Summer 2022 - Brochure Launch

[jeanlyon]

Ha ha, just heard from my TA who has emailed with his contact in P&O.  Yes of course we can use the FCC for the deposit and we can also transfer our April 21 deposit at the same time.  He will do it all.  My TA thanked me for what I had gleaned on here and also from P&O.  He says they are very bad at keeping agents updated, but he did send me the answer from P&O that he received.

Edited November 4, 2020 by jeanlyon

[Son of Anarchy]

8 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Ha ha, just heard from my TA who has emailed with his contact in P&O.  Yes of course we can use the FCC for the deposit and we can also transfer our April 21 deposit at the same time.  He will do it all.  My TA thanked me for what I had gleaned on here and also from P&O.  He says they are very bad at keeping agents updated, but he did send me the answer from P&O that he received.

Hopefully that's the correct and final answer!  Glad it worked out for you and thank you for updating everyone with the outcome. 

[Eddie99]

I’ve not studied the brochure but a quick glance seems to suggest Gibraltar has fallen out of favour.

Am I correct?  If so, why?  My thought is that it’s connected with leaving the EU.

The fact that many people find it an uninspiring port of call might also apply.  

[ohnonotmeagain]

Well I must be one of the few...... I like  Gibraltar.

[Adawn47]

We like Gibralter too. I've glanced through the online brochure and spotted one or two calls on there. It seems to depend on the cruise length I think.

Avril

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, Eddie99 said:

I’ve not studied the brochure but a quick glance seems to suggest Gibraltar has fallen out of favour.

Am I correct?  If so, why?  My thought is that it’s connected with leaving the EU.

The fact that many people find it an uninspiring port of call might also apply.  

At last, some good news! I’m afraid that we think Gibraltar is a dump. Just a concrete nothingness with low rent shops. The view from the rock is good but spoilt by needing to be on edge due to the likelihood of being assaulted by terrorist monkeys! Two years ago we went to Ceuta, the Spanish equivalent of Gibraltar, which is the opposite side of the straights of Gibraltar and cut out of Morocco. It is 100 times better than Gibraltar in all respects. A beautiful town with very interesting buildings, several lovely beaches, a very classy water park (no slides etc, just beautifully landscaped grounds), attractive gardens, lovely promenade with sculptures, nice shops and restaurants. You can see Gibraltar from it but the contrast is incredible. We went there on Aurora and you dock 2 minutes walk from everything I have described. No mile long walk (or mini bus ride) through a concrete trading estate, as is the case in Gibraltar. I doubt that the big ships can berth there, which is a shame, but it was an unexpected highlight of our last cruise. 

Edited November 5, 2020 by Selbourne

[grapau27]

24 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

At last, some good news! I’m afraid that we think Gibraltar is a dump. Just a concrete nothingness with low rent shops. The view from the rock is good but spoilt by needing to be on edge due to the likelihood of being assaulted by terrorist monkeys! Two years ago we went to Ceuta, the Spanish equivalent of Gibraltar, which is the opposite side of the straights of Gibraltar and cut out of Morocco. It is 100 times better than Gibraltar in all respects. A beautiful town with very interesting buildings, several lovely beaches, a very classy water park (no slides etc, just beautifully landscaped grounds), attractive gardens, lovely promenade with sculptures, nice shops and restaurants. You can see Gibraltar from it but the contrast is incredible. We went there on Aurora and you dock 2 minutes walk from everything I have described. No mile long walk (or mini bus ride) through a concrete trading estate, as is the case in Gibraltar. I doubt that the big ships can berth there, which is a shame, but it was an unexpected highlight of our last cruise. 

We last went to Gibraltar on NCL Gems maiden voyage in October 2007 and found it uninspiring with a long walk from the port to the centre.

Graham.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

We last went to Gibraltar on NCL Gems maiden voyage in October 2007 and found it uninspiring with a long walk from the port to the centre.

Graham.

They have smartened up the main street a bit since then Graham, so generally looks a bit better. To me however it it the sort of place that when you have been there once, there is no need to return. The other thing I hate about it is that it is too British. I don't want to be sailing around the med and then feel I have been dropped into Bognor Regis... After all, I can go to Morrisons, Debenhams and M&S any time from home...

[jeanlyon]

Would agree in general.  We have a friend there who usually meets us for coffee.  Also, the ability to buy whisky and gin at ridiculously low prices is worth a half day there.  It was on both the cruises I looked at for 2022.

[Britboys]

1 minute ago, jeanlyon said:

Would agree in general.  We have a friend there who usually meets us for coffee.  Also, the ability to buy whisky and gin at ridiculously low prices is worth a half day there.  It was on both the cruises I looked at for 2022.

Sadly, its also on the 2022 cruise I am looking at too Jean...

[jeanlyon]

7 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Sadly, its also on the 2022 cruise I am looking at too Jean...

which one Andrew?  We have gone for Aurora 12th October.

[Britboys]

1 minute ago, jeanlyon said:

which one Andrew?  We have gone for Aurora 12th October.

Although I normally like to go in October Jean, the itineraries on both Aurora and Arcadia I am afraid are very dull to me. Not helped by the fact that this year's cancelled one had four ports that were new to me. Instead, I am looking at Aurora on 26th August, which has three ports new to me (Cagliari, Zadar & Messina) two I have only been to once (Cartagena & Dubrovnik) plus Venice, which I will never tire of.

Shame, it would have been nice to meet up again.

[jeanlyon]

1 minute ago, Britboys said:

Although I normally like to go in October Jean, the itineraries on both Aurora and Arcadia I am afraid are very dull to me. Not helped by the fact that this year's cancelled one had four ports that were new to me. Instead, I am looking at Aurora on 26th August, which has three ports new to me (Cagliari, Zadar & Messina) two I have only been to once (Cartagena & Dubrovnik) plus Venice, which I will never tire of.

Shame, it would have been nice to meet up again.

We will meet one day xx  I can't take leave in August from the Harbour.

[Britboys]

26 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

We will meet one day xx  I can't take leave in August from the Harbour.

Hope so Jean - although I do worry that by 2023 we might only have one ship of interest...

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

Although I normally like to go in October Jean, the itineraries on both Aurora and Arcadia I am afraid are very dull to me. Not helped by the fact that this year's cancelled one had four ports that were new to me. Instead, I am looking at Aurora on 26th August, which has three ports new to me (Cagliari, Zadar & Messina) two I have only been to once (Cartagena & Dubrovnik) plus Venice, which I will never tire of.

Shame, it would have been nice to meet up again.

Hi Andrew. Suggest you don’t make the same mistake that we made when we went to Messina. As there were no tours that went up Etna (they just did the foothills) we decided to stay in port. It’s a bit of a dump and we regretted not taking a tour (or venturing away from the city under our own steam). The main square is OK but just a 2 minute walk from where the ship berths, so you can see that before going elsewhere or before rejoining the ship but, other than that, there’s nothing much worth seeing and lots of cab drivers and touts trying to sell you things - quite persistently. I’m sure that there are plenty of lovely places worth seeing on Sicily, but Messina isn’t one of them. 

[AnnieC]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

Although I normally like to go in October Jean, the itineraries on both Aurora and Arcadia I am afraid are very dull to me. Not helped by the fact that this year's cancelled one had four ports that were new to me. Instead, I am looking at Aurora on 26th August, which has three ports new to me (Cagliari, Zadar & Messina) two I have only been to once (Cartagena & Dubrovnik) plus Venice, which I will never tire of.

Shame, it would have been nice to meet up again.

Zadar is a lovely city, Andrew. As Selbourne says, though, Messina is not.

[ann141]

15 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Hi Andrew. Suggest you don’t make the same mistake that we made when we went to Messina. As there were no tours that went up Etna (they just did the foothills) we decided to stay in port. It’s a bit of a dump and we regretted not taking a tour (or venturing away from the city under our own steam). The main square is OK but just a 2 minute walk from where the ship berths, so you can see that before going elsewhere or before rejoining the ship but, other than that, there’s nothing much worth seeing and lots of cab drivers and touts trying to sell you things - quite persistently. I’m sure that there are plenty of lovely places worth seeing on Sicily, but Messina isn’t one of them. 

Taormina is lovely and you can either take a P and O tour or catch a train from Messina.We did the 'Godfather 'tour last time we visited and toured round some amazing countryside and had stops at 2 pretty villages.I agree with the others that it is not worth staying in Messina

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Hi Andrew. Suggest you don’t make the same mistake that we made when we went to Messina. As there were no tours that went up Etna (they just did the foothills) we decided to stay in port. It’s a bit of a dump and we regretted not taking a tour (or venturing away from the city under our own steam). The main square is OK but just a 2 minute walk from where the ship berths, so you can see that before going elsewhere or before rejoining the ship but, other than that, there’s nothing much worth seeing and lots of cab drivers and touts trying to sell you things - quite persistently. I’m sure that there are plenty of lovely places worth seeing on Sicily, but Messina isn’t one of them. 

Thanks for the tip! Etna would be on my list. Maybe now that they do "Urban Adventures" and "Shore Experiences" rather than mere excursions, there will be a better choice...🤔🙄🤣

[Dermotsgirl]

2 hours ago, ann141 said:

Taormina is lovely and you can either take a P and O tour or catch a train from Messina.We did the 'Godfather 'tour last time we visited and toured round some amazing countryside and had stops at 2 pretty villages.I agree with the others that it is not worth staying in Messina

We did the Taormina tour the first time we went to Messina, and really enjoyed it.  This was in 2003, and it still stands out as a good cruising memory.  We went back to Messina last year, and did a wine tasting tour, simply because we didn't fancy spending much time hanging around in Messina itself. 

[Dermotsgirl]

I had an email from Cunard today. Their Summer 2022 cruises have been unveiled, bookable from 17th November.

 

I've been considering moving my October 2021 cruise on Queen Victoria, to a shorter and cheaper itinerary, and there is a Round Britain cruise in May 2022 that interests me. 

 

 

[Clyde and Ocean Cruises]

3 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

We did the Taormina tour the first time we went to Messina, and really enjoyed it.  This was in 2003, and it still stands out as a good cruising memory.  We went back to Messina last year, and did a wine tasting tour, simply because we didn't fancy spending much time hanging around in Messina itself. 

Having previously had a great holiday in Taormina, and a then few years later having had a fairly uninspiring day in Messina when on a call on a cruise visit, we were keen to return to Taormina when another cruise cruise had a call in Messina. We were disappointed the P&O tour (at that time) did not offer much time there so prior to setting sail we booked a private Taxi transfer with Sicily Taxis - recommended to us by a user on another forum. That gave us four hours in Taormina (which was what we had asked for), and we noticed the first group on the P&O Tour coming into Taormina when we had already been there for an hour. No problem with the taxi, waiting for us on arrival and at the agreed pickup point for the return, payment on return to the ship. One of our preferred 2022 cruises visits Messina and we would happily do the same again. And it was cheaper than the ship tour too!   

[ann141]

3 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I had an email from Cunard today. Their Summer 2022 cruises have been unveiled, bookable from 17th November.

 

I've been considering moving my October 2021 cruise on Queen Victoria, to a shorter and cheaper itinerary, and there is a Round Britain cruise in May 2022 that interests me. 

 

 

I had a similar email.The British Isles cruise looks interesting but it seems that many of the Scottish Isles are cruise by rather than dock or tender.I am interested in a Med cruise on Q Victoria which will include 3 new ports of call for us but will probably wait until much nearer the time of sailing before booking.(I haven't got any FCC to use up

[lindylooellalouise]

3 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I had an email from Cunard today. Their Summer 2022 cruises have been unveiled, bookable from 17th November.

 

I've been considering moving my October 2021 cruise on Queen Victoria, to a shorter and cheaper itinerary, and there is a Round Britain cruise in May 2022 that interests me. 

 

 

 

[lindylooellalouise]

hi we are looking also at the British isles cruise we did the same one on QV in 2019 and thoroughly enjoyed it especially our home port of Tyne really loved it.

[Dermotsgirl]

46 minutes ago, lindylooellalouise said:

hi we are looking also at the British isles cruise we did the same one on QV in 2019 and thoroughly enjoyed it especially our home port of Tyne really loved it.

I’ve wanted to visit Newcastle for a long time, and Liverpool. With both of these on the itinerary, it’s attractive to me