WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey) SUNDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Tell all your friends not to book with Royal Caribbean. ...

Thank you for your commiserations.

So sorry your plans have been scuppered, Lindy.  That's a very high-handed thing for Royal Caribbean to do, and certainly won't endear them to future passengers.  It will fly around the cruising fraternity and probably be a PR disaster for them.  All this business about the customer coming first ... but only until someone with oodles of money turns up.  A self-inflicted bullet in their lower limb, I would suggest.  Do hope you can get something suitable from a more reliable cruise company.

Evening all:  

Lindybird: Gosh, what on earth can that person have paid Royal Caribbean to make it worth their while to cancel reservations, upset potential customers and subsequently create such bad word-of-mouth reviews.   Did you put a deposit on the cruise and, if so, is that refunded in addition to the air fares?  (Ah. I see it was a 50th b/day!!)  :-)   I have those Monarch butterflies and that plant in my garden!!  

Lynette: Sounds like a bug!  Take care!

bjane: Just read the Wikipedia blurb on the Little Brown Church (wasn't familiar with the song)  Interesting - and just had a look at it on Google Earth.

OG: Your daughter's wedding is going to coincide with your anniversary (I think that's what it is) - is it a joint celebration?  

I'm with everyone when it comes to simple weddings.  (Bravo Clare and Lindybird - a lovely photo). My OH proposed (as in "it's okay with me" - so romantic) when he decided to retire and realized it would make good financial sense for me to formalize our relationship before he cut himself loose from his employer!    :-)   As I've mentioned before, we married in my tiny garden. My daughter borrowed one of my skirts and tops, my granddaughter wore her high school graduation party outift (full length) and OH's best friend and wife bought their daughter who wore jeans and a T-shirt.  Then OH went home to do laundry and I took daughter's boyfriend and my grandkids off for a tour of the Queen Mary. Have a good Tuesday all.

Unknown said:

we married in my tiny garden. My daughter borrowed one of my skirts and tops, my granddaughter wore her high school graduation party outift (full length) and OH's best friend and wife bought their daughter who wore jeans and a T-shirt.  Then OH went home to do laundry and I took daughter's boyfriend and my grandkids off for a tour of the Queen Mary.

Love it, Annette! Did you have wedding photos? They would be so interesting for future generations to puzzle over.

Good Morning, All.  Dry here.

Sounds like a lovely, informal wedding Annette.

Yes, we are to be refunded, plus a measly offer of $200 dollars credit on our bar bill if we rebook with them....  The more I think about it, the more annoyed I am!  From our first cruise, which was with R. Caribbean, we found that all the drinks on board are horrendously expensive, they have you captive. One bottle of wine we ordered with dinner cost over 40 pounds, which is not an amount we would ever consider paying at home. Needless to say, we made the bottle last two days!

Here's today's pic:

"I'm tired -- when's dinner?"

LINDY- awful news about the loss of your cruise, it is hard to believe that the company would behave in such a way, unless the cruise was underbooked. I do hope that your travel agent will be able to help you.  

I'm deeply disappointed, Heather. As it was carefully planned, and for a special date on the calendar, it's not going to be easy to replace. I said to my OH that half the fun of a holiday is the anticipation! If we go earlier, it won't celebrate the birthday, and be more expensive. If we go later, the weather won't be as warm....sigh.

Have spent literally hours on the Net since we heard about it. We have an appointment with the travel agent who booked it for next Saturday, but I think we'll have to do our own research. Meanwhile, it occurred to me last night that probably literally hundreds of other couples will be doing the same. Bah!

LINDY - you've probably seen it but Trip advisor has a thread regarding cancellation of cruises by the operator - differing reasons but there was mention of the same thing that has happened to you and your OH. That isn't going to make you feel any better, though.

Enjoying this “false Spring” – just a shame it has to end at the weekend – and dare we go away and need to travel back over the Pennines on Sunday?

Sorry you are feeling unwell, Lynette; rest, keep warm and drink plenty – at least the normal 1½ to 2 litres a day, maybe more if you aren’t eating so not getting fluids in food!  Our 1968 wedding photos were colour as BiL was a keen photographer and ahead of the field, but the old colour ones were prone to fading.

Yup, Annette – Dau and Fiancé chose to include our anniversary in the family celebration of their wedding.  Won’t be what we 5 had hoped with other Dau and family staying away – grrr!  We had a “Quiet” wedding – but not as quiet as we would have liked – I think my mother wanted to shame me so she insisted I had a ceremony but was not to wear white – so I went out and bought an orange dress to annoy her!  Had to look like I was doing as I was told, because back in the day, we needed parental permission under 21; but, you can see, I always have been cynical.

Linda – sorry about the cruise – I guess however much money you have, there is always someone with more!  Maybe something better will turn up and you will be saying you are glad this fell through – and alternatively there are always luxury hotels in the UK, if you need to splash out!  I don’t think we shall do anything for our 70^th birthdays – one each side of Grandson’s wedding, so don’t want to be eating out three weekends in a row – and they are Saturdays, when I don’t like eating out on busy weekend evenings.

Now, back to my recipe files – half way through revising them to be easier for OH to follow!  We have thrown away a few in the process as they are things we never eat these days – food preferences have changed – even available foods change too!