The Red Sea cruise---we did it

[jacknorman]

As promised I said I would report back after tackling our first cruise at a later stage in life.My wife's fear of water and the possibility of my seasickness, was no problem at all and overall was a lovely experience. The entertainment was first class, as was the food, but what impressed us was the choice of both. You had the meridian restaurant with waiter service and good choice and standard[which suited the boss admirably], and the opportunity to dress up one night if you wish, and then the Lido self serve giving a good choice also.I got the impression about half were using either restaurant on a regular basis, which catered for the wide needs of the clientel. The shows put on every night[twice] by the entertainment team were very well produced, but again you could got to other areas and get a different type[ballroom dancing, Mr & Mrs, Bingo etc in Liberties, classical music in Explorer, background Duo in Horizons etc, so something to suit everyone. the staff are brilliant, and whoever thought of employing a complete Philipino crew produced a master stroke, as they cant do enough for you and always have a smile on their face. the only negative bit was the vibration, which I had heard briefly mentioned on here while doing my research. On the first night sail up to Aqaba, it was horrendous for me and I can only liken it to being in bed with a pneumatic drill without the noise. I finally abandoned all thoughts of trying to sleep and went to reception for another cabin[sorry we are full, and it is because we are going at full speed, so it will be felt throughout the ship??], so had a cup of tea at the Lido, then another as I watched the ship come to life. The third night it was not so bad but felt bad again on the last night as we did the short sail back to sharm.The regulars who had done the destiny and spirit said they had not experienced anything like that on the other ships, and the old lags said it was a design fault in the celebration, and so were expecting it. We did The Petra trip which was brilliant, but is not for the faint hearted or anyone with walking difficulties.We didnt do Cairo or luxor as we did them from the nile cruise last year, so just did a short trip to Hurghada. Our cabin was an inside on deck four, and very nice with plenty of wardrobe and drawer space and our solid cases went under the bed no problem. Overall a very pleasant experience, but next time we may try the spirit or destiny to try and get away from the vibration. If anyone needs my help feel free to ask as I got a lot of help from here before we took the plunge. cheers

[Smee]

Which area is affected most from this vibration..??..:confused:

[jacknorman]

I am not sure, with any degree of certainty, but it effected all areas. a lovely old lady who was 82 had taken a deck 2 because she didnt want any movement but she had not slept all week. We upgraded to deck 4 and I was pleased to see we were well forward, as the meridian restaurant took up most of the back part of our deck, but we did not escape. It could also be felt even when you were in port and not moving, but obviously not so severe, so it pointed to a generator problem as well as engine. You could even feel it in the Horizons lounge which is very high up.

[Smee]

I hope your reports of excessive vibrations are an over re-action to the normal noises a ship makes..:confused:

If anything like that were to affect our enjoyment of the cruise I would ask for a refund...:(

[davecttr]

The vibration is more of a 'wobble' than anything and apparently is caused by the generator in the engine room. It is a very low revving diesel that can run on anything! The Celebration and her sister Spirit are built on container ship hulls which were going cheap during a previous recession. For passenger use they have to have 2 screws/engines and not enough room was left for a suite of generators, just the big single one which wobbles on its mountings. As the ships are over 20 years old I imagine many attempts have been made to fix the problem. The Celebrations captain told us that you could run the generator from the main engines but it increased the fuel consumption and was not economic, especially at the higher speeds required for port intensive cruising. Some people hardly notice, some find it impossible, so it very much down to your personal reaction to a wobble that comes and goes.

 

Go for a cabin near the middle of the ship which is generally good advice anyway as the ends of the ship move more, just like a see-saw.

[jacknorman]

Yes. I agree that some people are affected more than others, which was obvious when talking to other passengers. Even in our cabin the two beds were slightly different, we swopped over as the boss can sleep on a clothes line.The third night was nowhere near as bad as the first, but the last night was nearly as bad. We had a cabin in the middle of the ship which I thought would be ideal, and having overcome the wife's fear of water and my possible seasickness very easily we were hit with something we did not expect, and tended to spoil what was a very nice experience overall. I had read on here that some regulars always take deck 2 inside so they can cruise more often, so they dont seem to have any bother, or manage to ignore it.

[barnowl1950]

Hello Smee have a lovely Christmas i hope you enjoy your holiday,:) would you also post your views of the Celebration afterwards? Hubby and i are going in February (end cabin deck 6 furthest forward) been aware of vibrating for ages but we're hell bent on enjoying it anyway,will be paying for it tomorrow,will take tablets with us to help, it's our first cruise except for Thomson Nile cruise 4 years ago.

 

Best wishes Carole

[tenpin]

This viabration is noticeable on most ships at full spead, but particually the older ones.

In my opion the Destiny is slightly worse, but none have stopped me sleeping after a bottle or two.

 

Do try the 'New' Thomson Dream this is a few years younger than most Thomson present ships, and from my personal expreience sailing on her as the Costa Europa, she is a very smooth ride.

[barnowl1950]

Just would like to say thanks Jacknorman and davetheroad for your helpful comments here.:)

[barnowl1950]

This viabration is noticeable on most ships at full spead, but particually the older ones.

In my opion the Destiny is slightly worse, but none have stopped me sleeping after a bottle or two.

 

Do try the 'New' Thomson Dream this is a few years younger than most Thomson present ships, and from my personal expreience sailing on her as the Costa Europa, she is a very smooth ride.

 

Thanks, will bear the Dream in mind for the future but can't plan another cruise for next year as we have booked a tour of California, Vegas and Grand canyon for October.:)

[yorkie76]

can you advise which trip to do when docked at port sokhno. the pyramids and museum or pyramids memphsis and tombs as only there one day staying at sheikh for 1wk but think its to far to travel in a day from there

[oceancreek]

our cabin was deck 3 outside near the middle. Not bothered by vibration in the cabin, noticed it when out on the lido deck.

[barnowl1950]

Thanks oceancreek