Discussion
Boringvolvodriver said:
Also booked the LA to Fort Lauderdale Panamá canal cruise over Christmas and New Year with Princess so was interesting to see what DodgyGeezer said about it.
We don’t go to Columbia which I would have liked to do but being away for Christmas is a bonus!
I really regret not getting down to see the Iowa and a few of the other LA sights, c'est la vie.We don’t go to Columbia which I would have liked to do but being away for Christmas is a bonus!
I think I mentioned that on the Emerald Princess (I think that'll be your ship) you'll be going through the new locks (which are, to be fair, quite amazing) as the boat is too large for the old locks
That being the case when we do the cruise again we'll book a trip to the locks so we can see the 'classic' side of things. Cabo, to me, felt crowded and uninviting. We did catch sight of a couple of whales, which was pretty cool, but there were another 10 boats chasing sightings at the same time which did make me wonder how pissed-off said animals were getting! Huatulco by contrast seemed less popular/underdeveloped (in a good way) and we enjoyed our time there a lot more.
I'd recommend booking the trips soonest as the good ones do seem to go quite quickly - there's always the option of booking a local tour instead but the price differentials we saw didn't seem to warrant the (very slim!) risk associated with a late return to the boat (that could be: a timing thing as we left our selections quite late; an age thing, as I get older I find myself more 'risk-averse' even when there's little to worry about).
One thing you do need to be aware of... we had trips booked to 'meet at 07.30' and tossers were still rolling up at 07.45 and being allowed in - for someone who is quite anal about timekeeping this was rather piss-boiling. Forwarned is forearmed and all that,...
If you can't decide what starter/main/dessert you like the sound of order more than one so you can at least have a try. If on-board activities are your thing then there are a lot of things to try ranging from quizzes to other stuff. Massages were insanely expensive on our trip and we didn't notice any discounts. The black forest gateau at the international bar is possibly the largest single slice of cake I've ever seen
DodgyGeezer said:
I really regret not getting down to see the Iowa and a few of the other LA sights, c'est la vie.
I think I mentioned that on the Emerald Princess (I think that'll be your ship) you'll be going through the new locks (which are, to be fair, quite amazing) as the boat is too large for the old locks That being the case when we do the cruise again we'll book a trip to the locks so we can see the 'classic' side of things.
Cabo, to me, felt crowded and uninviting. We did catch sight of a couple of whales, which was pretty cool, but there were another 10 boats chasing sightings at the same time which did make me wonder how pissed-off said animals were getting! Huatulco by contrast seemed less popular/underdeveloped (in a good way) and we enjoyed our time there a lot more.
I'd recommend booking the trips soonest as the good ones do seem to go quite quickly - there's always the option of booking a local tour instead but the price differentials we saw didn't seem to warrant the (very slim!) risk associated with a late return to the boat (that could be: a timing thing as we left our selections quite late; an age thing, as I get older I find myself more 'risk-averse' even when there's little to worry about).
One thing you do need to be aware of... we had trips booked to 'meet at 07.30' and tossers were still rolling up at 07.45 and being allowed in - for someone who is quite anal about timekeeping this was rather piss-boiling. Forwarned is forearmed and all that,...
If you can't decide what starter/main/dessert you like the sound of order more than one so you can at least have a try. If on-board activities are your thing then there are a lot of things to try ranging from quizzes to other stuff. Massages were insanely expensive on our trip and we didn't notice any discounts. The black forest gateau at the international bar is possibly the largest single slice of cake I've ever seen
Thanks for the info - appreciate that.I think I mentioned that on the Emerald Princess (I think that'll be your ship) you'll be going through the new locks (which are, to be fair, quite amazing) as the boat is too large for the old locks
That being the case when we do the cruise again we'll book a trip to the locks so we can see the 'classic' side of things. Cabo, to me, felt crowded and uninviting. We did catch sight of a couple of whales, which was pretty cool, but there were another 10 boats chasing sightings at the same time which did make me wonder how pissed-off said animals were getting! Huatulco by contrast seemed less popular/underdeveloped (in a good way) and we enjoyed our time there a lot more.
I'd recommend booking the trips soonest as the good ones do seem to go quite quickly - there's always the option of booking a local tour instead but the price differentials we saw didn't seem to warrant the (very slim!) risk associated with a late return to the boat (that could be: a timing thing as we left our selections quite late; an age thing, as I get older I find myself more 'risk-averse' even when there's little to worry about).
One thing you do need to be aware of... we had trips booked to 'meet at 07.30' and tossers were still rolling up at 07.45 and being allowed in - for someone who is quite anal about timekeeping this was rather piss-boiling. Forwarned is forearmed and all that,...
If you can't decide what starter/main/dessert you like the sound of order more than one so you can at least have a try. If on-board activities are your thing then there are a lot of things to try ranging from quizzes to other stuff. Massages were insanely expensive on our trip and we didn't notice any discounts. The black forest gateau at the international bar is possibly the largest single slice of cake I've ever seen
We will be on the Coral Princess which I think is small enough (2000 passengers) to go through the old locks - iirc that is what is on the itinerary, drought permitting.
The tip re trips is good to know, we have booked most already as like you, I am an older man who likes to be prepared and is risk adverse. Some of them involved long coach trips for little at the end so have tried to avoid those - haven’t managed to find one we like at Punta Arenas Costa Rica yet because of that.
I know what you mean about the whale watching - fortunate to have done this of Vancouver Island when we were the only boat in the area with a pod of orcas. Conversely, an elephant safari in Sri Lanka where about a dozen vehicles descended on where the elephants were. Didn’t like that so much.
Useful to know about the food side - wouldn’t have known about ordering two to try.
Cheers
A Mediterranean cruise has long been on my wish list, however living in Australia makes it difficult, and I've often thought it will have to wait until retirement!
So far my cruising has been 3 with Princess, all ex Australia, 2 were 14 night round trip NZ. All on the older (now gone) Sun class ships, Dawn, Sea and Sun. All around 2,500 passengers.
Most recently a short (4 night) Singapore cruise on RC Spectrum, a ship double the size of my others!
We now intend to travel to England every 2nd year as we both have family there (and I'm a fanatical Anglophile!)
Looking at the possibility of including a short (5-7 night?) Med cruise in our England trip planned for September this year.
Any recommendations? I definitely preferred the Princess experience over RC, not a fan of floating amusement parks full of kids...
Also interested to hear other opinions of the move to bigger and gaudier ships by many cruise lines?
So far my cruising has been 3 with Princess, all ex Australia, 2 were 14 night round trip NZ. All on the older (now gone) Sun class ships, Dawn, Sea and Sun. All around 2,500 passengers.
Most recently a short (4 night) Singapore cruise on RC Spectrum, a ship double the size of my others!
We now intend to travel to England every 2nd year as we both have family there (and I'm a fanatical Anglophile!)
Looking at the possibility of including a short (5-7 night?) Med cruise in our England trip planned for September this year.
Any recommendations? I definitely preferred the Princess experience over RC, not a fan of floating amusement parks full of kids...
Also interested to hear other opinions of the move to bigger and gaudier ships by many cruise lines?
I’ve done Sky and Anthem and I prefer anthem, it’s not as much as a floating amusement park as you think. So discount RC this year, next year we lose Anthem and gain Independence of the seas so a much older ship. Or you have celebrity and the new Queen Anne from Cunard starts this year.
Off on the maiden of the Queen Anne in May here.
Cunard have emailed the other day stating I now have to pay £831 for my daughter who previously, was free (the maiden was due in January when she was 1 - ship was delayed so she's now 2). Zero correspondence sent saying I had to pay this until I received an email saying an outstanding balance was due next week and I've already paid the balance in full for this trip. A number of s
ttograms have been sent via email and hours on phone trying to resolve this - they've seriously dropped the ball.
To say I'm fked off is putting it mildly. I've got 4 trips booked with Cunard for this / next year. My wife has 5. We're both getting close to top level status in their frequent traveller programme. It remains to be seen whether they redeem themselves or if I'm off to find a new line of choice (ideally not Carnival - and I'm a Carnival shareholder!).
End rant. This is st I really could do without right now!
Edit - on the topic of med cruises, I enjoyed Sky Princess although some aspects weren't great for me (the main dining rooms sucked, but the buffet was exceptional). We all caught noro but even with that it was fun. Celebrity got any ships down there? Might be worth speaking to a TA and seeing what's around.
Cunard have emailed the other day stating I now have to pay £831 for my daughter who previously, was free (the maiden was due in January when she was 1 - ship was delayed so she's now 2). Zero correspondence sent saying I had to pay this until I received an email saying an outstanding balance was due next week and I've already paid the balance in full for this trip. A number of s
ttograms have been sent via email and hours on phone trying to resolve this - they've seriously dropped the ball.To say I'm f
ked off is putting it mildly. I've got 4 trips booked with Cunard for this / next year. My wife has 5. We're both getting close to top level status in their frequent traveller programme. It remains to be seen whether they redeem themselves or if I'm off to find a new line of choice (ideally not Carnival - and I'm a Carnival shareholder!).End rant. This is s
t I really could do without right now!Edit - on the topic of med cruises, I enjoyed Sky Princess although some aspects weren't great for me (the main dining rooms sucked, but the buffet was exceptional). We all caught noro but even with that it was fun. Celebrity got any ships down there? Might be worth speaking to a TA and seeing what's around.
Edited by Ynox on Saturday 27th January 22:55
paulguitar said:
I did thirteen years with Carnival.
Anything but Carnival...
Ha yeah. I still wanted to go on some of their older boats on e.g. an ex Mobile run on Fantasy to see what the chaos is like.Anything but Carnival...
Spent this morning reading through the legalese of the Cunard booking confirmations. Hopefully they'll sort this mess out. I suspect I'll have to find a new line in time as my daughter gets older and wants slides etc (maybe Royal, but their ships are getting to be massive).
Deep Thought said:
romft123 said:
After really enjoying 2 weeks on the eastern Carib last Nove, we are wanting a Xmas/New Year cruise somewhere warm next winter.....ideas. (and no we arent wealthy)
Christmas / New Year cruises tend to be +£,£££s more expensive than regular cruises. They also tend to be packed with family groups. Maybe thats ok if you have kids you're taking with you.If the Caribbean is silly money for then (which i suspect it is, but havent looked), then the Canaries will be warm and there are various cruise lines who do that area over the winter.
I'd check www.seascanner.co.uk if you're happy to org your own flights. I think cruise.co.uk do the same but with flights and hotels too if needed (they own seascanner IIRC). I'd also recommend Paramount Cruises who give you the full Travel Agent experience and great prices too.
Another desire is to sail from Oz land due east to LA or Sanfran via as many islands as poss.......
Ynox said:
Ha yeah. I still wanted to go on some of their older boats on e.g. an ex Mobile run on Fantasy to see what the chaos is like.
.
I did a contact on the Carnival Sensation doing three and four-day cruises from Port Canaveral. There were passengers on there who were EXACTLY like Cletus from the Simpsons. Lots of the cruisers were on the drinks package and it was a genuine problem to control them at the boat drill at 4 PM. It was the absolute worst of what America has to offer. .
The Fantasy out of Mobile, Alabama is a truly frightening prospect.
paulguitar said:
Ynox said:
Ha yeah. I still wanted to go on some of their older boats on e.g. an ex Mobile run on Fantasy to see what the chaos is like.
.
I did a contact on the Carnival Sensation doing three and four-day cruises from Port Canaveral. There were passengers on there who were EXACTLY like Cletus from the Simpsons. Lots of the cruisers were on the drinks package and it was a genuine problem to control them at the boat drill at 4 PM. It was the absolute worst of what America has to offer. .
The Fantasy out of Mobile, Alabama is a truly frightening prospect.
have you been to Alabama and the surrounding states? Frightening is too polite a word.
Alickadoo said:
I am looking to take a, say, 14 day cruise in April round the Med with P&O
Would I get good/better deals from a travel agent? If so, which one? I am in Surrey.
We have used the-cruise-specialists.co.uk several times. They always offer a small discount and can navigate all the crazy mix of cabins and drinks packages and so forth for you. Would I get good/better deals from a travel agent? If so, which one? I am in Surrey.
paulguitar said:
I haven't been to Alabama or Mississippi. Spent a bit of time in the Carolinas and Texas, and a great deal of time in Florida. All are quite concerning in different ways...
We have been to every state bar 4.......and the deep south is quite a melting pot of weirdos. About Floriduh. Lived there many years and the first thing we were told that it was the most southerly northern state!
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