Megabear2

BBC are just running a piece on the €100 a day entry requirement. Most people shocked that s family of 4 needs to show €2700 available.

The wind has been very strong here but after downpours overnight so far no rain. Busy time building a new water feature this morning, very interesting in the winds but now running smoothly. More big excitement on the horse front, my latest new arrival has checked in, another beautiful filly foal by Perfect Power.

And me ...

My mother passed away ten weeks before our sailing, after full payment, and this is the clause Cunard directed me to. The insurance cover ceased on her death so no claim was made. I did not query it as at the time it was low on the priority list as I'm sure you'll appreciate.

The "flies" are actually gnats believe it or not. They do indeed come from soil in house plants. We have 10 large orchids and over winter these annoying little so and sos took hold as my friend watered too much while we were away in December/January. Once I dried the soil out by repotting they disappeared. https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/fungus-gnats

Having had exactly the scenario the OP is asking about, I can confirm that it is covered in the T&Cs at point 5. under the section Contract. Quote 5. A Passenger shall not have the right to exclusive occupancy of a stateroom with two or more berths unless the single person supplement is paid. If a cancellation results in a Passenger becoming the sole occupant of a stateroom with two or more berths, the remaining Passenger shall be liable to pay the single person supplement. If a cancellation reduces the number of Passengers originally booked in a stateroom together, the remaining Passengers shall each be liable to pay any increase in the fare arising as a result of such reduction. In the event that all Passengers who are booked in a stateroom permanently disembark the ship before the end of the Cruise, then the stateroom will revert to Cunard’s inventory. Unquote My travelling companion had passed away and I was directed to this clause when enquiring what my choices were. I subsequently added my husband to travel with me and a rather embarrassed agent had to charge me £100 for a booking amendment.

Thank you for your report which is very interesting. It sounds like a lovely trip. Regarding Apex and Iona the whole set up and experience on Apex would be very different from your cruise on an older ship, a bit like comparing Iona to Arcadia for instance.

Beautiful shades of green, it looks very restful.

We have a large Red Robin hedge at the front of the house which we have cut in February and September. I used to worry about birds nesting in it - we had blackbirds the first few times - but sadly as we live on a main road they all got killed every time. I therefore made the decision to actively discourage them and I'm pleased to say they've moved to the back garden and every year they nest in our neighbours holly tree but use our water features for baths and drinks, for us the best of both worlds.

Sun, sun, sun here we come!!!! Better late than never it has finally arrived. Maybe the grass can get cut tomorrow... Meantime my amazing tulips have opened overnight.

A Foggy Day by Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett depending on your preference.

Very interesting. This obviously refers to pre authorisations and goes some way to explaining the length some cruise lines go to. However I also see travel agents and train companies in this category and I cannot recall any of these pre authorising amounts more than once, if at all. Reading this document, surely it points even more to why don't the cruise lines just collect the outstanding amounts rather than "reserve" them. It isn't something they can't do - an example above refers to segments on WC and longer voyages where they do collect rather than authorise. Hopefully the mystery UK document on rules/law for reserving and holding funds that is the equivalent of the US version I have in my possession may be found by someone and shine some light on things from the consumer point of view rather than the companies.

Dull, damp and overcast. Following on from the rainy day music, I'm opting for a top 10 of sunny songs as I live in hope, but number 10 currently sums this morning up! Mr Blue Sky - ELO Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles Sunshine Day - Obisida Sunshine Superman - Donovan Walking on Sunshine - Katrina & The Waves Blackhole Sun - Soundgarden Sun is Shining - Bob Marley Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks Paper Sun - Traffic Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers Glad to hear the wounded are on the mend and fingers crossed for Indiana for a successful pain relief treatment.

I understand they complete "batch" transactions as that was what I was told by my mother's bank when we asked for charges from Cunard on her debit card to be removed. She had paid cash but registered her debit card on the last day to capture any odd purchases. Her bank account was subsequently debited with her entire 14 night spend when the batch transaction went through. It took three weeks of arguing with Cunard and the bank to get it back.

Who makes the pre authorisation, you as the human or does the computer automatically do it and notify yourselves if it's rejected? I'm struggling to understand why it has to be a pre authorisation rather than collecting the outstanding amount for 'X' days spend. I assume it is a cost issue, ie the cruise line avoiding bank charges.

I'm probably being stupid, but surely if the computer/staff reserve the day's spend, let's say £60 using the poster above's figures, why can't it be a claim hst sum rather than a reservation of funds, ie you are paying at 2.00am for your previous day's spend. I assume that there is some formula being used rather than 5,000 separate payments and this is assumedly why the system rather lazily reserves the full balance every time rather than just taking the payment. Surely that way, even if it was every third day rather than daily the cruise line would have the money and non payment would not be an issue? As I say I've no idea how it works or whether daily or 48 hour collections are even possible on a cruise ship but I have experienced this way of paying in a lot of US resort style hotels.

If we ate tigers there would be millions of them! Actually thinking about it there were around 950 million heads of cattle, 784 million pigs and 1.26 billion sheep at the last count compared to 8.1 billion people it won't take them long to take over.

Extinction? Unfortunately a lot of naive people think that Daisy, Piglet and Babe will live happily in the wild and enjoy boundless days in the uplands munching on grass and happily proliferating for years to come ...

We had two fires in one night on one Azura voyage, within 90 minutes of each other. One was in staff quarters - a waste bin apparently - and the other was a curtain in the theatre catching fire from an indoor pyrotechnic. Both were announced ship wide including through cabins and crew were individually stood down after each incident.

Great old song. Rain, rain, go away Come again some other day We want to go outside and play Come again some other day Following on from Zap's neds song I REALLY need dry weather for 4 May for my racehorses who are booked to run. Anyone know an anti raindance????

She's beautiful. So glad she made a full recovery and you found each other.

How about A Hard Rains Gonna Fall - Bob Dylan or Rainy Night in Georgia - Brook Benton

This boy is 14 now and has never needed a dental before. Apparently it's built up during lockdown when he never got his 6 monthly checks. Unfortunately insurance doesn't cover dental unless it's emergency or accident. You are right, they do cost a fortune but worth every penny. My OH says he's the most expensive freebie he's ever had - he found him in a cupboard in our car port and kept him hidden from me as I was looking after my 26 year old lady in her last few months. Gentle loving boy he is he kept her company and watched over her in her last few days when his existence was finally told to me.

As you love cats here's my rather imperious DFC (Distinguished Feline Companion) who's just returned from a rather expensive dentist visit - I could have had a week on Iona for the cost of his bill!

Back when I first stated I wanted to go on a cruise - on a school trip to Southampton in 1968 - I was laughed at all the way home. I was told in no uncertain terms that cruising was not for someone like me from an Essex council estate but was for the affluent and this is what I refer to not that anyone posting here is affluent or not. I do however feel that every time this topic opens up very few sympathise with the poor individual who finds themselves caught out and simply offer that's the way it is as the answer and I make no apologies for saying so. Back when I first asked for help on understanding some points in 2013 when I first signed up to CC I felt very unwelcome and intimidated albeit not on this particular forum but that of another line. I have never forgotten this and therefore try to offer sympathy and help to newer people asking what may seem questions they should know the answer to but didn't think to consider before leaping in. And no I am not suggesting they can't run a bank account or are less intelligent. I'm suggesting that in some cases they didn't understand or expect a big corporation to effectively block off chunks of their money when they have already paid their bill as in every day life very few circumstances arise where that happens. Ironically reading the few posts from those caught, they are often the most sensible who set themselves a budget for their spend. Back in 2022 when this thread opened this issue was a hot potato with quite a few people posting about it. It remains so apparently so if it's all so clear cut and obvious the message is clearly not getting through to everyone.