfriendly ploy to make it more difficult to plan for DiY. If there is doubt about whether or not an independent excursion is possible if the shortest port time applies, some passengers at least may be persuaded to take ship's trips to be on the safe side, avoiding the anxiety of not having enough time to explore independently.

Tom's Port Guides are very detailed (we print off the bits which are relevant plus maps) but don't cover all areas. There is one for Dubrovnik but I think that may be the only one in Croatia. But maybe helpful for different destinations another time. https://www.google.com/search?q=toms+port+guide+dubrovnik&oq=toms+port+guide+dubrovnik&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30j0i390l2.12093j0j8&client=tablet-android-samsung&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

We have these masks and wore them in the theatre, lifts etc on Aurora last summer. Despite our best efforts though we did succumb and ended up in isolation. One of those things. But to do your best to protect yourself in crowded areas is sensible imo and personal choice. It does also protect others and for them to be critical of anyone wearing masks is both unreasonable and overlooks the fact that it's in their interests too - other issues to one side, it may only be a cold but prevents sneezing and couching over others. One observation - when we were being escorted to our confinement cabin a member of staff with a 'tank' on his back with a spray device attached followed us spraying all the corridors behind us - and critically the lift (which was only being used by us) after we vacated it. The conclusion being they were trying to sanitise the empty lift before anyone else used it. This made us think - we had been in the habit of wearing masks in the lifts when others were in the lift but not if it was empty before we got in. Now there are so many places and occasions when you can pick up infections including flu etc that may be only a drop in the ocean in terms of risk but in future if we decided to wear masks on board, would elect to wear masks in empty lifts too. Also on the day when I became ill in the evening, we'd used the Andalsnes Gondola and were the only people wearing masks in a packed gondola which holds bout 40 passengers. I hope our actions prevented quite a lot of people from catching my infection - I think some at least were lucky on that day that we were wearing good quality masks!