Elite 11+ shopping and chat thread part 2½

pandoraskids

Freewheeling wrote: »

Hi Hillbern,

I haven't been yet, but on my list vT is McGuigan Reserve Chardonnay, Australian Winemakers Choice South Eastern Australia Shiraz, Casillero del Diablo Pinot Grigio, Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc, Casillero del Diablo Merlot.

I'm sure I've seen that all these have been working for people in the last few days.

This one was working on Thursday late afternoon x

curl_girl

Not happy with eBay.
The listing format has now changed on their app and is now not as easy to use. Sneakily it now adds a buyer offer option onto the item.

Afternoon peeps.

mhoc

diluvsdiscounts wrote: »

Thanks mhoc ive e-mailed them for quotes on that one and one going on 1st August which is when dh has factory shut down so that would be perfect.
I've requested a price for an outside cabin, I wasn't sure what to ask for, what are your suggestions please?

Yes its worth getting a price quote just to give you some idea. And its possibly the best way of seeing the Scottish Islands without doing a massive amount of long distance driving and route planning and booking b &bs etc

I think its Black watch that goes from Liverpool next year - ??? Its not one that we have been on yet so I am remembering what were told in the presentations we went to last week. All the ships are very comfortable and they have been refitting throughout the brand this year.

Outside cabins have 2 port hole windows so the cabins are light and airy - you can have a full picture window but these cabins are more expensive. The port holes are never shut unless really bad weather is expected - unlikely in summer months.

Have a think about bed configurations - some cabins have a fixed L shape configuration. Others can be either a double or a twin. We opted this time for a twin and this worked very well for us - masses of space and very comfy beds - OH is a bed thrasher!

But make sure its not a cabin with fold down beds in the walls - we had one of those once and I kept catching my arm on it.

We tend to go for outside cabins on the lower deck with portholes - perfectly comfortable. And actually you are not inside the cabins that much and hardly at all on scenic cruises - sleeping and showering and changing for dinner and that's about it.
We were on deck 2 last week and when in port the exit was always on deck 2 so it was very easy for coming and going and nipping back to change when the weather got too hot.

Fred Olsen have drinks packages but you don't have to decide about them until the time you pay your final invoice so don't worry about it too much yet.

Also if either of you have dietary issues they are very good at working around this.

Going from Liverpool is very easy - you get the train from Preston to Liverpool Lime Street there are straight through trains that take about 50 minutes with no changes and then its just a taxi across town - you can book seats on the Northern rail website about 3 months before - saves worrying about parking

FO also have an enjoyment promise.

https://www.fredolsencruises.com/enjoyment-promise

davemorton

mhoc wrote: »

Yes its worth getting a price quote just to give you some idea. And its possibly the best way of seeing the Scottish Islands without doing a massive amount of long distance driving and route planning and booking b &bs etc

I think its Black watch that goes from Liverpool next year - ??? Its not one that we have been on yet so I am remembering what were told in the presentations we went to last week. All the ships are very comfortable and they have been refitting throughout the brand this year.

Outside cabins have 2 port hole windows so the cabins are light and airy - you can have a full picture window but these cabins are more expensive. The port holes are never shut unless really bad weather is expected - unlikely in summer months.

Have a think about bed configurations - some cabins have a fixed L shape configuration. Others can be either a double or a twin. We opted this time for a twin and this worked very well for us - masses of space and very comfy beds - OH is a bed thrasher!

But make sure its not a cabin with fold down beds in the walls - we had one of those once and I kept catching my arm on it.

We tend to go for outside cabins on the lower deck with portholes - perfectly comfortable. And actually you are not inside the cabins that much and hardly at all on scenic cruises - sleeping and showering and changing for dinner and that's about it.
We were on deck 2 last week and when in port the exit was always on deck 2 so it was very easy for coming and going and nipping back to change when the weather got too hot.

Fred Olsen have drinks packages but you don't have to decide about them until the time you pay your final invoice so don't worry about it too much yet.

Also if either of you have dietary issues they are very good at working around this.

Going from Liverpool is very easy - you get the train from Preston to Liverpool Lime Street there are straight through trains that take about 50 minutes with no changes and then its just a taxi across town - you can book seats on the Northern rail website about 3 months before - saves worrying about parking

FO also have an enjoyment promise.

https://www.fredolsencruises.com/enjoyment-promise

Im in a dilema at the moment, there is a 9 night FO cruise going to Germany and a beer festival in October that is a great price, and leaving from Newcastle so ideal...but! there is also a P&O one, only 7 nights, and from S/ton, but it is going to Spain. Do I go for the easier longer cruise on a ship I have not been on, to ports I have not been to, or do I go for sun and warmth. I usually need a bit sun by October so am erring on that side.
Im watching prices, but bet they will just both go up now, so will likely get stung
Enjoyment policy is no good to me, as I would not get on the plane back

pandoraskids

davemorton wrote: »

Im in a dilema at the moment, there is a 9 night FO cruise going to Germany and a beer festival in October that is a great price, and leaving from Newcastle so ideal...but! there is also a P&O one, only 7 nights, and from S/ton, but it is going to Spain. Do I go for the easier longer cruise on a ship I have not been on, to ports I have not been to, or do I go for sun and warmth. I usually need a bit sun by October so am erring on that side.
Im watching prices, but bet they will just both go up now, so will likely get stung
Enjoyment policy is no good to me, as I would not get on the plane back

I would go for Spain as I love the sun, but then I am not really a beer drinker ...

mhoc

davemorton wrote: »

?? Why not just freeze the soup in tubs/cartons that you have, and then once frozen, take them out and put them in normal freezer bags? :money:
(Use old take away cartons, then they stack nicely like bricks)

Lack of space. In the soup/sauce bags one frozen you can store them in small gaps in a flat shape - no room for anything brick shaped in our freezer.

Anon

Potential M glitch on ale from HUKD:

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/4-cans-of-ale-glitch-90p-instore-morrisons-buxton-3027983

HTH

Anon

pandoraskids

Just a little rant ....

As if all the trauma caused by him wanting to kick mum (aged 78) out after my sister died wasn't enough, my horrible BIL has now deleted all my sister's family members (apart from himself & her 2 sons) from her fb friends list :mad: :mad:

mhoc

davemorton wrote: »

Im in a dilema at the moment, there is a 9 night FO cruise going to Germany and a beer festival in October that is a great price, and leaving from Newcastle so ideal...but! there is also a P&O one, only 7 nights, and from S/ton, but it is going to Spain. Do I go for the easier longer cruise on a ship I have not been on, to ports I have not been to, or do I go for sun and warmth. I usually need a bit sun by October so am erring on that side.
Im watching prices, but bet they will just both go up now, so will likely get stung
Enjoyment policy is no good to me, as I would not get on the plane back

Fred Olsen to Germany for the Beer Festival - it has to be that one - don't bother worrying about price fluctuations - get it booked!
Firstly its from Newcastle so it saves you a days holiday plus it saves the train fare and a hotel night and dinner so that's a big saving in itself.
Secondly the ports are fabulous - Hamburg is gorgeous and it looks like you get to do the kiel canal both ways, very scenic. Balmoral is a small ship so it gets into much smaller ports and much closer to city centers
Also its usually/often £15 per person per day drinks package - you don't have to book this at the same time, anytime up to a few weeks before sailing.
https://www.fredolsencruises.com/cruising-information/drinks-upgrade

German Waterways & Bremen Beer Festival 
Departs: Newcastle • Fri 19 Oct 2018
9 nights • Balmoral • L1833



And you are closer to Rosyth than you are to Southampton as well
Its Balmoral that does the Rosyth ones.
There is a very nice one June 2015- Sweden’s Scenic Waterways & Cities

We used to tend towards southern Spain at the back end of November time to get the last bit of sunshine but the last time we went (2015 or 2016) we had 5 degree temps and we were perished so nothing can be certain.

[Deleted User]

If anyone does a wine shop, please share results.

I've not done one yet but DIL would like some. I know we've been having a couple of changes so I'd love to know what works and what doesn't