Advice for 1st ever cruise

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

Just to follow up on our earlier discussion about this. On our current cruise, out of 8 ports, only twice has the port side of the ship been the dock side.

....and in many cases the non dock side offers a much better, and often far more interesting view anyway.

[Denarius]

On some ships electricity in the cabin is controlled by a slot just inside the door into which you need to insert your cruise card to turn on the lights and in some cases the power sockets. There is usually a short period of grace after you remove it to enable you to leave the cabin without having to do so in the dark.But it does not need to be your cruise card, any credit card sized card will work. So take an old card and use it for this purpose.

[SarahHben]

5 hours ago, wowzz said:

Just to follow up on our earlier discussion about this. On our current cruise, out of 8 ports, only twice has the port side of the ship been the dock side.

Yes, out of our 4 ports only one was due to be docked on port side and we didn't get there in the end. We had better views on the non docked side.

[Yorkypete]

On 5/15/2022 at 8:13 PM, Leesy said:

Hi.

Trying to plan our first ever cruise but finding it a bit of a minefield so could really use some advice from the experienced cruisers amongst you. 

We really want to do a world tour in a few years time but need to try a shorter cruise first to see if it's for us.

We're looking at a round trip to The Canary's from Southampton on Iona next year as a starting point. Is Iona a good choice?

I have so many newbie questions so I'm sorry if they've all been asked numerous times before.

I have no idea which is the best deck or which position for cabins i.e. forward, mid or aft. Is it worth paying for a full suite? Is it worth choosing the 'select' option for the benefits that gives or would you say it's not worth the considerable extra money?

Any & all advice for a complete novice would be so appreciated.

Thankyou.

Lisa

Avoid deck 8 or 9. People can see into your balcony from the promenade and in some areas no privacy. Go for a select cabin on decks 11,12 0r 14..Make sure you have cabins above and below you.

 

[pete14]

21 hours ago, wowzz said:

Just to follow up on our earlier discussion about this. On our current cruise, out of 8 ports, only twice has the port side of the ship been the dock side.

I guess it depends on whether or not the driver is confident at reverse parking 🥴

[davecttr]

12 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

Avoid deck 8 or 9. People can see into your balcony from the promenade and in some areas no privacy. Go for a select cabin on decks 11,12 0r 14..Make sure you have cabins above and below you.

 

Deck 9 is OK and no different to the higher decks which all have some balconies that can be overlooked. Deck 8 IMO is appalling.

Edited June 1, 2022 by davecttr

[pennib]

We’ve all got favourites to pass on but a bit of caution about taking laundry liquid in a bottle…..I did that once and even though I had wrapped it so closely with cling film, it still leaked. So take my advice and use the Persil/Fairy  “pods” or dry laundry powder in a plastic bag and tumble drier sheets. No more leaks!!

Another point that someone mentioned was about taking a change of clothes in your carry on bag in case your cases don’t arrive for you to change before dinner. If you are on a fly cruise, be aware that some airlines only allow 5kg for a carry on bag. This doesn’t leave much option for a change of clothes and all the other stuff you normally have in your flight bag.