*~ Cruising (travel by Waterways) megathread ~*

Thoie

twowheelsonly wrote: »

You might want to check with the cruise lines and inform them beforehand.,
Royal Carribean for instance won't take anyone over 24 weeks pregnant.

http://bookings.royalcaribbean.co.uk/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&faqId=313&faqSubjectId=333&wuc=IRL

coylemj wrote: »

Same for MSC which is (as with RC) that you cannot be on or after the 24th week at any stage during the cruise.

Can I travel while pregnant?

Yes, provided you do not reach or exceed the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy during the trip. Regardless of the stage of pregnancy, before going on a cruise it is advisable to consult a doctor who will be able to establish whether the guest is fit to travel.


http://www.msccruises.co.uk/uk_en/An-MSC-Cruise/Special-Needs-FAQ.aspx#msc18

My maths might be wrong, but "almost 5 months pregnant" would suggest around 20 weeks to me (though, with the way they measure pregnancy dates, god knows). If it's a standard 1 or 2 week cruise, she should be home again before the 24 week mark.

coylemj

Thoie wrote: »

My maths might be wrong, but "almost 5 months pregnant" would suggest around 20 weeks to me (though, with the way they measure pregnancy dates, god knows). If it's a standard 1 or 2 week cruise, she should be home again before the 24 week mark.

Up to her to decide. I was only supplying information, not making a judgement call either way.

deadl0ck

Hi all - I got back last week from my MSC Med cruise with my wife and 2 kids (4 1/2 years old and 1 year old).

We had a ball - really enjoyed it. The food was great and a really good selection of drinks.

Here's what the buffet area was laid out like :


The excursions were pretty expensive, so we just went on 1 that was a "special offer" for 79 Euro for the whole family to go to the aquarium in Genoa.

For hopping on and off the boat here's some details

Marseilles : The port is quite a bit out from the city so you need ot get a taxi (MSC have a shuttle bus you can book but it's more expensive than a taxi if there are a few people)

Genoa : We got the excursion so there was a small boat to bring us directly to the aquarium. I don't think it was too far from the city

Naples : Port is right beside the city so you can easily walk into the city. We did this and went for a coffee and some light lunch. Quite a busy city

Messina : Port is right beside the city - very nice city and not as busy as Naples. We got off and walked around and wen to the cathedral which is pretty cool - it has a sort of show at midday (moving statues - not like Ballinspittle though and music)

La Goulette : A good bit out from Tunis, but they have built a "village" in the port with shops, camel rides etc, so it's easy to get off here and just wander around if you don't want go through passport control and into Tunis.

Daily program and specials
Each evening you'll get a flyer into your bedroom with the itinerary for the next day.
I scanned one in from one of our days and you can take a look at it here : Click Here for PDF
(sorry for the first page being there twice, but I was too lazy to scan it all again)

Also - each night you get the "specials" for the next day on the ship.
Again - here's a scan : Click here for PDF

Internet on board
Internet on board was the other thing that might be of interest to people. It's very expensive - 16.90 per hour

We got away with 2 hours for the whole week (including out facebook updates etc).
You need to be diciplined - basically post all your facebook updates and messages offline (I can do this on Android mobile) and then when you connect to the internet the will all get pushed and you can download you messages - then go offline immediately.

The log on interface is actually set up for this - you can start the session and then stop the session - here's a screenshot :


Here's the prices for all options :






That's it really - hope this info helps some people out !!

coylemj

As well as excursions which are usually very expensive, the cruise line will often offer you tickets for a shuttle bus to & from the local town centre. I was on an Adriatic cruise with MSC the week before Easter and we saved a bomb by avoiding paying for this method of transport.

For example in Dubrovnik they were looking for about 20-30 euros for a shuttle to the walled city but four of us hopped into a taxi at a rank right beside the cruise terminal and for €10 (in total) a very friendly driver with reasonable English drove the four of us in a spotlessly clean Skoda Octavia to the main gate of the walled city where we saw the MSC coach disgorging it's passengers each of whom had paid 2-3 times the fare that we paid for a taxi! Coming back we just hopped on the MSC coach and flashed our cruise cards, nobody asked to see our bus tickets.

Similarly in Corfu they were looking for €18 for bus tickets to the town centre but we took the free shuttle to the ferry/cruise terminal and right outside was a municipal bus service to the town centre for €1.50.

On the ship the night before or that morning you are ripe for the hard sell so they'll tell you the town is 20 minutes away by bus (when it's only 2 kms) to discourage you from planning to walk it or that tickets are selling fast - as if they wouldn't be able to lay on coaches at those prices!

pink100

going next week on cruise thanks for the post, it will help us re the tours etc

deisemum

I'm going to book a cruise for next Easter on the MSC Splendida and will book a balcony cabin. A few questions before I book tomorrow.

How much roughly is the Allegrissimo drinks package per person?
Are the excursions early in the morning?
Are there formal nights and are the speciality restaurants expensive?

finbarrk

I think the drinks package was around €170 per adult. Well, it was around €500 for 2 adults and 2 kids, 13 and 10yo. It's worth it. Especially if you are prone to an odd cocktail!
We didn't bother with the official excursions. We just did our own thing with taxis.
There were 2 formal evenings. Jacket and tie. I didn't have a bow tie, just an ordinary one.
We didn't bother with the specialty restaurants as the main one was good enough for us. And if you are tired of the main restaurant you can go to the normal multiple choice one that has lots of stuff.
We had a balcony. It was nice.
Wouldn't mind going with them again.

Thoie

deisemum wrote: »

I'm going to book a cruise for next Easter on the MSC Splendida and will book a balcony cabin. A few questions before I book tomorrow.

How much roughly is the Allegrissimo drinks package per person?
Are the excursions early in the morning?
Are there formal nights and are the speciality restaurants expensive?

Drink package details here:
http://www.msccruises.ie/ie_en/Already-Booked/Allegrissimo_package.aspx

The excursions usually leave around 8 or 9am (depending on what they are), or about an hour after the ship docks (depending on which is earlier). If you're at a port for a full day (say 7am to 6pm) some of the excursions might be in the afternoon- it varies cruise to cruise.

Formal nights depend on the length of the cruise. On a 7 night sailing there's usually 2 formal nights. If you don't want to bother dressing up, you can skip the main dining room, and eat somewhere else those nights.
Speciality restaurants were between €20- €40 per person iirc, mostly around the €20-€30 mark I think.

deisemum

Thoie wrote: »

Drink package details here:
http://www.msccruises.ie/ie_en/Already-Booked/Allegrissimo_package.aspx

The excursions usually leave around 8 or 9am (depending on what they are), or about an hour after the ship docks (depending on which is earlier). If you're at a port for a full day (say 7am to 6pm) some of the excursions might be in the afternoon- it varies cruise to cruise.

Formal nights depend on the length of the cruise. On a 7 night sailing there's usually 2 formal nights. If you don't want to bother dressing up, you can skip the main dining room, and eat somewhere else those nights.
Speciality restaurants were between €20- €40 per person iirc, mostly around the €20-€30 mark I think.

God they're early starts :eek: Is it a big rush in the restaurants for breakfast then?

Those prices aren't bad then if we fancy a change for one or two nights. Would the drinks package cover the wine with those meals?

I cannot wait to book it in the morning

spurious

We're going on Royal Caribbean in October (Greek islands out of Venice for seven days). We went with a premium coffee, fresh juice, soda and bottled water package, as we're not really big drinkers and wouldn't get value for the prices RCI were charging. We can buy drinks as and when we'd like one. We're not going on any boat organised tours and have made our own budget arrangements in each port.

carolinespring

`We are heading on Royal Caribbean's independence of the seas 12 night Canary island cruise in October and cannot wait. Thinking of giving MSC a go April/May next year.

Anyone cruised on both Royal Caribbean and MSC? What did you think?

pink100

We were on the Splendida in June, did the drinks package, well worth it.
We not big drinkers but loved the cocktails.
Had a bottle of wine with our dinner every night and the husband had his beer.
Balcony cabin a must, lovely to bring up your drink to your room and sit peacefully:)
Husband brought a suit and tie, wore it one night and didn't bother after that. Most people were in shirt and slacks, some even came into restaurant in their 3/4 lengths. Was a mixture of dress going on.
We always had breakfast in the buffet, so much choice.
Excursions were in morning mostly but you could do your own thing, we either got taxi or walked into the town . the boat excursions are pricey and you can do them cheaper yourself.
it was fantastic, we really enjoyed it, any other questions feel free to ask

Thoie

deisemum wrote: »

God they're early starts :eek: Is it a big rush in the restaurants for breakfast then?

Those prices aren't bad then if we fancy a change for one or two nights. Would the drinks package cover the wine with those meals?

I cannot wait to book it in the morning

Once you've booked the cruise you can see the details of the tours, along with their start times (they only turn up a few months before sailing sometimes, so don't worry if you can't see them immediately).

There are plenty of places to eat on board - you can order room service, eat in the main dining room, go to the self service or a few other places, so don't worry about breakfast. Some times are obviously a bit busier than others, but you'll get fed

If your package includes wine, then you can have wine at dinner.

Thoie

spurious wrote: »

We're going on Royal Caribbean in October (Greek islands out of Venice for seven days). We went with a premium coffee, fresh juice, soda and bottled water package, as we're not really big drinkers and wouldn't get value for the prices RCI were charging. We can buy drinks as and when we'd like one. We're not going on any boat organised tours and have made our own budget arrangements in each port.

I did the same - I wouldn't drink enough to make the Royal Caribbean drink packages worthwhile, but the MSC ones are more reasonably priced.

carolinespring wrote: »

`We are heading on Royal Caribbean's independence of the seas 12 night Canary island cruise in October and cannot wait. Thinking of giving MSC a go April/May next year.

Anyone cruised on both Royal Caribbean and MSC? What did you think?

I've been on a few of the Royal Caribbean's, and the MSC Poesia last year. This year I was on the Independence of the Seas and loved it.

People spend a lot of time talking about one being better than the other in both directions. Both lines are great. The ships are all impressive, the food is all nice, the staff are all helpful

The main differences between RCI and MSC is that MSC is far more international - announcements are made in multiple languages, and the entertainment tends to steer away from language dependant things. MSC had a lot of light opera type shows (which I enjoyed), while Royal have more variety in terms of comedians/dancers/that kind of thing. Though, to be fair, the MSC I was on ran in to some terrible weather, so some of the more acrobatic stuff MSC had planned had to be cancelled, and they ended up replacing it with what they had on hand - which was light opera

I had stuck with RCI for my first few years as that's what I knew, and was wary of trying other lines. Having tried MSC, I've come to the conclusion that realistically they're all probably nice enough, and I'm looking at Princess for next year (based on itinerary).

deisemum

I've just booked the cruise with MSC Splendida, booked a balcony cabin and Allegrissimo drinks package, it's costing €1137pp and includes flights with Aer Lingus.

Thoie

deisemum wrote: »

I've just booked the cruise with MSC Splendida, booked a balcony cabin and Allegrissimo drinks package, it's costing €1137pp and includes flights with Aer Lingus.

So jealous - I want to be cruising right now! (Or at least have something booked to look forward to).

deisemum

This thread has been extremely helpful and helped me decide and know what to expect so thanks everyone.

I booked with Abbey Travel and Lisa was very helpful.

Bannerman7

Royal Caribbean have a free drinks & gratuities offer if you book by the end of this month.

http://www.royalcaribbean.ie/

finbarrk

deisemum wrote: »

This thread has been extremely helpful and helped me decide and know what to expect so thanks everyone.

I booked with Abbey Travel and Lisa was very helpful.

Best of luck. You will enjoy MSC because you can be a bit anonymous on their ships.

zagmund

This explains why I occasionally see folks who are clearly tourists off the boat wandering around East Wall Road while the shuttle bus passes them by. I couldn't understand why they would choose to walk through the docks when they could get a bus, but I get it now.

If that's €20 a head for the shuttle, then for a group of 4 you're paying €80 before your day has even started. If it's €20 for 4 people then it's probably worth it.

Speaking of these walkers - I pity them as they get towards the Point/O2/O3 and realise they have to cross 3 busy lanes of traffic to get to the LUAS or else walk back to Sheriff Street to use the crossing. We could really do with some signage for the poor oul tourists who hit Dublin on foot.

z

coylemj wrote: »

As well as excursions which are usually very expensive, the cruise line will often offer you tickets for a shuttle bus to & from the local town centre. I was on an Adriatic cruise with MSC the week before Easter and we saved a bomb by avoiding paying for this method of transport.

For example in Dubrovnik they were looking for about 20-30 euros for a shuttle to the walled city but four of us hopped into a taxi at a rank right beside the cruise terminal and for €10 (in total) a very friendly driver with reasonable English drove the four of us in a spotlessly clean Skoda Octavia to the main gate of the walled city where we saw the MSC coach disgorging it's passengers each of whom had paid 2-3 times the fare that we paid for a taxi! Coming back we just hopped on the MSC coach and flashed our cruise cards, nobody asked to see our bus tickets.

Similarly in Corfu they were looking for €18 for bus tickets to the town centre but we took the free shuttle to the ferry/cruise terminal and right outside was a municipal bus service to the town centre for €1.50.

On the ship the night before or that morning you are ripe for the hard sell so they'll tell you the town is 20 minutes away by bus (when it's only 2 kms) to discourage you from planning to walk it or that tickets are selling fast - as if they wouldn't be able to lay on coaches at those prices!

spurious

zagmund wrote: »

Speaking of these walkers - I pity them as they get towards the Point/O2/O3 and realise they have to cross 3 busy lanes of traffic to get to the LUAS or else walk back to Sheriff Street to use the crossing. We could really do with some signage for the poor oul tourists who hit Dublin on foot.

z

I think they could probably get the 53 (or is it 53b) bus?
The powers that be like to give the poor cruise people a mystery tour on arrival.
'Sure doesn't everyone know how to get into town?'

coylemj

spurious wrote: »

I think they could probably get the 53 (or is it 53b) bus?
The powers that be like to give the poor cruise people a mystery tour on arrival.
'Sure doesn't everyone know how to get into town?'

What we need is what they have in Copenhagen where there is a big electronic sign near the port entrance with the name of each cruise ship and the berth it's docked at. That means that taxis can find each ship easily when dropping off passengers and if they're out and about early in the day, they can see when a new ship has arrived so they can go down to look for business.

As things stand, the cruise lines have no incentive to notify local taxi companies that they're coming in because docking at an empty berth where there are no taxis or local buses increases the number of people forced to buy tickets for their shuttle buses from which they make a tidy profit.

Thoie

coylemj wrote: »

What we need is what they have in Copenhagen where there is a big electronic sign near the port entrance with the name of each cruise ship and the berth it's docked at. That means that taxis can find each ship easily when dropping off passengers and if they're out and about early in the day, they can see when a new ship has arrived so they can go down to look for business.

As things stand, the cruise lines have no incentive to notify local taxi companies that they're coming in because docking at an empty berth where there are no taxis or local buses increases the number of people forced to buy tickets for their shuttle buses from which they make a tidy profit.

Clever taxi drivers could make a fortune by looking up the Dublin port site, and adding cruise ship schedules to their phones, so they know on x date there'll be a ship in, and it would be worth heading down there.

coylemj

Thoie wrote: »

Clever taxi drivers could make a fortune by looking up the Dublin port site, and adding cruise ship schedules to their phones, so they know on x date there'll be a ship in, and it would be worth heading down there.

+1 the information is here....

http://www.dublinport.ie/information-centre/cruise-liners/

http://dlharbour.ie/visit-us/cruise/

Bannerman7

Just in case your thinking of a cruise.

http://www.royalcaribbean.ie/cruise-deals/#nationalcruiseweek

angeldelight

For anybody planning a cruise with Royal Caribbean it's worthwhile trying a US travel agent - we used cruise.com and got a better price. They also honour price drops - for our upcoming cruise (Transatlantic on Oasis of the Seas) we initially booked an interior cabin, there was a price drop and we were able to change to an oceanview balcony guarantee room. It worked out cheaper than the interior! Obviously there won't always be such big price drops but definitely worth a look

spurious

angeldelight wrote: »

For anybody planning a cruise with Royal Caribbean it's worthwhile trying a US travel agent - we used cruise.com and got a better price. They also honour price drops - for our upcoming cruise (Transatlantic on Oasis of the Seas) we initially booked an interior cabin, there was a price drop and we were able to change to an oceanview balcony guarantee room. It worked out cheaper than the interior! Obviously there won't always be such big price drops but definitely worth a look

I wondered about doing that. How are you fixed if something goes wrong? (I know it's unlikely) Are you covered by EU consumer law?

Thoie

spurious wrote: »

I wondered about doing that. How are you fixed if something goes wrong? (I know it's unlikely) Are you covered by EU consumer law?

I've looked into that before - here if the travel agent goes bust/takes off with all your cash, you're protected by the likes of ABTA, but there's nothing like that for the US.

On the other hand I _think_ that your Visa card would give you a certain element of protection (you'd get your money back, but not necessarily the holiday).

In terms of other things going wrong, holiday insurance should cover most of that. BTW, when getting annual holiday insurance for cruising, I always check on the "missed connections" cover. It's often in the T&Cs of the cruise line that your travel insurance should cover the cost of getting you to the next port. It's not standard on most insurance policies.

A lot of people that I've met cruising recommend using an American travel agent (Vacations to Go is another one frequently mentioned). I don't know why I've always been a bit wary about doing this - the Americans seem to get much better deals a lot of the time, and frequently get perks like onboard credit, price drops up to final payment date (as mentioned above) and other things too.

They can also seem to cancel without losing their deposits before the final payment date.

angeldelight

spurious wrote: »

I wondered about doing that. How are you fixed if something goes wrong? (I know it's unlikely) Are you covered by EU consumer law?

No you're not - however using your credit card you have chargeback protection. Also at least with the travel agent we use, they pass the reservation straight through to the cruise line so there's not a lot of risk. It is possible to cancel right up to final payment without penalty and we've had free gratuities thrown in too

whippet

I'm looking for some real experiences here ... for the last couple of years I have been to France for the family holidays .. driving over and staying in small gite/ farmhouse accommodation and have loved it. Next summer out two kids will be 5 and 3 and we decided that we wanted a change from France and something a little more relaxing for ourselves rather than worrying about cooking, cars planning days out etc.

So we jumped the gun and have booked a Med cruise with Royal Carribean for next july .. ex. Barcelona on the Vision of the Seas.

So really what I want is some reassurance that I haven't shot myself in the foot ... realistically what is it like on a cruise ship with two small kids? Is there enough on board to keep the kids entertained / active throughout the day .. i'm not too worried about the days that we are docked as they are both quite adventurous and enjoy walking around and finding stuff