M/S Dalmacija - Croatian cruise

[Gypsywillow]

We have just arrived back from our Italy and Adriatic holiday. Our Cruise onboard the MS Arion was relaxing and the ports of call absolutely worth doing. That beautiful coastline has a huge amount to see and experience and even better it is not overrun with tourists. We were on the top deck and all the plumbing worked fine. Our cabin was a good size and the staff were fantastic. The meals were enormous and delicious. If you want a pool, this one is very small - More of a plunge pool really. Our crew is made up of multiple languages and we had no problems communicating. Our cruise passengers were about 80% French speaking with the remainder being english speaking. The entertainment in the main lounge was a little disappointing and sub-standard though. Don't expect too much. It's a comfortable small ship with a nice ambience.:)

[RosemaryV]

We are thinking of this cruise for next July. I thought you (Gypsywillow) were booked on the Dalmacija - did that cruise get cancelled as we are also considering that ship. Did you have to take a tour at each port or could you just walk off ship and do a tour on your own?

[Gypsywillow]

Hi Rosemary, the Dalmacija cancelled on us and we were transferred to the Arion departing from Koper in Slovenia but basically doing the same trip. You can do your own thing at each port without paying for the guided walks however in Dubrovnik the town centre is a bus ride away from the port (too far to walk) therefore you would have to arrange your own transport in unless the ship offers an alternate option. If you get the option of a tour at Zadar I can recommend it. The gold & silver museum run by Nunns is fantastic and the history of the area is fantastic. You will love this coastline.

[RosemaryV]

Thanks so much for your reply. I wonder if the Dalmacija will run in July as we liked its itinerary and it was more reasonable. Did it bother you at all that the majority of people were French - we do not speak French? The smoking is a big issue with us so we may have to do this trip by land and not the ship. I am not sure we could get to all the places by land though.

Thanks so much for yur advise.

[Gypsywillow]

We are non-smokers too. Smoking was not really a problem for us on this ship. It was not allowed in the main dining room, reception or in & around the cabins. There were assigned places where passengers could smoke, from memory: one side deck and anywhere on open deck, half of the Lido lounge and main lounge. Sounds a lot although as the ship docked early most days, we never found the smoking a problem - either we were ashore or most of the smokers were. I wouldn't let it put you off.

We too do not speak French. No tour was ever cancelled due to lack of numbers and for all but one tour we had an assigned english guide as did the french have a french guide. There was a "them and us" attitude aboard though by about the third day, which the English speakers were laughing about by the end of the trip.

We did a bus trip in Italy and can say without hesitation that the Cruise was better in that you could unpack for the duration. Far more relaxing.

[Smister]

Hi Rosemary, A friend and I cruised on the MS Dalmacija in April 07. Our itinerary included Venice, Zadar, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Ploce, Pula and some others I've probably forgotten. The adriatic coast is gorgeous and there is much to see. If you're going in July, expect very warm weather. We were there in early April and had temps in the 80's (sorry, I'm from US and don't know the celcius conversions). The ship itself was just okay. Staff was nice and accomodating but the ship was older and not very luxurious. We had an inside cabin which was tiny and requested an outside cabin and it took 3 days for them to switch us even though the ship was only half full. They kept saying they had to check with the home office. I'd recommend a category 4 at least but you will pay for the larger room. If you and your travelling partner don't mind small spaces and don't plan on staying in your room much, inside is fine. I didn't care at all but my partner did. The food was just okay - salads and soups, excellent, main dishes were sometimes great, sometimes awful. As I said, our ship was only half full. I actually can't imagine being on it when full..not many spaces to hang out in. I'm not much of a cruiser so we really just took the ship for the ports and loved everything we saw. Hope that helps.

[Smister]

Regarding smoking, the Dal. did not allow smoking in dining room. It did on the outside decks (not supposed to smoke on inside decks but people did) and on one side of salon (where the bar was). Smoking didn't bother us much but, again, I think that was because of the 50% full ship. Most of the passengers were German with only a dozen English speakers. MOst of the Germans smoked.

[Retiredpilot]

Sorry I have taken so long to respond regarding our trip on the Dalmacija in October of 07. We had a group of 16, a mix of married couples and lady friends of ours. The ship itself is rather old but servicable. Try for a cabin midships as the vibration in the aft is annoying. I found the food to be above average. Not gormet but certainly acceptable. Never went hungry. There were only 85 or so passangers on our cruise so there was pleny of space. Above all, the beauty of the Croatian coast and the trip to Montenagro and Slovenia are well worth the cruise.