mrsgoggins

I love a German Christmas market! But not so much the big ones like Cologne or Dusseldorf; more the small town ones which don't have folk arriving in coaches and you can park nearby (lol, crucial that bit, these days). Hattingen, with its half-timbered houses in the Ruhr area is a favourite. It's not like I buy anything, other than mulled wine and maybe the souvenir mug it comes in, oh and possibly a sausage, but I just love the atmosphere. I've really missed a December German trip since Covid and, all being well, I'll be planning on a trip again next December 🤞. Maybe you should do the same Kalos 😉

Clever!

Interesting video, but having done a week on Apex just to see for myself, I had come to a similar conclusions. I have taken 4 cruises on Silhouette and 1 on Apex since the start of 2021 and won't be taking any more on the Edge class ships. The IVs are just not for me nor their ultra modern approach, shows, piped music etc; although I appreciate the desire of Celebrity to appeal to a (affluent) younger demographic. I'm doing 2 cruises on Equinox and 1 on Silhouette in 2023 and have other lines booked also. Once Apex is positioned in Southampton for the summer season 2024, that will be the end of my using them for cruising out of the UK.

Thank you, thank you, Avril ..... and I do look at Twitter but still the penny didn't drop!

Once again Harry, we’re on the same page. Sports-free zone in our house too I’m happy to say. My sports-loving dad was so disappointed when I introduced DH to him all those years ago; my ex-boyfriend had shared his passion! How lovely to have a new grandchild to look forward to. Congratulations all round, but as you say, hard on the distant grandparents.

Thank you Graham - I'm definitely a cat person (but like dogs too) so really appreciate the humour in those cartoons. Well done - I love the way you are always so supportive of everyone with a problem 💐 Cuppa calling now.

A few things. I have used a TA (not for Celebrity) which has now introduced a non-refundable booking fee and I have now ditched them in favour of one of the big UK TAs who undercut and doesn't charge a booking fee. We have taken around 20 Celebrity cruises over 7 years, one of which was booked with a US TA (a big, big difference in price and totally worth doing on that occasion) but most of the others have been booked with the same Celebrity agent who has been known to price match for me (sent a screenshot of online TA price), or give me extra OBC if the price drops significantly and I have a moan! Not always, but often enough for me to be loyal to him. Also, I try to make a booking when onboard, even if just as a placeholder, so I can move the booking if I need to without any loss and with only a small deposit. I agree totally with others about booking own flights with Virgin miles/Avios if possible, thus enabling flight changes if necessary. Especially useful for one-way bookings. My Celebrity TA is very responsive too, and email requesting a call back and it happens usually within a day or two. Beats being on hold for ages. OP I hope you are as lucky with your agent if you book direct.

Unusually, we were in Lidl last night at 7 pm; the time when bakery goods are reduced by 30% if you have the App. I didn't expect to see any of my favourite GI loaves at that time, but oh joy, they had 4 left and so I got them all (2 for my elderly neighbour). What a bargain. Isn't it surprising what a little lift like saving £1.80 can give you? On the subject of Lidl and my neighbour, she likes Warburtons tea cakes, which, when I add on to my Tesco order for her, are £1.20 a pack. In Lidl, I can pick them up for 79p a pack. What a difference!

Vampiress88, I’m looking forward to reading about your cruise, since we’re doing the same cruise on Iona next spring. But first, Florida ……. and I think you might be planning for that too 😉. Lovely photos btw.

OP I wish you luck with it. I was drawn to this thread by my own experience today with Aviva, who are the insurers for my Barclays travel policy. I had phoned them to update with details about shoulder replacement surgery I had had in August as a result of an awkward trip. What I got was a message referring me to their website where I could request a call back at least 7 days before I travel. Now as I’m going to the USA at the end of December, the very last thing I want to be doing is trying to arrange additional cover over the Christmas week should Aviva not be happy with my answers! I will try again tomorrow going via the ‘travelling within 7 days’ option on their phone line. Very few things involving large companies and phones is straightforward these days. And don’t even get me started on chat bots 🤬

Thanks for the reminder! I've been awake since 6, up at 7, sat at my desktop since 7.45 and have only just seen your post. The price I am paying is that I am number 282,092 in the queue 🥺. I may be here some time!

This exactly. My friends and I discussed this at great length at the time - mainly because we were comprised of those who just scraped in to getting their pension at 60 and those who needed to wait longer as the equalisation process was brought in gradually. It pains me not to be supportive of the campaign, but really, it was well reported.

We are currently at a Warners on IOW and even just the bathroom’s towel rail keeps the room too warm for me (and this is a very rare event) so we have had the windows open. Sure you’ll be toasty at least! Oh, and we arrived yesterday and was bemused to see it decked out with Christmas decorations, but apparently their first Turkey and Tinsel event had just ended. Who knew 😄😄

Both looking good Brian 👍. As a one-time ‘Saturday girl’ in C&A in the early seventies when I was a student in Manchester, I can say it wasn’t as fashionable as the two of you look - even side on 😉. Happy birthday from me too, currently in rural France.

Now I know what you mean; I have a lovely friend with pleasant looks who does NOT photograph well. BUT ….. when people say to me ‘Don’t you take a good photo?’ In my head I hear ‘…… you don’t usually look as good as that ….!’ 😄

I agree with your assessment of Wayne and Karen totally. We had the pleasure of their company, along with their equally delightful adult son, on a Disney TA some years ago. Also, Wayne’s travel tips have been great as well as saving me money. Loved the dining pics at Le Petit Chef. We enjoyed it on the two occasions we did it - both times at a discount. Wishing you a smooth sailing going forward. I speak as one who would only travel mid ship with a lowish-balcony cabin and who carries lots of travel medication ‘just in case’!

I’m enjoying your report and photos. Wayne and Karen are friends of mine so I’ll be checking their social media site for even more immersion and living the experience through you all 😄 Constellation was my first Celebrity ship years ago when we had the brilliant Alejandro as Cruise Director. Who is the current CD please? Thanks for posting.

I received the thick version but my history with P&O is relatively slim - 3 x 7 days and 1 x 10 days over 4 years - all out of Southampton, so definitely not a ‘high roller’ in terms of P&O bookings.

I completely understand the sentiment, however ....... We normally spend January in Florida and include a (Celebrity) cruise. January 2023 is sorted but as the years go by, I am less thrilled with an overnight flight back to the UK and the jet lag. Normally we manage to get a deal with Amex and fly CW (business) with BA and even with a flat bed, it is to be endured rather than enjoyed! DH can sleep anywhere and does not feel the same btw. My plan for '24 is to fly out to Florida in the spring and cruise back, probably with Celebrity. I'm looking seriously at booking January 25, N501, USA and Caribbean 35 nights. It's been many years since we have been to New Orleans and I like the itinerary. I have looked at the same cruise for '24 and it seems to be heavily booked and more expensive than the opening price for '25. I don't have a P&O cruise until March of next year and am wondering whether to leave it until then, to take advantage of the low deposit, on account of it being so far out. Or, are prices likely to rise immediately it goes on sale rather than gradually? In which case, I would be better risking the 10% deposit. Any advice/thoughts would be welcome.

Wordle and Quordle are my first tea break of the day treats. I’ve a 99% success rate with Wordle but I’m trying to lift my Quordle rating from 97% to 98% (made errors in the early days before I’d worked out my strategy). With Wordle I pick the first word that pops into my head with 2 vowels and 3 consonants and take it from there. I’m more rigid with Quordle. When I had my shoulder replacement surgery 8 weeks ago and had to be at the hospital for 7.30 am, you would have found me doing them at 6.30 am; I was that keen not to miss a day …… and I’m only playing against myself, but occasionally I boast to DH and watch as his eyes glaze over! He does manage to find some words of praise though, because he knows it’s expected 😄 I’m now going to check out the others that Eddie99 has mentioned 👍

I especially love pictures of fish and chips 👍. If only I felt the same about salads ……. As I wrote the last sentence, I remembered that there is one restaurant salad I always choose, or did, until I saw the calorie count was over 1200 for the smaller lunchtime version! This was in the Cheesecake Factory, a popular US chain. Your fish and chips Eddie99 was indeed a bargain. We paid over £8 for a take-out portion near us.

We did exactly the same thing last week - Boots - although we had been allocated appointments at the GP surgery in late November. Boots was efficient and easy, unlike our Covid booster at Aspire/NHS the week before. We booked appointments they day they opened up, for the earliest they were offering which was 11.00 am. When we arrived at 10.55, the queue was out of the door and it was only then we discovered that booking meant nothing and there was just one line for pre-booked and walk-ins! Still, grateful to have them both done, especially with the increasing numbers of Covid and possibility of a bad flu season ahead. Oh and I took the plunge and ordered an Air Fryer today - Tefal Actifry, a Which? best buy. Now all I have to do is move the DeLonghi fancy coffee maker which is rarely used, to make way for it. Both substantial pieces of equipment. I'm anticipating spending an hour with the instruction manual when it arrives tomorrow.

I'll answer, since I always read but don't post too often and so am aware that this thread would probably die if more were like me, and I'd be very sorry about that since it's often my go-to place for a smile, an unexpected tip, tempting photos of Graham and Pauline's meals (or snacks by the beach) - but who is 'our Sarah?', Brian's travels to and from Italy, which make me a tad jealous, Avril's wise words (although I was shocked that she was not a tea drinker 😉) and so many more facets of your/our lives. Today's useful tip was the Waitrose slots, so thank you Indiana 123. I still do Wordle every day and have done since I first read about it here (Eddie?) plus Quordle and, never having even thought about one previously, am now seriously considering an Air Fryer! Like you Michelle, I'm in Lancashire, but south west Lancashire so not a near neighbour, but nevertheless have had wet and windy conditions all day, accompanied by regular power cuts (I refuse to say 'outages'!). The first were when I was with a physiotherapist this morning and then they continued as I tried to bake a steak pie (home made filling but bought pastry) and apple turnovers (yum - but I've just checked the calorie content of the all-butter flaky pastry before succumbing to the piece of chocolate I was about to grab 😔). It is now 8 weeks since my full shoulder replacement following my disastrous trip on the bathroom step of my Celebrity Silhouette cabin on the penultimate day of my late July Fjords cruise, and what a souvenir! I had wonderful NHS treatment at Southport hospital and can expect decent mobility again in time ..... but right now, my neck hurts following the physio, and tomorrow I take delivery of a 'gym ball', something I never expected to buy! I've rambled and now I'll close and make a healthy salad for tea, or, given the weather, salad sandwiches and a mug of tea. Thanks to all of you who do keep this thread alive. I really do appreciate it.

I’m getting ‘up to £150’ too. Anyone know what the ‘up to ….’ Is about? Could be £50 but you won’t know until you board - that right?

A valuable lesson in dynamic pricing indeed!