Megabear2

Tuesday 30th April. She's currently en route stopping in Gibraltar.

The lady I currently see is contracted to Wiltshire Council and the course I have been following is actually provided by them as part of something called Healthy Wiltshire. I was recommended to self refer by my GP surgery as I have struggled with weight issues since I had cancer a long time ago. At that point I was on trial medication and my weight ballooned as a result - I was a very skinny size 10 at diagnosis and in four months went to a rather large size 20 whilst on the medication and after 5 years of that medication losing the weight is a never won battle to date. My course is in three stages. The first is a nutritionist who provides monthly plans, the second is a fitness coach and the third is the health coach. It is a year course for free, although I do pay a subsidised rate for extra gym classes. The first phase was 6 months which started in late October and consisted of the nutrition plan and exercise coach. There were 6 weekly meetings to start (one to one) which went to fortnightly. That phase finished this month - I was a little behind due to being ill in January. I am now on 6 weekly meetings which will after 4 sessions go to two three monthly meet ups and one final one six months later. The health coach and exercise plan continues through the entire 12 months and now I'm past my commitment to attend a class, workout in the gym or swim twice a week the frequency is down to me. I swim three times a week by choice and add the odd session the gym or a class of some sort if I have time. At the end of October I can choose to continue at a cost of £25 per month which will cover the health coach once a month, the health club membership and the fitness coach. I intend to continue as I find the support very helpful. I had the choice of zoom or in person and chose the latter because I'm very lacking in control unless everything is regimented! I understand quite a lot of councils used to offer this programme in conjunction with the NHS but unfortunately due to cost issues many no longer do.

Excellent news. I hope you enjoy your cruise. Perhaps you can let us know how it went at some point as it is always nice to hear back. Have a wonderful time.

I've only ever watched one of these things, a guy caught up in the Maleth 12 hour overnight fiasco, and to be truthful I could not believe that people actually tune in to any of this. However the filming bloggers do not irritate me anywhere near as much as the general passengers who choose to Facetime or whatever with their families in public areas. I object very much to hearing Billericay Dickie and co giving vivid discussions of their days to Uncle Ernie back home. By all means contact home but do it in a private area where I do not have to listen, okay Babe...

That's good. Unfortunately not on Britannia in January or surprisingly Arvia last May. Strangely the thermal suite did show in our diary but not treatment

That's an excellent example. The classic drinks package includes P&O's own brand gin and not Bombay Sapphire. The "app" is indeed the halfway house the same as Cunard's. However I have found the Cunard one more helpful with additional information such as the daily programme and spa bookings shown in it. P&O's is rather more basic with these items not showing. You can book dinner slots on it in the same way as the Cunard one, it shows restaurant availability, theatre information, your onboard account log in to your wifi, and book/see excursion availability. I'm unsure why - could be number actually using it - but although an identical set up the Cunard one seems to be more reliable. Not having sailed on the two smaller ships to date I cannot say how the freedom dining options work on them, but there have been reports it can be messy on Arcadia. However a lot seems to depend on your choice of dining time, we dine earlier and have had no problems with freedom dining on Britannia or Azura yet others report that they have encountered troubles on the former. Ironically my biggest delay in getting a table in recent times was on QM2 last year so really it is more likely governed by numbers and times than a precise science.

There has/intend to be an across the board price rise which will affect the drinks prices and speciality dining. Currently boarding Britannia today AndyMichelle are going to source new bar menus and post on their thread so worth looking at before deciding on the drinks package. I assume you are used to Cunard's somewhat enormous wine and drinks menus and you may find the choices of gins etc somewhat small in the Classic drinks package. The deluxe drinks package will offer more choice in brands although it too is considerably smaller than Cunard's. Regarding the ships both are scheduled for a large investment and upgrade, Arcadia in November 2024 and Aurora in April 2025. It was stated this will be major" so hopefully both will be in tip top shape. For familiarity Arcadia of course was meant to be Queen Victoria whereas Aurora is unique and one of the last of her breed. I have not travelled on either but have taken the plunge on an August Aurora cruise this year, chosen on itinerary.

Have a great cruise. If Hyacinth gets too overcome with excitement perhaps you can don your Onslow persona and wear her out on the dance floor. I would be very interested in whether the spa has undergone any upgrade and if the thermal suite in particular has had the warm beds and ice room sorted - they were not operational in January along with various other niggling broken bits and pieces. Thank you, have a fabulous time, I'm not jealous at all ....

In fairness I don't think John was asking for your personal information more we UK residents are interested in what US travellers do to cover themselves in the event of medical problems and return home if they are unable to travel on their arranged flights. You need to understand it is completely alien to UK residents to partake in any packaged holiday without full travel insurance, it is in the contractual terms and conditions for us hence the possibility of being asked to prove we have it - there is a section on the cruise personaliser where we are obliged to fill in our policy details. From personal experience I know some US guests use their own medical insurance that covers them at home and I believe John to be asking if that is the normal thing. There have been a few US guests asking here on the P&O board about insurance, something that was quite rare but occurring more regularly since the restart. It is just helpful to know how their fellow countrymen dealt with it, not intended as an intrusion into personal details.

Selbourne, I believe Queen Anne's actual naming is going to completed in the same way Arvia's was last year in Barbados - I posted a video link of that on the roll call last week. The Liverpool port area with it's tunnel etc is presumably not going to host the viewing area, most likely more along the front where Eurovision was when we were on QM2 last year. My Cunard PC indicated to me that fireworks/music will be much grander than the hastily arranged Coronation effort, more in line with the 175th anniversary ones which were very spectacular and not just shoreside, hence the large crowds expected.

Free at the point of removal from the ship but before you get to that point there will be a very hefty medical bill onboard as that removal is very much the last resort. Then there's the question of if the hospital you travel to is able to treat the problem, something we take for granted but certainly not guaranteed. This is often where the problems start. Antigua for instance does not have a hospital equipped for major heart problems and any passenger arriving there would need an emergency helicopter to Martinique or Guadeloupe as these islands have an arrangement to assist. That transfer would not be free and assumedly any ambulance charges from arrival at the heliport would start the charging clock once more. Even in Civitavechia we encountered a hospital no heart team and after 72 hours had to transfer to Central Rome. Insurance companies only cover us for treatment in approved local hospitals and in the first instance that is where we end up. If special care is needed elsewhere you have to negotiate with the insurer or pay upfront and argue the need to have moved before they agreed.

Old threads can say different things! This one's 14 years old but lots of actual experience. Also from Allianz - see the first example under how much does emergency evacuation cost https://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/travel/medical/emergency-transportation-costs.htm

Four weeks until my Queen Anne naming cruise and I've just spent the morning delving through my posh evening clothes to find half of them are now too big after the health coach sessions I've been on. Big dilemma is do I get them altered, search for some new ones or put them in for the inevitable expanding waistline once onboard. The cost of alterations is eye watering from £35 for a seam taking in, I think that with some of the older ones I didn't pay much more than that when I bought them. The good news is that my blood pressure is spot on, 14 kilos lost and BMI has dropped a range. The bad news is it's going to be a big ouch on my pocket.

Can you keep it for the next month or so, please? 29 days and counting for my trip now! We too have had a warm dry day. I've spent it in the garden and greenhouse planting up all my hanging bags and pots with the plants we grew over winter. Now debating if it's safe to start putting some out after the weekend because we still have the whole place rammed with baby plants and over wintered geraniums. Decisions, decisions... It was so nice to be out and sitting having a well earned cuppa and cake in the garden.

Are you covered under your own medical insurance in the US? If so would it only cover emergency medical costs or are you planning on self funding in an emergency? I have been involved in two medical problems one on Princess in 2022 and the second on P&O in January this year. The first was my aunt geing seriously ill in Italy and disembarkation to hospital. The immediate upfront charge on Princess was £4,000, followed by an immediate £2,000 requirement from the Italian hospital. Total medical costs for this incident ran into nearly £40,000. Even with full insurance cover we had to spend £9,000 in the first 24 hours. My own illness on Britannia (P&O's flagship) in January this year cost £2,000 onboard followed by a 48 hour hospital stay, 6 days accommodation once I left there, medication and a replacement flight home. Every penny of £8,000 but thankfully my insurer dealt direct with the onshore medical things and my flight. I still had to pay P&O direct onboard and claim the money back. Evacuation from the ship would be an extremely large sum. If you plan to self fund you must ensure you have immediate access to a five figure sum - this was the figure stated to me by Princess as what they consider "reasonable". I have no wish to be alarmist but I would suggest checking very carefully your existing cover via your bank, credit cards etc - I know a large number of US cruisers rely on Chase and Amex for instance. Sailing with absolutely no cover would be very risky.

It's difficult in both the US and Europe to get the £2,000,000 cover as the insurer simply does not offer such an option. A large number of my US sailing companions on Cunard rely on their own medical insurance and use an additional travel insurance attached to their credit cards for other things. The problem is well discussed on the Cunard boards. There is a CC insurance section in the general area which may help the OP. The UK has totally different laws on rights to the US, it is not allowed for a company to insist on the purchase of an item to allow a person to partake. It's a bit like the regular complaints over on the Cunard and Princess boards that US guests can book fully deposit refundable cruises. The problem us starting to be highlighted a lot more as a lot of US guests are now wanting to try P&O which wasn't happening much before.

I hope you had a great holiday. Certainly there were lessons to be learned last year. Personally I would always use the port bus as opposed to the shuttle as Marseille can be a difficult port at the best of times with it's very stroppy port workers! I'm glad to hear it was better although personally I've no wish to ever set foot on Arvia again.

It was a mystery to us too. Actually when I say bricks they were brick shaped aerated concrete but still no idea what they were doing onboard.

Mr Ludlow seems excited ... no doubt 99.9% will be as well! https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/travel-agents/po-cruises-britannia-sets-sail-after-multi-million-pound-refit

There are a great deal of engineering works planned on SWR in the coming months. It is probably a good idea to check the engineering website on a regular basis. It currently runs until July, the period shown is generally 12 weeks. Emergency engineering on top of these plans can occur, for instance last week a major gas leak occurred in Salisbury resulting in two days with no trains between Salisbury and Andover. https://www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey/planned-improvements/planned-engineering-works?year=2024&month=7

Apart from some Arvia/Iona cruises which are in very late sale there aren't many if any at this price now though, at least from Southampton. Our 16 night Aurora in an outside cabin is costing £3,600 with £340 obc, I appreciate it's late August but even savers on the fringes are way over that amount in a balcony from what I can see at present. My only recent "bargain" has been on Cunard although I'm looking at a Princess at present which is looking decent.

I hope something has happened in the rooms. Our sofa bed collapsed when I sat on it in January and they "repaired" it with some bricks and slats of wood. I hoped the next inhabitants didn't need it as a bed as it could have become a princess and the pea moment for someone.

One thing I enjoyed on Celebrity Edge was being able to reserve my paid for restaurants immediately on booking my cruise. There were only certain times available but it was a fair spread. Once the released slots were full you could join a waitlist or just sort it out once onboard. It was a good incentive for early booking of the cruise as it was first come first served. We booked four months out and still managed to get all our first choices so not too restricted. Releasing at 120 days and 60 days is also used in WDW for their restaurants. Those staying in Disney properties have reservations opened at 120 days and those off site property start at 60 days. The reservations do not open in blocks but on a day by day basis, ie in a 14 night stay there are 14 releases of all restaurants on the properties. This system gives everyone access on the same day so those staying shorter periods also get a fair crack of the whip. Personally I really like this system, yes it is a little time consuming but it does stop en bloc bookings at X days out. P&O have a massive demand for very few slots overall in their restaurants and I understand from discussions that one of the big complaints their newer cruisers have expressed is that they have big difficulties in reserving those restaurants once onboard. Perhaps they will move to a different timescale to offer those who book earlier to have the booking timeframe as a "benefit".

French regulations on money/entry: What amount of resources must you justify? You must have an insurance certificate covering all medical and hospital expenses for which you may be liable for the duration of your stay in France, as well as medical repatriation costs and expenses in the event of death. If you are staying in a hotel, you will need to provide a hotel booking as well as a minimum amount per day of stay that differs depending on the Schengen country visited. For France, this amount is: 65 euros per day of stay in the case of presentation of a hotel booking; 120 euros per day in the case of non-presentation of a hotel booking; In the case of a partial hotel booking: 65 euros per day for the period covered by the booking and 120 euros per day for the remainder of the stay. If you are hosted by an individual, you must provide a certificate of staying with a relative validated in the town hall at the request of the person who invited you (note: at the border crossing you must also prove that you have, in addition to this certificate, a minimum amount per day of stay - this minimum amount is €32.50 per day).

Yes, so I hear. They actually called him first to start with as confirmed by my friend at the course. Onwards and upwards though. Back at Newmarket on 4 May all being well and I'll be there that day for the Guineas.