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*~ Cruising (travel by Waterways) megathread ~*
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We didn't do any excursions organised by MSC as we found them to be very expensive. I read about each port before we left and thats what we did:
- Rome, docked at 8, we were one of the first ones out, short walk to free shuttle bus which brings you outside of the port, then 5 minutes walk to the train station, trains are frequent, every 20-30 mins, cost - 10euro return. We decided to start with Vatican, so didn't go as far as the last stop Termini but came out at St.Pietro station, which is 5 minutes away from Vatican. There, we stood for 1.5h in the Q to get into St Peter's Basilica, it was totally worth it. After that, we took bus no64 as far as Plazza Venezia (sorry for spelling) and Coliseum is only 10 mins walk from there. We saw Forum on the way as well. For me St Peter's Basilica and Coliseum were 2 main things to see and then depending on the time I wanted to see Trevi Fountain, so we rushed there only to find that it is being renovated to didn't work
after this we just felt wrecked so took bus no64 as far as Termini train station and took the train back. We were back on the ship by 4.30, absolutely wrecked but happy 
-Palermo, docked at 12 which gave us a nice relaxing morning but weather was bad that day (our only bad weather day) so we even considered not getting out but then decided to give it a go. Ship docks straight in town and its around 20-30 minutes walk to the main Cathedral, which we did and few other sites on the way
-Valetta, docked at 9, again in town, out of the ship by 11, decided to take open city tour bus, 10 euro each. Weather was nice but very windy, got burned but really enjoyed it. There are 2 lines: red and blue, we only did red as it took nearly 2 hours and it was enough for us and we just had a little walk. There are lovely shops in the port itself.
-day at sea, it was a bit stormy. No sunbathing outside but we finally had a good look around the ship found MSC shop reasonable and it has some lovely souvenirs
-Barcelona, docked at 9, out by 10, there is port shuttle bus T3, 3 euro return, just outside main doors and it brings you to the city centre. It wasn't our first time in Barcelona, so we decided to just do Aquarium (booked tickets online) and little walk, it was great and weather was fab
-Marseille, docked at 9, out around 9.30, there is 6-8min walk on green path to free port shuttle bus (MSC charges 16.80!!!), every 30 minutes, and it brings you very close to the old port. We were lucky with weather/timing, walk didn't take long and shuttle departed as soon as we got in We loved Marseille, really expected less and worse, but were amazed by it. Went to Cathedral first, then walked all around old port. We were going to take the bus (you can take the tourist one for 8 euro or just a regular one for 1.80) to the Notre Dame but didn't bother at the end as want to come back to Marseille again Ship was departing at 4 so we were back by 3 and packing
As regards to sea sickness, we were very lucky, sea was calm most of the time apart from day at sea, but even then it didn't bother us at all, nor did i see any people suffering but i did notice sea sickness bags being left out by staff for any one who needed them.0 -
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angeldelight wrote: »It's also a fire hazard so in fairness they have a point!
You're right ad. I was very careful with mine but others might not be. Probably best not to bring one. Iron before you go and hang up on hangers in the cabin. Creases will fall out and if they don't, so what 0 -
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Are the cruises suitable for single people? I am 40 male and wondering if it's easy to mingle or do people keep to themselves, maybe there is a particular cruise for single people?
All mine have been single (similar age to you, but female). Keep an open mind about the ages of people you meet - if you only want to talk to 25-40 year olds you may be disappointed.
I've found that less port-intensive cruises are better for meeting people, as people are around the ship more and you're more likely to run into the same faces again. Taking a set dining time at a large table, going to various events are also good ways to meet people as well. Also sign up for your "roll call" on cruise critic - gives you a chance to get to know a few people in advance. They'll often have sailaway parties etc arranged, where you can meet some people on the first day. You won't necessarily like everyone on your roll call, and that's OK - you're not glued to them for the trip.
Watch out on the cruise critic site for the difference between solo and single. Solo usually has connotations of a person travelling alone for any reason, whereas single is often taken to mean "looking for love". On the other hand, don't avoid the "singles lunches" either. I did at the beginning, but it turns out that it's not a weird awkward dating thing, just lunch 0 -
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^ that tip about NCLs single cabins will be stored in the mental bank in case my mother doesn't get a kick out of cruising (which I hope she will). I never did make it on my Carnival Caribbean cruise due to unforeseen illness.
I am looking at a cruise for July 2016 (2015's holiday is already booked to Lake Garda so...). So far I have looked at Celebrity, didn't draw me, RCL, a couple 'kinda did' and NCL, where a cruise from Venice for 7 days round the Greek Island's on the Norwegian Jade ticked many boxes. Still have to look at MSC and Princess to see what they offer.
Anyone been on NCL ships tell me anything about their experiences with NCL? Anyone been on the Norwegian Jade specifically? She seems like a small/mid-size ship. about 2000pax so not in the superclass ship. Anyone done a Greek Island's style Itinerary?
Cheers 0 -
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A rather haphazard cruise review, missing all sorts of details. Ask questions if there's something major I've missed!
Flew DUB-JFK-FLL and stayed in a motel on the night before the cruise. Rodeway Inn and Suites. It was cheap and cheerful, but primarily provided both airport and cruise transfers, and had a little gift shop for last minute purchases, as well as a bar that served burgers etc.
You can get the free shuttle the next morning, which is quite well organised, but involves a certain amount of standing around in the heat waiting for your shuttle (pretty much everyone in the hotel is waiting for a shuttle, so you may be waiting up to two hours). I paid an extra $5 for a "specific time" shuttle at 1pm which meant I could loiter elsewhere.
Due to my comparatively late arrival at the pier (my boarding time was for 2:45pm or something, but everyone seems to ignore that and turn up around 11am), there were hardly any queues. The longest delay was a couple in front of me who had apparently never been through a security x-ray/metal detector before, and made a hames of the entire queue.
Walked straight onto the ship and headed straight to my cabin (which was open by then), mainly because I should have gone to the toilet before we left the hotel Dropped hand luggage, then went looking for food. I was on the Allure of the Seas transatlantic from Fort Lauderdale to Málaga, then on to Barcelona. The Central Park was close to my cabin, so went there for a "pick your own salad" in the Park Café.
The Allure is huge (currently the biggest cruise ship at sea). At max capacity it can take something like 6,500 passengers and another 2,500 crew. From deck 6 upwards it splits in two at the aft, leading to a variety of "neighbourhoods" - a boardwalk (carousel, aquatheatre, hot dog stand etc); Central park (a live, growing park in the middle of the ship, lined with shops and restaurants); 4 different pool zones (kiddies, sports, beach, and other) as well as a solarium; Royal promenade - bars, shops, guest services. There's ziplining, rock walls, flowriders, mini golf and a whole bunch of other stuff I didn't try.
Despite 10 days at sea, I never even explored huge portions of the ship, it's just that big. The entertainments were fine - never really my thing. The aqua shows were worth watching. Chicago (which was finishing up) did nothing for me. I ended up missing many of the other shows, including Blue Planet which I'd really wanted to see.
From around 7am to 11pm each day there were a whole variety of activities taking place. I mostly did "trivia" (mini pub quizzes, prizes, if any, are generally things like key rings, but they can get very competitive!), but there were zumba classes, aquarobics (which I kept missing), arts and crafts type things, the occasional movie (I watched X-men Day of Future Past in 3D one night) and a host of other things.
For the sea days my routine was generally stagger out of bed, go find breakfast, head up either to the pool or to a trivia game. Invariably would meet people and start chatting and miss lunch! There were a few days where I managed to miss both breakfast and lunch, but there were always places on the ship where you could grab a sandwich/pastry at all hours.
Afternoons there were "progressive trivia" games, where you had the same team for the entire trip, and points built up from day to day. These were really popular, and you needed to turn up at least 30 minutes early to get a seat. After the trivia, myself and my team mates would often sit around chatting, or go off to other activities, or else I'd take my book up to the pool and dip in and out of the pools/jacuzzis.
I'd taken the Ultimate Drinks Package (unlimited alcohol, water, specialty coffees, fresh OJ), which I wouldn't normally do. It costs $55 per person per day, +18% "gratuities", so it's bloody expensive. I normally take the Royal Replenish (same, except without alcohol) for about $20 per day. Details of the packages. When I booked there was an offer on of a "free" Select Package. The difference in price between the Select and Ultimate was the same as the Royal Replenish would normally cost, so I upgraded.
Having got it more or less for free, I made good use of it, but I don't think I'd have broken even if I was paying for it all myself. The Royal Replenish does me well - I'll start the morning with a fresh OJ and a cappucino, grab a bottle of water or a soft drink here and there throughout the day, have another coffee at some point, San Pellegrino at dinner, and maybe a decaff latte on the way to bed. With the Ultimate Package, some of the soft drinks became a bit less soft, and there were cocktails by the pool, but I doubt I got $65 a day's worth out of it.
After the pool, I'd generally head back to my cabin around 6 or 7pm to have a shower and get ready for dinner. A group of us from cruise critic had linked our reservations for a large table of 10 at 8:30 each night, and that worked out well. Once I was showered, I'd often head to the casino while waiting for dinner, as you can smoke e-cigs there (and real cigs too) on one side. Sometimes I'd just sit with a drink and my book, other times I'd play the evil poker machines (and win, win, win then lose lose lose it all again).
After dinner, depending on what was suggested I'd usually end up back in the casino, or out on deck (chatting/playing cards) or sometimes going to a show).
All very casual, and possibly not most people's idea of a holiday, but it suits me 0 -
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