Eglesbrech

Fred Olsen allow saver passengers to select a dining time but charge £2pppd for this service. Perhaps P&O would get less saver passengers queuing to change if they allowed them to pay in advance to set a guaranteed preference. Once a dining seating is allocated the only way for saver passengers to change is to pay up. Stops all the “I absolutely need x dining because of Y and z” conversations. Charging would also keep the higher paying select passengers happy as this would be a more tangible “perk” for select over saver (and I say this as a frequent user of saver fares).

As @david63 says it pays to research in advance given your example above.

My favourite news story today is the shop keeper on Sanday in the Orkneys (population 500) who thought he was ordering 80 Easter eggs and got 80 boxes. He has 720 eggs so more than the total population! He is now raffling eggs to raise funds for the RNLI. Egg - sasperated or what

It’s been a while since we ever booked a P&O cruise while onboard so I’ve lost track of what this actually offers by way of any benefits. I’m curious if it is actually worthwhile or if I’m just as well monitoring what’s on offer from the comfort of my sofa. I’ve had a look and there seems to be low deposit and some sort of “up to” onboard credit. For anyone who has taken advantage recently (and willing to share) what did you get and are there any restrictions eg does it have to be a select booking? Was it eventually a better package than you would have got at a later date. Any thoughts?

As above there is the Premier Inn right at the dock which is handy. We have also stayed in the Village Hotel which is about a 10 minute drive away. It’s a very large hotel with lots of rooms so usually competitive prices, often less than the Premier Inn. Quite a modern place and this is reflected in the food which tends to be more grazing than a meal.

Isn’t it dreadful that we are all at the mercy of the whims of insurance companies. The delays in the NHS completing tests or treatments etc doesn’t help either. They are quick enough to take decades of premiums for absolutely nothing but not so good when there are even minor health concerns that are not “diagnosed”. Glad for Josy.

https://www.carnation.co.uk/recipes/key-lime-fudge It’s a Nestle recipe but I play about with it a bit. I add in a bit more butter and base to the recipe to make it more of tray bake cake. I also add in the juice of the 3 limes as well as the zest (rather than just one lime which makes it far too sweet and less flavour of lime imo). If you do that it needs to set overnight and you also need to use a high cocoa butter white chocolate.

They are not cut as yet so still cooling in the pans. I haven’t put on the fairy cakes as they have the persons name and date of birth on.

We do a minimum of one cruise with P&O per year, we used to do more. Like you we recognise the bits we don’t like (the cheese plate😀) but also comment on the good bits (speciality restaurants, some of the shows etc) and balance that against the price we actually paid. Is P&O as good as say the MSC Yacht Club experience. Absolutely not but then the two experiences can’t be compared based on the price paid. I don’t think I would however abandon the forum if I stopped cruising with P&O. There are some valued members of our cruise community who for health or other reasons haven’t cruised in quite a while and they still join in here and add greatly to the conversation.

Well I am shattered and now sitting down with a large glass of wine and my feet up. OH the good soul that he is, is doing the clear up (and devouring the chocolate and key lime mix that’s left in the pots and bowls). I have spent the last 5 hours baking. Rich man’s shortbread, key lime cake, rocky road and butter iced fairy cakes. We have an afternoon tea for a special family birthday tomorrow in the extended family so I said I would do a bit of baking for it. Its quite satisfying seeing it all come together. I don’t batch bake often now. I used to do it for scout events when my nephew was a member and for church socials but new rules mean things have to be prepared on the premises. Shame really. I hope everything comes out now and I haven’t over boiled the toffee or added too much freshly squeezed lime!

@grapau27 as Pauline knows blessed are the peacemakers. All you can do is offer an olive branch, it’s not in your control if it is accepted. I feel sorry really for people who carry bitterness as it only harms them. A very difficult time for you all and I sure Sarah appreciates your support through it all.

I would say no it’s not worth missing dinner on a 5 day cruise. You can however do lunch instead which is a nice way to try one of the speciality restaurants. Your butler can arrange this for you once onboard.

I just read this out to my OH and he visibly winced. Well seen men have never had a leg wax!

I’m onboard relatively soon so will let you know what I think, for what my opinion is worth. Selbourne said the Head Chef has changed so things may be on the up (hopefully).

A fair and balanced assessment as ever Sebourne.

As Tring says Fred allow you to sit comfortably indoors and wait. To be honest with a time of 2pm it’s likely that if you are a bit early you may just get checked in and get onboard if embarkation is going well. IMO what P&O do is disgraceful.

Even if you think the menus are vaguely the same (and personally I don’t think they are, particularly not for lunch), the quality is not IMO. Just as one small example do you get the same choice of cheese now that you got 15 years ago? If you do then can you tell me how you manage that please. Recently all I have been presented with is some very small and very bland bits of over chilled basic cheese and it’s exactly the same plate every single night. Have you seen a Stilton soaked in port on formal nights recently because I haven’t even when it is requested. The cheese used to come out on a board and you selected what you wanted from it which the waiter cut. The round of Stilton used to be scooped our at the table. All of this was not that long ago so I’m not talking ancient history here. I also used to get a nice little bowl with a selection of nuts, apricot, dried apple etc with the cheese which I haven’t had recently. The choice of crackers has gone form a full basket with a good choice of different types of crackers down to almost take it or leave it. Even of the formal night recently when the menu actually said the cheese was different, out came the same tired little plate. I asked about that, pointed out the menu and they didn’t actually have what was on printed there in the kitchen. Food is very subjective but some things have manifestly changed and not for the better IMO. Yes we pay much much less but personally I’d rather pay a bit more and go back to having better quality and choice. The cheese is just one insignificant example but as I seldom eat dessert it’s one I certainly notice.

That’s absolutely dreadful and actually so unusual for Madeira where they are normally very nice.

Really interesting to read about your cruise. Thanks for doing the “live”, much appreciated. We are really lucky on this part of CC to have so many interesting travel blogs. On some of the forums there are next to none.

@Megabear2 if @zap99 doesn’t use it then he is still paying twice. Any how back onto the topic at hand. @enjoysailing that’s a fair question however we have been on many ships where there is a split between package and no package passengers. I haven’t noticed any preference given to non package passengers. The only “difference” I have noticed is a preference to serve some passengers from the US who drop a cash tip with every drink (over and above the % gratuity already added to the drink). That’s not an issue on P&O where most Brits who choose to tip, tend to do in once towards the end of the cruise, not with each order. Out of curiosity what are the current average prices for standard things like beer, wine, decent G&T etc. We were on Iona last year but they have obviously gone up in price since then. Just curios, like Bazrat I don’t go on holiday to count the pennies.

Yes they have rather being pushing it.

It all depends what the price rise (if it is confirmed) is. If it’s just an annual updating for higher costs then there will probably be a limited reaction from pax. As I’ve mentioned before it feels like the P&O and Princess brands are pulling ever closer together. Higher drinks prices will mean some don’t purchase as much but this is just as likely to push others towards the drinks packages. On Princess it seems like most people buy a package of some sort because the price per drink is so high. Perhaps P&O are looking for the same result? Until we see if / what any price change is it’s all speculation (which is always fun and there would be fewer posts on here if we didn’t engage in a bit of it).

She has you two which is a blessing.

How is Sarah doing? Im sure there will be many prayers for her Dad from people who knew him. My prayers are for you, Pauline and Sarah, while I have never met you in person I do feel I know you. God Bless.

Berry picking. One in the basket, one in my mouth, one in the basket, one in my mouth. I used to love picking blae berry. You don’t see them as much now but we had a prolific picking place not far from the house. Amazing in a pie.