First time cruiser

I have booked a surprise cruise for my husbands 60th birthday,this will be our first cruise so sorry in advance for all the questions.I really wanted to keep it a surprise until we landed in Palma but I’ve read that you are given luggage labels at your departure airport,is this right? I’ve decided to go on the ship excursions this time,has anyone been on the Florence/Pisa excursion is it worth doing or should I just pick one of them? Can you have beer in the MDR or do they only serve wine?Can you order 2 drinks at a time from the bar to save having to queue ( I’m not an alchy honestly):) thanks so much for your help .

Hi Shellamina and welcome.

You only get the cabin labels if its bonded luggage and that's not at Palma.

We have been on the Pisa excursion from the ship and enjoyed it but it is easy to do on your own which I would not recommend as a first time cruiser if you are late back for any reason the ship will go without you but not if you go on the ships trips.

You can have beer in the MDR if you wish or anything off the drinks menu. You can order a double and the waiters may bring you two drinks once they get to know you, usually at the start of the holiday, first day, they ask for a card for every drink, which ship are you on as it does vary.

Have a great time and just ask if you have any questions.

I have booked a surprise cruise for my husbands 60th birthday,this will be our first cruise so sorry in advance for all the questions.I really wanted to keep it a surprise until we landed in Palma but I’ve read that you are given luggage labels at your departure airport,is this right? I’ve decided to go on the ship excursions this time,has anyone been on the Florence/Pisa excursion is it worth doing or should I just pick one of them? Can you have beer in the MDR or do they only serve wine?Can you order 2 drinks at a time from the bar to save having to queue ( I’m not an alchy honestly):) thanks so much for your help .

If you've never done either and have any interest in art or history I'd just concentrate on Florence.

If you don't want a big day out (places like Florence and Rome can be exhausting) then you might also want to consider Lucca as an option.

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I have done the Pisa trip and the Florence trip. Doing both in one day does tick a lot off the list, but makes a long day.

The choice is yours at the end of the day. Pisa is a shorter trip as it is closer to the port than Florence. Both stops have their own merit.

If you do both then you have less free time in Florence.

Also, you have to have an ice cream there. It's the best. Banana is my favourite flavour and I have not found anywhere in the UK that can match the taste.

Thankyou for your help ,we are cruising on the Explorer in October. I think I will just book the Florence trip and give Pisa a miss this time,hopefully we will enjoy it so much we will want to book again for next year .

We have had our luggage labels at the departure airport the last two or three times and and we were flying to Malaga and Corfu so not bonded. I thought it was all flights now.

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We have had our luggage labels at the departure airport the last two or three times and we were flying to Malaga and Corfu so not bonded. I thought it was all flights now.

 

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Still not at Palma due to Spanish rules or something like keeping extra jobs.

You may get the label with the cabin number at the UK airport, but for most european destinations this does not mean your luggage is bonded and taken straight to the ship. You will probably have to collect luggage at Palma airport and take to the coach, but they then use the label when you get to the ship as they will ake the bag from the coach to your cabin without you identifying it.

In Limassol last year they did not label our bag in the UK, but still took it from the coach at the ship and used the passenger name on the airline baggage label to find the cabin. Good job we are not a Smith.

Had luggage labels with cabin No on at uk departure airport,we picked luggage up at arrival airport ,took them to coach,did'nt see them until they were delivered to cabin then,worked well.:D:D

I have booked a surprise cruise for my husbands 60th birthday,this will be our first cruise so sorry in advance for all the questions.I really wanted to keep it a surprise until we landed in Palma but I’ve read that you are given luggage labels at your departure airport,is this right? I’ve decided to go on the ship excursions this time,has anyone been on the Florence/Pisa excursion is it worth doing or should I just pick one of them? Can you have beer in the MDR or do they only serve wine?Can you order 2 drinks at a time from the bar to save having to queue ( I’m not an alchy honestly):) thanks so much for your help .

We have just come back from a cruise starting in Palma & got a luggage label put on our cases before we got to bag drop

I just want to clarify something, this is our first cruise. We are flying to Palma with Tui to board our ship and just want to check if we get our cases at the airport and take them to the coach or will the last time I see them be the airport here. It is just I have skin allergies and the sun cream I use comes in 150ml cans of mousse so I can't take in carry on but don't want to have to wait for cases to get to the room to be able to go outside. It would be very helpful emailed Tui but its like trying to get blood out of a stone getting an answer.

Yes, you collect your cases from the carousel in Palma, put it on the coach & then you don’t see them again till outside your cabin. You can take your sun cream out before it goes on the coach.

Dubrovnik is the only European bonded airport as far as I know, where you don’t see them again

Enjoy your cruise

Yes at Palma you do have to pick up your cases and take them to the coach and its possible that you will not see them again until they are delivered to your cabin which could be minutes or hours. Only suggestion is that you decant your medication into a smaller container and take it in hand luggage just in case!

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Do as Kanes says pack your sun mousse at the top of your case and take it out before you put your case on the coach in Palma - easy

That's all good advice Vitalsign but if it is for a medical condition you have to allow for luggage that goes missing and does not turn up for a couple of days which we have seen a couple of times in the past, they do advise not to pack any medication in hold luggage. Always best to be safe and not spoil a holiday.

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Prescribed medications are exempt from liquid rules, but you will need evidence that it’s a medical prescription and that it’s yours (copy of the prescription and an accompanying letter should be enough). Although if you haven’t got those then putting it in the top of your luggage might be easier.

The best option if it isn’t prescribed is probably to order it to “click and collect” or whatever they call it, for the Airport Boots/Superdrug in the departures lounge.

What a good idea if it's possible Cloudyrain