Current Affairs

[screwy]

On a selfish note, will our Baltic cruise be changedd/canceled.

Russian forces have reportedly landed in Odessa ... are / were you going there ?

I would have have thought they were off course on a Baltics cruise.?

[Stephen]

I see after the announcement of the price of crude oil shooting up to a record $100 a barrel the petrol stations are starting to fill up.

Don’t believe sensational press stories mate.
It’s miles off the record price of $162 a barrel.

Sensational or not, the panic buying has begun…….mate.

I do know one thing for sure, P&O shares are dropping like a stone.

[Manoverboard]

On a selfish note, will our Baltic cruise be changedd/canceled.

Russian forces have reportedly landed in Odessa ... are / were you going there ?

I would have have thought they were off course on a Baltics cruise.?

Exactly ...

It is possible however that all Russian Ports will be off limits for a while but only P&O will know

[david63]

t is possible however that all Russian Ports will be off limits for a while but only P&O will know

But as it is such a fluid situation nothing will be announced until nearer the time, and even then things could change

[Manoverboard]

Ah. I see that Ken insulting me is okay. Me insulting Ken gets deleted. Hmm. Has John Bercow been made a Modplod?

It is actually NOT ok for anybody to insult anybody else and all Members should be adult enough to respect that requirement. Direct references to Members as being ' strawmen ' and the like will in future be deleted.

Regards MobyModPlod

[Onelife]

I see after the announcement of the price of crude oil shooting up to a record $100 a barrel the petrol stations are starting to fill up.

I decided to top up this morning and there was a small queue which is unusual on a weekday…I’m going to pop out latter and fill my wife’s car up because as you say the only way is up.

[Ray B]

Filled up Monday. We were going to the supermarket, and thought it is going to go up as things were hotting up. Trouble is, you can only save until the next fill up.

[towny44]

t is possible however that all Russian Ports will be off limits for a while but only P&O will know

But as it is such a fluid situation nothing will be announced until nearer the time, and even then things could change

However I would imagine all cruise lines are putting in contingency plans to drop SP, and any Russian or Ukranian ports in the Black sea.
I would also hope that anyone who has booked holidays in Russia will now cancel them.

[Onelife]

Ah. I see that Ken insulting me is okay. Me insulting Ken gets deleted. Hmm. Has John Bercow been made a Modplod?

It is actually NOT ok for anybody to insult anybody else and all Members should be adult enough to respect that requirement. Direct references to Members as being ' strawmen ' and the like will in future be deleted.

Regards MobyModPlod

If it helps Sir Merv, after your 10th deleted post you kind of look forward to them, especially those that come from David who normally sends a personal message with his

[Ray B]

On a selfish note, will our Baltic cruise be changedd/canceled.

Russian forces have reportedly landed in Odessa ... are / were you going there ?

No, St Petersburg Russia and then tallinn Estonia being the nearest port.
I think, how things are moving now, that the area may be classed as endangerment and so expect the cruise to be pulled.
They are the two main attractions of the cruise.

[Manoverboard]

On a selfish note, will our Baltic cruise be changedd/canceled.

Russian forces have reportedly landed in Odessa ... are / were you going there ?

No, St Petersburg Russia and then tallinn Estonia being the nearest port.
I think, how things are moving now, that the area may be classed as endangerment and so expect the cruise to be pulled.
They are the two main attractions of the cruise.

Two great destinations for sure but there are umpteen other interesting alternate Ports on the Baltic Sea should it come to that so I would personally doubt that it will be pulled.

When do you hope to go ?

[david63]

I would imagine all cruise lines are putting in contingency plans to drop SP,

Just had an email from P&O regarding our Baltic cruise

We understand that the current evolving situation with Ukraine may raise some questions about your upcoming holiday.

We are monitoring this very closely and please be assured we will amend itineraries as necessary as the safety and wellbeing of guests and crew is of the highest priority.

Please do bear with us and visit our social media channels and website for the latest information, rather than contacting our Customer Contact Centre.

[Gill W]

We had moved one of our cruises to a Baltic cruise on Arcadia in August, but moved again it some months ago to an Iona cruise in March 2023. Our reason for this was that we felt the multiple countries involved might be problematic in the time of Covid, we weren't expecting a war to break out.

I was watching the BBC news at lunchtime. Clive Myrie and Lyse Doucet were reporting from Kyiv, just as the air raid siren went off. That was quite a powerful moment, as it illustrated the real and sudden jeopardy that people are experiencing.

On a different note, is now the time to stock up on toilet rolls?

[screwy]

Good job I’ve already had my Russian holiday.
December 1979,6 months before the Moscow Olympics,went with my BIL,it was interesting.
I tried to buy a fur hat off a policeman but he was having non of it,we went to the state circus where a Russian wanted to exchange his trousers for my jeans, I was having non of it.
I have to say that it was an enjoyable trip.

[screwy]

We had moved one of our cruises to a Baltic cruise on Arcadia in August, but moved again it some months ago to an Iona cruise in March 2023. Our reason for this was that we felt the multiple countries involved might be problematic in the time of Covid, we weren't expecting a war to break out.

I was watching the BBC news at lunchtime. Clive Myrie and Lyse Doucet were reporting from Kyiv, just as the air raid siren went off. That was quite a powerful moment, as it illustrated the real and sudden jeopardy that people are experiencing.

On a different note, is now the time to stock up on toilet rolls?

No, it’s only the Ukraine that’s shitting themselves.

[towny44]

We have a Baltic cruise booked for 2023 but having done 2 previously we would not be bothered if SP is still off the itinerary, in fact we would prefer 2 extra ports.
I suspect that it will be unlikely that Putin will give up his idea of having a Ukraine govt allied to Russia, unless the UN and NATO put troops into Ukraine. So I think Russian ports will be off the cruising menu for some years to come, or until Putin or his allies are out of office.

[oldbluefox]

I would be quite happy to have other ports instead of SP. When you've done the Baltic a few times there's a limit to what else you could see so two days in SP is rather wasted.
This war will not be welcomed by those in the tourist industry in SP.

[Stephen]

I see after the announcement of the price of crude oil shooting up to a record $100 a barrel the petrol stations are starting to fill up.

I decided to top up this morning and there was a small queue which is unusual on a weekday…I’m going to pop out latter and fill my wife’s car up because as you say the only way is up.

I phoned Mrs S at work this morning and suggested she fill up on her way home, as she needs it with her job. She said she just got into the filling station which quickly got busy with vehicles following behind.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I would be quite happy to have other ports instead of SP. When you've done the Baltic a few times there's a limit to what else you could see so two days in SP is rather wasted.
This war will not be welcomed by those in the tourist industry in SP.

You're right. We enjoyed two days in SP but wouldn't be bothered about going again. Especially as you have to sail right by a major Russian naval base to get there! But I'm not sure Putin is bothered about his tourist industry!

[Ray B]

Moby, we were to go August, would have been nice to see a bit of Russia having never been. Maybe we may get a chance in the future, but I have a feeling the chance has gone.
We have tried three times to cruise to Florence and Rome. 1st cruise PO sold the ship, 2nd cruise canceled because of covid, 3rd cruise will be just before Easter. Here's hoping.

[Manoverboard]

Moby, we were to go August, would have been nice to see a bit of Russia having never been. Maybe we may get a chance in the future, but I have a feeling the chance has gone.
We have tried three times to cruise to Florence and Rome. 1st cruise PO sold the ship, 2nd cruise canceled because of covid, 3rd cruise will be just before Easter. Here's hoping.

St Petes is interesting but it is necessary that you book a tour or two to see your choice of highlights.

We however would return to Tallinn in preference to St Petes.

Never say never

[Mervyn and Trish]

It was encouraging to see the political unity in the Commons in response to events in Ukraine. I was pleasantly surprised not to see Queen Nicola on her feet insisting she had a better idea.

It's a shame it's taken such serious events to make our politicians put aside petty political differences for the common good. To mind it's a shame they didn't do so over Covid.

If they'd done so then, instead of playing political games, I think we'd have seen far less anti vax and Covid denying activity, without what they probably felt was justification from their party leaders..

From what I've read in social media I suspect there's a fair degree of correlation between anti Tory views and Covid scepticism.

[Gill W]

My observation is the Covid scepticism is strongest amongst right wing types whose news source is GB News.

Just been watching the urgent question in the Commons regarding Ukraine - a very sombre tone is being struck, quite rightly. Very refreshing after all the bellicose blustering we have become used to.

This is a time for unity, everyone in the west needs to stick together - but I don’t know how a mad man with nukes can be stopped. If Putin is successful in Ukraine, what else will he do. Estonia and the Balkan states ? Finland?

All we can do is stick with our allies, like the US and the EU.

[Manoverboard]

Ukraine is a want-a-way Soviet State, the Russian is sending them a firm message, also to Belarus.

What I don't understand is why the Russian forces headed off to Chernobyl on Day 1, could there be a problem developing within that site ?

[david63]

What I don't understand is why the Russian forces headed off to Chernobyl on Day 1, could there be a problem developing within that site ?

That baffled me as well - I would have thought that that was the last place anyone would want to go