welsh-girl

Thanks for the fast reply!

 

There will be a 16 year old and a 20 month old toddler with us how much are soft drinks, juices, water etc can you get milk also for the toddler?

 

Lastly coffee I know there is a free machine you can use but how reasonable is it to go there all the time and is it 'nice' coffee my wife will ask :)

One thing that we always make sure we pack are our thermal mugs, we take some of our favourite tea bags that are strong enough to make a decent big mug, brew it, lid on an you're happy for a good while AND they are safer when there are children about.

Enjoy 😁😁😁

Hi

We have been told by some to only do ship's tours for St Petersburg, mentioning visa problems, then others have said it's OK to book independent companies. We have always gone for local companies and are now struggling to decide.

Please can I ask for help here.

Thank you experts

Hi

We were on the Infinity when this happened in Ketchikan. We were sat in the buffet watching as the ship was holding just off the pier until another ship left the dockside, perfectly steady. As we approached the dock it seemed as though we were going a bit fast to say the least, then crunch!!!

Concrete pillars up in the air and metal gantry twisted and broken. The talk was of 2-3 million dollars damage plus loss of berthing fees for that one. There was a delay of nearly 2 hrs to get off the ship, with people who had booked a ships tour guaranteed a refund. We were lucky that we hadn't booked anything as we don't do ship's tours. The main thing was that no one was injured.....then we got 200 dollars credit to the cabin account.:D:D

Thank you for your prompt replies.

Hi

Has anyone had to have an INR test on a Celebrity Cruise?

I rang Celebrity and they said that the nurse does them but they were unable to let me know the cost.

Does anyone have any idea?

Thank you very much experts

Thanks all for the replies.:D

Hi All

It's been a few years since we sailed with Celebrity, are you still allowed to take 2 bottles of wine per cabin on board at your departure port?

Thank you

Had confirmation today from Cardiff Airport that our flight shouldn't be affected by strike. Woo Hoo:D

Got my sea sickness pills, my jar of Marmite and a thermal mug+ tidy tea bags so I can cope with anything!!

Have a good journey all.

Malch-uk

Thanks for the info about the plugs

Done little research about the currency for Bethlehem-seems to be shekels in cash but $ if anything on the card.

Looks like a great tour, long day though.

Still struggling about how many Shekels to get.

You heard about the French Air Traffic Control strike on Wed? :eek: :eek: :eek:

Hi mjkStirling and the other couple who are joining us

Just had this mail from Leo, thought you may be interested

Shalom again!

Itinerary for Jerusalem & Bethlehem Shore Excursion:

Jerusalem:

- Mount of Olives

- Garden of Gethsemane

- Mount Zion

- Room of the Last Supper

- Jaffa Gate

- Church of the Holy Sepulcher

- Via Dolorosa, Western Wall

- Arab Souk

- Christian and Jewish Quarters

Bethlehem:

- Nativity Church

- Grotto - subject to queues and accessibility this site is not always visited

- Local Palestinian shopping - this is mandatory by Palestinian tourism services for all visitors

* Some sites may not be visited and others included subject to accessibility, security, holiday festivities, opening times, queues, traffic delays, time constraints, or other circumstances.

There is not much choice in terms of place to eat. Alternatively, you may bring a packed lunch with you. In regards to admission fee, no admission fee required in our standard Jerusalem and Bethlehem tour.

Thank you!

Kind regards,

Leo J.

Thank you dronnygirl

Good to know we can get them on the ship as left it a bit late to order at home now.

Changing the subject completely- can anyone tell me are the power points on the Spirit round or flat pin? We have sailed on her in the past and I can't remember....:confused:

Good to hear you can pay in euro as well as $. Dollars not a currency I normally deal with, normally holiday within Europe. However paying for lunch etc need a currency that is easily accepted.:)

Been on trip advisor and had quite a few replies about a currency question. Looks as though $ not requires at all (we are more used to euro as well). Suggestion is to use ATM 100 NIS =about £17, so my next quest is to find out if there is an ATM in the port area.

Good to hear the Spirit has been to Ashdod this week

Have been in contact with Leo from Guided Tours Israel re the Bethlehem Jerusalem tour and he's said we can pay for the tour in Euro at the exchange rate of the day but that we will need $ for lunch at "a tourist spot"

Please does anyone know if places in Ashdod area will take $ for coffee?

Really wondering what currency is best to get.

Hope to hear from someone who's due back around now.

To Mrs and Mr Campolady

Big Welsh cwtches to you both from Mr & Mrs N'west

Thanks for the positive review. Still holding our booking with them as think we may now have 6 for Jerusalem and Bethlehem on our first day. Will go for Thomson excursion next day if no takers. ;)

Hi

I've received an e mail from Guided Tours Israel saying that there are now 3 couples interested in tour on 13th. We've said that we would go ahead. As you don't have to pay anything up front thought we may as well have something in place in case we do visit.

Hi all. My husband and I will be on the 8th April 2015 sailing of the Ancient Affair itinerary on board the Spirit and are booked on the private tours listed below which are running from the port Ashdod on the dates shown. Unfortunately, while a lot cheaper than the Thomson excursions, we are currently the only people booked with the company who will only run the tours if another 4 people, or more, join us for each. Please have a look at the details below and at the link and let me know if you would like to join us.

 

Marjorie from Stirling

 

Date: April 13, 2015

 

Itinerary: Full day tour to Dead Sea + Masada

Pick-up Location: Ashdod Port

Ship: Thomson Spirit

Docking time: 07:00am

Tour start time: 08:00am

Duration of tour: 9-10 hours

Drop-off: Ashdod Port

Price $115pp

 

Date: April 14, 2015

 

Itinerary: Full day tour to Jerusalem + Bethlehem

Pick-up Location: Ashdod Port

Ship: Thomson Spirit

Tour start time: 08:00am

Duration of tour: 9-10 hours

Drop-off: Ashdod Port

Price $99pp

 

For more information please visit the Tour Guide's website and let them or us know making reference to this post. Thanks

Hi

We are on the same cruise and sort of in the same situation as you, but are only looking for 1 day tour. We contacted the same company for the Jerusalem+ Bethlehem trip but for the 1st port day (13th) and are the only ones at present . Don't like to risk long days off on day we leave port after cutting it fine a couple of times. So if you find yourselves stuck and wouldn't mind changing days...that is if we even get to Israel

My third time on this itinerary but I loved it just as much!

 

Friday.We flew fom East Mid and were on the ship by 2pm.As you walk on board the staff are lined up ready to take you to your cabin- I recognised Yana our cabin girl from the cruise in May and she leapt forward to take us to the same cabin I had in May.It was good to chat to her and Nika- two great girls from the Ukraine.

 

Soon we were in the Lido for a welcome lunch- followed by one too many glasses of wine in the sun on the Lido deck.The secenery all around is amazing.

 

Our cases were in the cabin when we returned- but somewhere on the journey my case had been rained on and a lot of my clothes were wet through.No problem-Nika just took them to the laundry and got them dried free of charge.

 

We went to the Elvis tribute welcome show at 9.30 in the Showbar.The weather took a turn for the worse and thunder n lightening forced the sailaway deck party indoors to High Spirits.It was dark in there so my red flower on a black top wasn't noticed by any of the fellow cruisers we intended to say hello to lol.

 

It was a rough night as the storm rocked the ship all night!

 

Saturday.The next morning we were glad when the ship turned into the inland sea on the approach to Kotor, Montenegro, and calm waters at last.The deck drill was soon accomplished and we could sit and watch the stunning approach to Kotor where the ship anchored in the bay by 1pm.The trips took priority on the tenders then tickets were issued for those wishing to go ashore independently- they were called 80 at a time and we were soon on shore wandering round the old walled town of Kotor.There was a long queue for the tenders back to the ship but it didn't take too long to dwindle down.

 

Sunday was the day at sea with lots of choices on where to spend the time.In the afternoon the peace on deck was shattered by a terrific storm-hailstones empied the lido deck and formed a white carpet of ice- the Phillipino staff looked on in amazement and some ventured out to pick up handfuls of what they thought was 'snow'! However, half an hour later the sun was out again!

 

Monday was my friends birthday so whilst she went to the library at 9am I decorated the cabin door and the cabin with tinsel and 'happy 61 today' notices for maximum emarassment lol.She was delighted, and when later that day when we returned we found that our cabin girls had put up lots of silver balloons and had printed out a 'happy birthday dear mrs lawton' notice on a computer.A nice touch.

 

That afternoon we went on a trip to see the salt pans in Slovenia- interesting to see how whole families lived in tiny houses for the summer whilst gathering the salt.Then we went to a winery and sampled a few wines, with bread and local cheese.The tour guide, having been told by me that it was my friends birthday,led a rousing 'happy birthday dear dorothy' sing song- and she was presented with a complementary bottle of wine!

 

That evening we ate in the Compass Rose waiter service restaurant and I slipped a note to the waiter-soon the waiters gathered round our table to sing Happy Birthday.So my friend had a birthday to remember! She loved it!

 

Tuesday

We arrived in Venice- we were up on deck for the sail in at 6.30 am- not many people had crawled out of bed though.We saw a beautiful sunrise as a backdrop to the amazing skyline of the Venetian buildings.

 

We booked on th haf day 'Venice on your own'-we saw St Marks Sq and Rialto bridge and enjoyed a leisurely coffee before returning to the ship to enjoy the hot sun on deck.

 

At 4.30 4 passengers were missing- 2 came dashing up at 4.40 but it was two minutes to sailing time before the final two missing passengers came speeding up in a car and rushed on board.What a close shave! I later encountered the last minute lady in the shop- she told me that they had got on the vaporetto but it was going in the wrong direction! They panicked, got off, knew they were lost, so phoned the ship.Amazingly the ship sent a car to pick them up- the lost lady said that when the car arrived to rescue them and the girl got out 'I kissed and kissed and kissed her-I was so relieved'! So the moral of this story is 'always take the port help sheet with you as emergency phone numbers are printed on the back'.

 

Wednesday.

We docked in Split.It's an easy walk into town- turn left as you leave the berth.We decide to find the beach- turn right- but not immediate right as we did and found ourselves at the ferry terminal-dopey us.No it's right but follow the road uphill and you soon come to a delightful beach with shallow waters for yards and yards- ideal for me to paddle.It was scorching so we returned to the dock and walked on to the market, and then to the promenade for a welcome beer at a pavement cafe.

 

Thursday

We arrived at Dubrovnik where we docked.We met Jane & Brian (N'west) and shared a taxi to the cable car terminus close to the Old Town.It was 80kuna for the return trip on tha cable car- they don't take euro but you could use a credit card.The views from the cable car are amazing- and the mountains to the rear of the cable car station are spectacular.After the cable car we found our way into the Old Town and wandered round, drank coffee etc before catching another taxi back to the ship 10euro.

 

The sailaway from Dubrovnik was dreadful- tremendous thunder n lightening and the heaviest rain I have ever seen-visibility was nil so we didn't see the Old Town walls from the ship- which was amazing last time.The storm continued unabated all evening and through the night!

 

Friday.

We docked at Corfu and passengers began to leave for home.We were not due to leave til 7.30 so we walked from the ship to the port building,through customs and out into the coach park where we found the shuttle bus to the Old Town 1.5 euro each way.They cram as many on the bus as is humanly possible!

We spent a couple of hours wandering round the shops, stopped for coffee, and as an ominous clap of thunder rattled all around we made our way back to the ship before the heavens opened!

 

The elecric storms produced fork lightening all around.Flights were delayed.We were lucky- but Luton had a 3hour delay.

 

A great cruise- tiring as it's early mornings and late (very late) nights but a wonderful experience.

 

Flopsy

Hiya Flopsy

Gald to hear Bri and myself mentioned in dispatches :D

It's a great cruise for doing your own thing isn't it.

Just plan ahead then re plan then change your mind again, thats half the fun.

You got your next one booked yet-we've just booked Colourful Coasts on the Destiny for Nov-hope it's as good as the Spirit was.

Hi Flopsy

Yes it was a brill cruise wasn't it. Being 1st timer's on Thomson We didn't know what to expect. Everyone was so friendly and chatty. it was great and we will certainly book with them again.

Our main cabin attendant was lovely Maria from Romania, with Alla(who we saw very little of)

Sounds like we were lucky with our flight, departed on time and landed in Cardiff nearly 1/2 hour early.

All the ports were great but I must admit that I thought that Koper was lovely and we had an easy and pretty bus trip to Piran, after an interesting ride on the "wally trolly" train such a lovely journey past Aldi and Liddle :D

We also got ourselves to St Marks Sq. in Venice, using the People Mover(1E each way) to Pz Roma then the Vap. line 1 (6.50E each way) to St Marks. It was a lovely trip but allow lots of time, about 1 1/2 hr to get back to the ship.

Good to meet everyone, esp Flopsy and Dot

Time to start planning the next one..............;)

Hi Dubrovniktravelady

please can you tell me...

After we have been up in the cable car, will the nearest entrance to the wall be the Ploce Gate? Then, looking at the map is the pink line walk around the wall the easier side to walk or are there still lots of steps?

Hope you can help

Thank you very much :)