SquishTheWhale

I'm exhausted just reading about your travel day! But also as a former flight attendant I'm cringing at you getting up and walking around the plane while it's still moving. No no no those rules are there for a reason, and the reason is your safety. But anyway. The Marina Bay Sands is on my bucket list so this whole trip sounds amazing.

Malaga was one of our surprise favourite ports! The port area itself is really lovely. Covered walk ways with nice shops and restaurants. We walked through there and then right which takes you to the beach. After some photos (it was January so not warm enough to spend time there!) we headed left where there was an observation wheel- not sure if still there. It was a great way to see the city though. It was very easy to just walk through the centre and find the historical sites and shopping area etc. Just wish we had time to do the castle too! This is a photo of the port area I took from the wheel. Where the ship was actually docked was off to the right.

Anyone stayed at the h10 urquinaona plaza? Booked it as we are planning a trip to Barcelona Zoo pre cruise and its a good location but just hoping we've made a good choice!

Right I see now as we do have single cream, just isn't something people would put in their drink. We'd use it for cooking or baking etc.

Oh I see thank you. I drink my coffee black, but obviously as the other option here is milk then people have quite a lot. Next time I'm in the US I'll have to try some!

Sorry if off topic, but what time do the pools close in the evening? As there's not much for kids on Azura except the kids clubs I'm wondering if an evening swim is possible 🙂

Oh sounds nasty and also pretty bad for you if having it regularly! My husband does sometimes like cream in his coffee if we have some left from baking but its actual real single cream from the fridge

Oh thank you I hadn't read every page. Hope the OP never comes to the UK if they can't handle life without it 😆 Although I guess you could make your own by buying cream and milk

December here too, Azura to the Canaries. First one for Hiro! We have a couple of weekends away in the UK before then but haven't been abroad since last May. Who are you going with in Dec? You've just got back haven't you 😆

What actually is half and half please?? I assumed it was semi skimmed milk but that seems to be incorrect

So I can't leave my 3yr old in the hot tub and go ashore 😭 Joking aside I'm glad they're being clear as I havent cruised with a kid before so it's useful to know.

We take water bottles with in built filters and find that really helps with the taste of the ship water

Barbados- we did a ship excursion to one of the nearby beaches for a turtle snorkel. Only did it through the cruise line as we had an excursion credit promo to use up, it's very easy to do yourself. The beaches near the port are stunning and loads of beach clubs to choose from which will take you out to the snorkel spots. Antigua- did an island tour which we pre booked from one of the many independent operators in port. It was excellent and theres so much to see, we found it to be one of the more pleasant Caribbean islands in terms of how clean it was etc. Nelsons Dockyard, gorgeous view points, the cricket stadium and a beach visit. St Kitts- we did the zip lining course in the jungle. You can book this independently only if the cruise line doesn't offer it as an excursion, we were with Princess who didn't. They will pick you up in port. The zip lines were amazing and so many of them, it was just us doing it with 2 guides. At the site there's also some historical ruins and a batik factory where we saw a big excursion visiting St Lucia- we used Spencer Ambrose to book a speedboat tour which included the volcanic mud baths, waterfall and sugar beach between the pitons. The snorkelling from that beach is out of this world. However don't book with Spencer as there's been huge issues with them in recent years, our tour we had several non serious issues. Cosol tours are supposed to be good but they do 1 way coach and return on speedboat, and we wanted it all via speedboat

You sound very jaded. Maybe sailing one ship/line so many times that you are incredibly bored with the dining and entertainment isn't the secret to a successful trip.

I'll second that- if you are going by car from Southampton to Heathrow then part of your journey will be on the M25 which is absolutely horrific for traffic at times. I'd book as late a flight as possible

Hi all Does anyone know if these are always Gatwick? Trying to book an airport hotel for our December Azura cruise

Yes to be fair it's the annual leave days once he starts school rather than the fines- it'll be a struggle enough to cover 12 weeks a year without adding more! We'll probably end up taking him out to go to Florida at one point though. I'm having that pricing glitch too with the 2025 cruises- I think it doesn't add on the extra passenger fares until you actually go through to book it's so annoying. Oct half term was 1.5k for us though which isn't bad

Not with nursery but Hiro will have started school by then (Oct 2024 not 24th Oct this year, just realised I wasn't clear)! Can't believe he starts next year. Oct 2024 half term is actually pretty reasonable (or so I think anyway!) and there's a 7 day southern Europe itinerary which is unusual for the usual Iona and Arvia offerings We also have Azura canaries booked for this December but really wanted to go on Iona

Sorry for late reply! They have lots about how Norways economy hugely hinges on Oil which I didn't know- the oil actually belongs to all the citizens of Norway so everyone is technically rich from it, even if they can't cash it in. Really interesting. They also have lots of displays about oil rigs and drilling, a kids play area and a mini oil rig you can climb around in- although watch out of the 'escape chute' as I know someone who broke his foot jumping down it! I think we spent around 3hrs there and it was much more interesting than it sounds, although I did slightly reach my limit when my husband wanted to examine each and every drill bit on display. Thanks for the review Vamps, have loved reading it! Have an amazing time in Florida. I'm looking at booking Iona for Oct 24 half term so it's been really helpful 🙂

I second this! My husband wanted to go and I thought it sounded deathly boring but it was great

I found that too but thought it was due to them somehow not including the 3rd passenger in the initial quote as it would jump up by 50% when you try and go through. But maybe not if you're having the same issue

I find children to be far more environmentally aware than adults! My son is only 3 and he would never do that. First off he knows littering and throwing things he can't pick up is wrong, but also he'd want to play with it. Even a toddler possses the logic to know they can't play with something they throw overboard.

Great review so far, your girls look so sweet in their dresses. I'm getting a 'herding cats' vibe from your side so far, I hope you get time to relax!

I don't think I've ever seen anyone walking around in a robe. Usually I'd put on my swimwear in the cabin under my normal clothes (or a beach cover up if its hot) and then strip poolside. There's also poolside toilets you could just change in. On a hot weather cruise I have been known to do the soggy dash back to my cabin with just a towel over my swimwear!

It's an American thing. On a FB group I've seen people getting hundreds of these things custom printed with a band logo which is so incomprehensible to me because 1. It must have cost them, 2. Not everyone likes the same band as you, and 3. WHY As the owner of a young child, bath toys that are squeezy with a hole in them are a breeding ground for black mould as the water can't escape once it's inside. So these things are no good for young kids even! I guess my son would be happy to find one and I'd let him play with it but not in water. On NCL they have grab machines with ducks in various designs so maybe that's where the idea originated- people won the ducks and then rehid them around the ship? My mum crochets (with real wool) small toys and leaves them in local parks for children, I know people paint rocks and leave them to be found and rehidden. Much more environmentally friendly versions of this game!