jo lou

Very many thanks! 😎

Hi...we are off on our cruise on Friday. Any recommendations on the various ports of call would be much appreciated. We don’t do the ‘ships’ trips. Many thanks 😀😀

We are considering the above departing on 17 January 2020.  Just wondered what the weather might be like cruising around the Canaries whilst at sea.  I know it is impossible to be precise, as the weather at sea or on land is very unpredictable, as we all know,  However your experience(s) when you have cruised around the Canaries in January would be most welcome.  Many thanks! 😊

Many thanks for all your responses.  We're off on Saturday to hopefully some better weather 😎😎 than we are having here!!

Many thanks ... just another query!  I've looked on line at the excursions provided by the ship and there doesn't appear to be anything similar to your shorex.  If it is available once on board, can you recall roughly how long the trip was and cost.  We, like you, normally do DIY but on this occasion probably not!!

Many thanks for your responses.  Edinburgher ... your shorex to Santa Margherita and Portofino, was DIY or a ship trip?

We are visiting Marina Di Carrara, a stop for Florence and Pisa, both of which we have visited before, and don't wish to revisit.  Any recommendations from anyone that has visited this port on what to do locally?  We are also stopping at St Raphael which is a tender stop.  When dropped off, is it far from St Raphael itself, ie walking distance?  Would appreciate any responses if you have previously visited or may have been on a similar cruise.  

Many thanks   ☺️☺️

Many thanks to you all for your helpful responses.  Have now booked our cruise departing 15 June....not long!!  Installed the vessel finder app and will have a look tomorrow when ship is in dock.  Happy cruising!  😎🛳️

We are considering a cruise on Marella Discovery 2 which departs from Palma de Mallorca.  To anyone that has recently sailed from this port, where was the ship docked?  Last year due to where the ship (Dream on this occasion) was docked, it was too far away from the port entrance to go ashore and we were only on a 7 day cruise. Any responses would be much appreciated.  🙂🙂

Hi ... we have cruised on the Dream numerous times and we always have an inside cabin.  We always go for deck 7 midship, say cabin 7098 or thereabouts, but we always prebook our cabin so we don't end up at the front or back of the ship - you might not but you never know!!

Happy cruising 😎

Considering a Caribbean cruise in early February 2019.  We normally book a cabin with a window but these are not available, so we are looking at booking an inside cabin on Deck 8 or 9.  Would appreciate any comments from anyone that has stayed in these cabins and, as we always pre-book our cabin, is their a good/not so good location.  With many thanks 😃😃

Many thanks Dean+Nicky for such an informative reply. We are not too bothered about captains speech/photos so will try & get in restaurants before the rush! Just 1 more question, what day is dress to impress as normally sea day?

Hi Dean+Nicky...glad you enjoyed your recent cruise. Just a couple of questions. Dress to impress - does the captain still do his speech and then everyone piles into the restaurant? Did your ports of call include St Maartens and Tortola - just wondered how these islands were recovering following the aftermath of the hurricanes? ... and any other information that you think might be useful for our forthcoming cruise would be much appreciated. Many thanks

Have just received our ETicket for the above and decided to check through the itinerary to see what other ships were in port on the various days we visited. I am a little confused to say the least, as either Tui/Marella have got it wrong or cruise timetables (and others). The ports of call are correct but not the days we are visiting - for example Tui/Marella say 22 Jan St Lucia whereas cruise timetables say 27 Jan, in fact the whole week is different apart from Barbados...unless I have been sent the incorrect itinerary! Has anyone else picked up on this? We were considering booking a private trip in St Lucia but am now doubting which day we are there!

Anyway any comments from those on the same cruise would be appreciated. Also another question "dress to impress" evening - roughly how many participate (to those that may have been before)?

We have now booked a cruise on the Discovery and are looking to book an outside cabin on Deck 3. Is there any noise from the deck above and are there any cabin numbers that you would recommend?

Many thanks for any responses. :):):):)

Thank you all for your very informative responses & answers to my queries...now feel more confident about booking! Hope you all enjoy your forthcoming cruises wherever they may take you!

🙂🙂🙂🙂

We are considering a Caribbean cruise on the Marella Discovery in January....we are new to this ship although have been on many Thomson ships - mainly Dream and Celebration. Any advice would be appreciated on the cabins, particularly those on deck 2/3 inside, or outside (but with window not porthole). Also the dining seating arrangements in the waiter service restaurant - is it shared tables with different people on each evening (like the Dream/Celebration) and finally is shower head in the bathroom flexible and not fixed.

Any responses would be much appreciated together with any other information that may be useful.

With many thanks.

:):):):)

To anyone that has recently cruised on the Spirit...is the shower head fixed or can it be hand-held? We are looking to book an inside cabin. Also is there still a cinema on the ship? Any responses would be much appreciated. Many thanks :):):)

Hi Jackie

See response I have received from another site which I thought you might find of interest and gives a little more info re the above.

"...........I also did the same cruise Croation Classics as Wallace with Thomson on the 14th of May, and it's my 5th cruise with Thomson. Always have a great time, great service, great entertainment and always do an excursion at every port with Thomson and have never been disappointed. So organised and you have peace of mind that the ship will wait for you if there are any delays. With this cruise we did one bike tour in Rovinj and the rest walking tours which only last a few hours and you can then either return back to the ship with the guide or stay and do your own thing. I found the walking tours to be a great way to find out about the places we visited and wouldn't really find some hidden gems without the help of a tour guide. We also felt very safe too. With regards to the question , we had difficulty in Rovinj paying with Euros, this was on the bike tour and wasn't in the town centre but at a stop off point on the tour in the countryside, so I can understand that. But most places do take Euros especially in the main centres and are able to calculate the costs in Euros even if you wanted to pay part Euros and part Kuna. However just a few things to bring to your attention, we found the price seemed higher when we paid in Euros and they give you change back in Kuna or round things off. Also, I highly recommend if you wish to exchange your money on the ship, use Sterling to do purchase Kuna NOT Euros. A lot of people complained that they wanted to exchange their Euros for Kuna but the ship calculate Euros back into Sterling then into Kuna, thus losing money on the exchange. We also found the exchange rate higher on the ship then at the ports especially in Split, so if you wanted to exchange your Kuna back to Euros at the end of your cruise, it would be advisable to change your remaining Kuna back to Euros at the port. Ok, what to see in Zadar, you must visit the Sea Organ and The Greeting to the Sun which are located at the bus drop off points. There is a promenade along there where you can stroll and then off to the left, visit the round church of St Donat - which is made from Roman remains and see the forum too. The town itself is small and there is a lovely market. Split, I would recommend visiting Diocletian's palace and walk underneath into the cellars where there is a market and it's also nice and cool to escape the heat. They also had a Roman show there. Great city to visit. Rovinj - having only cycled through it on our way out to the countryside and forest, it was beautiful but also a bit hilly, but well worth strolling around the cobbled streets. The view from the top by the church out to sea was stunning! Croatia didn't disappoint! I hope you have a fantastic time........."

We are just doing the week's cruise - not long now!!

Jo lou

Some advice please from anyone that has been on the recent Croatian Classics cruise. When visiting Rovinj / Zadar / Split were you able to use Euros? We have been to Dubrovnik several times and have always used Euros. Also any tips on what to do on the above 3 stops would be much appreciated - we don't do Thomson trips just our own thing. Our cruise is on 11 June so any responses would be welcome :):):)

Is there anyone out there that might have taken a cruise similar to the above? We have been to the Caribbean many times but not to that part. My question is....would we be able to do our 'own' thing? On previous cruises it's been so easy...there's always taxis, mini buses and so on, ready to take you wherever at a very reasonable price. Once again, it's a fear of the unknown!! Any advice would be appreciated.;););)

Thats sorted then :D

 

Simples

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So which is it to be....fixed or flexible? I am rather hoping for some more responses - it could be a deal breaker!

Hi Linda. I'm having the same quandary as you....whether to stay with Thomson (Celebration) for our Caribbean cruise in Feb or 'jump ship' and go with P&O. We have cruised with Thomson many times and, although the ships are dated, they have more ports of call, less sea days, exceptional entertainment and the food's not bad.....who am I trying to convince! Haven't been on the Celebration for a long time so really have little recollection of it....apart from the judder! Anyway I would be very interested to hear of any progress you make.

Does anyone know if the shower heads in the bathrooms (standard cabins) are the type that have a flexible hose or are they fixed? I can't remember, it's been a while since we were on the Celebration. Many thanks.

Many thanks for your responses .... I have emailed Cosol and they have confirmed they will picked us up wherever the ship docks ... not long now! :):):):)