DamianG

Good luck to First Folio today @Megabear2

Execs (including Mr. Ludlow complete with man bag and with his hands in his pockets) stood around for a few minutes and one got his tape measure out. Then they left the engineers to get on with it. Get the biggest lump hammer out....

Good day working in the City (London) yesterday and an unexpected drink after work with colleagues. The 7:03 train home was an old set with no seat reservations visible but luckily (?) when I got to my seat the kid sat next to me had dumped his bag on it. The train was standing room only and so many passengers were being asked to remove bags from seats. The kid next to me put his hoody up and duly fell asleep on my shoulder (eventually woke up when the train jolted but never said a word). Another passenger went to get something out of his bag on the rack above me and some water spilt on me (just a tiny bit so no big deal but still a shock!). We were delayed just outside Wakefield as the train in front was waiting for police to attend (no more information given) then as passengers were lining the aisle ready to get off an old chap dropped his rucksack on me. It was quite a journey but at least I got BBC iPlayer working (sort of) and could watch MasterChef. I was home an hour later than expected at 10:35pm and have just had confirmation of a 50% refund on my train ticket. 5pm and the start of the weekend can't come soon enough today!

I have a few from our recent cruise on Arvia.

We’ve had D732 & D733 on Azura & Ventura. We didn’t experience any late night noise from the Manhattan or Havana club lounges.

With my preference for quiet carriages I’ve had a few similar instances over the years and have given up trying to do anything about it. Last time I asked a guard to have a word with someone she initially couldn’t understand what I was asking and wasn’t aware that we were in the quiet carriage (or was playing dumb).

Not at all! They are just canvas zip wallets so nothing special really but the Mountain Warehouse versions served us well. For example, I took around a dozen shirts which all neatly folded (i.e., squashed down) into a single organiser. Michelle fitted even more of her tops into another one then you just fit each into your case like a jigsaw puzzle. Neither of really thought they’d make any difference as we were packing the same amount of clothes after all, but they really do help compact everything. It felt easier unpacking too. As an aside we bought some from Amazon that we sent straight back as they seemed so small & didn’t look robust. As ever there are lots of price options including some really expensive versions but we are happy with what we chose at the current sale prices.

I’m currently on the 8:15am Leeds to London, sat in the supposedly “quieter” carriage. The lady sat behind me has been a nuisance having a series of loud telephone conversations non-stop for the whole journey so far. We’ve just had the ticket checks & the guard asked her why she was on this service with a 9:45am ticket! She appeared to be getting argumentative but he calmed her down & generously let her off from paying the full walk up fair £167. As a regular on these services I know that the later options Monday to Friday after 9am are significantly cheaper & I can’t help but feel that she knew what she was doing despite her pleas of not understanding. I agree that the ticket options are far too convoluted & doubtless the guards have to deal with this sort of scenario regularly.

We tried packing cubes for our recent cruise, weren’t sure if they were just a gimmick (especially Michelle) but they worked so well we’ve just bought another set. https://www.mountainwarehouse.com/patterned-travel-organiser-3-pack-p25427.aspx/brown/

Thank you as @Selbourne for another fascinating, thoughtful and balanced review of your cruise. We sailed on Iona in April 2022 which (despite being during school holidays) was only 2/3 full as per the restrictions at that time. It was a world away from our recent experience on Arvia, as we were able to use the My Holiday webpage for every dining booking and never waited longer than 15 minutes on any occasion. Whilst I would never sail on Arvia again, I certainly would give Iona another go, even during school holidays. Best regards Damian

No apology necessary, glad you got a great reply from @TigerB

Yes, we've watched a few of their YouTube vlogs. Another favourite of ours is Travel Blog Jamie, always fun and informative. I'm hoping we may see a YouTube video or two from Rich & Sarah? 😉

My condolences, what a difficult time for you. Thank you for posting such a lovely reflection at the end of your message, it certainly resonates for me.

Good luck with yours, I'm about to compose mine to them about Arvia! I hope that we both receive an appropriate response.

Thanks Helen, we didn’t actually use any of the restaurants where you need to pay a supplement so I’ve no information on prices unfortunately. I’m sure that someone in here will have a better idea though. Enjoy your cruises, I’m sure they’ll be worth the wait! Damian

We love Cadiz and would love to have a land based holiday there one day. It doesn’t appear to be too easy to get there from the UK but that is probably why it isn’t swamped with tourists and is therefore even more appealing.

MSC Virtuosa next July, our first non-P&O cruise since 2003. Back to a standard balcony cabin but with premium drinks package included and significantly cheaper than P&O for a similar itinerary as this year plus 2 more ports. After much negotiation MSC have also matched our P&O loyalty status straight away despite this being our first voyage with them. We’re already excited and are lapping up any YouTube videos about the ship that we can find.

Belated Happy Anniversary @grapau27 hope you're having a lovely day.

Thank you and the same to @SeaJane @Josy1953 24 P&O cruises and the first time I've felt the need for sending in a formal complaint.

Hi MB I intend to write to P&O about some of our experiences on Arvia last 2 weeks. I've never written a letter or email of complaint to P&O previously so would you suggest this email address for that purpose? Thanks Damian

Balcony furniture scraping noises were also a constant feature of our cruise though I didn't mention them (plenty of other things to grumble about as it was). Mum and sister had a really noisy family not directly above their cabin (one across) which their cabin neighbour (directly beneath the racket) said ruined their cruise experience. We took our time getting off in Valencia but could see the queue for the shuttle buses from our balcony. It was all very orderly until the crew released the next 50 or so from the single file line and it then turned into a sprint to get to the bus and push on first! It probably wasn't like that all the time but another example of poor manners.

In Britannia's maiden season at the Peninsular Club lunch on our cruise several of our table guests complained that P&O were "pushing passengers away from the sea" without a promenade deck and limited sea views from the Atrium. I honestly feel that this was a factor in the design of the atriums on Iona and Arvia which have gone completely the opposite way. I do like the sea views from the Atrium but the window frame structures around them are not the prettiest. It can also get incredibly loud with some of the entertainment that they put on in there, way over the occasional ball room dancing or bands that they put on in the Atrium on some of the older ships. 5/10 for me, mainly because of the sea views. I'm sure they could do better.

Just need to let my boss know that there's a family emergency and I'll be on my way down. We are all family on here, right?

Thanks for a great cruise blog @SarahHben Wonderful photos as always from you!

I hope that you have a great cruise and that our negatives haven't put you off in any way.