Langtoncouple

I overheard a customer speaking to the sales assistant in Marks and Spencer. They were talking about holidays. "Oh I am going on a cruise" one says. "Oh cruising is popular, everyone seems to be doing this". How right they are. Even on tv quiz shows, people are asked what they would do with money won and the majority say - "we want to go on a cruise"

Thanks for this advice. We have always brought back cold meats and cheeses from countries in the EC. There is no restriction form EC countries. The meats are always in sealed poly packs and we put them in our suitcases. Getting ice or one of these frozen blocks is a good idea.

I am back on the Dream for a 4th time in May. As far as I can remember there have been the same quizzes over the years. Can anyone tell me the names of these that are presented at the moment. Ones I can recall are Test the Nation, Name That Tune, Mr and Mrs then there was one in which you were eliminated or had to nominate a fellow contestant to answer the question. I won a quiz which had a male team versus a female team. It was fixed that we women won!!

I've never used the fridge (room service) However I fancy buying some cheeses and meats etc from markets we will be visiting in Italy and Spain in May. Is the fridge cold enough to store these items in? I know that the fridge is locked on the final evening so I'd have to pop them in my case the night before but that should be fine I expect.

I should say that these are food items to bring home rather than eat onboard.

A cruise is what you make of it. I have been on the Dream 3 times and had great cruises. What makes it special is the staff. They really are a lovely family and want to please. They treat you so special and personally. I think if you had any complaints about the food and explained it to the staff in a nice polite way, they would do something about it (reheat it, give you an alternative). People will always complain about something. I am returning in May and look forward to it.

Lexie, I was the same. After my first cruise in 2011 I felt so depressed for a while. I would be looking at the clock thinking "they will be having their dinner, the show will be starting" and so on" Then the memory fades after a few weeks. I did have withdrawal symptoms. I remember actually crying during dinner in the Orion on the final evening espec when they were all singing. It was hard to hold back the tears. Then I discovered this forum when I did my first review. But since then I've done 2 and am due to return in May.

I enjoy just chilling out with a book or taking afternoon tea in the Argo Lounge on the Dream listening to the classical violinist and pianist.

Cartagena is beautiful. Visit the Roman ampitheatre which was recently discovered behind the main street. The streets round the port are clean and nice to just meander round.The castle is worth going to just for the views.

Its when you go up the ramp past security and into the ship. Its like you have never been away. Its like coming home and its so familiar. A nice start.

We were at Thomsons travel agency last week booking a cruise from 10 May. We were asked if we wanted excursions booked. We deciided to leave this meantime.

I think this is reasonable, Many British hotels can charge this just for bed and breakfast. On a cruise you are getting all meals and snacks. It includes flights and the cost of getting to all these wonderful destinations. Then you have got entertainment. A trip to the theatre would cost over £20 on the mainland. Okay its not a full show but is stilll an evening of entertainment. And on the mainland you have to budget in cost of taxis etc.

Without the ship, I wonder how much the cost would be if you were to book yourself travel to and from each country you visit,

Some time ago someone here kindly found a good useful site showing ports which cruise ship visit and details all about them. It was helpful and had good tips and advice. I thought I had bookmarked it, but can't find it - help please. Oh success - I found it. its WhatsInPort.com. So useful.

This is so amusing, thanks for this.

Well according to the great many of responses to this since you posted, there are many members still on here as well as fb. I suppose the advantage of fb is that you can hold a conversation espec if someone replies straightaway. Isn't CC linked to Trip Advisor? the reason I ask is that we put a couple of reviews on Trip Advisor about our cruises. They later were taken of and automaticaly added here. I don't think TA deals with cruises.

I look forward to reading more Lexie. its the same with Trip Advisor. Reviews are usually mixed. Only way to find out is to try a ship or hotel out yourself.

I regularly go onto this forum and post, but at the moment haven't anything worth saying. I also am a fb member. But as I have mentioned before here - its easy to keep track of queires and comments unlike fb which move down so quickly. Also here has a search button and each thread is titled so definitely easier to use.

It was a good trip wasn't it? Especially as the driver got back a bit early and took us to see Rick's cafe and the mosque. I think they are probably the only things to see in Casablanca :eek::D

But don't you think that his friend the postcard seller didn't "just happen to be there" selling this cards outside the mosque. I think it was all planned that he turn up at the same time we were there. We bought a packet. They looked like they had been copied from a pc onto cheap card. But okay for the price I expect!!

Does any of the "modern" ships have portholes? I thought nowadays they built them with rectangular ones cause they are safer and less likely to break etc. But I stand to be corrected!

I agree with Linda. we were on that same trip when she was there. It was the only trip we did as I did not feel happy wandering about Casablanca. Also there didn't seem much there to amuse us. So go to Rabat.

Thank you. I did think that was the case. We just wanted to spend some time in Palma beforehand rather than at the end. However I notice that the plane leaves Edinburgh at 5.30 morning!!! . So this means we will have plenty of time till ship leaves. We may not need to book hotel now.

We are hoping to go on a cruise but would like to arrive in Palma maybe a couple of days beforehand. Looking online at their pages it seems that you can only get this info for cruise and stay (7 day cruise and 3/7 days after the cruise). Can anyone help? Do you think it would be better or cheaper to organise our own hotel or even the flight?

Facebook is fine and I am a member of the Thomson group. However, you cannot keep track of previous threads. They move down so quickly. Here on this forum there are titles and you can easily search if you have a query.

Lets hope Thomson's note some of our grievances and do something about it. The menu on the Dream seems to be the same week in week out. I kept the menus for my 3 cruises in 2011,2012 and 2013 and they were practically unchanged. The only veg seemed to be brocolli and carrots.

So cute - love this.

yes...this is good news indeed (oops! just noticed the other 'balcony' thread :o )

 

lovely views from that area nice big windows....coffee & muffins with a view...fabulous:cool:

 

now do same with argo on dream....cupcakes by the canon....lovely:cool:

No leave Argo as it is. The seats are comfortable and its a nice place to relax in whether its the afternoon or after the show in the evening. Yes its quieter and thats what I enjoy - being able to chat whilst listening to the violinist and pianist. I don't want to sit round a table and likle the long padded sofas and seats .