Brummijam

3 hours ago, oscarshep said:

Hi,

 

I`m getting some ciggies for someone at work when I go on Explorer in May. Ports of call are in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro and Corfu. Does anyone know from experience which place might be the cheapest to buy them. It`s a filthy habit I know but happy to save someone a few quid.

Thanks.

I purchased rolling tobacco at the duty free shops at corfu airport, They had a good selection of tobacco products at decent prices. Ok as a last resort if you don’t get them onboard or on your travels.

I am assuming that you are flying to and from Corfu.

7 hours ago, paularmstrong said:

dont know about the rum but the coke comes out of large bottle which may not be the fizzyest , the upgrade will get you a fresh can of coke

Cans of coke are charged at a pound each if you aren’t on the upgraded package.😉

Great review Becky.

Congrats on your award 🏆👍

Proper rinsed us RR.😂🤦🏻

2 hours ago, dronnygirl said:

Can't understand why anyone would want to spend their holiday in a launderette, unless they were on a very long cruise.

As I recall the spirit had a self service laundrette and it was always in use by someone.

If you are doing a two week cruise or a cruise and stay it would be very useful.😉

1 hour ago, Manchester is blue said:

We did the Transatlantic crossing in November on the Discovery 2. It was advertised as Adults only, and indeed there were only adults onboard.

We did the transatlantic repositioning cruise on Explorer and there were no children on board.

Explorer2 is always child free.

1 hour ago, Jim The Scot said:

On our last cruise we were informed our cards would in our cabin,they weren,t.We had to head to the bar/lounge/Live Room to watch the video/film which was on a loop,then we were shown where our muster station on deck,then head to a desk to collect cabin card.After all that was very thirsty so had a drink before heading to cabin 😆

After all that was very thirsty so had a drink before heading to cabin 
This is a must ⬆️ Hydration is so important.🍺😉

I was under the impression that Explorer 2 was the only adults only ship in Marellas fleet.

1 hour ago, Rebel Rouser said:

It's Marella Voyager when we're on the Maiden Voyage. Managed to get that with £300 plus £200 compensation for a mix-up off in June this year. 

I think that Marella are overpricing their trips at the moment. (apart from the few special offers) Perhaps trying to recoup money they lost during the pandemic.?

That’s a good price RR.

47 minutes ago, Pensioncruiser said:

All ok here thanks BJ hope you and yours are the same, nice to hear your M in L is still cruising, at just a little older than us🙄. From what I recall we last paid £550 annual World wide for both of us through our bank. 

Stay safe. 

All good here PC😉

M in law had Lloyds travel insurance linked to her premier account but they don’t insure over eighties. This will be her first trip in five years because of the price of travel insurance.🤷🏻‍♂️

Hi PC.hope you and mrs PC are keeping well.

Mother in law is doing a saga cruise, two weeks western Mediterranean and it has cost £850 insurance for the single trip. She is 85 years old.🤦🏻‍♂️

Does travel insurance get more expensive when you reach certain birthdays?

The reason I ask is I got one year cover including the carribean for approximately £300 back in 2019 when I was 63 years old, I applied for the same again last September and was quoted £2,500 to cover the same destinations. Just after reaching state pension age (66)

These quotes are to cover existing medical conditions.

6 hours ago, 2BACRUISER said:

I follow Marella on Facecloth and see offers that way at the mo theres the £300 off deal on not sure when it ends could do with knowing as we have a voucher for a cancelled cruise to use before the end of May and want to combine them but holding fire until DH can confirm some dates he can go. 

As Dronnygirl has posted the £300 off deal finished a couple of weeks ago,it doesn’t really matter because the cruise price does usually drop after the deal ends.

Exactly this.  Don’t waste your money.

Where we live we are spoiled for choice for Asian food and we have never had a meal that was as disappointing as the one we had at the Kora la on Explorer.🤢

Found this on Marella’s faq pages.

14) Can I hire a wheelchair onboard a Marella Cruise?

We don't have wheelchairs available to hire onboard. If you need a manual wheelchair or a mobility scooter, please bring this with you. You can use both manual and electric wheelchairs onboard our cruises, but we do have a limit on the number we can carry for safety reasons. 

If you're planning to book a Marella Cruise and want to bring a wheelchair, please call our Assisted Travel Team on 0203 451 2880, before you book, to make sure we have availability. If you've already booked your cruise, you'll still need to call us, so we can check for you. The team will also be able to highlight any restrictions on using your wheelchair onboard the ship.

Due to health and safety regulations, our crew are restricted in the maximum weight they're allowed to lift. This means we're unable to accept any wheelchairs or scooters that don't break down into pieces, with a maximum weight of 20kg per individual piece. 

You (or your travelling companion) are responsible for assembling and disassembling the wheelchair/ mobility device.

Calls from landlines cost the standard rate, but calls from mobiles may be higher. Check with your network provider.

Definitely have seen mobility scooters onboard ,but not sure if they were personal or TUI owned. Someone on here will give you a definitive answer I’m sure.

Good luck.

4 hours ago, Rebel Rouser said:

Harsh it maybe. But when a post then advises that a Booster is no longer needed, and OP post that they were still checking for Boosters. Sends out a mixed message of? Do we or don't we need a  booster. I was only trying to help everyone and not to give out mixed messages. 😇

Hi RR.

August 2023med posted this earlier in this thread……

5 hours ago, Rebel Rouser said:

Marella posted the updates yesterday so last week is irrelevant. 

Harsh RR.

It looked like a couple of posts were saying that checks on vax status were not being carried out and therefore perhaps giving a false sense of security.

If you turn up at the port and you are refused boarding  it buggers it up for the whole party.

When we went to tenerife last December from Birmingham there was as aTUI rep at the self service bag drop checking the required documentation for cruise passengers, Also at Tenerife port the procedure was …. Watch the safety video get documentation checked and they gave us a paper sticker with the word ..checked ..printed on it and then we could proceed to the check in desks to register bank cards and then board.

5 hours ago, howmuch! said:

I note we are paying a higher daily rate than the European arm, in spite of sailing in a few of their cast-off ships.

 

Advertised prices for current Marella cruises are ridiculous in my opinion. Seriously looking at other options

We were on Explorer pre xmas and quite a few people were commenting on how grubby the public areas were looking, Standards are definitely dropping post covid. Trying to find clean seats in the squid and anchor was a difficult task it's probably for the best that their busy time is at night when its dark in the room.

We are looking towards other cruise lines Marella are getting complacent.

 I wouldn't put this in my garden.

On 2/12/2023 at 3:10 PM, Leomins said:

We went across to Agadir in a force 11 gale and then Agadir port was closed so we had to turn back.

I bet that was interesting.😳🤢

1 hour ago, Missdaisydo said:

I'm desperate for an update! We have just booked to go on 3 April 2023 (last-minute trip planed with the whole family)and just discovered my son (age12) has not had two vaccines and we don't have enought time left before travel to get him jabbed! We need to take him off the booking but the longer we leave it the more money we lose 😭 if we cancel in the next 24 hours we lose 30%. 

If anyone gets a sniff of an update please let me know! 🙏 how sure are people on the 23 April date? If so it's not worth me holding any hope

Can’t you get him inoculated privately through your GP ?

41 minutes ago, paularmstrong said:

Just had booking letter from TUI that states that you do not collect suitcases following flight , they go straight to ship also that a bus collects passengers direct from plane , do not go through airport.(barbados). One less hassle 

Hi Paul.

The opening post from Janros was an enquiry regarding Palma airport Spain, it looks like your trip is to Grantley Adams airport Barbados where the procedure is as you described.😉

4 hours ago, Jim The Scot said:

As Brummijam says but as they are just printed off version we purchased cruise luggage tags otherwise it debatable if they,d still be on your luggage by the time it reaches Palma

 

On previous cruises we have seen a number of fellow passengers just attaching their luggage labels after retrieving their suitcase and pre coach transfer

Hi Jim.

It depends on how well you attach them, I need bolt croppers and a bit of time to get ours off when we get back home.😂