Cruise 2024

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Deep Thought said:

Trustmeimadoctor said:

Yeah, I wasn't meaning like a coach tour. But the prescribed dining times etc.

Really I'm very much prepared to hate it hi-di-hi at sea as I'm not one for "entertainment"

Usually a hotel for us is shower st and sleep. Will be hard for me to not do anything when on board but the behind the scenes tour of the ship sounds fun

I genuinely thought we'd hate it. On paper cruises is not our sort of holiday at all. But it was pretty amazing. Loved it.

The entertainment will be to a decent standard too. You might be surprised at how much you enjoy it. Sometimes the "game show" type of entertainment can be a bit cheesy, but its fun to watch and passes an hour or two.

If you dont want to do the shows or entertainment you dont have to.

Remind me what cruise line you're going with?

Going with celebrity so should avoid some of the cheesie entertainment options I hope. We did see a royal Caribbean best bum competition for the guys and though yeah nah not for us

[Deep Thought]

Three weeks today and we'll be meeting MSC Euribia in Copenhagen.

Really quite buzzing about that as its been a busy few months in work, we've a new system going live next week, so a couple of weeks of bedding it in and we'll be off on our cruise.

MSC now allow you to pick your embarkation time, so opted for 11:00.

Apparently MSC now do a brunch menu in the main dining room on Euribia on sea days (of which we have two), so looking forward to trying that.

[surveyor]

Deep Thought said:

Three weeks today and we'll be meeting MSC Euribia in Copenhagen.

Really quite buzzing about that as its been a busy few months in work, we've a new system going live next week, so a couple of weeks of bedding it in and we'll be off on our cruise.

MSC now allow you to pick your embarkation time, so opted for 11:00.

Apparently MSC now do a brunch menu in the main dining room on Euribia on sea days (of which we have two), so looking forward to trying that.

Really nice ship. Big band in the Carasoul Bar is superb.

[Boringvolvodriver]

2 weeks tomorrow we will be on our first ever cruise - Celebrity Infinity from Athens to Turkey and 3 Greek Islands. Hopefully Mrs BVD won’t suffer from sea sickness!

[stevemcs]

We are 3 weeks away from our 2 night Anthem Cruise, then looking for something September then possibly something Christms time, probably Cunard like DT did last year.

[MarkJS]

Back on Azamara 5 weeks tomorrow. Cannot wait!

[Trustmeimadoctor]

QQ is there anything at all to do on Tortola?

[bad company]

Just over 2 weeks until we board Seabourn Venture from Greenwich, London ending in Edinburgh. Great stops including Scilly Isles, Dublin, Isle of Man and small Scottish ports. Not the usual sunshine cruise but should be fun.

[paulguitar]

Trustmeimadoctor said:

QQ is there anything at all to do on Tortola?

Very little really. You could do something like a private catamaran tour.

[Rick101]

surveyor said:

And a little review of MSC Euribia

Was on board the same week. I'd echo your comments. Fantastic value cruise line especially with the drinks package.
Did Virtuosa last year and broadly similar.

Have Virgin Amsterdam booked for September. I really want to branch out and try other lines but I think between VV and MSC both end of the experience are covered!

[dunkind]

Trustmeimadoctor said:

Deep Thought said:

Trustmeimadoctor said:

cheers! like i say its our first one so its all very new to us compared to just going and doing your own thing. we havent done a package in 20+ years or even had more than breakfast in a hotel since 2007 so this all inclusive and been shepherded about is very alien

You dont have to be shepherded about. You can go do your own thing when in port.

Yeah, I wasn't meaning like a coach tour. But the prescribed dining times etc.

Do cruise lines still do that? That must be awful.

[Deep Thought]

dunkind said:

Trustmeimadoctor said:

Deep Thought said:

Trustmeimadoctor said:

cheers! like i say its our first one so its all very new to us compared to just going and doing your own thing. we havent done a package in 20+ years or even had more than breakfast in a hotel since 2007 so this all inclusive and been shepherded about is very alien

You dont have to be shepherded about. You can go do your own thing when in port.

Yeah, I wasn't meaning like a coach tour. But the prescribed dining times etc.

Do cruise lines still do that? That must be awful.

Fixed dining times?

Yes, some do. But most offer some sort of anytime dining capability if someone would find that "awful" - either free by ticking a choice box or as a paid for option or by cabin grade.

[Deep Thought]

Rick101 said:

Was on board the same week. I'd echo your comments. Fantastic value cruise line especially with the drinks package.
Did Virtuosa last year and broadly similar.

Have Virgin Amsterdam booked for September. I really want to branch out and try other lines but I think between VV and MSC both end of the experience are covered!

Be interesting to hear how you get on with VV

We've done 3 with them and have a 12 night booked in September - its the repositioning cruise from Portsmouth (at the end of the Northern Europe cruises you're availing of) going from Portsmouth to Barcelona via Morocco.

Its "different" to regular cruising but in a good way.

[dunkind]

I would find that awful, perhaps 60 years ago folk would find it acceptable but when on holiday how would you know when you’d want to dine? I’ve only used one line, Silversea and only one cruise so I don’t have much experience with what happens onboard with other cruise lines.

[paulguitar]

dunkind said:

I would find that awful, perhaps 60 years ago folk would find it acceptable but when on holiday how would you know when you’d want to dine? I’ve only used one line, Silversea and only one cruise so I don’t have much experience with what happens onboard with other cruise lines.

There will always be various options, whenever you decide you're hungry.

[dunkind]

I interpreted “fixed dining times” as being told when to dine, being told your dining time is 7pm, for example.

[Deep Thought]

dunkind said:

I would find that awful, perhaps 60 years ago folk would find it acceptable but when on holiday how would you know when you’d want to dine? I’ve only used one line, Silversea and only one cruise so I don’t have much experience with what happens onboard with other cruise lines.

Then how do you know you'd find it awful?

Theres always options.

Dining times in the main dining rooms tend to be early sitting (usually around 18:30) or late sitting (usually around 20:30).

The merits are - your table will be ready, you wont have to queue or wait for a table to be free, you dont have to worry about arriving at a "busy" time, you will have the same table each night, you get to know the people around you as its the same people each night.

Shows and events are repeated twice nightly to facilitate those times.

The ship will almost certainly have left port anyway, so its not like you're having to disrupt your daytime plans.

There will also almost certainly be options around anytime dining if someone wants to do that.

On the dozen or so cruises we've done its been a mix of fixed time, book a time or freedom dining. We can make any of those work and dont find any "awful".

[Deep Thought]

dunkind said:

I interpreted “fixed dining times” as being told when to dine, being told your dining time is 7pm, for example.

No one "tells" you when you can eat.

If you want to avail of the main dining room it may be at a fixed time, however the buffet will be open all evening (and usually all day too).

Any cruise ship we've been on, theres food options more or less 24x7.

Most cruise lines offer a freedom dining option too.

Many people prefer a fixed dining time - no queuing, you get the same table every night, you dont risk arriving at a peak busy time, etc.

Edited by Deep Thought on Monday 22 April 12:33

[thisnameistaken]

paulguitar said:

Trustmeimadoctor said:

QQ is there anything at all to do on Tortola?

Very little really. You could do something like a private catamaran tour.

Agree with very little. We did however find a nice hike through Sage Mountain rainforest to the highest point on BVI. Really great views and not a challenging hike at all really, about 20 or so minutes taxi to the start which has a very quirky restaurant owned by a brit called Jim. Jim was worth the trip alone, he's famous for his banana smoothies and worked as a chef in an arctic research base in between stints in the forces. We found many of the ports in the Caribbean to be focussed a bit on boozy brits and rum (probably our poor choice of cruise line) so we tried quite hard to get away from that and into the wilderness or visiting historical places as much as possible.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/ShowUserReviews-g147...

[Rick101]

Deep Thought said:

Be interesting to hear how you get on with VV

We've done 3 with them and have a 12 night booked in September - its the repositioning cruise from Portsmouth (at the end of the Northern Europe cruises you're availing of) going from Portsmouth to Barcelona via Morocco.

Its "different" to regular cruising but in a good way.

The the TA in nov BCN to MIA. Very low occupancy compared to MSC and I think even lower than usual being a TA, Maybe 1400.
Highlights are the Crew and the much more genuine service you get from people that are treated better. Food's great. Cabins are cool.
The adult only USP is definitely a winner for me. Not just the lack of annoying screaming brats and their offspring, just an entirely different vibe and type of people. Different price point though so that also has to contribute.