P&O Cruisers - What are things like where YOU are?

[Gettingwarmer]

50 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

And to those querying it, yes you will have to notify Aviva every time you book a new cruise

Surely this is only if you want the cruise cover urgrade i.e. port cancellation etc which is extra for each cruise now. If you dont want this upgrade you dont have to advise regarding each cruise the same as any holiday.

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, Gettingwarmer said:

Surely this is only if you want the cruise cover urgrade i.e. port cancellation etc which is extra for each cruise now. If you dont want this upgrade you dont have to advise regarding each cruise the same as any holiday.

I think your interpretation is correct. 

 

The major concern for all of us is whether the medical excess charge will be in line with those we have been enjoying with UK Insurance, or if they will now fall into line with those done direct with travel insurers. We will find out in May once renewals with Aviva commence.

[Megabear2]

9 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

Surely this is only if you want the cruise cover urgrade i.e. port cancellation etc which is extra for each cruise now. If you dont want this upgrade you dont have to advise regarding each cruise the same as any holiday.

That's my interpretation.  I do not have cruise cover as missed ports etc dont worry me.  I, or rather my husband, has a medical upgrade which cost £1,213 at renewal in February last year and I had ironically been speaking to Nationwide in the week before I left on this cruise based on the over 70 extension as my 70th is rapidly approaching in September.  Aviva seem a good choice by Nationwide as my experience with their claims department last year for my aunt was superb, unlike the other claims company her previous insurer used.

 

However I didn't take any action before leaving and so still have my Allianz cover at this time - I have no medical declarations personally.  They are being absolutely superb while I'm ill here on Britannia and I'll be sorry to lose them.

 

 

[Gettingwarmer]

39 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

That's my interpretation.  I do not have cruise cover as missed ports etc dont worry me.  I, or rather my husband, has a medical upgrade which cost £1,213 at renewal in February last year and I had ironically been speaking to Nationwide in the week before I left on this cruise based on the over 70 extension as my 70th is rapidly approaching in September.  Aviva seem a good choice by Nationwide as my experience with their claims department last year for my aunt was superb, unlike the other claims company her previous insurer used.

 

However I didn't take any action before leaving and so still have my Allianz cover at this time - I have no medical declarations personally.  They are being absolutely superb while I'm ill here on Britannia and I'll be sorry to lose them.

 

 

We are with Allianz through our bank and they do not offer the added missed ports cover which also does not bother us. The insurance is valid up to the age of 80 which is good. Glad you are being dealt fairly by Allianz. Hope you improve soon.

[grapau27]

5 hours ago, Splice the mainbrace said:

My wife has just been trying to make a gp appointment for her elderly mother. She was 15th in the queue and 36 minutes later got to 2nd then got a message the operators are very busy and the call will be terminated 😡😩🤬

 

She’ll try again later.

Sorry to hear this that is so frustrating.

Maybe try tomorrow when her surgery opens or later this afternoon.

[Splice the mainbrace]

1 minute ago, grapau27 said:

Sorry to hear this that is so frustrating.

Maybe try tomorrow when her surgery opens or later this afternoon.

She tried again later and after another 30 mins plus wait was told that she couldn’t make a March appointment for her mum for a blood test, it is to far in advance!

[Waju]

4 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

When DH  surfaced this morning he suggested going to the top up our wine stock, then on the way he thought that we should stop at Wetherspoons for a totally unhealthy breakfast.  The Wetherspoons breakfast was awful, it was tepid, I asked for my egg to be well done but when I stuck my knife into it the yolk squirted all over my jacket so the jacket is now in the washing machine on hot was which will hopefully get the grease out without ruining the jacket.

The good news is that we now have plenty of wine 🍷

The temperature of Wetherspoons breakfast is one of my husbands pet hates.  When I order I always ask for it to be extra hot otherwise he will send it back and usually they will tell the kitchen but on our last visit the young lad at the bar just said it comes how it comes we can’t change it 🤣. Luckily it was ok but they do seem to have a problem getting it to the table hot!

[bobstheboy]

51 minutes ago, Splice the mainbrace said:

She tried again later and after another 30 mins plus wait was told that she couldn’t make a March appointment for her mum for a blood test, it is to far in advance!

It is getting ridiculous getting a GP appointment. Our local GP practice either wants you to agree to a nurse call back or refers you to the local chemist to see a pharmacist. It must be lucrative for the chemist, half the shop space has been changed to resemble a doctors waiting room, with private cubicles. I know pharmacists are knowledgeable on drugs, medical problems ? No way would I agree to this.

[Adawn47]

Hello.

Frank's doing surprisingly well considering how he was almost a month ago. Sleeping well, eating well (healthily and low salt) and hardly any pain relief needed for his joints, just the occasional paracetamol but not a single dihydrocodeine since 28th December👍

HOWEVER...........much to my annoyance he's begun to vape again🤬 A lower strength and only after a meal but .......🙄 I can only trust his word, which he has kept so far🤞

We have had no storm damage, just a wobbling fence panel and it blew the garden bench over, all quickly  dealt with. It seems as though that's the end  of the winds and the days are getting longer so we'll be able to get into the garden at last. We're not as hardy as Snow Hill I'm afraid😉

I hope everyone is safe and well, wherever you are in our amazing world.

Take care.x

Avril

[Splice the mainbrace]

40 minutes ago, bobstheboy said:

It is getting ridiculous getting a GP appointment. Our local GP practice either wants you to agree to a nurse call back or refers you to the local chemist to see a pharmacist. It must be lucrative for the chemist, half the shop space has been changed to resemble a doctors waiting room, with private cubicles. I know pharmacists are knowledgeable on drugs, medical problems ? No way would I agree to this.

I phoned our practice on the 3rd January to organise an overdue prescription review and was told that the doctor doesn’t do it anymore but I would have an over the phone review with a pharmacist. I thought ok they’ll phone back that afternoon but they gave me a date 5 weeks later on 6th February, which I cannot make because we are away for February cruising, so I got 6th March. My wife phoned up last week for the same and was told the same but her date was 7 weeks after her phone call, coincidentally the same week as mine.

 

Pre-covid I always had a face to face with my doctor who also arranged an annual blood test. I thought when I phoned up this time it might just be a doctor phone review but waiting 5 weeks for one with a pharmacist does seem excessive.

[Josy1953]

We must be lucky with our GPs.  If we phone before 11am in the morning we can usually get an appointment on the same day or very occasionally we have to wait until the next day.  I think that it would be more difficult if we were picky about which of the GPs we wanted to see but neither of us mind which one we see so take the first available appointment.

[Harry Peterson]

Having been seen on the same morning by a GP a couple of weeks ago for an urgent issue, I’ve nothing to complain about. But there is a major shortage of GPs because the numbers in training have been run down over recent years to save money - despite a rising population, and an increasing percentage of older people, like most of us.

 

It needs sorting out, but I see little sign of that happening, despite the very obvious need. There simply are not remotely enough GPs to provide the service they used to provide, but most of them are working flat out. It’s not exactly a popular choice for doctors finishing their training.

[zap99]

Some..many organisations, need a kick up the backside. Post office/Royal mail are finding things tough so would like to deliver 3 days a week. We went into town. DW said we need to post a birthday card for one of the kids. We only do books of 8 stamps...10 quid.  When we got home the postman had been. We live in number 75. 2 letters, one for 76 and one for 77, both from the NHS.....P&O are a bargain and efficiency personified...And another thing.🤬

[Josy1953]

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Edited January 24 by Josy1953
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[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, zap99 said:

Some..many organisations, need a kick up the backside. Post office/Royal mail are finding things tough so would like to deliver 3 days a week. We went into town. DW said we need to post a birthday card for one of the kids. We only do books of 8 stamps...10 quid.  When we got home the postman had been. We live in number 75. 2 letters, one for 76 and one for 77, both from the NHS.....P&O are a bargain and efficiency personified...And another thing.🤬

I already assume we only get a 3 per week delivery service, but when we do get one it invariably has 3 elastic bands wrapped round a bundle, they could save a few pounds if they only used one elastic band.

[Snow Hill]

3 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

Having been seen on the same morning by a GP a couple of weeks ago for an urgent issue, I’ve nothing to complain about. But there is a major shortage of GPs because the numbers in training have been run down over recent years to save money - despite a rising population, and an increasing percentage of older people, like most of us.

 

It needs sorting out, but I see little sign of that happening, despite the very obvious need. There simply are not remotely enough GPs to provide the service they used to provide, but most of them are working flat out. It’s not exactly a popular choice for doctors finishing their training.

My practice has fortunately managed to recruit two new GPs in the last 18 months, after the senior doctor retried at the age of 77, and the other returned home after his wife was denied the right to remain in U.K. as they had not been living here long enough and returned to Spain. We also have one locum GP, in total 4 GPs 2 male & 2 female.
 

The practice has been restructured, there used to be 3 sites, one is now used as a vaccination centre in the autumn for Flu & Covid vaccinations and also for pre & post natal appointments, plus some other clinics. We also have 4 pharmacists on a rota, a physiotherapist 4 days a week, 3 Advanced Nurse Practitioners, a Practice Nurse, A Mental Health Nurse, Cancer Cordinatir and a Sicial Prescriber. 

 

I find it works very well, depending on ailment I usually can get an appointment either same day or in a couple of days with one of medical staff at the practice. I have been to see the physio a few times in 2023, if I had been referred to hospital it would take weeks to see a physio. 
 

Another big plus is the local Primary Care Trust has recently opened a diagnostic centre in a empty office block to take pressure off the hospital, it does blood tests, MRI scans, X Rays and other diagnostic tests. My OH went to GP last Thursday as a follow up to Long Covid monitoring, referred her for an X-Ray, letter arrived Saturday, appointment booked yesterday for next Monday at new centre. GP rang today, she is also in for Shingles jab first thing Monday morning at a Shingles Clinic run by Practice.

 

In all very satisfied with the service we get from NHS. 

[Snow Hill]

4 hours ago, zap99 said:

Some..many organisations, need a kick up the backside. Post office/Royal mail are finding things tough so would like to deliver 3 days a week. We went into town. DW said we need to post a birthday card for one of the kids. We only do books of 8 stamps...10 quid.  When we got home the postman had been. We live in number 75. 2 letters, one for 76 and one for 77, both from the NHS.....P&O are a bargain and efficiency personified...And another thing.🤬

Our posties are excellent, we get post between 8:30 and 9:30, last week we had post 5 days out of 6, for some reason we got the same marketing offer from P&O 3 times on 3 different days, no idea why. As they all referred to Britannia Carribean Fly Cruises they were recycled, as we don’t like Britannia. 

[lincslady]

Good morning - I am celebrating having had 7 hours sleep.  Almost unheard of.  Plus being taken out for lunch by two good friends to my favourite pub today.  No doubt this joy will come back and bite me on the bum sometime later on today, so I had better keep quiet.

 

Left side pain now almost gone, after two weeks, and seeing GP next Tuesday to hopefully get put on the anticoagulants as my bp has gone down a lot (though not without side effects).

 

No gales blowing last night, I hope they are over for a while for all of us.

[Josy1953]

A quiet night here, no high winds but looking out this morning there has been a lot of rain.  

Yesterday afternoon when I went to pick up the children from school there were 3 way traffic lights on the route that I usually take so it will be the alternative route this morning that is shorter but usually takes longer because it is along busier roads.  For someone who was never lucky enough to have children I seem to spend a lot of time running 2 teenagers around.

Have a good day everyone.

[Angel57]

7 hours ago, Snow Hill said:

Our posties are excellent, we get post between 8:30 and 9:30, last week we had post 5 days out of 6, for some reason we got the same marketing offer from P&O 3 times on 3 different days, no idea why. As they all referred to Britannia Carribean Fly Cruises they were recycled, as we don’t like Britannia. 

Last year we were lucky to get one postal delivery a week. I think we now get two.  The permanent posties try their best to deliver, but with being so short staffed and with lots of sickness it is near impossible for them. One said to me they now have agency workers to help, but they do not know the area so quite a lot gets mis-delivered. I’m not far from Poole and Bournemouth so not exactly in the middle of nowhere.

[Megabear2]

In the run up to Christmas our postman delivered an advertisement with our mail asking us to consider becoming a postie.  Apparently RM hoped to grab people's ' interest by direct approach.  It made interesting reading. A 30 hour contract with Saturday and Sunday obligatory working, hours between 8.00 and 14.00 and 12.00 to 18.00.  It stated the pay was 10% above market average in their sector and was £12.20 or so an hour, overtime at 1.25% of this rate.  If you stayed three months you'd get a uniform and 22 days annual holiday pro rata.  This job apparently was a driving delivery postman, not your average walking/biking delivery guy who according to our lovely man gets less pay.

 

So basically the postmen are now contract workers on low pay and pretty rubbish terms it would appear, yet a pretty easy target for the media etc to put in the line of fire.

[Splice the mainbrace]

7c bright and calm here, roads are wet so must have rained overnight. I didn’t realise that England were playing India in a cricket test match starting today until I read on bbc sport so got that on.

 

Our post doesn’t come until 1 to 3 pm most days (2nd post in olden days, do you remember?), and in recent years the older posties have gone and now mostly women in their 20’s.

 

 

[lincslady]

My post, such as it is, comes between 11.30 and 1.30, and has for some years.  Any parcels sent by post are dealt with more efficiently, and the Royal Mail is obviously concentrating on getting as much of this business as possible.

[Snow Hill]

Post a little earlier than normal today, letter from HMRC saying I own them tax after reassessing my self assessment, rather than they owing me £42, I owe them £2.00. Must have cost more than that to send out the letter. 🤷‍♂️

[brian1]

2 hours ago, Angel57 said:

Last year we were lucky to get one postal delivery a week. I think we now get two.  The permanent posties try their best to deliver, but with being so short staffed and with lots of sickness it is near impossible for them. One said to me they now have agency workers to help, but they do not know the area so quite a lot gets mis-delivered. I’m not far from Poole and Bournemouth so not exactly in the middle of nowhere.

My dad was a postman,he said he was proud of his job and back in the day they were mainly exsoldiers after the war.He didn't like the temps at Christmas cos they got all the  tips off his round he'd worked hard at thru the year.Full uniform then,not the scruffy sods you get now,lol.