First ever cruise-Island Escape.

[shoshannah]

Hi all,

 

We are due to go on the Island Escape later this month! Sooooper excited!

 

Having never been on a cruise before, or even a holiday in the sun before, we are a bit unsure of what to expect and how we need to do things.

 

Ive read both good and bad reviews, but we have an open mind and firmly believe that a holiday is what you make of it. A few threadbare carpets will not ruin it for us!

 

Would someone take the time to answer some questions we have please?

 

We fly into Tenerife early afternoon.

 

Are we met at the airport and taken straight to the ship?

 

What happens with our bags?

 

Will there be time to take a trip in Tenerife that afternoon or do we have to stay on ship?

 

Can we buy drinks (eg a bottle of wine) and take it to our room or on deck, or can you only drink in the restaurants.

 

Are there any essentials that you would recommend us taking? We already have bug spray and sea sickness tablets on the list!

 

Can you exchange currency on board?

 

On the last day, what happens with our bags once we check out of the cabin and go on an excursion? (Can you even do this?)

 

Im sure there will be more questions, but this will do for now!!

 

Many Thanks

Shosh

[ekco]

Hi, and welcome. You will be met at the airport, when you have collected your cases just follow everyone else outside and look around for the Thomson rep. When we joined in Madeira we were able to get our luggage label with our cabin number on and fill in the form at the airport but when we went to Turkey we did all that when we got to the port but I think in Tenerife you will do all of that at the port outside of the ship. You will put your cases on the coach and then proceed to the port where your cases will be taken away once you've put the cabin label on and then you will have your photo taken for your ship card so take a comb with you. You will need this card to get off and on the ship and security will scan it and check the photo is you. Hopefully your cabin will be ready so you can settle in and your cases will arrive later. A lot more passengers embark in Tenerife so you might have a bit of a wait but don't worry go up to deck 10 and help yourself to some refreshments in the buffet restaurant. There should be hand sanitizers at the entrance and you should use these on entry and leaving. You can leave the ship, there is a yellow line in the road that you can follow to get out of the port, about a 10 minute walk. Just make sure you don't get lost.

 

We bought alcohol off ship to drink in the room, we had a fridge as we were on deck 9. You can take those insulated mugs if you like to take hot drinks back to the cabin but to be honest by the time you've gone up to deck 10 for it you might as well drink it there. Unless you're on decks 8 or 9.

 

You can change currency on board but it's cheaper to get it from the Post Office here, with no commission.

 

On the last night your bags will be collected after midnight so remember to keep your travelling clothes out and toiletries etc. You will collect them for the coach outside.

 

See the rep. as there might be an excursion that you can go on otherwise you can leave the ship and come back on as you wish until departure.

 

There's a thread on Thomson forum that you might find useful call '5 things you wish you'd known on your first cruise'. I'll go over an bump it up to the top in a minute.

 

Hope I've covered everything but if not someone else will come on and help.:):)

 

Jan

[shoshannah]

Thankyou so much for your helpful reply!

 

I have bookmarked that thread and will be going through it thouroughly tomorrow!

 

We are trying to decide upon excursions, struggling to find any we want to do in Madeira and in Morocco from the list we were given. Do you know whether you can just get off the boat and easily book something once in the places? e.g camel treks etc? If it is too stressful, then it wont be happening!!

 

Thankyou again,

Shosh

[shoshannah]

Oh, and in reply to changing currency onboard ship- we have just changed all our spending money into Euros before realising that you have an account onboard that uses Sterling! Doh! Hoping to change it back onboard when necessary!

 

Shosh

[ekco]

Oh, and in reply to changing currency onboard ship- we have just changed all our spending money into Euros before realising that you have an account onboard that uses Sterling! Doh! Hoping to change it back onboard when necessary!

 

Shosh

 

You can give your cc details when you board and don't need any cash onboard, just give your onboard account card when you order drinks, trips, etc. We hardy used any cash so keep it and change it back here. Re. the trips, have a look at some of the threads lower down on here, there's one or two that cover your questions.

 

Jan

[ekco]

Doh! It's a blue line out of Santa Cruz port not yellow. I shouldn't do that last thing at night AND I hadn't had a drink either, lol.:D:D

 

Re. Madeira, it's a great place with lots of scenery. You can walk into Funchal, about 20 minutes, or grab a taxi to the cable car which is about half way around the bay. I don't like heights but braved it with my back to the rise and faced out to sea which I find better. Well worth the price to get up to Monte. If you don't want the Thomson trips check out Strawberry excursions on the web in Funchal. They have a good reputation and are cheaper, I believe. Have a look at the link below:-

 

http://www.madeira-web.com/camera/cam-01.html

 

If you look on a Monday you will see all the cruise ships in port.:):)

 

Check out the thread lower down the page named "Trips".

 

Oh, you can put a countdown clock on which adds to the excitement. Just click on Countdown tab near the top of the page and follow the instructions, when you come back you can take it off.

Jan

[snc]

Hi we flew into tenerife and arrived to the ship about 4pm.Although the ship didnt sail till 12 and we could of got off we were tired and preferred to have something to eat and drink in the beachcomer.On the last day we had a late flight but again stayed on the ship for our last bit of sun.

Regarding madeira there is an organised trip to the cable cars and the winery but we did it cheaper ourselves.You can walk to the cable cars the view from to top is fab.also we got the wicker baskets half way down which was great.Both take euros.Then walked to the winery.

Have a great time.

[shoshannah]

Thanks guys!

 

Im sat here with a notepad and pen making 'things to do', 'things to buy' and 'things to pack' lists! Soooo excited!

 

We are both serious bookworms, do people leave their old books on board somewhere or do we need to bring a whole suitcase of them?!

 

I really want to go camel riding in Agadir...mum really does not! Anyone done this?

 

Thanks,

Shosh

[shoshannah]

Also, would you recommend buying bottles of water? And if so, can you buy these and tenerife airport to take on board?

 

Thanks,

Shosh

[ekco]

There is a small library next to Cafe Brasil but there wasn't much in it when we were there. Have you thought about an ereader, loads of great free classic books you can download and you can put hundreds on. I've got a tablet pc that doubles up as one and I joined the local library which means I can lend ebooks for 3 weeks.

 

If you like you could buy bottles of water at the airport here and keep them for your cabin. There are casks of water in the Beachcomber but you can only put a small glass underneath as they don't want people to fill bottles up with water as there could be cross contamination from people swigging from the bottle. The water is very acceptable and has no chemical flavour so I used to take a glass or two back to the cabin at night.:):)

 

Jan

[shoshannah]

Hi again,

 

Im back with more questions!

 

I've read some threads that mention cabins with webcams inside, we are on deck 3/4 inside (not sure of room number yet). Does the IE have this?

 

Because we booked late, we have to pick the documents up from the airport. Do we just find a Thomson desk? Do we get the room numbers then, or not until we board the ship?

 

Will we be able to pay our onboard account in Euros?

 

Ive also read some posts that recommend you fly a day before....we booked our flights through Thomson and they get there at lunch time the same day as it sails...do I need to panic?

 

Thanks,

Shosh

[shoshannah]

Sorry,

 

I thought of another one :s

 

Can you adjust the cabin temperature? Or are they generally hot or cold?

 

I made the mistake of watching youtube videos of cruise ships sinking/in storms a few nights ok! Bad move!

 

Thanks,

Shosh

[ekco]

Calm down, calm down. lol.

 

If I remember rightly there's a web cam on the IE that you can see on your cabin tv, not the internet. It's on the outside not in your cabin, lol.

 

You pick your tickets up at the Thomson deck. We have literally done this dozens of times, you need your invoice with the booking ref. on but just the booking ref. is ok. Usually with the IE you will get your cabin number on arrival.

 

If you want to pay in cash for your onboard account you will need to deposit £200 at Reception against your purchases on the card, then settle on your last day. Not sure about euros, they would probably change it at a rate to their advantage and not yours. It is better all round if you lodge your credit card against the account then you won't get the bill until you return home and there is no cc charge. You will get updates on your account put under your door from time to time with the last one the night before but worry not, whatever you spend after that will be added. You can ask at Reception for an update at any time. If you are not all inclusive look for the wine of the day on your daily newsletter, it was £12.99 for a bottle last year but you will get a good 3 drinks each and it works out well against wine by the glass.

 

I think people that fly the day before are the ones that cruise with other companies and make their own arrangements to get there.

 

Which airport are you travelling from. Manchester, Birmingham and Gatwick have a day before check in which we use from Manchester which is great for us as we are fairly close and it means we don't have to queue on the day. Birmingham has a charge for this though.

 

You can adjust the cabin temperature but it's a bit hit and miss. Still you won't be in there much.

 

Hope that helps a bit.:)

 

Don't worry we found that cruising is a well oiled machine, much more so than land based holidays and everything mostly runs like clockwork.

 

Jan

[shoshannah]

Deleting this because I double posted - sorry!

[shoshannah]

Ekco, you are a star!

 

I am a born panicker, and the closer it gets, the more excited I'm getting, but the more things I'm finding to panic about! Arrgh!

 

Mum would like me to ask if she can take a hair dryer and hair straighteners? If not, then I think she might actually be spending all her time in the cabin, lol.

 

We have bought a European adaptor, is this the right one for the IE?

 

Thankyou for taking the time to reply!

 

Shosh,

p.s We are flying from Exeter

[ekco]

My travel hairdryer worked but only on low power and I wished I'd taken the advice on the forums to hire one from reception, apparently they work very well but get them asap when you board. My travel straighteners didn't heat up at all well and I've heard you have to use the sockets in the corridor but also other posters have said that their's have worked ok so take your pick. Take US adaptors, get them from Poundland, they have both in a set.

 

Jan

[devonyorkie]

Exeter is so easy to fly from.should have no problems there.

[ekco]

Exeter is so easy to fly from.should have no problems there.

 

And I thought I was up late last night, lol.;)

 

Jan

[devonyorkie]

And I thought I was up late last night, lol.;)

 

Jan

 

:D Thought i'd do the same as the cat and have a night on the tiles:D and before you say it no i'm not a cat burglar.

[Rebel Rouser]

I followed that blue line once when we were in Tenerife..fell into the water :D

[shoshannah]

Just to say, thankyou for all of your help in calming my nerves before this trip!

 

Ive posted a review here: http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=82013

 

Shosh

:)

[Rebel Rouser]

Shosh, really pleased you had a lovely time :)

 

 

Tip for not getting disorientated next time if you get an inside cabin!! leave the tv on web cam on silent.

 

Then you will know if it's dark or daylight :D

[ekco]

Glad you enjoyed your trip. We were up on Deck 9 and found it quiet, although the windows are obscured by lifeboats.:):)

 

Jan