CRUSINGFAMILY

Perhaps instead of Casa de Guardia you recommend this place instead?

Antigua Casa de Guardia' (Old Jail House)

I have just read that the HOHO ticket allows free admittance and a bus ride from the main bus terminal to Botanical Gardens Finca la Concepcion. If you know how this works if you keep this in our day, please provide any details you may know on this as well.

Thanks!

Hi Campolady....I have read this thread in its entirety and many others you reply to and we are planning our whole day in Malaga. Interestingly my hubby and I are on one cruise, my brother and his partner on another cruise, both porting in Malaga on May 13, 2017 so we thought we would like to spend our day together in Malaga but it presents some challenges and I would appreciate your help in planning our day.

Our port time is 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Their port time is 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Hubby and I had originally planned to do the HOHO bus with Malaga Experience Card going to the Automobile & Fashion Museum, doing the walking tour and boat tour that goes along with the card and anything else we could fit in.

Now we are certain that the walking tour and boat tour will have to be eliminated.

So here is what we are thinking we would like to see and I would like your opinion on to best execute these visits most efficiently (whether that is on HOHO or city bus or taxi). Please tell us your opinion on what to keep and what to take off the list if all is not able to be done without rushing too much.

For myself and my hubby the Automobile and Fashion Museum is a must

The Cathedral

The Roman Theatre

Alcazaba

Castillo Gibralfaro

Mercado de Atarazanas

La Concepcion Jardin Botanico Historico de Malaga OR Malaga Park (I like birds and plants)

Picasso Museum

Casa de Guardia

Tapas somewhere maybe churros however there is no real need to eat because of their late docking time.

So we would have the late start of as quick as possible after their docking of 11 am and we would need to be back to the port, I would say around 5 p.m. I think our all aboard will be 5:30 given recent experience. I have a good feeling you are going to say this is too much to try to fit in so I would like to know the order of visiting you suggest and how best to get there be it HOHO, taxi, bus or walking

In addition, my hubby and I will be free from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. their docking time so we are wondering what could be taken in while waiting in the dock area or close by.

Thanks!

The bus stops at the castle entrance - end of the line - close to the ticket booth.

 

For anyone over retirement age there is a reduced admission charge of just 60 cents but you need to take ID to prove qualification.

What is retirement age in Malaga?

Have a look at 'El Jardin' - a lovely, Art Deco Restaurant at the rear of the Cathedral.

 

For a more relaxed lunch - and a great place to sit on the outside terrace and ' people watch' - have a look at ' Bar Central' right in the Plaza de la Constitucion (main square at the top of Avenida Larios.

 

Cheaper still - but with great local food - is ' Café Axarquia' on the Alameda Principal (busy main street that cuts right through the city. Their ' Frito Malaguena' (local speciality of assorted small fried fish) is the best we have had anywhere.

 

By the way, there is a Tapas bar right in the old port building (near the main gates) that is mainly for port workers but is open to anyone. If you walk right through the bar there is a large restaurant at the rear that offers a brilliant 3 course Menu del Dia/Meal of the Day for under 10 Euros.

 

Hope this helps.

Would this restaurant you speak of at the port be Restaurante el Toro?

There was a time where they would help bridge your cruise from one ship to another and if there was a day inbetween ships they would pay for your hotel but all that has gone out the window.

There is a back to back department, who coordinates passengers who are sailing back to back to make the transition more seamless. It has been better the last few years. We sailed on Rhapsody of the Seas last fall and there were 70 people moving from that ship to the Jewel of the Seas and they arranged a coach to move us and our luggage in Italy.

Ya from my understanding with other markets are that there is no flexability once you book you are locked into that reservation. Also technically they look at it like you are stealing another markets business.

Just what I have heard

As you will see by our signature we are long time cruisers and also Canadian, our children now 28 and 24 grew up cruising with us from the time they were less than a year old. We found Royals kids programs excellent, and cruising provided a good combination of good times for them and us. Our favorite ships are the Radiance class which hold about 2400 people and are a nice size offer many activities and we never find long lines, the crew are better integrated than the big ships like Oasis where there are many more crew and they dont get to know each other all that well and you dont even run into the same person more than once. There is a nice cruise for 12 days or so every October from Boston to Tampa which has a nice combination of sea days and southern caribbean islands which we have done a couple times and love it and so did our kids they were like 12 and 16 when we did that.

Good luck and I think you will love Royal

Brian J

You will need your passport to board the ship, if you dont have one you won't get on the ship, once you are on you wont need to show any country you passport where you stop. the cruise line up loads you info to the immigration of all these countrys electronically and if there was a problem they would call you in your cabin to come and talk to them.

Happy sailing

Wondering if anyone has done Martha Brae on their own and if so, how did you get transportation to and from the Falmouth cruise terminal.

I know that Martha Brae is only about 3 kilometers from the Falmouth cruise terminal and pricing at Martha Brae is quite reasonable.

I am however, having trouble finding reasonable transportation.

Can anyone tell me if they did it on their own and how you got transporation and how much you paid for that transportation, I would be appreciative.

Thanks!

Well we can only hope that the Radiance Class will be replaced hopefully not for another 10 years and when they replace them I hope they build something like the Solstice class of ships of Celebrity, they are big but they have a small ship atmosphere.

Lets hope

Brian J

Nuggle Candy bars, sugar, ginger beer, ginger wine... and all of the above.

Can you describe a Nuggle Candy bar please

I wouldn't do it -- not because I would be afraid, although that could be valid, I wouldn't because going there is a long distance from Falmouth. It is a minimum of 3 hours round trip and that is if you are good with directions and don't get lost.

I would recommend a guide. We used Wentworth Pearson and I can recommend him for a safe tour at a reasonable price. He knows the way to go. We had planned more for our day but had to reconsider our goals because of the distance. Dunn's river was accomplished and a lovely refreshment break at a highly recommended bar. We had a lovely day.

Please consider a tour/guide to be safe.

My DH and I will be arriving in Falmouth Port on Independence of the Seas. We are interested in a private guide and taking a bamboo raft down the Martha Brae AND going to the Blue Hole. It's my understanding that the raft ride is only one hour. Is it possible to do BOTH of these activities in the 8 hour period we are in port? Will time permit? If so, any recommendations on a guide that will create this custom tour for us?

Hi there

Both are possible but very far away from one another. The Blue Hole is nearer Ocho Rios and that is about 1 1/2 hours away from Falmouth, meaning 3 hours round trip. You would want to have a driver/guide to handle the transportation and maximizing your time otherwise I would not recommend both. Martha Brae is quite near the port at Falmouth so easily done.

Excellent review and pictures we are heading on Rhapsody next week.

Thanks for your hard work

The secret itineraries tour? Can someone direct me to the details of that.

seemed pretty normal to us we did the walk off the ship at 6:45am and there was no one lined up or anything we thought it was great, customs was about a 10 minute wait and we were in the airport FLL at 7:20 we had a 11am flight so we wanted off early.

I know the last few years they don't seem to make big announcements when debarking

great holiday and yes very calm seas, I have sailed during sept quite a bit over the last few years and always find it calm

Happy sailing

Brian

Casino was good to me

It is all about the money unfortunately our favorite ships are the Radiance class and the Vision Class but as a business person I can see that the profitability is so much better on the bigger ships. The Oasis class ships the fares have stayed very high so the revenue is very high on these cruises, the cost of entertainment per person is less than the smaller ships.

We find the staff on the smaller ships are much more connected and happy than the big ships.

Just my opinion

Brian j

We have always had the K cabins behind the aft elevator on deck 6 we find it is the best location. close to dinning room, promenade, elevators to go up for swimming and Windjammer.

Just my thoughts

Brian J

81% lol good job on the quize love these kind of things.

Thanks

Brian J

Great pictures, thanks we are sailing on Oasis in September, I am sure they aare similar.

Brian J

We were there last week, there is also a tractor train at 5 euros from the port. Stops at Piraeus marina and then down town, but last train leaves return at 4.00. Not a lot to see but passed a few hours

Do you know the name of that little tractor train?

Hi everyone

Just wondering if anyone has used this company, your comments about them. They are requesting a hefty 50% deposit. I am looking booking but have never ever paid that kind of a deposit. Just want to know if others have and the outcome.

Thanks!

We have never paid anything like that for city centre parking - Euro 15 per day is the maximum we have ever paid (and that was for parking in a hotel car park).

Hi there.....I see you live in Spain and have offered some information on renting a car in Barcelona. We are considering this to drive to Montserrat and onto the circuit de catalunya before returning to the cruise port. Would this be a relatively easy drive?

We live very near Toronto Canada with 12 lanes of highway so traffic doesn't typically intimidate us but we have yet to drive in Spain.

We have just returned from TA Barcelona to FLL. We used Spain/ Top Day Tours for port call in Cadiz. They picked us up promptly had us on the road to Seville. They used a full bus, but once in Seville we were spit into small 15 person group. The tour was well led and the guide very knowledgeable. With limited time because of travel distance, we still got to experience the major sites of Seville. Had no concerns about returning to the ship on time. Highly recommend this tour company for shore excursions.

Could you please email me at pinksensations at excite dot com.

We have alot of cruising history which is the same including upcoming cruises! I have a question for you