Essexlass2

On 4/7/2019 at 11:48 AM, jake 26 said:

So maybe we've been unlucky after a really good start with Marella, but those latter experiences put us off and we decided to go back to P&O and try a big ship (with some trepidation as we had avoided the biggies previously like the plague) and so we went on Britannia for a week. What a difference, fantastic accommodation, top notch service (no queuing at a bar like on the Discoveries) and all round a fabulous ship which never felt crowded. OK not all inclusive, but the drinks prices were very reasonable, and to be honest I felt when Marella went ai something changed.

I have written of our Marella experience as a different view on this topic, and I hope people will see it as a contribution rather than a Marella moan, as after all it is just our perspective.

 

We've cruised with P&O, Royal Caribbean and Thomson.  We didn't like the Britannia at all, far too big and impersonal.  We loved the Dream and sailing on her again this coming October but getting a bit concerned now having read this thread.  Certainly our previous experience was P& O it was not but the food was just as good, crew just as good and entertainment was better than P&O.  It will be interesting to see what we think of the Dream this time!

On 4/7/2019 at 7:15 PM, ormy said:

We used Alla Tours, they have various options, if you email them they will be able to sort something out for you. We did the 2 day Grand Tour and managed to see just about everything - its was quite magnificent.  a small group in a lovely minibus and lunch both days.  We are in our 70's, but did not find it too bad, would certainly love to do it all again someday. 

We are also in our 70s and had a wonderful 2 days with Alla Tours, saw everything and loved it all.  We didn't find it too much.  Go for it, you may not be there ever again!  

7 minutes ago, okavango said:

yes collect your luggage and then look (easy to spot) for the TUI reps as you exit arrivals ,they will direct you to the coaches

Thank you!

We haven't sailed with Thomson/Marella for about six years but have now booked a cruise for next October with the Dream.  Are there any secrets, tips or advice that would be helpful to us please?  We're a couple of young-at-heart pensioners😄

Am I correct in assuming that we will have to collect our luggage from the carousel in Palma, Majorca and then look for a coach transfer to the ship?

The team from Grenada Seafaris Powerboat Adventure and the Water Taxi guys met with Government and Tourism Authority Officials recently. New pilings are going in (newer location more towards the vendors market) so we are hoping it will be operation by end November. As before asap it is fit for use I will let everyone know

 

 

As far as I am aware until the new dock is in situ the water taxi guys will be operating with a head to beach and drop you procedure. You are likely to get wet but may be fun if sea is calm ;p

So will we get on the water taxi at the same dock where the ship is docked? That's what happened the last time we were there a few years ago and it was drop us on the beach; as you say, got a bit wet but it was fun :D

Any news anyone?

Hurricane Maria missed us thankfully but the swells she threw our way very badly damaged our water taxi dock on grand anse beach. It has been completely removed and we are in the process of getting a new one but it could be some time till we have a dock up and running so land taxis may be best bet. ASAP I get any updates I will post them.

Any news on that yet IslandStar?

Anyone booked on this cruise wanting to join a highly recommended 4.5 hours taxi tour?

There doesn't seem to be a St Vincent board, I think you will have to use the 'Caribbean Other' board here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=68

Then you can search the forum for St Vincent postings.

Thank you so much! :)

I can't find a Roll Call for the Britannia cruise on 18th November, nor can I find a page specific to St Vincent. I haven't been on CC for a while and it all seems to have changed in the meantime so maybe I'm not doing it correctly. If anyone can help me, I'd appreciate it very much.

However, I'm looking for anyone else who would like to join us for an island tour of St Vincent by taxi, a highly recommended company and not charging the earth for a 4.5 hours tour.

Thanks for your replies folks, exactly what I expected. Annoying eh?

Has anyone ever managed to book the scenic train that goes around St Kitts without going through the ship's tours? I'm all for a bargain! :)

As far as I am aware it is nonly our itinerary (going this Friday) that has been changed Essexlass. Departure delayed 24 hours and one port cancelled so they can paint the new 'Marella' name on the ship!!!

I do hope you're right! Enjoy your cruise :)

Something else is now making us hesitate. I read somewhere on these boards that Marella are changing some itineraries. We have chosen the cruise we hope to book simply because of the itinerary as, I feel sure, many others will have also done.

Does anyone think it would be a good idea to cross reference this board from Thomson in case people looking for Thomson think it has gone out of business? 😉

Great idea! I had the devil's own job trying to find Thomson because I didn't know they had changed their name :)

Thanks for your comments everyone. We have thought of trying to book cruise only and booking our own flights after reading the reviews on Tripadvisor. Volotea are a Spanish low cost airline and not a good one that's for sure. We're amazed that Thomson still use them!

We are thinking of booking a cruise on Dream but the air transfer to Majorca is on Volotea. We were on this airline a couple of years ago on another Thomson holiday and the condition of the plane was diabolical with badly ripped seats, we were given seats on the return flight at the back of the plane where there were no windows (I tend to be a bit claustrophobic, silly I know but I can't help it) and no food or drinks available on either flight. Does anyone know if this airline has improved more recently or will we be letting ourselves in for another flight from hell?

Have you monkeyed around with the Search function? When I typed 'sinorama' into the search on this forum, I got another thread asking about them and lots of replies. When I went to the main boards page and typed in ;sinorama' I got lots of hits, although I think many do not apply...EM

Oh thanks, I've done that now and found what I was looking for :)

That was a recent promotion that's been around on & off for a couple of years... But that's now stopped and taken over by the current one for booking made via America...

Oh OK, thanks :)

Has anybody heard of Sinorama Voyages please? I can't find any reference to this company on Cruise Critic unless I'm looking in all the wrong places.

Thanks!

Thank you for all the many very interesting replies. Can someone please say what the 123GO is as I've not heard of that? We'll definitely go for a US agent.

Is it possible for people living in the UK to book with a US agent?

We understand that US travel agents will price match any reductions after bookings are made.

Are there any other advantages if this is possible please? We have never done this before and it will be our first cruise on Celebrity too. :confused:

Any help, tips, advice, etc, will all be gratefully received by us two seniors.

Terry, I have hooked up on the end of your Caribbean and Amazon thread (I think and hope if I've done it correctly, not really 'with it' much at present). :eek:

Hello again Terry, hope I'm on the right thread! What a shame that you had to postpone your trip to Africa, but I will be reading the thread of all your adventures along the Amazon and around the Caribbean (which we absolutely love) as soon as I am well enough, but I jump the gun.

As you know I believe, we planned another visit to Australia early this year and thought we would be there when you were enjoying Africa. However, on 15th January we flew to Dubai and stopped over there for 5 days; its an interesting place but not really for us we decided. We then flew on to Singapore where we have been many times before and, as always, loved it yet again. Then we flew on to Brisbane where our relatives met us the following day and we spent a few days exploring this vibrant city which we have visited a couple of times before but always enjoy it. Brisbane had changed quite a lot since our last visit with a magnificent road system but we managed just fine and visited the GABBA cricket ground and a few other tourist spots, caught up with yet more relatives and then after a few days we headed about 200 miles north to Maryborough where our niece and her family live. We had two wonderful weeks there and whilst based there we got to visit Hervey Bay which was lovely and also Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world, magic. After our first week staying in Maryborough, I was unwell :eek: but got over it and carried on regardless, but it came back to haunt me every 3-4 days but I was still determined to carry on with our plans and enjoy this trip. On 7th February, we travelled back down to Brisbane to take a flight across the width of Australia (5.5 hours) to Perth in Western Australia where we planned to base ourselves for another two weeks. We absolutely fell in love with this super lovely city, its amazingly beautiful and we wished we could live there as we loved it so much. We hired a car and spent one week in and around Perth (including the WACA, did you guess my husband is a cricket fan?) with a few day trips out of the city, so much to see and do, so little time and again I was feeling very unwell every few days. After a week, we left most of our luggage at our hotel and headed south to tour the beautiful south-west region of WA which, again, we absolutely loved. There had been very bad forest fires south of the Margaret River region so we had to change our original plans somewhat, but eventually ended up in Albany. All the scenery and places we had visited were so interesting and so beautiful and we really enjoyed it, albeit I was still experiencing bouts of being 'crook' every few days. Time and tide wait for no man, of course, so we eventually had to head back up to Perth for the final few days and came back to UK along the same route we'd travelled out, via Singapore and Dubai for a couple of quick stopovers and some decent sleep as its a long, long flight otherwise.

When we finally arrived back home, unfortunately my health did not improve at all, to the contrary, but nobody seemed to be able to diagnose exactly what was wrong :confused: until mid April when I was rushed into hospital by ambulance and had to have major intestinal surgery without delay. I have now been out of hospital for:) two weeks and am doing well, but it will be a long haul back to full recovery and fitness again. I am so pleased that my determination meant that this unfortunate health issue didn't really interfere with our trip too much. We have returned to UK with many happy memories and some nice photos too, but I don't know how to post any of them here on CC.

So I need to rest and recuperate for some time yet and will spend some of that time travelling with you and Penny around the Caribbean and the Amazon. My husband and I send you and your lovely wife our kind regards and look forward to reading more of your most interesting posting here. No holidays for a while for us just yet, but I think it will be back to cruising before too long :D