First cruise lady

Hi. You can get round Barcelona by taxi oe by using the metro. Get the bus provided to the bottom of las ramblas. From there, it's a few meters (maybe a bit more) to the metro stop. You can definitely get to Sagrada Familia on the metro, though you'll probably need to change trains and you can probably get to park guell as well. More information on the metro iq available online. Alternatively, you can take a taxi feom the bottom of las ramblas, though this will probably be more expensive. Don't get a taxi from where you get off the ship, as that will be more expensive. As far as I know, it would be possible to do both in one day, though you would need to plan your time and work out distances etc, bearing in mind allowing enough time to get back to the ship. Hope that helps. Thanks

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Yes, you can, but as you're all inclusive, I'd just get a drink from one of the bars to take to your cabin. That's what we always do. 

Sorry for the delay in replying. We didn't pre-book the train or get an express service. We just went to the station and got the next available train. However, if you need to get there for a certain time, it could be worth prebooking. The express service is more expensive, but again, if you need to get there for a certain time it could be worth It. It's your day, so it's up to you how you plan it. 

 

As suekay has said, most train strikes are announced in advance and ate quite uncommon. Lighting strikes are rare. I've used the train service in italy 7 times and never had a problem. In fact, personally I find the trains in italy more reliable than in the UK. Hope that helps. 

In ajaccio, you can just walk off the ship, as it docks right in the centre of town. Napoleon's house is about 10 minutes walk away down the road by the sea. There are bars and cafes by the roadside.

In civitaveccia, if you're confident juat get the shuttle buses to the station then get tje train. It's much cheaper and gives you more freedom. Any questions, please ask.

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No need to apologize. We all feel unsure about things.

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It depends on if it's short or medium haul or long haul. If it's long haul, a meal is included. If it's short haul, you can buy snacks and drinks on the plane. It's the same as if you were flying somewhere to stay in a hotel. Hope that helps.

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We were on d2 in the school holidays 2 years ago. There were quite a lot of kids on board, but they never bothered us. To be honest, we didn't see much of them. Like you, we tend to eat late. There were kids in the main dining room, but mainly older ones, so probably won't be there when you are and they never caused any problems. On the rest of the ship, there are a lot of places to go other than the main pool, where the kids are. I often cruise in the school holidays and i've never have bothered by the kids there. Most of them are well-behaved and, like i say, it's fairly easy to go to quieter places on board.

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Hi. We're going to be visiting bar in Montenegro in August and I was wondering what was best to do in that port. I've read about an old town, but was wondering about the best way to get there or if there was plenty to see near where the ship docks. We're not bothered about going further afield if we can help it. Thanks. Claire

 

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I would suggest getting the port shuttle bus to Las ramblas, then a taxi, as taxis from the port itself are more expensive. You might also want to bear in mind that it's a long walk from sagrada familia to place catalunya about 30 minutes, so it might be worth using public transport or a taxi.

 

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When I was there last year, we got a free shuttle bus to the port entrance, then a tram into Porto. Porto itself is really easy to walk round and is a lovely place to visit. We walked down to the river and sat and had a drink and a bite to eat

 

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Thanks for that advice. I'm going again this year, so that's worth bearing in mind. I was obviously very lucky then, as the train I got wasn't that busy at all. The train I got though was from ortense and was an express that didn't stop again until civitaveccia, so maybe that made a difference.

 

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As I said in a previous post, I personally prefer using the outer stations, as I find getting through termini very stressful. I've used the trains twice now. They're usually quite big and I've never found them that crowded or had a problem getting a seat. You might not be sat together, but it depends on how important that is to you.

 

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I've used the trains in Italy several times and never known them to be delayed. The last time I used it was two years ago though, so maybe things have changed. The hardest part to me has always been getting from the ship to the train station, as you need to use two buses. There are several stations in Rome, so there is usually one near most major attractions. All information about the train service including any strikes (they're usually planned in advance) is easily available online. You can also find train times online, so you can plan the train to get well in advance. I have an app on my phone which gives me train times and any known delays. The best advice I can give you is to allow plenty of time to get back. I usually plan to get a train back about 4pm, to allow me time to allow for potential delays, get from the station to the ship and relax a bit, before getting ready for the evening. I'm usually back on the ship about 5 to 5:30. Hope that helps.

 

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I would choose the Greek islands option 4, because the most of the other cities can be easily done by land based tours.

It really depends on what you're after. Most of the city based itineraries are more about sightseeing, while the Greek Islands one will probably be more relaxing. When you talk about having fun, you would probably find it beneficial to do a bit of research in the cruise line as well, as different lines have a different atmosphere and some can be more fun than others, depending on what you enjoy doing.

 

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Those train times should allow you plenty of time. You can also get a bus from the train station to the port gate, which is usually really reliable and a lot easier than walking. I personally prefer using the outer stations, as it can take a long time to get through termini, but if you feel better doing that to avoid the crowds, then that's up to you. I've never had a problem getting a seat, but I might just have been lucky.

 

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Perhaps this may help and I am sure many others will chime in. The Colosseum can be very crowded during the summer months along with the Vatican. I would personally book a tour through a private company, we use "Rome in Limo", that will take you from the ship to all the highlights of Rome and will arrange for tickets to these locations. It may seem very expensive at first but if you visit your ship's roll call on CC you may be able to share a tour with others reducing the cost.

I visited the colliseum indendently 2 years ago. We hadn't booked a tour and just walked round on our own, but it was a Bank Holiday and we had to wait nearly 1.5 hours to get in. The queue for those who'd paid in advance was next to us and as far as I could see, they weren't much better off, as they still had to go through security checks and it was a bank holiday, so really busy.

 

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Hi first time cruiser here. im wanting to know a little more about the 'dress to impress" night on the Marella Discovery. Our family of 4 intend to dress as we would for an evening meal out at a nice restaurant, however, didn't want to feel underdressed if its dinner jackets and dresses.

What are others experience of the dress to impress night? Is it a mixture of smart/casual or does everyone tend to really dress up?

Also what else tends to be planned on that night? Photos with captain? Special entertainment etc....

Thanks

I've never been on discovery, but was on discovery 2 last year. The dress to impress night was a mixture, about a third in dinner jackets and gowns, most others in nice dresses and trousers or suits, others more smart casual. Don't worry about being over or under dressed. Just dress how you feel most comfortable. Hope that helps.

 

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No that's fine listening to everyone experience is ideal. I say kids...15 and 18 so they happy to walk around as well and visit new places.

 

I'm not a beach person either to be honest, but the last cruise it was in middle of week and was ideal just to chill on there and walk along in sea for a few hours, so would be nice on this as well.

 

What I don't want is for the 3 Portugal to just be the same, walking around very I can imagine similar places, I'd rather have something definite to visit to break it all up ideally.

 

Thanks

To be honest, Porto and Lisbon are very different, but the difference comes more from the atmosphere and size of the places than what's actually there. Porto is on a river and it's lovely sitting by the river and just looking at all the boats and see all the port related souvenirs, while Lisbon is a big, bustling more commercial city. But it can be difficult to describe that in posts online.

 

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We have done this itinerary 3 times - only difference was instead of Portimao we stopped at Huelva the first time and Vigo the second.

 

Cadiz has stunning beaches and Portimao is only 3 km from the beach at Praia de Rocha.

 

Porto is one of our favourite places - trips along the River Duoro are good fun and can be combined with a trip round a Port Wine bodega.

 

Spirit may be an old ship but she has a heart of gold and a brilliant crew.

I'm pretty sure there's a beach at Porto near the port as well. I don't know about the others, as I'm not really a beach person to be honest. I'm probably a bad person to answer this question, as I don't have kids and tend to cruise more for the experience of cruising, than just ports, though I do enjoy seeing different places. I often just walk round a place and absorb the atmosphere, so am probably not a good person to answer questions about activities, but I do appreciate that you need to do more with kids. Sorry if I've been unhelpful.

 

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Not sure if this is a new tour, but wondering if anyone been on it before, the ports of call I mean.

 

Visiting:

Malaga, Costa Del Sol

Porto, Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal

Portimao, Portugal

Cadiz (for Seville), Spain

Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Malaga, Costa Del Sol

 

What I'm a little concerned on is the lack of variety, whereby there is 3 visits, one after another, to Portugal.

 

We've been on one cruise before, Thomson cruise, majesty in 2016 around Med and really enjoyed it. It visited Barcelona, Monaco, Pisa, Marseille, Corsica. This was varied had good sites to see, beach day at Corsica in middle of cruise was really good.

 

Apart from Gibraltar which never been, and would look forward to, nothing else sticks out really.

 

Now this at moment is half price for our family around July/Aug so I know "you get what pay for", don't mind that is just with the 3 visits to Portugal wondering what to do and experiences of them. We are a family of four, "kids" 15 and 18.

 

Anyone did this cruise please? It's on the Spirit which I known is now the oldest ship, but still seems ok is it?

 

Thanks in advance of any comments, positive or negative.

 

Cheers

Hi. I went on a similar itinerary last year, but we went to Vigo instead of portimao. I found the choice of ports fine. As I say, I can't comment on portimao, but the others were all interesting and easy to walk round.

In Porto, the ship docks about 7 miles from the centre, so we got the tram into the centre. It's a nice old city and is the home of the drink, port, so it's good to stop and have a glass.

In Lisbon, we got a bus from the ship to the centre. It's a fabulous city and good to just walk round and explore the sights.

In cadiz, we just walked into the old part of the city. There's a nice cathedral and it's an old fashioned quaint city.

In gibraltar, we got a shuttle into the centre, walked up the main street and got the cable car to the top. It's nice to walk round at top and see the monkeys and the town itself is good for duty free.

In malaga, we had a day there, as we were on for two weeks, we got the shuttle bus to the port entrance and walked round. It's a nice city, with an atmosphere of Spain.

The only bad thing we found was the weather, as it was cloudy and rained a couple of day. We travelled in August.

Hope that helps. Claire

 

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Thanks dronnygirl. I daren't risk doing train on my own. I'd worry too much in case they were cancelled. Think I will just have to decide between train or coach with the ships excursions.

 

Decisions :)

I've been to Rome twice by train from the ship and am planning on doing it again this year. The hardest thing is getting from the ship to the train, as you need to get two shuttle buses, which can be time consuming. I've never had any problems with trains being cancelled. All strikes in Italy are planned in advance, so you would be told beforehand if there was a strike planned that day. I've also used the train from livorno for Florence and pisa and never had any problems there either. In fact, I've found the train service in Italy to be more reliable than those in the UK! The train times are easily available online. I have an app on my phone that gives me them. You can work out in advance which trains you want to get there and back to make sure you're back in time. I always plan not to get the last possible train, to ensure I have a contingency plan.

 

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I agree, go for the taxi if time in important. The taxi will also be able to come right up to the cruise terminal, so you will save the time waiting for/in the shuttle to get out of the cruise port.

If you have time, getting the shuttle to the port entrance then getting a taxi from the rank there would work out cheaper. We got a taxi to park guell, then back to La ramblas in the summer. It cost us over 30 euros there, but only 10 back and the top of Las ramblas isn't that much further.

 

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I've caught the train from Livorno to Florence twice and always found it perfectly straightforward to do. If you Google the train times beforehand, then you know the last train you can get to get back. I always allow for an hour and a half or more to get back to port from the station and tend to aim for the last train but one. There are direct trains and some lines run a shuttle bus from the port to the station and back again. Try and leave as early as possible to get to Florence for about 10:30 to 11ish. Hope that helps

 

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I was in cabin 6593, an inside cabin on deck 6 and I had no problems with noise. The cabins are really well insulated, so you don't really hear anything. I have to say though, I don't go to bed early, so probably the bars above were pretty empty then anyway, but I never had any problems when I was in my cabin during the day either.

 

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Thanks for posting this interesting review. Just a quick question. Can you get into your cabin, as soon as you get on board, as I was hoping to dump my hand luggage and freshen up a bit, once I got on board? Many thanks.

 

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