Moordown Posted January 26 #1 Share Posted January 26 We have booked our first cruise on Royal Caribbean independence of the seas for May next year. Discovery of the Canaries 12 nights cruise. SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND CRUISING BILBAO, SPAIN CRUISING LISBON, PORTUGAL CRUISING GRAN CANARIA, CANARY ISLANDS TENERIFE, CANARY ISLANDS MADEIRA (FUNCHAL), PORTUGAL CRUISING LA CORUNA, SPAIN CRUISING SOUTHAMPTON, Are these ports within walking distance of the towns or would we need to book transport? Also do cabins have tea/coffee making facilities? I'm travelling from the West Midlands and wondering if I would be better travelling down by coach the day before or driving down and parking in Southampton? Any advice would help put a nervous first time cruiser at ease. Quote Unread replies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj_one2000 Posted January 26 #2 Share Posted January 26 Highly suggest you join the roll call for your cruise and visit the ports of call section on the forums, you have a lot of ports for people to comment on here and you’ll have a lot of info on the ports of call boards. Junior suites and higher cabin categories have a coffee maker, if you are not booked in one of those rooms you can request room service for breakfast and they will bring you a pot of coffee. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKWLDCruise Posted January 26 #3 Share Posted January 26 For UK cruises there are usually kettles in every room and of course a non smoking casino, one is by law though some people think that both should be. In Lisbon the ship docks in town, Tenerife there is normally a shuttle and Madeira is about a 25/30 minute walk to town, I don't know the others. I would always suggest travelling down the day before and I would think about checking out the car parking fees before deciding to drive or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted January 26 #4 Share Posted January 26 2 hours ago, Moordown said: Are these ports within walking distance of the towns or would we need to book transport? Same answer as in your other thread - search the ports of call section here at CC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sddsddean Posted January 26 #5 Share Posted January 26 Of the ones I've been to: Lisbon : Cruise terminal is about 1/2 mile upstream from the suspension bridge. Ten minute walk to Lisbon centre, HOHO bus at the terminal, easy city to get round but very hilly on cobbles...wear sensible shoes! Gran Canaria : 5 min walk (if that) to shopping centre inc. supermarket and HOHO bus stop. Tenerife: Moored in town Madeira : Cruise terminal is opposite the town, but its an easy 15-20 min walk to get to the cable car up to the gardens, then get the basket 'toboggans' back down! We live by M1 J18 (not so far from you) and can easily do the trip to Southampton in 2 1/2 hrs at the speed limit(!). Depending where you are in W. Mids. you could do M40 to Bicester, then A34 and M3 down to Southampton. Sometimes we stop at the Premier Inn at Nursling...normally only about £40-£50 for a night. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted January 26 #6 Share Posted January 26 (edited) People should always google their ports and view the area on a map for any new port. One person's version of "close" or "far" may not match yours. Edited January 26 by smokeybandit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moordown Posted January 26 Author #7 Share Posted January 26 2 hours ago, UKWLDCruise said: For UK cruises there are usually kettles in every room and of course a non smoking casino, one is by law though some people think that both should be. In Lisbon the ship docks in town, Tenerife there is normally a shuttle and Madeira is about a 25/30 minute walk to town, I don't know the others. I would always suggest travelling down the day before and I would think about checking out the car parking fees before deciding to drive or not. Thanks for the helpful response 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kernow Posted January 26 #8 Share Posted January 26 No need to be nervous, you will have a great time. Sailing from Southampton is very easy, if you drive you can park right at the port with AB parking and it's a very short walk to the terminal. There are some other cheaper parking options but we always feel the convenience of AB is well worth the cost. Lots of hotels very close to the port if you come the night before which adds to the holiday too. Have only been to the ports already mentioned and agree that they are easy walking distance, Gran Canaria also has a nice beach about 15 minutes walk. Always kettles in the cabin from Southampton, I never use it but DH loves that he can make his own early morning cuppa😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moordown Posted January 26 Author #9 Share Posted January 26 26 minutes ago, sddsddean said: Of the ones I've been to: Lisbon : Cruise terminal is about 1/2 mile upstream from the suspension bridge. Ten minute walk to Lisbon centre, HOHO bus at the terminal, easy city to get round but very hilly on cobbles...wear sensible shoes! Gran Canaria : 5 min walk (if that) to shopping centre inc. supermarket and HOHO bus stop. Tenerife: Moored in town Madeira : Cruise terminal is opposite the town, but its an easy 15-20 min walk to get to the cable car up to the gardens, then get the basket 'toboggans' back down! We live by M1 J18 (not so far from you) and can easily do the trip to Southampton in 2 1/2 hrs at the speed limit(!). Depending where you are in W. Mids. you could do M40 to Bicester, then A34 and M3 down to Southampton. Sometimes we stop at the Premier Inn at Nursling...normally only about £40-£50 for a night. Simon Thanks for the helpful response 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj_one2000 Posted January 28 #10 Share Posted January 28 On 1/26/2024 at 9:35 AM, smokeybandit said: People should always google their ports and view the area on a map for any new port. One person's version of "close" or "far" may not match yours. This, so true!! A lot of the European ports require a lot of walking too, so some cruisers are not aware nor prepared. Some of the sightseeing requires an hour or more to get to by car/bus, not everyone understands that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tin can Posted January 28 #11 Share Posted January 28 On 1/26/2024 at 12:30 PM, UKWLDCruise said: For UK cruises there are usually kettles in every room and of course a non smoking casino, one is by law though some people think that both should be. Thats interesting, is the smoke free casino a new development. We last sailed from Southampton in 2022 and I'm sure the casino had smokers in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKWLDCruise Posted January 28 #12 Share Posted January 28 It has been the law for quite a few years now, since 2007, for UK sailings. I did the October transatlantic last year and that was non smoking all the way across. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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