Just home from Christmas on the Celebration

[happidaze]

Hello all. I hope you had a very Happy Christmas and were not too cold home here!

 

Had an A1 cruise on the Celebration again, weather was awesome, in shorts and t shirts each and every day!

 

Nothing ever fails aboard, my only downside, is we never booked 2 weeks instead of 1!

[tigerhev]

Hi,

 

Happy xmas!

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We are going on Celebration 23rd January,(Colourful coasts) Was this where you went?

 

Hev

[happidaze]

:) Indeed it was for the 2nd time!

 

Make sure you get to go on the cable car in Madeira. Do not do the excursion, simply walk along to it and pay there - half the price. That was my favourite port.

 

I hope the weather is as good for you as it was for us

 

Happy Sailing

[mtt]

Glad you had good weather, we do this cruise on friday, I can't wait

[hobgob]

Hello Happidaze

Nice to hear you had a good holiday on the Celebration.

We are off on our first cruise at the end of January,wondered what the ship was like and if there has been any refurbishment done?

Any tips for rookies?

[kruzseeka]

Yes, take a 4-way adaptor as there's only one European and one American flat-pin style socket in the cabin. With a 4-way you can charge mobiles, phones and run hair tongs etc. all at the same time.

 

Try out the Meridian restaurant to get a feel of the 'atmosphere' in there before assuming the self-service may suit you better (not saying you will - but some first time travellers think the waiter service restaurant may not be for them and be too formal when in fact it's great in there).

 

Book any excursion you really want to do early especially if it has limited numbers - in your cabin will be a destinations guide and you can book as soon as you get on board (there's a post box if the desk isn't open). Book the others later if you wish - but it's so disappointing if the one trip you really had your heart set on sells out.

 

I'm sure there'll be loads more suggestions but that's all I can think of just now. Enjoy your trip! :)

[tigerhev]

Thanks for that.

Ive been really concerned as to what to pack? (being a woman!) lol

Did you just take what youd normally take on a package sun holiday? With a couple of dressy outfits?

Also wanted to ask you, were the sunbeds easily available?

Which deck were you on? We are on deck 7 but in a normal cabin not a deluxe.

Is it worth hiring a car in any of the ports? Im not that mobile.

What did you take for sea sickness?

Sorry for all the questions!

 

Hev

[skoozie]

Hello all. I hope you had a very Happy Christmas and were not too cold home here!

 

Well we had a brilliant Christmas thanks.:)

 

We were, wondering if anyone was on the Celebration and enjoying warmer weather, sounds like you had great weather I think we were unlucky when we went but still soooo much better than here:)

 

It's been absolutely freezing here, was -3 inside:eek: the horses stables this morning water trough refroze as soon as I broke the ice, has been very cold from xmas day onwards.

 

Madeira was lovely we also walked to the cable car, then got some tobbogans and walked the rest. The taxi drivers at the end of the toboggan run try to tell you its miles to walk back but its not far at all and all downhill:) It also made such a change looking out on a nice view from the boat as we sailed too.

 

Mtt enjoy your cruise wish I was going, my hands still don't have all the feeling back and I've been indoors a while now:rolleyes:

[kruzseeka]

- Sea sickness - Stugeron from Boots

- Packing - yes, usual holiday wear: crops T-shirts etc for daytime, smart trousers and several tops for evening plus one or two dresses (we do dress up for the Gala night too, but DJs/suits/long dresses not necessary) Remember a cardigan or fleece just in case it's chilly at night as on deck when the ship's sailing, it can be very windy and a bit cool (although you'll probably be too busy eating and enjoying the show in the evening to worry about the outside temp!)

- Sunbeds can be busy on sea days but on port days (at least until later in the afternoon they're plentiful). This can be a sticky issue and does cause some angst as some passengers do save sunbeds contrary to the instructions in the Cruise News daily paper. Having said that, we've always found one - top deck is usually the best place to look on busy days.

- We've been on Decks 1,2,3 - all the cabins have been the same and we find them a decent size compared with some other ships - also plenty of drawer space and hanging space. Main criticism is the rather tired looking mosaic tiles in the en-suite but the cabins (and whole ship) are kept very clean. On the plus side there is ample storage in the bathroom for toiletries.

- Not sure I can advise on hiring cars - we've never done that. It is possible to walk (on the flat) into Funchal, Las Palmas (Gran Canaria), Santa Cruz (La Palma) and Santa Cruz (Tenerife) but it depends how far you can walk. There are some threads on the Canaries destinations which will give you an idea of what others have done in these ports. Perhaps then you can judge whether you want/need a car.

 

I'll look for the threads and post them after I send this one and don't worry about the questions, that's what the forum is for - exchange of info! :)

[kruzseeka]

Hello again, tigerhev, here is the thread I mentioned with the reference to the pors of call.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=892718

[capasamari]

We were in Funchal recently with my mother-in-law who cannot walk too far, and as soon as you come off the ship there are lines of taxis which will either take you into town or on a sightseeing trip. We had a super driver called George who showed us on a map all the sights he would take us to (all the main ones I had read about) and quoted us 25 euros each for a 3 hour trip. He stopped as long as we liked at each place and was absolutely full of information about the buildings, the island, the agriculture, tourism and anything else we asked him. My mother-in-law was happier than if we'd gone on an excursion as she worries about keeping up with a large group. At the end we said we wanted to go for lunch so he dropped us by the marina and showed us where to find some nice restaurants.

 

I don't know how much it would cost to hire a car for the day, but it is much easier to sightsee if someone else is driving!