HOW ABOUT A CRUISE WITH NO STOP’S

[Harry Peterson]

16 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I haven't floated around on dry land since 1968.

I like it!

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, Harry Peterson said:

But not, at least from my viewpoint, if it just involves floating around on potentially rough seas but not actually going anywhere.  We’re all different, but for me cruising is all about visiting places, not just eating, drinking and watching mediocre entertainment.

Well centre parks offers far less than cruising, with ridiculously high food and drink prices and exceptionally mediocre entertainment.  But I agree the ports of call and warmer climates are the major attractions of cruising.

[Harry Peterson]

10 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Well centre parks offers far less than cruising, with ridiculously high food and drink prices and exceptionally mediocre entertainment.  But I agree the ports of call and warmer climates are the major attractions of cruising.

I wasn't thinking Centre Parcs - grossly overpriced in the UK (but much cheaper everywhere else - had some great holidays with the family in the Netherlands at a fraction of the price, even including ferry fares).  Maybe Warner's?  Not really that different from P&O.

[AndyMichelle]

27 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

I wasn't thinking Centre Parcs - grossly overpriced in the UK (but much cheaper everywhere else - had some great holidays with the family in the Netherlands at a fraction of the price, even including ferry fares).  Maybe Warner's?  Not really that different from P&O.

Just done a quick comparison for equivalent time next year at Thoresby Hall. 

£688 per person 7 nights. 

£599 pp Fjords 7 nights on Iona. 

I'm sure there will be lots of dates/offers when this is the other way round, but it is hardly going to be considerably cheaper as you stated Harry. 

Andy 

[Harry Peterson]

37 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Just done a quick comparison for equivalent time next year at Thoresby Hall. 

£688 per person 7 nights. 

£599 pp Fjords 7 nights on Iona. 

I'm sure there will be lots of dates/offers when this is the other way round, but it is hardly going to be considerably cheaper as you stated Harry. 

Andy 

I'm certainly not going to disagree with your figures, Andy - I haven't done any recent research.  Last time I looked it was very much the other way round comparing like for like - booking ahead with an allocated cabin.

[zap99]

41 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Just done a quick comparison for equivalent time next year at Thoresby Hall. 

£688 per person 7 nights. 

£599 pp Fjords 7 nights on Iona. 

I'm sure there will be lots of dates/offers when this is the other way round, but it is hardly going to be considerably cheaper as you stated Harry. 

Andy 

How much extra if you want a window,or balcony?.

[BillieJeanKaraokeKing]

31 minutes ago, zap99 said:

How much extra if you want a window,or balcony?.

In the hall? 😋

[AndyMichelle]

40 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

I'm certainly not going to disagree with your figures, Andy - I haven't done any recent research.  Last time I looked it was very much the other way round comparing like for like - booking ahead with an allocated cabin.

As I said, I only plucked one date and I'm sure it is not representative, it was just an example that it is not always considerably cheaper. 

Andy 

[wowzz]

14 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

As I said, I only plucked one date and I'm sure it is not representative, it was just an example that it is not always considerably cheaper. 

Andy 

Even if Centre Parcs was half the price of a cruise,  wild horses wouldn't drag me there. Fine for those with children,  but otherwise,  I can't see the appeal.  

[zap99]

26 minutes ago, BillieJeanKaraokeKing said:

In the hall? 😋

No , on the ship. When we stayed in the hall we did the ghost walk. Looking back at the hall just after midnight they pointed out the haunted room. It was next to ours. Cruise ships may have a few empty rooms when they start up again.

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

I wasn't thinking Centre Parcs - grossly overpriced in the UK (but much cheaper everywhere else - had some great holidays with the family in the Netherlands at a fraction of the price, even including ferry fares).  Maybe Warner's?  Not really that different from P&O.

But that's still in the UK Harry, and subject to the vagaries of our weather, so I still want to get back to cruising as soon as possible.

[terrierjohn]

13 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Even if Centre Parcs was half the price of a cruise,  wild horses wouldn't drag me there. Fine for those with children,  but otherwise,  I can't see the appeal.  

Only ever been with our children's children, and probably because of that we did enjoy it.

[Harry Peterson]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

But that's still in the UK Harry, and subject to the vagaries of our weather, so I still want to get back to cruising as soon as possible.

I can understand that.  The weather doesn’t bother me that much though. No such thing as bad weather - just bad clothing.

[yorkshirephil]

A short cruise around the med in summer would suit us, or a cruise to the Caribbean in winter would be fine as a one off just for the sun, sometimes after crossing the Atlantic it is nice to set foot on land.

[happy v]

5 hours ago, wowzz said:

Even if Centre Parcs was half the price of a cruise,  wild horses wouldn't drag me there. Fine for those with children,  but otherwise,  I can't see the appeal.  

 We take our family every year. Luckily we went in February this year instead of Easter or October. We are all together in one lodge and always have a fantastic time. Our eldest granddaughter is twelve and always says Centre Parcs is her favourite holiday. We get a lodge with a hot tub, sauna and steam room, then have to pay for activities so we could easily have a cruise for the money. However family time is more important and I usually come back shattered but really happy.

 

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, happy v said:

 We take our family every year. Luckily we went in February this year instead of Easter or October. We are all together in one lodge and always have a fantastic time. Our eldest granddaughter is twelve and always says Centre Parcs is her favourite holiday. We get a lodge with a hot tub, sauna and steam room, then have to pay for activities so we could easily have a cruise for the money. However family time is more important and I usually come back shattered but really happy.

 

Which is exactly my point. I can see exactly why CP is great for multigenerational holidays,  but it is not really my idea of a holiday for just a couple of "mature" adults.

[P&O SUE]

I was thinking about Centre Parcs earlier - but they’d have problems there with the swimming pools and spa areas! Social distancing wouldn’t work there!

 

I’d do a week with no ports, love a sea day. It’s not just a floating hotel, I just love watching the sea. I could sit and watch it for hours. 
 

Our cancelled cruise in April was a two nighter to Zeebrugge - I priced up two nights to Bruges on Railbookers, £10 each more and it was only B&B!

[happy v]

16 hours ago, wowzz said:

Which is exactly my point. I can see exactly why CP is great for multigenerational holidays,  but it is not really my idea of a holiday for just a couple of "mature" adults.

Good God no!!! You'd need your head read if you went to CP without children.

I was really commenting about prices. Though if I'm honest I think I was just joining in a conversation which was 'lighter'. I was a bit down yesterday. Fine again today.

[Adawn47]

21 minutes ago, happy v said:

Good God no!!! You'd need your head read if you went to CP without children.

I was really commenting about prices. Though if I'm honest I think I was just joining in a conversation which was 'lighter'. I was a bit down yesterday. Fine again today.

I know exactly what you mean. I was feeling like l that recently too. We're a resilient lot though. We soon bounce back. 

Avril 

[Roger88]

What does it mean, no stop cruise? It will have at least two stops in any case. The point of destination (wit no stops on the way) and on the way back the stop at the initial port. Unless you are talking about some World Cruise with no stops on the way. But in my opinion its quite boring

[zap99]

2 hours ago, Roger88 said:

What does it mean, no stop cruise? It will have at least two stops in any case. The point of destination (wit no stops on the way) and on the way back the stop at the initial port. Unless you are talking about some World Cruise with no stops on the way. But in my opinion its quite boring

It doesn't have to stop anywhere enroute. Leave Southampton meander around for a week looking at the scenery whilst sitting in the sun and back to Soton. 1 stop.

£250 for a balcony cabin Inc drinks&OBC. Any takers ?.

[kalos]

3 hours ago, Roger88 said:

What does it mean, no stop cruise? It will have at least two stops in any case. . Unless you are talking about some World Cruise with no stops on the way. But in my opinion its quite boring  ✖️

 

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

It doesn't have to stop anywhere enroute. Leave Southampton Any takers ?.✔️

 

I and a few others have done a nonstop cruise on the Ventura New Year Cruise 2016-17 .

A five day cruise that just did figure eight's around the North Sea .

Granted that was not what we booked but even through the New year storm ,we enjoyed it ,

even at a ships tilted angle a lot of the time .

A few got off in Southampton vowing never again but we enjoyed the cruise.

One we can Tick off the bucket list is a non stop cruise .

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, kalos said:

 

 

I and a few others have done a nonstop cruise on the Ventura New Year Cruise 2016-17 .

A five day cruise that just did figure eight's around the North Sea .

Granted that was not what we booked but even through the New year storm ,we enjoyed it ,

even at a ships tilted angle a lot of the time .

A few got off in Southampton vowing never again but we enjoyed the cruise.

One we can Tick off the bucket list is a non stop cruise .

Come to think of it, we have done a ‘cruise to nowhere’ as well. It was October 2017 on Aurora. It was supposed to be a 2 nighter to Zeebrugge (for Bruges) and we were unable to dock due to Storm Brian, so we spent a day in the North Sea up as far as Great Yarmouth and back. Thankfully, we were staying on board for the following 7 night cruise (back to back), but we felt very sorry for those who had particularly booked the cruise because they wanted to go to Bruges. As it happened, the entertainment during the 2 nights was far better than what followed on the 7 nighter, but there’s nothing to look at other than water during a no-stops cruise as the shipping routes are always some way from land. We always enjoy the sail in and out of ports, as well as visiting new places, and if it’s a place we have been several times before we sometimes spend most of the day on the ship and enjoy the peace and quiet whilst most people are ashore. During sea days the ships can feel very crowded, especially if the weather isn’t great - yet another reason that a no-stops cruise would be of no interest to us whatsoever. 

[wowzz]

6 hours ago, Roger88 said:

What does it mean, no stop cruise? It will have at least two stops in any case. The point of destination (wit no stops on the way) and on the way back the stop at the initial port. Unless you are talking about some World Cruise with no stops on the way. But in my opinion its quite boring

Roger - you need to pay more attention to the theme of the thread before jumping in on the conversation.  

You have been very quiet recently - have you been back to school?

Edited May 1, 2020 by wowzz

[wowzz]

37 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

During sea days the ships can feel very crowded, especially if the weather isn’t grea

That's why we always get a balcony cabin. We had a rough couple of days coming back to Southampton in February on Oceana,  but we had plenty of room to read, watch TV, have a drink or three(!) in our cabin, and we could always watch the waves!  When we did walk (totter) through the ship, we couldn't believe how many people were sitting around, crammed together- everyone looked so miserable.

Even in good weather, if you have 4 or 5 sea days, you need a balcony.  I don't go on a cruise to feel like a vagrant, trying to find somewhere to put my worldly possessions!