lancashire_cruisers

Congratulations on your retirement, may it be long and full of adventures ❤️

Tipping is already included in the price you pay for the cruise so we don’t tip extra and would only do so if we received exceptional service. We much prefer the tipping included model as the handing over of envelopes always felt quite uncomfortable.

Freezing cold overnight again, minus 5 I believe but another blindingly sunny day today. We’ve now received our travel claim pay out for the cruise we had to cancel and it only took a week to receive the money from the date we sent all of the documents - very impressed with the insurance company! Have a great day everyone and be careful on slippy pavements.

Just had a google and if the clinic is the one that’s part of the Circle Health group then I can add my own experience of using Circle Health. I had my recent shoulder replacement done by a surgeon who works for Circle Health and whilst I had the actual operation done at a different hospital by the same surgeon due to it being closer to home I was really impressed with the set up of the Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle. I’d been through 2 other private hospitals and was less than impressed with both of them, in particular the Spire group is one to watch out for as they are not only incredibly expensive but also don’t include a lot of what you’d expect within their prices and aren’t clear on what is included. My operation with them would have been over £4,000 more expensive with a surgeon I wasn’t particularly impressed with.

For me health is priceless and your kids would rather see you not in pain than have an inheritance so I say go for it.

I’m so sorry for your loss and having had to make the same decision for my Mum I can understand how you’re feeling. Please be assured that you did the absolute best thing for her as she was somewhere where she could be kept comfortable and looked after.

Just bought Wi-Fi for our 2025 cruise for £181 instead of £252!

Beautiful photos and the sighting of whales - just wow! Carry on having an amazing cruise.

Another incredible review Tiger. So detailed and humorous, we should have been on the Iona cruise after you but I feel like I’ve been onboard with you (not in a creepy, stalker type way 😂).

I wish I could like this more than once as it summarises the issue precisely. I have a disability and whilst my mobility is OK at the moment it is declining and I don’t see the issue in having to complete the form. Nor do I think it’s demeaning or insulting to have to prove you can manage the tender. It’s for the safety of everyone and just common sense isn’t it?

If you use a certain social media site ending in book there’s an Iona group on there that has reviews of most of the cabins.

I know and it was older people too 😂😂

This was in the days before drinks packages. We also witnessed similar behaviour on Aurora.

Oh they absolutely do. In fact I witnessed 2 older people having a physical fist fight on Oriana (this was before they ruined Oriana and Aurora by making them adult only 😉). We started cruising when our daughter was 2, she’s 24 now, so this kind of nonsense about kids has been around since before then. Adults have the choice to sail on adult only ships whereas there aren’t any family only ships. I could detail the verbal abuse we received as a cruising family over the years but to be honest it makes my boil even now.

This is my Great Grandad who was a Gunner with the Royal Field Artillery in WW1.

Yes you should drink plenty of water before a blood test to make it easier to find a vein, coming from someone with the worst veins on the planet!

My expensive bags have never seen a floor in their lives! That’s what bag hooks are for 😂

Condolences to you and the family Josy. Sometimes there just aren’t words ❤️❤️

So heartbreaking for all concerned. I’m not sure how old the children are but I hope they’re able to say goodbye to their Mum if they can cope with it. Admittedly I was older but I found it a great comfort to be able to say goodbye to my Dad and tell him I loved him during his last few hours at the hospice ❤️

Being a Scouser I was brought up listening to the Beatles amongst others despite not being born until the late 60s. In My Life is my absolute favourite song from a very wide ranging musical taste. I was lucky enough to see Paul McCartney when he did a hometown gig as part of our Capital of Culture celebrations at Anfield, we had tickets in the Kop which my Man U supporting husband was not impressed by 😂 In terms of concerts, one of the best I’ve ever been to was James Brown at the Summer Pops in Liverpool, what an incredible night!

Having been a pescatarian for over 44 years (yes I’m a trendsetter don’t you know 😂😂) I would always choose the twice baked soufflé without hesitation with asparagus to start - yummy! There’s always one menu which doesn’t appeal but we just either go to the buffet or try and get into one of the speciality restaurants. That’s one of the great things about cruising you can always find somewhere to eat. I hope you continue to have a good cruise.

Thanks for the good wishes. My shoulder has been a bit tender hopefully no further damage but I’ll test it properly tomorrow with a full run of my physio exercises 😱. In another development a house on the junction where it happened has CCTV and they have very kindly provided the footage for us to send to our insurers. I forgot to add the lease on my car is due to end in June next year so I won’t have it much longer.

Thankfully my husband was with me. The other driver admitted liability at the scene and said she didn’t see me 🤷‍♀️ I’m getting a dashcam for Christmas 😂

My update seems so inconsequential after reading Sue’s news. I hope John isn’t in too much pain and you manage to sort something out for getting around with your Mum. Yesterday I had another go at driving after my operation and all was going well, my shoulder felt much more comfortable than last time I tried, then someone pulled out from a side road and smashed into my side of the car. 😫

An excellent live from as usual! Our now cancelled Iona cruise was also the Canaries so I’m living it through your blog. We’ve only been on the big V once and we also had a lot of crashing and banging when we hit a force 12 going through Cap Finisterre but we put that down to the ship being quite new - obviously not the case! 😂 Enjoy the rest of the cruise!