Need advice: Difficult decision

[esther e]

I think you made a wise decision. It may not be the ideal ship for you, but it's the ideal destination for your husband, and that's what it's all about!:) As I said earlier, you're young and have many, many, many cruising years ahead of you. If you miss the port because of weather, so be it; next time around there may not be any ships calling at that port.

[buddymum]

For Easyjet you would get a piece of hand luggage free each and then they would need to pay for each piece of checked luggage 20kg per case, this usually costs about £9 per case.

 

You could leave larger cases at the left luggage lockers at Gatwick airport maybe? :)

I am sure with easy jet you can pay for one peice of check luggage limit of 20kg which costs alot more than £9 , you can pay for extra cases but you dont get any more weight allowance so in oother words the maximum allowance no matter how many cases you check in a hold luggag can onl.y have a combined wight of 20 Kgs!!! Ithink this is absoloutly crazy but then thats what you get with budget airlines!

[mason525]

I'd vote for taking the Princess cruise. While we are huge Celebrity fans, we sailed the Princess's British Isles cruise because Celebrity wasn't doing them that year. The cruise was so port intensive & the weather amazing that we did not feel disappointed with Princess. Rarely went to the main dining room because we were tired by days end. (And their pizza is better)

All my best wishes for a great trip!

Meg

[Riff]

Thanks to everyone for all the great comments and advice. While I'd love to do a post-trip visit to the Orkneys, we both still work (He's 43, and I'm 39), so we're already pushing it taking a two-week vacation. We're both in senior management roles, and it's hard to be away that long.

 

Because this is his gift, I want it to be perfect for him. And I think that means we take the Princess cruise that gives him a shot of getting to his dream destination. Even if we miss the port, we'll have tried.

 

Again, thanks. And, funny story -- here's WHY he wants to go to the Orkney Islands so much. He's a huge Eurythmics fan, and the video for his favorite song -- Here Comes the Rain Again -- was filmed there. Giving him a trip there will help him realize a dream he's had since that music video was released in the 1980s.

 

At the risk of starting a riot - why bother with the cruise, why not just spend the whole two weeks in Orkney? There's lots to do here (even for non-Eurythmics fans) -see http://www.visitorkney.com

 

If you do make it here the Eurythmics 'here comes the rain again' video was filmed at a number of Orkney locations and it is possible to visit them all.

 

The opening sequences are in Hoy at the Old Man of Hoy – you

have to walk to this – it’s about a 3 mile scenic hike but easy enough if you’re reasonably fit

 

The ‘derelict farmhouse’ is in fact a montage of two different locations – the interior shots are at Corrigall farm & the exterior shots are at Kirbuster farm – both of these are museums and open to the public so no problem getting access.

 

 

The boat on the shore is at Herston and still there, but very badly decayed now I’m afraid.

 

None of the above locations are on the cruise ship shorex itineraries so if you did come in on a ship you'd need a private tour - except you'd not have time in a single day to visit Hoy as that's a separate island.

 

Flights aren't that expensive if you book early enough in advance - there's regular daily flights to Orkney from all Scottish airports

 

Hope you enjoy your visit whatever you decide!