Presto2

We were at a New Year's Eve celebration on land last night and at certain times, despite excellent organisation from the venue, there were queues at the bar. I'm not saying that this is the reason on Ventura, but if you go to any sort of celebration you know that there are times that you need to avoid having to get a drink. (5 minutes before the bar closes and 10 minutes to midnight).

Wishing you all a peaceful, healthy and happy New Year 2024. Thinking particularly about Host Sharon and Avril and Frank. (And anyone else facing difficult situations at the start of a New Year). We start a new chapter today as we have both officially retired. Hubby has worked since he was 16 in industry and then IT in education for 22 years and me 38 in education. Our first port of call is the Caribbean once we've put our lovely static caravan to bed for the Winter later this week. 🙂 Did a bit of partying last night in to the early hours so will be starting the New Year as we mean to go on ----- resting and sleeping 😉

Didn't know there was a category for not wearing them ..... thanks Kalos. Will now look to see what it says

We are off on our cruise on Britannia very soon (is it that close?) Just researching what we need to take and everyone I have spoken to has mentioned the need for flight socks to reduce the risk of DVT. Has anyone any recommendations or what we need to look for as we haven't got a clue. Thanks 🙂

Ohhh have to put this right ---- it was Thomas Cook not Monarch with the new plane ! Monarch was the one where the pilot refused to fly. Thought I'd put the record straight 😉

The last flight we did with Monarch was on a brand new plane - it was a joke at the time as the pilot was so excited and told us we were the first passengers to fly on it. He was like a child with a new toy. It even had that 'new car' smell. The pilot also shared the good news that his co pilot was new too --- didn't go down well as there has just been an incident where a co pilot has flown his plane in to the mountains because he was feeling upset. Boy did the landing get a good round of applause! Looking back it was a beautiful aircraft. Wonder who purchased those new ones from Monarch?

Have read this thread with interest as we are trying to decided if we should book for the Caribbean for 2025. (We haven't been for 2024 yet but we think we will love it!). Have reflected on our flights in the past and the various carriers. (The answers are below 😉 ) One has been amazing and we have never had a major delay - at most 30 minutes - and we have used them the most. We did have an aborted landing though due to high winds that freaked me out. One we have used quite a lot, but once had a flight that was delayed for about 4 / 5 hours - the plane we were supposed to be on had a problem and they had to fly another one in from Germany to take us to the Canary Islands. Same carrier who once served me a veggie meal for some reason --- tbh it was nice. We also had an aborted landing at the end of this one so to say the flight was memorable is an understatement. One we had used a lot and once we had a major delay due to an engine issue. The pilot could have flown to pick us up but as we were in Lapland he chose to err on the side of caution and wait until the next day which meant that we were stranded in Lapland (in a lovely hotel) over night. He stood at the exit to apologise for making us late and everyone applauded him and thanked him. Great company. One who we have only used once and the service and meal was terrible. The 'meal' was half a sandwich and a cup of water. Staff miserable and condescending. Would never fly with them again. One who was excellent but we had one delay in Cyprus and had to wait for an hour for take off. I suppose what I am trying to say is that issues can happen with all air lines. I wonder if the poor publicity that Maleth Aero had in the beginning has made everyone look at them through a magnifying glass so no issue is being over looked. (If you get me). No airline is perfect and most, thankfully, are very good or better. Re the airlines above: A : Jet2 (Now let's all persuade P&O to use them to fly to their cruises 😉 ) B : Thomson / TUI C : Monarch D : British Airways E : Excel

Just read this Avril. Thoughts and prayers for you both tonight. Xx

Sadly, some parents can't look after their own children when they are in the house with them, so not much hope on a ship ....

No, the last one ---- and before that Colin Baker

As long as it avoids preaching to us or having an agenda then, as massive Dr Who fans we will be happy as the new guy seemed ok. Not sure that it will be the case though as RTDavies has always had agendas. Felt a bit too Disney too - with references to Star Wars and that silly singing ..... Having said that, we haven't watched it since Peter Capaldi left, so we will see what happens .. I miss John Pertwee, Tom Baker and Sarah Jane --- simpler days

Britannia - she was the only ship where you couldn't pre book so they've obviously listened to what people have said as it was causing them some grief. 🙂

Some good news re our cruise this morning. We have just been able to book our speciality dining restaurants for our cruise on our personaliser for the times and dates we wanted. YEAH. For those of you who remember our concerns early in September you will know how much of a relief this is for us. Very happy now. We're also really pleased as booking seems to have opened a little early, so no sitting up at midnight tomorrow night. A late night / early morning on the 31st is enough for one weekend ! Just the immigration form now ...

I am not criticising at all but if it was predicted to be a bad storm was there no way to avoid it? Again, not a criticism but I thought they tried to avoid serious storms if possible.

Sometimes wish we could respond with figure screaming 😱 as an official emoji

Long time since I last watched him. Classic. Off to get myself a black felt tip 😉

We had a similar situation on the A55 as far as Chester..terrible driving conditions and some people so close to the car infront for some reason.

We fly on the 13th ... ho ho ho. I'm.not a particularly good flier so the thoguht of 9 hrs on a plane doesn't fill me with joy. The latest incident with the turbulence hasn't filled me with much confidence either so will have to partake of many drinks to help me to cope ;-) My excuse and I'm sticking to it ....

Morning Josy. We were in Wales at our caravan amidst thunder lightening hail and strong winds. Thankfully we were still in the same plot this morning so the caravan must be chained down well. Not sure about the power cut but our alarm hasn't told us it switched off so hoping all is OK when we get home.

Despite a disappointing and frustrating cruise on Britannia in June have thought of the following. It has surprised me ... * The excitement at Keele Services waiting for the coach * Queuing to embark again in Southampton.....it was.good to be back after so much time had passed that I got quite choked up * Flam and the sail out that evening ... it was stunningly beautiful and a fabulous day. We are in Google Maps as proof ! * The Epicurean evening meal * The choir that joined us in Stavanger. It made me cry. * Waffles by a stunning lake * A boat trip to see an amazing waterfall.. * Seeing the white cliffs of Dover on the way home * The last day sitting in the sunset bar in the sun watching the wake with a good friend and hubby Just writing this has made me think that it wasn't that bad at all ........ Happy cruising 2024 everyone

Is that the same as Postman's Knock? Great in terraced streets. Tie the door handles together then knock on both and run to hide and watch. I was generally a good girl really but on occasion ...

Same here. We always seem to buy too much. Wondering how out waist lines are going to cope going straight from Christmas to a cruise. Think we may hit the sales and buy something big and baggy for when the other stuff shrinks on the ship !

That's really helpful .. thanks. We fly out the 2nd day and have looked at the beach breaks and then straight to the airport but hubby not too sure about being in a beach then 9 hrs in a plane. Was the ship pretty quiet on disembarkation day? Am guessing that for us half will be off exploring and the other half will be like us either off wandering, on an excursion or lazing about.

But there are the same rules wherever you fly to ..... anywhere in Europe as well as further afield. I've never been on a long haul flight ... and this news doesn't fill me with confidence ... but I know the rules from all other flights. ?????

Have to say that we have never yet been on a cruise that was not in school holidays on any cruise line due to our jobs. To be honest we have never had any issues with the behaviour of the children at all ... those we have seen being rude and obnoxious were adults both America and what I'd call posh British. Just saying.