snaefell

We are on Arcadia on May 14thy,today(April 30th) should have been the day bookings open for on board dining & the website is different but still shows Enquire On Board for Ocean Grill & Sindhu which of course are the only options on Arcadia,embarkation day is my Wife's Birthday & we are hoping for a table in OG,annoying isn't it!

I remember being on Britannia in her first summer,we were surprised to find wood where the paint had worn away,wallpaper hanging off & rather tarnished chrome all over the place,a ship ahead of her time!😆

In view of the temperatures reported for where she is at present I wonder how many have found the Crows Nest too cold!

I bet any burglars have trouble leaving,assuming they want to!

Does that mean I can't get my usual case of 6 bottles £16!?!😮

Thanks guys,still not working on my tablet but just tried my desktop using Chrome & got on just fine,new technology is wonderful!

I have been trying to sign in to My Cruise account for a few days now & keep getting a message that it is down for maintenance,we have a couple of weeks to play with but it is tough on anyone departing sooner with business to sort!😦😦

On our last trip on Britannia in 2018 they did scan bags on returning from shore excursions & confiscated bottles,something they hadn't done on our previous trip on her

Blackpool remember him pretty fondly too!

A guy I used to work with was known as 'bag of rags',no matter how clean his outfit was or even when it was brand new he never looked any better,lovely guy sadly no longer with us.

Of course I do,my Wife hates ironing so I often do it

Add colourful,usually very good quality & I would say again it is all a matter of opinion,I have had many "wow nice shirt" comments on board.

All a matter of opinion

Wow,football shirts 'slovenly',they cost a fortune & are usually superb quality even if you do stick up for someone else,surely it is a matter of opinion what is & isn't smart & I for one really don't give a damn what anybody else around me is wearing,I just concentrate on enjoying my holiday,on our last cruise in 2019 there was a photo shoot with the Captain at 1500hrs one hot steamy day,the bar made a strange sight,half the passengers in their DJ's & Gowns & the rest in shorts & vests! I do agree though that if P&O have rules then they should be enforced,I imagine their crews are stuck between two very differing type of cruise experience now,I get the impression that Iona & Arvia are aimed at a different clientel to the three older & smaller ships with poor old Britannia stuck somewhere in the middle! As for aft cabins,we had an aft corner cabin on Britannia a few years ago,huge balcony,loved the view over the wake,sheltered by the superstructure when at sea,hated how far it was back to the cabin after a hard night in the Crows Nest!

We have carried on wearing masks when on the bus,5 minutes on a packed bus with people coughing & sneezing all over you makes it seem a wonderful idea. Our last cruise saw little Oriental ladies at the entrances to the buffet shouting "washie,washie" with such vigour you wouldn't dare not wash your hands!

Thanks again,that is brilliant,that is my afternoon peace & quiet,sorry I mean my Wife's afternoon entertainment sorted!😆😆

That is brilliant thanks,certainly not cheap but at least it is low tech,should keep my OH happy😁😁 where do they play it?

We very much like to make it up as we go along,so many times at home when we have booked something in advance when the day comes around we really don't feel like it! On a cruise we would normally have a drink before dining(usually buffet these days) & then decide if we are heading for a show,the Crows Nest or our balcony. We once had an aft suite on Britannia,the cabin was marvelous but it is a bus ride after a long hard night in the Crows Nest! I find it quite funny to find Britannia referred to in one post as a small ship,we sailed on her in her first year when people were saying they wouldn't go near such a monster!

Grateful if anybody who has been on Arcadia lately could advise as to if/when Bingo takes place on board,how much it is & how high tech it is/isn't please?

And this is getting tedious!😮

Yes you really don't know what the future holds,the pandemic came at a really bad time for us,not getting any younger it put the brakes on travel just when we were already thinking the clock was ticking. As for ships in the future,is it really bigger ships,if ports start to restrict numbers are they not going to be a liability,useful for 'cruise bys' though! It must be difficult to plan to be fair,some ferry companies are already asking shipbuilders to fit good old fashion engines instead of nice clean gas units as the Ukraine conflict has made gas supply expensive & unreliable,as wars are sadly not likely to go away,knowing which way to go must be a nightmare,who knows the 'old brigade' may be around a while yet!

My Parents loved Malta,10 years ago looking for somewhere different for my Birthday in March we gave it a go,,the temperature was in the 70's,the locals were still in hats,coats,gloves,etc while we sunbathed,beautiful hotel,found some great places to eat & drink but overall the place didn't do it for us. even in March it seemed crazy busy,terrible traffic,buses are cheap but jam packed,we tried it again the following year,same result. Thinking about airports in our American road trip days we made the airport the start of our holidays,arriving around 5 or 6am for our flight,bacon butties,sherry trifle & pints of Guinness to start the day,wonderful,doesn't feel so relaxed at airports these days!

So much depends on where you live,we are not far from Liverpool but don't expect to see a ' proper' cruise terminal there in our lifetime,Southampton is far enough away to be off putting,our last journey back from there by coach was Good Friday a few years back & it took 7 hours,hoping for better next month! Had a bellyful of airports & airlines so we do travel by ferry more often,never had any real problems with that,including one sailing from Birkenhead to Belfast where our cabin was huge,King Size bed included,bigger than some cruise cabins we have had!😎

I agree about the appearance of the Keel & Cow in videos,the food looks good in the same videos. We will eat ashore if we are comfy where we are,sometimes we have been in too nice a place to move!

The subject of food reminds me of our last cruise,it was preceded by a 3 night hotel stay in Beijing along with complaints about the food....It was Chinese,or more importantly not what people were used to,RCI regulars were keen to assure us that the food on board would be fantastic...It wasn't!