suech1970

That’s great info to be going on with, thank you😁 Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Enjoyed reading your cruise very much, just booked 14 nights on Sun for South Pacific next year😁 Would appreciate your recommendations and details of 3rd party excursions on the islands you visited, when you get chance. I’m not one for ships excursions either. just one random question, can you legally bring vanilla back with you from the farm? Thinking my cakes could do with a real kick😋

Just booked our 7th NCL cruise to South Pacific and like so many others, it’s not the ship it’s the itinerary. Also turns out we’ve bagged some cracking cruises after NCL cancellations and “redeployments”. About to take our 3rd sailing on Sky, guess age means nothing to us. I quite like a creaky ship, feels like the the ships got a bit of character and gives you the feeling of actually being at sea😁

🥳🥳🥳🥳😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰 Superb pictures, did a GREAT job for me. I’ve just woke up, what a great way to start my day. BIG thanks 81Zoomie😁

🥳🥳🥳 maybe when he’s finished the officers v passengers pool volleyball game?😍

So enjoying reading these posts, big thanks 😁 I’m very jealous to see Giuseppe is your CD plus he’s doing the The Naughty List tonight! Our most memorable night with him by far! Totally adult only entertainment but I’ve never ever seen my mother in law laugh so hard😂 Any pictures of that crazy Sicilian will be gratefully appreciated 😉

Marella is a great way to start cruising without a doubt, flights, transfers, all inclusive all neatly packaged but wow the prices atm! The reviews will have you running yourself in circles, so take them with a pinch of salt. Instead take a look at you tube for some ship and cabin vlogs. See if you like the look of the food, cabins, entertainment etc, there’s plenty out there! We’ve never found Marella like Butlins, maybe too fun or casual for some, but that’s the way we like to cruise. Yes, I’d say nearly 3 grand is a bit rich for Marella for a week but if the cruises are selling they won’t drop the prices. I’m having trouble getting my head round one of their 2 weeks cruises around Greece &Turkey costing nearly £5000😖😖😖 but after comparing other lines, it’s in the ball park. Yes, Celebrity is a step up on Marella. We’ve done 3 Celebrity cruises and the ships are a little more glitzy, cabins more modern and the food was generally better but we enjoyed Marella just as much. If your looking at celebrity’s Infinity, she’s on the smaller side of their ships, great for a first timer. I wouldn’t have no problems booking any of their inside cabins for sure, just check there is no public areas on deck above, ie pool deck, bars or restaurants. There drinks/Wi-Fi package is definitely worth it🍹 If you are considering Celebrity, remember to cost in your own transfers and fly out the day before you sail, so overnight in hotel too.

We have huge suitcases, and had no problems getting them under the bed. Sometimes need a bit of wiggling around frames under bed.

A Greek cruise is a wonderful experience but timing is everything. So best try to avoid peak times July to Sept. Yes, Celestyal do dock with larger ships, but you can also check the cruise port schedules on Cruise Mapper, to avoid ports with multiple ships in. Some ports, like Athens can absorb multiple ships in on same day, others like Santorini, turn out to be a compete bun fight.

Looks like another 11lb er trip again, with breakfasts like that and black Angus steaks. Thats one thing I don’t like about Sky, the canteen style lay out, rather than islands like on other ships, just causes queues. Given the choice we’d skip out back to Great outdoors, less manic out there, especially for breakfast. Good to know things aren’t going downhill, glad you had good time. Did you go to Catalina island?

ColdCruise……..that’s an amazing itinerary you’ve had, unless NCL changed it, like ours on Sky 20 April ?? Did you get off or do an excursion on Catalina island? Reading very mixed reports about it. Don’t wanna do a ship trip and not feeling the hassle of the tender for half a day, we have plenty of beautiful beaches to come. Also, about La Romana mini resort. Do you think you could use it for a few hours on disembarkation day. Obviously off ship early and our flight doesn’t leave till 6.30 pm. Looking for day pass but only coming up with stupid money atm. Just really after a bar, pool and shower, maybe somewhere to store luggage. Don’t want to do ship excursion, way too expensive. Our 3rd time on Sky, she gets the best itineraries, till they change em😡. We are hoping that the food and service WON’T be as good as last year….we put on 11lbs in 9 days😂. Love the ship plus our fav band Sonata is on board🤞 ColdCruise….any thoughts appreciated

Understanding that! Remember you also get a bit of discount if you are a certain tier on the Latitudes program also. I’m now looking at a couple of beach transfers with the ship on our next cruise😆. After doing the maths ships beach excursions are either within a few dollars or quite a bit cheaper! I just hate being part of the herd off the ship😖

Or you could get a shared beach shuttle from the taxi guys on the pier, pick your own preferred beach, not be part of the herd and save yourself a load of $$$

Assuming your doing Equinox, if so most of your ports of call are pretty easy, with a bit of research, to do under your own steam. Unless your looking at doing very specific trips ie wine tasting etc. You have a good length of time in every port so using the local trains or the tourist hop on/off buses would be a massive saving. Having watched hundreds of ports of call videos on You Tube, I can’t tell you how helpful they are, feel like I’ve already been by the time I get there😆. There’s very little you can’t find on the Ports of Call, especially on the European destinations here on CC.

I have loved reading this thread. I’ve got so fed up lately of reading moaning posts about NCL. We’ve only done 5 NCL’s, 2 more booked though, but they’ve turned out to be 1st go to cruise line. They were the first cruise line we tried after a long time with a tried and tested and well loved, small UK line after they went out of of business. There have been so many fantastic memories made aboard their ships, too many to list for sure, but here’s a few….. *Our 1st sail on Gem out of NY down to the Caribbean, pinch me moment. Coolest captain on the seas who performed live at Rock night Eric Claptons Cocaine. *Our first “Newly/Not so Newly Wed” games show. We still laugh to this day and still don’t know what “backy backy” referred to🤣. *Miami Vices & Dark & Stormys our favourite cocktails on board. NCL bar tenders are the best at sea🍹 *Our Panama Canal cruise on Jade and winning my first Champions t~shirt. *Caribbean cruise on Sky last year, food and drink were so good we gained 10lbs in 9 days 😖 * Our recent Far East cruise on Jewel, the most amazing experience to date. After reading so many awful reviews pre cruise, ship, staff, food, drinks and service was superb. *Sonata, the best band NCL have. Blowed us away with their out of the box rock performances on Sky. Can’t wait to see them again in 6 weeks🥳 *Chilled breakfast in O’Sheehans, our best find on Jewel. Good to see I’m not the only one that loves NCL😁

I’ve had a very nice pair of diamond studs from Gemini jewellers next to the Royal Plaza Mall. Sales guy very honest, actually recommended the smaller pair for my ears, not many people would have done this. Also had some nice pieces out of Shivas Gold & Gems. I try and avoid Effy and Diamonds international. Always think they’re overpriced. I always have a rough idea of price at home and barter hard. Haven’t bought jewellery at home for years, save my money for Caribbean now. Happy shopping😉

I can remember the taxi being $100 in 2021. Friendly taxis just quoted $120 return for upto 4 passengers.

Mambo beach is 15 mins from port. Usually plenty of taxis doing this run. Beach has plenty of bars and loungers, cocktails were pricey though last time we went so we grabbed a bottle of rums from the shops behind and just bought coke😉

I was just looking up taxi rates to Playa Porto Marie beach. Have emailed Friendly taxis for fare but it says on their site $50 each way for upto 4 passengers. Will let you know

Booked Celebrity Beyond 12 months ago, only another 12 months to go🥳 Just booked NCL DAWN, for Indian Ocean, 697 days to go 🥳🥳 We’ve got a few in between to keep us going 😉

Tried P&O last year in Caribbean, last minute cheaply. One and done. Just not our fit, too many formal nights, really slow bar service, poor food, and people glaring at you coz you’re still in swim wear at 6pm and they’re all dressed for dinner🙄. We started cruising with Ocean Village, their tag “the cruise for people who don’t do cruises”. They had a feel very much like Marella, revamped older ships, casual, family, and very friendly atmosphere with awesome itineraries. We did 4 with our kids till they got sold off…my girls actually cried!! I’m struggling between 2 med cruises atm, one with Discovery 2 and the other on NCL Sky. Both great itineraries, minimal sea days, both ships tried and tested, but the £££££ for just the Med 😱, just can’t get my head around. Just back off Far East cruise and that cost roughly the same! It’s not like Marella are dropping their prices for last minute deals now either. Haven’t sailed with them since 2022 but we get a few nice perks with NCL now, so maybe I’ll just toss a coin 😆

My hubby has never worn a dinner suit on chic night or whatever they call it on Marella. A smart shirt and trousers/chinos alway suffices. There will be the odd tux or kilt knocking about the ship but in general, trousers, shirt, with or without jacket is fine. You’ll not feel out of place whatever you wear. In fact he had a fit when we had to take his suit on our P&O and hated it, that’s why we’re one and done with them😆. Georgeanddan.com have lots of info about Explorer, including the daily programs. Tips…relax and enjoy

Back from our 1st Far East cruise and it was worth every bit of hassle pre cruise. Every day was a pinch me moment! Every place we went was better than any photos! Except Jakarta. Bumped into Marella cruisers in Singapore, they said they were having a blast too. Definitely a more active cruise, sometimes to the point of collapse, with the heat and humidity compared to Caribbean. However we did feel like we should see and do everything as we may not return. Turns out now we probably will🙄. Hard choice to make, 2 very different cruises IMO.

Flying out on our 1st Far East cruise tomorrow. Here’s what I know so far… Indonesian visa was absolute nightmare to get on line, took me 10 days of trying and a lot of stress. A lot of our roll call had probs. Found excursions were definitely well over priced. We are sailing NCL so you might be Ok with Marella. Getting info on certain ports of call for transfer/ tours/ prices etc. hard. Malaysian arrival card was also nightmare, still not got that sorted yet! 4 currencies to take. All negatives pre travel but I may forget this when these places totally blow me away, here’s hoping. Caribbean…book it, rock up with us$ in your pocket and your away. Never gets old or less beautiful

Take snorkelling gear for 14 year old, and a set for yourself, if they like swimming of course. Easy to do from most beaches, no need for pro trip, some beaches better for coral and fish than others. Beach toys for little ones, you don’t see that many around ports. Some beaches have inflatables to use, trampolines, rib rides and jet skis to hire. When we traveled with our kids we took them to Dickinson Bay on Antigua To see planes at Maho beach on St Maarten To see Pirates of Caribbean film set on St Vincents To see Pitons and drive in volcano on catermaran trip with snorkelling You’ll see in excursion from ship there’s a load of things you can do, but you’d be best judge of what you want a 3 year old to do, or won’t bore a 14 year old😆. Our kids were 6 & 9 when we did our first Caribbean cruise and lapped it up. You may not get them out of the kids club! Obviously ships excursions going to be more expensive and everything is available from taxi drivers waiting at port whether it be island tours or beach shuttles. Depends on how comfortable you are going your own way. Caribbean ports are great to get round on your own and most are incredibly friendly and helpful. Loads of info on Ports of Call for you to get idea of prices of taxi etc. Ship App also a good place to look.