~ Cruising (travel by Waterways) megathread ~

Sligoronan · 12-01-2013 5:11pm

Don't want to hijack thread but any recomadations for a cruise for family of 5. In march - apr. kids are 6,7 & 8.

Thoie · 13-01-2013 12:58am

I can highly recommend Royal Caribbean Voyager class. I'm looking at MSC for later in the year, as the route suits me, but I'd happily go back to RCI again.

Sligoronan, most of the cruise ships have kids facilities, so it really depends on what you fancy and what your budget is. Mediterranean, Norway, Caribbean, Persian Gulf...

Take a look at seascanner.com to get some ideas about destinations and prices.

bb86 · 14-01-2013 1:36pm

Hi wicklowwonder,
Myself & my bf are heading on a cruise at the end of May. We are going on the Norwegian Epic departing Rome and stopping in Pisa/Florence, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma & Naples. A friend of mine went on it and recommended it to me. I booked it using cruisedirect.com and booked the flights separately with Ryanair.
It's a 7 night cruise & we are spending a night either side in Rome. Total cost including flights was about €1200 for both of us!! That's all inclusive also so will just need spending money! Really looking forward to it as have heard great things about it. Booking using cruisedirect.com was great too really good prices and simple enough to use!

bb86 · 14-01-2013 1:59pm

keezer wrote: »

About 20 bars and 19 restaurants enough to keep one going, some have an extra charge but you could last the week with out paying the extra.

Hi Keezer, Do u mind me asking is water/soft drinks free on board the Epic or do you have to pay for these too? thanks!

Thoie · 14-01-2013 2:00pm

bb86 wrote: »

Hi wicklowwonder,
Myself & my bf are heading on a cruise at the end of May. We are going on the Norwegian Epic departing Rome and stopping in Pisa/Florence, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma & Naples. A friend of mine went on it and recommended it to me. I booked it using cruisedirect.com and booked the flights separately with Ryanair.
It's a 7 night cruise & we are spending a night either side in Rome. Total cost including flights was about €1200 for both of us!! That's all inclusive also so will just need spending money! Really looking forward to it as have heard great things about it. Booking using cruisedirect.com was great too really good prices and simple enough to use!

Do Norwegian include drinks, or do you pay for those separately?

bb86 · 14-01-2013 2:09pm

Thoie wrote: »

Do Norwegian include drinks, or do you pay for those separately?

Alcohol is separate but I'm not sure about soft drinks & water.

john_cappa · 14-01-2013 4:47pm

bb86 wrote: »

Alcohol is separate but I'm not sure about soft drinks & water.

Not included usually but i think you can usually buy unlimited soft drinks (from dispensing machine like in supermacs, button push) for a per head fee.

Achohol is so damn expensive. The one cruise i was on each drink was around 8 dollars. So during the day maybe 5 bottles beers and 5 cocktails for wife , during dinner a bottle of wine, and after dinner another 5 beers +5 drinks for wife ends up to a daily bill of 200$ for drink for the day!

Food is spectacular though!

family guy · 29-01-2013 9:51pm

Hi im looking to book a cruise for November for the wifes 30th

im looking at MSC SPLENDIDA ports are Barcelona,VALENCIA, LA GOULETTE,CIVITAVECCHIA,GENOA,MARSEILE, BARCELONA

has anyone sailed in November before?

is it a good month for sailing ?

should I wait until its warmer ?

any help suggestions would be great

cheers

Reati · 29-01-2013 11:00pm

family guy wrote: »

Hi im looking to book a cruise for November for the wifes 30th

im looking at MSC SPLENDIDA ports are Barcelona,VALENCIA, LA GOULETTE,CIVITAVECCHIA,GENOA,MARSEILE, BARCELONA

has anyone sailed in November before?

is it a good month for sailing ?

should I wait until its warmer ?

any help suggestions would be great

cheers

Normally it's fine, you can sometimes hit a storm and it's kinda like this:

Those days can be fun and to be honest, the ship doesn't rock very much.

Ladycurvy · 24-03-2013 10:31pm

Hi all,
Great to see this blog / thread.....

I went on the Liberty of the Seas (Royal Carribean) med cruise last summer and it was truely amazing. Perfect for all ages, from new born babies (yes there were familys with babies a few weeks old!!) to toddlers, all the way up to teenagers (where they have their own private floor!!!) and of course couples in their 30's and onwards. It really was for EVERYONE with all different interests and ideas of what a holiday means to them catered for. Relaxing or activity focused. There was something on every half hour on the ship from dance classes to wine tasting to napkin & towel folding to belly flop competitions and pool side entertainment and dancing etc.
Now, this year I am bringing my 5 year old and I really have zero hesitation bringing him cruising on the R.C. but its working out SOOOO expensive (€5,500 including flights / cruise and transfers for one week departing from Barcelona) and the cruise specialist I used last year has suggested I look into possibly trying out MSC Cruises - An Italian Cruise Company.
The MSC's brand new ship "The Preziosa" (which is exactly the same class as the new "SPLENDIDA" ship however the only real difference is the newest ship "Prizios"a has a waterpark with massive water slides on it - that just launched yesterday) is supposed to be the same 4 Stars as the RC Liberty of the Seas and the ship itself to be honest actually does look FAR superior interior decor wise (well it is an Italian cruise company)...

The MSC cruise for the exact same dates and the exact same ports of call and package is only costing €3,500 for 3 of us (versus €5,500 with RC)!!!!

....... My question and concern is that after reading some of the reviews on cruise critic is that because MSC is an Italian company the focus is NOT on the English speaking and there are VERY few Irish & English on board (which wouldn't be the main issue for me) but the main area of concern is that some reviews say that because the majority of the passangers on board are Italian that all the announcments and the entertainment is in Italian and even the KIDDIE CLUBS are not through English - which would be a disaster for us with our 5 year old!! (One English family report that even the Movie nights in the kiddie club was in Italian too!!:eek::eek:)
So my question is has anyone any on here travelled with MSC or even on RC and MSC or know of anyone that has gone on MSC with kids that can shed some light on this area of concern?
The evening entertainment on the RC Liberty of the Seas actually had Dreamworks on it (AMAZING for kids) and the other evening entertainment on both the promenade and in the Irish bar on board was non other than superb. I am worried that MSC won't compete with this and although there is €2K in the price difference.... would it be a case scenario of being penny wise and pound foolish????
Don't want to regret it??

coylemj · 24-03-2013 11:10pm

Ladycurvy wrote: »

....... My question and concern is that after reading some of the reviews on cruise critic is that because MSC is an Italian company the focus is NOT on the English speaking and there are VERY few Irish & English on board (which wouldn't be the main issue for me) but the main area of concern is that some reviews say that because the majority of the passangers on board are Italian that all the announcments and the entertainment is in Italian and even the KIDDIE CLUBS are not through English - which would be a disaster for us with our 5 year old!! (One English family report that even the Movie nights in the kiddie club was in Italian too!!:eek::eek:)

Beware of reading reports from British people, they hate foreigners anyway. They probably should have gone with Cunard or Fred Olsen who provide a 'British' cruise experience and you don't have to mix with Johnny Foreigner.

I was on an MSC cruise in 2010, the passengers were about 40% German, 40% Spanish and the rest a mix, including a few British and Irish. We had absolutely no problem with language for the basic reason that the waiters who were assigned to our table in the dining room spoke English, the cruise newsletter delivered to our cabin every night was all in English and if you went to the reception desk, most of the staff spoke English.

While MSC is an Italian line, there is almost nothing specifically 'Italian' about the ships, the staff are from all over the world (every member of the staff had a badge with their name and country of origin) and the cuisine is general European. There are almost no announcements over the PA system.

Can't speak about kiddies club but I never got the impression that English-speaking people were at a disadvantage on an MSC ship and would have no hesitation going on another cruise with them.

blahblah06 · 25-03-2013 6:54am

I went on the splendida in February
Great holiday

Reati · 25-03-2013 8:10pm

coylemj wrote: »

Beware of reading reports from British people, they hate foreigners anyway.

The last two cruises I've been on have focused on all languages of the passengers. So the music entrainment is mostly in English, but the stage announcers talk in Spanish, Italian and English.

I speak both Spanish and English, so it's funny to see how it translates from one to another at the start, but a few days in it wears thin as a 5 minute standup piece takes 15 mins to get through.

efc67 · 25-03-2013 10:35pm

Reati wrote: »

Normally it's fine, you can sometimes hit a storm and it's kinda like this:

Those days can be fun and to be honest, the ship doesn't rock very much.

Having come off the Explorer of the Seas 10 days ago after a 10 night cruise around the Carribbean.........Caught in a storm for 3 days...gusts of up to 135 mph, 28 feet waves....windows on ship getting smashed by the waves onboard pools closed for 6 days of the cruise, ship moved that much that you had to hold onto something to keep standing....then to top it off...missing out on Haiti because of delay caused by storm........it wasn't that much fun

Reati · 27-03-2013 9:15pm

efc67 wrote: »

Having come off the Explorer of the Seas 10 days ago after a 10 night cruise around the Carribbean.........Caught in a storm for 3 days...gusts of up to 135 mph, 28 feet waves....windows on ship getting smashed by the waves onboard pools closed for 6 days of the cruise, ship moved that much that you had to hold onto something to keep standing....then to top it off...missing out on Haiti because of delay caused by storm........it wasn't that much fun

That wouldn't be fun - Sorry to hear your holiday was so rough. Did the crew do alot to keep you entertained?

beertons · 27-03-2013 9:56pm

I went on a RC one from Malaga for 7 days, it was very nice. The alcohol though, holy crap. Granted we were on honeymoon, we dropped €1100 on the tab, with only about 150 of that from the hairdressers. Found this info searching for an alcohol package, every company varies. Don't know how recent this info is either, can't find a date on it.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1470

efc67 · 27-03-2013 10:41pm

Reati wrote: »

That wouldn't be fun - Sorry to hear your holiday was so rough. Did the crew do alot to keep you entertained?

Crew were great and the food was top class....had a good time apart from that.....you can now buy drinks packages on RC....beer package is $45 a day...and beer,spirits and cocktails is $55 a day, you must take the package for every day your on the cruise.....they also do a soda package....great for kids, think it was $60 for the 10 days we were on there

Balmed Out · 20-04-2013 11:58am

just booked a cruise on msc armonia from venice in july for 549 per person interior. thats the price on website but the booking agents dont seem to realise it so took a bit of haggling. I think its a good price for the height of summer.

Ladycurvy · 21-04-2013 8:22pm

Blamed out..... Have you ever cruised before?

davesweets · 08-06-2013 2:11pm

Hello,
We're hiring a Cruiser in august and heading north from Banagher for a week. Can anyone recommend any good eating and drinking spots/nice places to stop along the river north of Banagher?
Thanks

Lapin · 08-06-2013 4:03pm

Killeens in Shannonbidge should be your first stop. Great pub and the perfect place to stop off for lunch before visiting the historice sites of Clonmacnoise a few minutes upriver.

Next stop is Athlone and a visit to the wonderful Sean's Bar. Said to be Ireland's oldest pub, the place has some great trad in the evenings.

coylemj · 09-06-2013 2:41pm

Best to not leave your boat unattended in Athlone unless you tie up at the jetty just north of the bridge on the east (Leinster) side of the river, there's a supervisor there keeping an eye on things. You can walk from there to Seans and for eating in Athlone, there's two good restaurants next door to each other just across the river from Sean's - Thyme and the Olive Grove, I just checked Tripadvisor and they are ranked first and second out of 57 restaurants in Athlone. Gertie Browne's pub beside those two restaurants in Custume Place is a good place for a quiet jar, it won't be as busy or noisy as Seans.

http://www.tripadvisor.ie/Restaurants-g212091-Athlone_County_Westmeath.html

Orlock · 11-06-2013 5:37pm

Probably too late now, but for what its worth, I went on Honneymoon on MSC Fantasia, and there were only 3 English speaking couples on the whole ship, and we were searted together at mealtimes, it was definitely aimed for Italian market, and they seemed to be having a ball - Going RCC Liberty of the Seas this year with 4 kids in tow, and yes its very expensive

davesweets · 11-06-2013 6:38pm

Thanks

We reckon we would probably make it to Carrick, all going well. Probably 4 Nights cruising north and 3 back down. Any suggestions of places to stop/visit north of Athlone?

Balmed Out · 11-06-2013 7:55pm

2 summers ago I was on MSC Fantasia. 2/3 Italians. Plenty of English but a suprising amount of Irish particularly people from Cork and Galway for some reason, few Americans and got talking to a ref groups of Swedish people too. Great trip. I got a further discount to what I mentioned in my last post form having cruised with them before.

Think cruising great. I tend not to really drink much on holidays so barely spent a penny on board. You get plenty of sunbathing with a gentle breeze to booth with a different city to explore each day. If I cant take a month off together to explore the andes or whatever then a cruise is the holiday for me.

coylemj · 11-06-2013 8:07pm

I was on MSC Poesia in 2010 on a Baltic cruise and there was hardly any Italians on board. Based on the nationalities of the crew, you certainly couldn't say that the cruise was 'aimed' at any specific nationality. I'd just as soon spend a week or two on a ship full of continentals before loud Americans and whinging Brits any day!

steelboots · 12-06-2013 10:10am

Did it 20 yrs ago as a group of 6 young single fellas and as it happens I'm hiring a cruiser in two weeks time from Banagher for a week, this time with wife and 4 kids ages 4-11. Heading north as well, and hoping to get to Carrick. Little nervous have a 6+2 cruiser (Silver Swan from Silverline Cruisers) so big craft and kids are young.

Will post a reply when I return the end of June, PM me if I forget.

Later.

maebee · 12-06-2013 10:13am

coylemj wrote: »

I was on MSC Poesia in 2010 on a Baltic cruise and there was hardly any Italians on board. Based on the nationalities of the crew, you certainly couldn't say that the cruise was 'aimed' at any specific nationality. I'd just as soon spend a week or two on a ship full of continentals before loud Americans and whinging Brits any day!

Hi Mj,

We're doing the Baltic cruise on MSC Poesia on July 14th. Did you start from Copenhagen? If so, what's the best (cheapest) way to get to the port from the airport?

maebee

twowheelsonly · 12-06-2013 10:42am

Thoie wrote: »

Do Norwegian include drinks, or do you pay for those separately?

We were on the Norwegian Gem last year around the Caribbean (9 night cruise) - Water was free and some 'generic' sodas etc. There was drinks packages, Soft drinks, wine and beer packages that we didn't bother with. We don't drink a lot anyway and at $500 each it meant we'd have to have 10 bottles each a day to justify it. Considering the amount of time you spend off-ship we couldn't justify it. Bottles were $5 each or a bucket of 6 for $25 so that's the way we went. Made friends with a bar-man too - very cost effective

efc67 wrote: »

Having come off the Explorer of the Seas 10 days ago after a 10 night cruise around the Carribbean.........Caught in a storm for 3 days...gusts of up to 135 mph, 28 feet waves....windows on ship getting smashed by the waves onboard pools closed for 6 days of the cruise, ship moved that much that you had to hold onto something to keep standing....then to top it off...missing out on Haiti because of delay caused by storm........it wasn't that much fun

I'll see you and raise you one!!
We were on a 9 night cruise that turned into 14 due to Hurricane Sandy

That was fun..got some hammering the night that the storm struck. 3 or 4 bad days but that night in particular was kinda rough!!

coylemj · 12-06-2013 3:51pm

Carrick on Shannon seems to be a big destination for stag and hen parties these days, worth bearing in mind if you're hiring from Banagher midweek like Wednesday to Wednesday. Two of the bigger hotels are down by the river - Cryan's and the Landmark so it can get a bit noisy and rowdy on Friday and Saturday nights.

If you're hiring Saturday to Saturday then you won't have any problems as you'll only be in Carrick midweek when it's pretty quiet apart from the tourists on boats.

Before you leave Athlone or Lanesborough to Head across Lough Ree, check the Met Eireann forecast for the inland lakes. The land around Lough Ree is very flat so the lake can get a bit rough in windy weather.....

http://www.met.ie/forecasts/inland-lakes.asp

davesweets · 12-06-2013 6:47pm

Thanks for the replies.
There's 6 of us travelling (3 adults & 3 Kids), wednesday to wednesday on the silver spirit from banagher. Any suggestions north of athlone?
Thanks again.

coylemj · 12-06-2013 7:24pm

When you're picking up the boat, ask the people in the boat hire company, they will have gotten feedback from people who have been up the river in the recent past. Ask especially what Carrick is like at weekends and if they recommend that you avoid the town on Fri/Sat nights, maybe head up to Lough Key for the weekend instead, especially if you have kids on board. You could stop off in Carrick on Sunday on the way back, it will be quiet enough on Sunday evenings when the revellers have packed up and gone home.

http://www.loughkey.ie/

Tigerandahalf · 13-06-2013 8:40am

How much is it to hire one of these during July August and outside of these times?
Do you need any licence or training course to drive one of these?
It seems like a nice way to do a holiday, do a bit of fishing and see some places along the way. Clonmacnoise would be lovely for a picnic, real nice place.

finbarrk · 13-06-2013 9:10am

We are on MSC Preziosa next week from Barcelona. Anyone been on it yet? Wonder whats the price of beer/wine? Doesn't give that info on their website.

coylemj · 13-06-2013 9:39pm

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

How much is it to hire one of these during July August and outside of these times?
Do you need any licence or training course to drive one of these?

They're all on the web, Google 'shannon boat hire'. You don't need a licence, the hire company will give you instruction and there is a map of the navigable stretches of the Shannon onboard showing all of the harbours and important navigation markers and buoys. There's one or two driving positions on each boat with a steering wheel and the throttle is a simple forward/reverse stick with neutral in the middle. The engines are restricted in terms of revs so it's not possible to go at an unsafe speed.

budhabob · 17-06-2013 8:05am

Really Useful thread, thanks for all the great info.

Myself and the OH are getting married next May, and would never have considered a cruise for the honeymoon initially, however after talking to a number of people our opinion has changed. We are looking at Royal Carribean Cruises, however not sure what route to take yet. Any recommendations welcomed.

appleb · 17-06-2013 10:11am

budhabob wrote: »

Really Useful thread, thanks for all the great info.

Myself and the OH are getting married next May, and would never have considered a cruise for the honeymoon initially, however after talking to a number of people our opinion has changed. We are looking at Royal Carribean Cruises, however not sure what route to take yet. Any recommendations welcomed.

Hi. We were the same as you. As part of our honeymoon we are doing the Western Carribean cruise - leaving Port Canaveral on 21st July. Heard really good things about it. Any advice from people who have already done this re drinks packages, day trips etc.

Budhabob, I will most certainly update you when we get back. Send me a PM if I forget!

budhabob · 17-06-2013 10:19am

appleb wrote: »

Hi. We were the same as you. As part of our honeymoon we are doing the Western Carribean cruise - leaving Port Canaveral on 21st July. Heard really good things about it. Any advice from people who have already done this re drinks packages, day trips etc.

Budhabob, I will most certainly update you when we get back. Send me a PM if I forget!

Thanks appleb, that would be brilliant. We really only started looking at cruises in the past week, having never considered them previously. With this in mind, any feedback, advice, tips etc would be brilliant.

appleb · 17-06-2013 10:26am

Will do! Looking for any tips too.

finbarrk · 17-06-2013 1:29pm

ronan45 wrote: »

A chap that I know said he went on a cruise where EVERYTHING was included in the price, Alco beverages, Food. Never found that offer online thou!:rolleyes:

You can buy a package that includes alcohol and other drinks. It's €160 each for us for next week. Thats for a 7 day cruise. On MSC it's called the 'Allegressimo package'.

nudger · 17-06-2013 2:00pm

finbarrk wrote: »

We are on MSC Preziosa next week from Barcelona. Anyone been on it yet? Wonder whats the price of beer/wine? Doesn't give that info on their website.

Hi Finbarrk

Haven't been on the Preziona but was on the sister ship the Splendida 2 years ago, had a great time.
Drinks are city center prices €5-€6 for beer and shorts.
You can but little books of tickets on board for soft drinks that will save you a bit.
I know it sounds a bit cheap but we always bought soft drinks on shore each day and stuck them in our fridge in the cabin.
Are you going Barcelona, Tunisia, Malta, SIcily, Rome, Genoa, Marsellas.

coylemj · 17-06-2013 5:21pm

maebee wrote: »

Hi Mj,

We're doing the Baltic cruise on MSC Poesia on July 14th. Did you start from Copenhagen? If so, what's the best (cheapest) way to get to the port from the airport?

maebee

Yes, our Baltic cruise was from Copenhagen Saturday to Saturday but we stayed in a cheap hotel the night before and went to the Tivoli Gardens which I'd recommend. We got a taxi the next morning, at the entrance to the port there is a big display giving the location of each cruise ship in port so you'll have no problem finding your boat.

This is where we stayed, you can get a train from the airport to the central railway station which is within walking distance........ https://www.cabinn.com/en/hotel/cabinn-city-hotel

I see from the MSC website that your cruise is departing Copenhagen on Sunday and stopping in Kiel on Saturday - that was the stop on our second-last day also and about 1,000 Germans passengers changed over so expect the public areas to be crowded with new German passengers exploring the ship on your last night!

Can't tell you anything else that's relevant to your cruise because we went up to Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and the Norwegian fjords and back again. Lovely ship and great food but the Italian matinee idol in a nautical uniform who poses for photos with the ladies isn't the real captain!

finbarrk · 18-06-2013 10:41am

nudger wrote: »

Hi Finbarrk

Haven't been on the Preziona but was on the sister ship the Splendida 2 years ago, had a great time.
Drinks are city center prices €5-€6 for beer and shorts.
You can but little books of tickets on board for soft drinks that will save you a bit.
I know it sounds a bit cheap but we always bought soft drinks on shore each day and stuck them in our fridge in the cabin.
Are you going Barcelona, Tunisia, Malta, SIcily, Rome, Genoa, Marsellas.

Thanks Nudger. I did a bit of research in the meantime decided to purchase the all inclusive drinks package. It covers draught beers, house wines, non premium liqueurs and cocktails and soft drinks. It's about €160 each for 7 days. The kids one is around €80 which includes ice cream, soft drinks, mocktails, etc.
The itinerary is Barcelona, Marseilles, Genoa, Naples, Sicilly, Tunisia, at sea for a day and back to Barcelona. We sail on Friday. Flying in the morning from Cork.

nudger · 18-06-2013 11:34am

finbarrk wrote: »

Thanks Nudger. I did a bit of research in the meantime decided to purchase the all inclusive drinks package. It covers draught beers, house wines, non premium liqueurs and cocktails and soft drinks. It's about €160 each for 7 days. The kids one is around €80 which includes ice cream, soft drinks, mocktails, etc.
The itinerary is Barcelona, Marseilles, Genoa, Naples, Sicilly, Tunisia, at sea for a day and back to Barcelona. We sail on Friday. Flying in the morning from Cork.

Have you been to any of ports/cities before?
We didn't do any of the planned trips just done our own thing, worked for us.

maebee · 23-06-2013 4:38pm

coylemj wrote: »

Yes, our Baltic cruise was from Copenhagen Saturday to Saturday but we stayed in a cheap hotel the night before and went to the Tivoli Gardens which I'd recommend. We got a taxi the next morning, at the entrance to the port there is a big display giving the location of each cruise ship in port so you'll have no problem finding your boat.

This is where we stayed, you can get a train from the airport to the central railway station which is within walking distance........ https://www.cabinn.com/en/hotel/cabinn-city-hotel

I see from the MSC website that your cruise is departing Copenhagen on Sunday and stopping in Kiel on Saturday - that was the stop on our second-last day also and about 1,000 Germans passengers changed over so expect the public areas to be crowded with new German passengers exploring the ship on your last night!

Can't tell you anything else that's relevant to your cruise because we went up to Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and the Norwegian fjords and back again. Lovely ship and great food but the Italian matinee idol in a nautical uniform who poses for photos with the ladies isn't the real captain!

Thanks very much mj. Much appreciated.

finbarrk · 01-07-2013 12:10pm

Back from the weeks cruise on the MSC Preziosa at the weekend. It's a very impressive ship. Everything is new and shiny. The food is good and there is a good assortment of entertainment on board. Not too many english speaking passengers on board but that wouldn't bother us. It took most of the week to find everything on it as it's so big.
http://www.msccruises.ie/ie_en/Ships/MSC-Preziosa.aspx

nudger · 01-07-2013 1:48pm

Must say I really like the MSC cruises because there are few english speakers.
You feel like you are in another country, by the way had you an exterior cabin, for me it makes the holiday.

finbarrk · 01-07-2013 10:12pm

Yes Nudger, it was a balcony cabin at the front. One of the kids got a bit seasick for a couple of days which upset things a small bit though. The staff were very good with seasick tablets though and she was flying again after 2 days.

nudger · 09-07-2013 8:39pm

Sorry to hear about the kids getting sick, mine wouldn't be the best travelers but had no problems, the only tine we felt any vibrations was at dinner leaving port, and for about an hour around Corsica which was really nothing.

I think I'll go again and MSC are great, 2 adults and the 2 kids go free.

steelboots · 22-07-2013 1:47pm

steelboots wrote: »

Did it 20 yrs ago as a group of 6 young single fellas and as it happens I'm hiring a cruiser in two weeks time from Banagher for a week, this time with wife and 4 kids ages 4-11. Heading north as well, and hoping to get to Carrick. Little nervous have a 6+2 cruiser (Silver Swan from Silverline Cruisers) so big craft and kids are young.

Will post a reply when I return the end of June, PM me if I forget.

Later.

Sorry for delay, but I did reply and system crashed so I lost a details post ater 20mins work

. However.....

Day 1, Picked up boat from SilverLine, went as far as Shannon Bridge (approx 1.5 hrs). Lovely town, has kids playground. Best place is to park south of the bridge as close to toilets etc.. and good spot for fishing. There is a restaurant there but cooked on board so didn't avail. There is also a Supermacks.

Day 2, Went to Athlone stopping off in Clonmacnoise on the way. clonmacnoise well worth a visit and nice tea room (a little expensive though). Try a get the guided tour, we missed first half but the tour guide was excellent. Athlone is the firs lough gate you'll go through but there will be plenty of boats to help you out getting through. Docked on the right had side as you go up stream. Cost for night was 12 euro but there is a security gate.

Day 3, Crossed Lough Ree and went all the way to Rooskey. Lovely scenic village, good Centra for topping up on supplies. Also get your Diesel here as its €1.14 per liter (Cruiser hire places charge 1.65 per liter) We got the diesel on the way back and saved approx €70. There is a bar serving food but was only average, but good value. (No kids playground

, good for fishing and there is a good fishing tackle shop).

Day 4, All the way to Letrim, there is a lovely place to berth north of the bridge, with nice toilet facilities. Would recommend the Barge pub/restaurant for something to eat. Great place to get water.
Did berth in Carrick on Shannon, was there around 3pm and got the last berth, decided to move on as prefer the quaint villages.

Day 5, traveled to Lough Key forest park, great day out for the kids, excellent berthing facilities. Headed back to Letrim for the night.

Day 6, headed back down to Tarmonbarry. Lovely village, a lovely restaurant called Kennans, highly recommend.

Day 7, headed back to Shannon bridge to find the place packed so had to keep going to Bangher, was getting dark but got there in time, crosswinds made berthing difficult but managed ok.

Points to note:

- Driving a lower revs saves a lot on fuel, I got all the way to Letrim and back to Rooskey on 144 litres. I gave it full tilt the rest of the way down and it took 90 litres.
- Plan you journey so you don't stop in the same places going up and down, stagger the trips.
- Getting water can be difficult, as the fitting that was supplied with the boat did not suit most of the taps. Suggest you bring a funnel as the taps are generally higher that the boat.
- Make sure you have at least one full cylinder of gas as we had two low/empty ones and the cooker/over was painfully slow.

- If you have never cruised lough Derg would be wort considering, there are lovely places like Killaloe, Dromineer, Garrykennedy etc... and there is more room for berthing.

Enjoy, and feel free to ask more questions.

*~ Cruising (travel by Waterways) megathread ~*

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~ Cruising (travel by Waterways) megathread ~