DamianG

23 minutes ago, john watson said:

It is not a good idea to participate in the organised luggage carry off by the crew and them try to self-disembark.  This is because once in the baggage hall the staff expect passengers to  leave the area immediately.  The organised luggage will be coming into a separated off area in large pallet type containers and spread out in piles.  They do not tolerate people waiting in the baggage hall who have disembarked before they are told to. This is all part of organising things Only passengers whose luggage has been laid out in the hall are wanted in the hall and the staff keep in contact on progress by radio.

 

Regards John

I completely agree, sadly there were a load of passengers being intercepted on that particular cruise. 

4 hours ago, MyriamS said:

Hmm why? Did the staff suspect these passengers to be trying to "sneak in" early in the luggage hall by joining the self-disembarkation queue?

If so, I hope we won't be held back because it looks like we don't have enough luggage. We really have nothing more than 1 backpack each, as hard as it seems to believe for some people (last time we flew to the US, the check-in agent seemed flabbergasted by our lack of suitcases).

The couple that were in front of us were carrying a single small bag. They were stopped by a steward in the terminal who asked where their luggage was. "We are going to collect it now" was their answer. At this point they were directed to a waiting area and advised that general disembarkation had not yet commenced as luggage was still being unloaded and moved to the baggage hall.

So they had either missed or deliberately chosen to ignore the disembarkation information that would have been left in their cabin for them to read.

I do not think you will have any problems self disembarking and if challenged you will be able to deminstrate that you are carrying all your luggage (if you really need to).

We’ve self disembarked Iona (albeit not at full capacity) and Arvia (a sold out school holidays cruise) with no problems either time. As others have pointed out it’s an early morning time slot and though there was a large queue around the Atrium both times it moved quickly. We joined the queue both times around 7:30am and were on the road home before 8am.
 

Just a general observation, on both occasions there were passengers in the self disembarkation queue without any luggage! They were being intercepted shore side and made to wait until the end of self disembarkation before being allowed to enter the baggage hall. 

3 hours ago, Purdey16 said:

Pep after her bath 

Fabulous photo, what a gorgeous girl. We struggle to get Teddy to sit long enough for a photo after his grooms. 

It’s a few years ago but we also found taking the train to Den Haag very straightforward. We walked from the dock to the train station but these days would probably look to take a tram or other option from the public transport hub very near the dock (as mentioned above).

We've registered our interest in G626 and G627 and are now waiting for our travel agent to process and confirm the booking next week.

Thanks again for all the comments.

21 minutes ago, kalos said:

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise Damien . We did two weeks on the Azura and due to those 

on for just a week ,you get to see those leaving and the new ones arrive .

For a few hours in between the ship became very peaceful and nice to walk around ,

even the buffet was calm but only until the coaches began to arrive with folk.

You get to hear the captains welcome /goodbye speeches again through the PA .

Hope you enjoy 

Thanks Kalos, it’s also occurred to me that I’ll have the launderette to myself! 😂

Thanks for all the replies. We’ve now found an opportunity to sail on back to back cruises on the same ship (Iona) so are shopping around for the best price. 
 

Staying onboard between cruises when most others are disembarking & embarking sounds like a unique thing to do, and we’ve love to hear anyone else’s experiences of this.

We are looking at various itineraries during the main school holidays in 2026. Yet again some of the Mediterranean cruises have very few days in port, such as this one with just five and a half days:

B618 Mediterranean (pocruises.com)

At least there are some new ports (for us anyway) on certain cruises, such as Gijon, El Ferrol, Santander and Cherbourg (somehow we've never been there). It's also good to see Cagliari again on some itineraries from Southampton.

Finally, I don't recall seeing an itinerary like this one before, with a combination of the Mediterranean plus a call to Madeira:

N619 Spain And Portugal (pocruises.com)

At first glance the cruises all looked a bit "same old" but after some research I think there are some more interesting itineraries (for us) than we've seen for a while.

Best regards

Damian

Hi all

Has anyone ever done back to back cruises on different ships from Southampton? I have half an idea to do a week on one ship, disembark, then embark another same day (obviously from a different dock). 

I know that @daiB has completed many back to back sailings. Any advice Dai?

It's just an idea for now but I would be interested to hear anyone's experiences of swapping ships same day in Southampton.

Thanks

Damian

On 4/12/2024 at 5:48 PM, PrincessPete said:

Hi all, sorry to ask a question that has doubtless been asked before but I can't find the answer!

Just booking an Arvia cruise for later this year and have £150 onboard credit.

Can I use that in advance to book wifi? I think the answer may be "no".

If that is the case and I wait to book the wifi until I am onboard (which I know will be a bit more expensive) can I then use the OBC.

Many thanks for any responses.

Kind regards.

Peter

An alternative strategy is to not buy the drinks package until your second day onboard. We have done that twice as we were pretty certain that we were unlikely to "drink our money's worth" (so to speak) on embarkation day, especially as we knew that we would get some complimentary drinks in the upper loyalty tier embarkation lunch and a sailaway drinks voucher. We missed out on the 10% discount for booking in advance but that was offset for us by skipping a day plus we were able to use OBC towards the cost.

Also, going this way means you can "pay as you go" on embarkation day and get a feel for the drinks menu prices before making the final decision as to whether a drinks package is worthwhile for you or not (in terms of both prices and restrictions).

It looks like the current discount for internet pre-booking is 15% but occasionally they offer as high as 20% so for us that is the better pre-cruise offer. We initially booked internet for our 2025 cruise with a 10% discount but later saw that it was being offered at 20%. Fortunately we were able to cancel our original booking then reorder it with the 20% discount. The refund was received on the same day.

Good luck with your pre-cruise planning.

Damian

On 4/8/2024 at 10:18 PM, AndyMichelle said:

I'm hoping for a slide from the Crows Nest to the atrium, then I won't have to worry about 'lift etiquette' on the way down at least...😊

 

Genius, this would also partially resolve the issue of no midship passenger stairwell. 😉

20 hours ago, Adawn47 said:

I hope your in-laws are alright Damian.

Avril

Thanks Avril.

They're just back from a 16 night cruise on Aurora and father-in-law was getting short of breath. Diagnosed as a chest infection and a little water on the lung so the most likely cause is the notorious Aurora air con. We're all relieved as the diagnosis could have been far worse.

Damian

11 hours ago, Beckett said:

Well, what a day I've had! Just got back from the hozzie (thanks Kalos - love that word) where I've been since midday.

 

Very long story short, I was out for a walk with Ted. It started to rain and I took a tumble down some steps which were very slippery. I landed firstly on my back then my head hit another step - out cold. Fortunately, a lady I know was also out walking and saw it happen. She called for an ambulance and when I came round I was very sick and dizzy. Ambo came quickly and they decided I should go in because I'd lost consciousness. The ambo drivers were so sweet and kind. They drove me home to drop Ted off with my neighbour then took me off to A&E.

 

OMG the A&E was rammed. I've had CT scans of back and head- nothing fractured thank goodness. Five stitches in my head and thumping headache later I was discharged at 10pm. A&E still rammed.

 

I've come home with a massive bandage around my head and my granddaughters, very unkindly I thought, said I looked like a Smurf! 

 

I've had better days!!!

 

Sleep well everyone.

 

Jane xx

Hi Jane

So sorry to hear this, not least the 10 hour wait in A&E. My in-laws had the same experience (but thankfully less of an emergency than yours) on Tuesday when I dropped them off at 11:45am then picked them up after discharge at 10pm.

Best wishes for a swift recovery.

Damian

Thanks again for your ginormous effort in providing the biggest and best live blog I've ever read. 200k+ views and over 1700 posts tells its own story. One of the great pleasures of writing these (as mentioned by @Dermotsgirl) is being able to look back on them in future years and remind yourself of some of the better things that happened but may have faded in your memories. 

5 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

That can work, check the traffic around Oxford, and watch for the stretch into Southampton once you get to Winchester.

Early start should be able to manage around 10am.

 

The UK specific cruises sometimes get queues for parking if using ABP we monitor social media for the cruises that day and keep an eye on traffic.

Thanks again, we've sailed from Southampton many times but this has lots of firsts (Horizon Terminal, ABP Parking and a morning embarkation time rather than afternoon). 

Much appreciated.

3 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

Not sure which route you are on I have found the cheapest option in good range for Southampton is Travelodge 

Tot hill just south of Newbury.

 

We have also used Andover Star and Garter  pubs/restaurants walking and has parking.

Thank you, we have booked Travelodge in Buckingham which works for us.

22 hours ago, showingdiva said:

 

Apologies, I am unsure about priority passengers, but if it helps, I've seen a disembarkation as late as 10.40am and I had a (non-priority) embarkation time of 11am last May.   You should be able to see a embarkation time on your MSC booking, although It may well be subject to change this far out.

6 minutes ago, Stokie33 said:

I think we’ve got on just after 10.30 with priority boarding, people were still getting off as we got on, this was September last year. I always aim to park just after 10.00, and we checked in straight away, didn’t even have time to use the facilities and we were allowed to get on the ship xx

Thanks both, great information and more or less what I was thinking. Hotel now booked to break up the journey South and get us to the port earlier than usual.

Best regards

Damian

Hi all.

Generally speaking, what time does boarding start at the Horizon Cruise Terminal (Southampton) for those with priority please?

I appreciate that we will be given a specific time nearer to our July cruise, but we're just trying to get an idea for our travel arrangements.

Thanks in advance.

15 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Todays MDR menus. Black Tie tonight and thankfully a Celebration menu. 

We've all got different tastes of course but for me that's the most appealing menu to date and I could easily choose five courses (though I doubt I could stomach it in reality) Also, there are two of our favourite wines (Gavi di Gavi and Silk and Spice) recommended to accompany it.

It sounds like the cheese plate is a single variety (Stoney Cross). Has anyone experienced this on a celebration night previously?

20 minutes ago, kruzseeka said:

Yes you're right about the cruising in Romsdalfjord - it will almost certainly follow your departure from a port (Andalsnes?) and will be logged as the same day on the itinerary. 

 

Tromso is great!  Get the shuttle into town - if you want to explore further then catch the local bus across the ridge to the base of the cable car and go up to the top for the classic view overlooking the Arctic Cathedral, the town, bridge and river/fjord.  There's a cafe on top.

If it's summer across from the berth is the University Botanical Gardens which were free when we went and a revelation!  Alpine plants I thought would be rock-hugging and a bit uninteresting, but it was a riot of colour (it was summer). It figures in Monty Don's Around the World in 80 Gardens. Worth a visit. 

 

Andalsnes is easy DIY - the new Gondola is great.  Very close to the berth, fantastic views, cafe on top and some trails if you want to go further.  

 

Stavanger is different - much bigger but easy to see on foot. There's the old town with clap-board houses often with flowers around the doors.  This is where you get off the ship.  Further round the  harbour to the left is the Cathedral with the small lake behind which you a walk round.  Further round - left again - are old warehouses now waterfront cafes (although these were shut on our last visit which was a Sunday - most things were).  On this side of the harbour are some colourful wooden buildings - very picturesque.   If it's raining the Petroleum Museum is surprisingly interesting! 

 

The sail-in and sail-outs are like excursions in themselves - definitely worth spending time in the Crows Nest or equivalent. 

 

It's not a destination if you are looking for quaranteed warmth but the scenery is absolutely spectacular and awe-inspiring.  We never tire of it. 

 

What a fantastic summary! May I add the Polar Museum and the Mack Brewery as alternative visitor attractions in Tromso (depending on personal taste of course).

Thanks again @Selbourne for your continuing efforts in posting this fascinating blog. Your latest thoughts and pictures from Curacao certainly brought back some very happy memories from our visit there albeit it was a long time ago now.

I used to regularly get a sore throat after a short while on cruises until we got into the habit of not having the air con in the cabin on the very lowest setting. That was suggested on Cruise Critic and seems to have worked for us even if it does sound somewhat unscientific, and I appreciate that your symptoms appear to be far worse. I also appreciate that it may appear somewhat ironic suggesting not having the air con at the lowest setting given all the temperature issues around the ship, but it maybe worth a try if all else fails.

Wishing you a speedy recovery and that your Curacao visit sets the tone for the remainder of your cruise.

Best regards

Damian

On 2/6/2024 at 9:56 AM, P&O SUE said:

Interesting to hear about the air conditioning issues as I’ve been watching YouTube videos on Aurora as I’m going on her for the first time at Easter. This was a new year cruise and they were so uncomfortably hot in an inside cabin they eventually got another cabin. They even slept with their cabin door open one night!!

I hope we don’t get that, it will be unbearable. Our cabin is a sea view one and I did wonder about bidding for a balcony upgrade but the price is quite high!

Indeed, we watched the same recent Aurora vlog with all the air conditioning issues and I was going to mention it here. The worse part was the constant reassurances that it had been fixed when it clearly hadn't.

On 1/20/2024 at 7:38 PM, Selbourne said:

Please don’t get the false impression that we have a ‘bad’ captain. We don’t. He sounds personable and obviously is extremely competent at being master of the vessel, but quite a few people have

commented on his lack of announcements and useful titbits of information. I’m sure that we can all cite Captain’s who have massively enhanced our cruises with announcements about dolphins, whales, things of interest, things to look out for and when etc. Our favourite was Chris Wells who eventually went on to be Commodore at Cunard. As the most senior representative of the company, I’ve always felt that their role is an awful lot more than the seamanship aspects which, after all, are mostly done by the bridge team anyway! 

Chris Wells is brilliant. On one cruise he joined in with ballroom dancing in the Atrium, and invited several lady passengers to partner him. Whilst he was dancing a drunken passenger knocked over the champagne tower, but he just left the crew to sort it out and carried on focusing on his dancing partner. We saw him around the ship a few times and he always had time for a word with us, a true gentleman.

Thanks for all your updates so far @Selbourne , I know from personal experience how much effort goes into it. Talking of which are you keeping a word count? My Arvia blog last year ran to 25k+ words but I think you are going to eclipse that!

Congratulations on breaking your launderette duck! You can now award yourself a white belt with a yellow stripe through the middle. I'm sure I saw someone wearing one of those in the MDR on Arvia on a formal night, not that any staff challenged them about compliance with the dress code. 😁

Keep at it, as you have a long journey ahead to become a 5th Dan Master in using onboard launderettes, like myself and @TigerB 😉

Wishing you and Lady S smooth sailing, great weather and fantastic ports for the remainder of the cruise.

All the best.

Damian