*~ Cruising (travel by Waterways) megathread ~*

patmac

schemingbohemia wrote: »

We're looking at doing an Alaska Cruise next summer as our honeymoon. I'd prefer to get one of the smaller ships (1st cruise) Holland-America or Norwegian, just wondering how soon to book as presumably the balcony rooms with views onto the coastline book out first? Can you chose when booking that you're on the starboard side - we'd be going from Vancouver or Seattle to Anchorage? Not much point in getting a balcony if you're just going to be looking at the empty sea rather than the coastline/glaciers etc.

So, anyone cruised with Holland-America or Norwegian in Alaska? Would you recommend them over the bigger ships? Any other thoughts on Alaska? Would we be better booking for late August early September rather than late July-early August?

We went on an Alaskan cruise with Silverseas 4 years ago, the cruise line was brilliant we seemed to have got a really good deal as Silverseas cruises are normally prohibitive. Unfortunately the weather was poor it rained 5 days out of 7 in August, it rains 300 of 365 days a year there, a bit like here, so it is pot luck, maybe June could be better. Also all the shops around the ports were bought up by the cruise lines so you had to go further into town to find the local ones.

PaulieG

PaulieG wrote: »

Hi, does anyone know if I can buy a roaming package of some sort for a smart phone while between countries on a ship? Is this a thing? Thanks.

I went on a 3 week(almost) cruise last year and absolutely loved not having the internet

The drinks package kept me entertained:cool:

hdowney

BrownFinger wrote: »

I went on a 3 week(almost) cruise last year and absolutely loved not having the internet

The drinks package kept me entertained:cool:

Yea I think I am going to find it weird but interesting and relaxing not having the internet when I go on my cruise. Obvs I'll have it in port if there's WiFi in places, but not being plagued by facebook posts and the like should be peaceful

whippet

hdowney wrote: »

Yea I think I am going to find it weird but interesting and relaxing not having the internet when I go on my cruise. Obvs I'll have it in port if there's WiFi in places, but not being plagued by facebook posts and the like should be peaceful

it is nice not having it .. mind you I did download the Times and Sunday Time to my iPad when I got to port.

the only time you will miss the internet is when you are left with little choice but to sit through the onboard entertainment and shows which are a naff as can be possible.

Make sure to bring loads of movies / books for your own entertainment.

Thoie

I avoid the internet as much as possible when cruising, and don't go looking for it in ports. If I happen to be sitting having a drink somewhere and notice there's wifi, I may drop a quick mail home, but I don't seek it out. Similarly with movies etc - I try to avoid them as much as I can, and stick with reading books or meeting new people. Or just sitting, looking at the water with a drink in hand.

Sitting is very much underrated I feel

hdowney

Thoie wrote: »

I avoid the internet as much as possible when cruising, and don't go looking for it in ports. If I happen to be sitting having a drink somewhere and notice there's wifi, I may drop a quick mail home, but I don't seek it out. Similarly with movies etc - I try to avoid them as much as I can, and stick with reading books or meeting new people. Or just sitting, looking at the water with a drink in hand.

Sitting is very much underrated I feel

This would be so me. Sitting with a book and drink in hand, sitting with drink in hand watching the scenery or sitting with drink in hand watching people! As long as there's a drink in hand I'm good!!!

deisemum

coylemj wrote: »

Did that cruise with MSC in April 2014 except we stopped in Dubrovnik on the way back whereas you are stopping in Kotor.

Let me offer some advice on the various locations....

In Venice the best view (of St. Mark's Square) will be on the port (left) side of the ship departing on the first day and the other side coming back. That means that if your cabin is on the right (starboard) side of the ship, find yourself an open deck (that usually means the top deck near the pools) on the left side of the ship when departing Venice for the best view on your first day.

Katakolon is a small town with a big long street. There's space at the dockside for a couple of cruise ships and on the day we arrived there was a Holland America ship in town along with us so the restaurants were fairly overwhelmed with the flood of arriving tourists. This can lead to a situation where you sit down, order food and then you have to wait for up to an hour for it to arrive or (as happened with us), they have such a backlog of orders in the kitchen that they ignore you and won't give you a menu. In that town I'd advise you not to sit down at the restaurants with lots of tables outside, they may not be able to serve you within a reasonable period so I'd go instead to one of the smaller places with only indoor seating, that way the kitchen will probably be able to cope and you won't be waiting half the day for your food.

In Santorini you will be brought ashore by tender and you then have to decide if you will walk up the hill, hire a man and a mule or take the cable car, I'd advise you to take the cable car and then either come down on foot or by the cable car but be warned that if you walk down the steps, as you approach the bottom you will have to pass the place where the idle mules and their handlers hang out and the smell of dung is overwhelming. If it's a very hot day or the steps are wet, take the cable car down.

The evening before you arrive in Corfu you'll get the hard sell to buy a ticket for the coach transfer into the town, do not fall for this. When the ship docks, just come off the boat on foot, walk to the ferrry terminal which you will be able to see about 500m away and right outside the terminal you can get a municipal bus to the town for about €1.50.

I'm on countdown now, 2 weeks today I'll be on the above cruise.

When you were in Katakolon did you go to Olympia or do a tour of the island?
Did you do a tour of Bari, Kotor and Athens?

angeldelight

Anyone cruised with Celebrity and a baby? We're off on an 8 night Norwegian Fjords cruise in 3 weeks and I'm really nervous now!

coylemj

deisemum wrote: »

I'm on countdown now, 2 weeks today I'll be on the above cruise.

When you were in Katakolon did you go to Olympia or do a tour of the island?
Did you do a tour of Bari, Kotor and Athens?

We didn't do any tour in Katakolon or Bari, just explored the town, our cruise didn't stop in Kotor (we docked in Dubrovnik) and in Athens I think we got a regular local bus to the Parthenon, then we hopped on one of those red double-deckers for a trip around the city, that brought us back to the Parthenon where we caught the original local bus back to the boat.

Yellowledbetter

Anybody know when RCI will unveil their itineries and availability for 7+ night Bahamas cruises from New York for October next year? Did a Western Caribbean cruise on the Oasis for Honeymoon last year and would like to go on the Athem for anniversary next year. They seem to have availability for almost every other destination up to late 2017 on the website but not for the Bahamas which only goes up until April next year

roundymac

angeldelight wrote: »

Anyone cruised with Celebrity and a baby? We're off on an 8 night Norwegian Fjords cruise in 3 weeks and I'm really nervous now!

We're doing a Baltic cruise with Celebrity later in the year. I'd be interested on how you found them, eating that sort of thing.

angeldelight

roundymac wrote: »

We're doing a Baltic cruise with Celebrity later in the year. I'd be interested on how you found them, eating that sort of thing.

If I forget to post back when we get home just give the thread a bump!

deisemum

Just starting to pack now, staying near Dublin airport tomorrow night before an early morning flight to Venice on Sunday. I hate packing and sorting out food and stuff for my sons.

Thoie

I'm mid packing as well, though I have a few more days.

Have a fab trip!

deisemum

Thoie wrote: »

I'm mid packing as well, though I have a few more days.

Have a fab trip!

You too.

deisemum

I got back from my cruise this evening, we had a great time. I'm give a review tomorrow when I've got more time and not so wrecked.

mockler007

booooooats

mockler007

so over the years and its around 10 , ive been boating on the shannon, i had used emerald star but now have moved to Carrickcraft boats in better condition.
i use their carrick marina, and have used various boats over the years, from 29 foot to 37 foot
ive started with a 3 day trip and caught the bug,
now i do a week but have done 11 days in the years past
ive a week booked for the end of may with carrickcraft on their wexford class boat, 37footer, lovely wooden floors, wine and beer fridge, flush toilet, bow thrusters you name it,

ive done carrick to beleek in 23-25 hours cruising around 2.5 days each way
and carrick to killaloe in 23-26 hours 2.5 day each way
as i love boating i like to cruise for long extended hours break for lunch and then cruise till i tie up in the evening, not into stopping off in every town,
i get up early to enjoy a peaceful start to the day, and cast off around 7-8am
ive stopped in most towns over the years and have my favorites, beleek, lusty beg island, kesh, castle archdale, enniskillen, ballyconnell, ballinamore, leitrim, boyle, carrick, dromod, tarmonbarry, glasson, athlone, shannonbridge, garrykennedy and killaloe.

i get the non refund damage waiver and diesel has cost me 150-178euro for 11 days cruising last july, keep the revs down is my advice
also if you intend to cross any of the big lakes always check the met service for the inland lakes winds warning, can be found on their website. :eek:
i crossed lough ree on the way to athlone one april 2007 and it was sunny at the start and changed very quickly to high winds and hail, quite rough, took shelter in lecarrow as the mother and then girlfriend were a bit pale, had the same coming back from beleek last july in lough erne, had to head back to rosscor i think its called and wait 2 hours for the winds to die down and visibility too improve, it was quite rough, treat the lakes with respect and plan your journey and have a back up marina and you will be ok

my itinerary for this may is as follows (average cruising times)
early collection at 2pm with a 6 hour cruise down to tarmonbarry tie up for the night
early start with a 6 hour cruise to athlone for a stop off in seans bar and then another 2 hour cruise to shannonbridge tie up for the night and head to the great pub there thats a pub/shop,
then a early start too killaloe with a 13 hour cruise with a stop off in larkins in garrykennedy
potter around lough derg on the tuesday with a 5 hour cruise to portumna to go through the last swingbridge 19:30 opening and tie up tuesday night ,
wednesday early start again with an 13 hour cruise too tarmonbarry, early star for a 6 hour cruise to carrick
optional if not delayed during the week is then an 8 hour cruise on the thursday up to lough key
friday a 3 hour cruise to leitrim for some lunch and head back down to carrick on the friday for refuel before 5pm and last night out in carrick.

whiz

Hi Guys,

I am looking at booking a 4 day Bahamas cruise for 3 adults, that departs Miami on the 29.08. The cruise will probably be with Royal Caribbean, but as I never booked a cruise previously I would like some advice :

1. I am aware that some websites charge lower rates than others, can anybody recommend a website ? plus do some websites give cruise perks that others don't ?

2. Should i hold off on booking the cruise till July as the cruise price may drop further ?

3. Booking for 3 adults, is the cheapest option to get 1 cabin ?


Any responses appreciated

angeldelight

roundymac wrote: »

We're doing a Baltic cruise with Celebrity later in the year. I'd be interested on how you found them, eating that sort of thing.

Got home yesterday - cruise was a bit of a disaster but nothing to do with Celebrity. We had our baby with us and it turns out she's miserable when away from home hence we were miserable.

Food was really really good especially in the buffet - standard fare like burger and chips etc but also fresh pizza, sushi, stir fry made in front of you. Excellent staff, lovely ship (we were on Eclipse), great service. The one letdown was the entertainment - nowhere near the quality of Royal Caribbean. I would certainly consider Celebrity again

topspur

Any information regarding cruise holidays around the med taking our first cruise so before we book some of the does and don't please

spurious

topspur wrote: »

Any information regarding cruise holidays around the med taking our first cruise so before we book some of the does and don't please

Always research your own trips on shore. The ship-offered ones will be a sizeable amount more expensive. Their only advantage is that the ship will wait for you if the ship-offered trip is late. It's easy enough not be late back to the boat and yes, they will leave without you if you're not on board.

An extra night in your port of departure is nice, so that your first day is not spent rushing to the boat.

If you know what port you are leaving from, people can give more specific tips.

Thoie

topspur wrote: »

Any information regarding cruise holidays around the med taking our first cruise so before we book some of the does and don't please

Cruiseline and itinerary information would help people give better responses, along with age groups (elderly couple alone, young family with toddlers?) but here's a few generic points:

• Food is usually included, most ships have restaurants where you can pay extra if you want.
• Drinks (other than water, tea, normal coffee) generally aren't included. Most lines do some form of alcohol or soft drinks package. These vary wildly in price by cruise line. Only you can know if it's worth it for you.
• Inside cabins are not as claustrophobic as you may think - more like being in a hotel room with the curtains closed. They're usually a lot cheaper.
• Children in nappies, even swim nappies, aren't allowed in the swimming pools on most lines. No, not even your child. No, even if your child is super special.
• You may be allowed board the ship as early as 10:30 am (depending on circumstances), but your cabin probably won't be available until at least 1pm. You can check luggage at the pier which will be delivered to your cabin at any point during the evening. If you carry on bags with you, remember you'll be lugging them around until your cabin opens - plan appropriately.
• The prices shown when booking generally exclude the "daily gratuity" - an automatic service charge of around $10-$14 per person, per day. You can either pay this in advance, or it will be added to your on board account each day, and you pay it at the end.
• Drinks on board will usually have an 18% service charge added (so the $10 will cost you $11.80).
• Other than casinos, you don't really need cash on board - everything is charged to your cabin.

coylemj

spurious wrote: »

Always research your own trips on shore. The ship-offered ones will be a sizeable amount more expensive.

+ 1 in almost every case you will be able to get ashore and into the local town for far less than the cruise company will be asking you to pay - even just for basic transport with no excursion.

For example, the evening before we arrived in Dubrovnik, we were being bombarded with a sales pitch over the PA system for the bus from the cruise ship berth to the walled city - last remaining tickets going fast etc. etc. We ignored the hard sell and the next morning we walked off the ship to find a row of taxis waiting for us. We asked the guy at the head of the queue how much to the old city - €10 for the three of us one-way in a spotlessly clean Skoda Oktavia instead of paying the cruise company about €19 each for the round trip. On the way back we boarded the bus heading for our ship, nobody asked to see our tickets!

Another example was in Corfu, we walked about 1 km from our berth to the ferry terminal and right outside we got a municipal bus to the town which cost €1.50 instead of paying the cruise company about €15 for the same trip. The standard sales pitch will greatly overstate the distance from the berth to the town, it's usually much closer and even if it's too far to walk, you can be 100% certain that there will be taxis waiting for your business and even if there's only two of you, it will probably still be cheaper than the official transport.

kbell

We did the same in Corfu last year.
Were you on the Norwegian Jade coylemj?

deisemum

When I was in Corfu a few weeks ago there were free shuttle buses alongside the ship that brought us to the ferry terminal. Outside in the car park the local bus was waiting to take us to the town centre, it cost €1.70 each way.

coylemj

kbell wrote: »

We did the same in Corfu last year.
Were you on the Norwegian Jade coylemj?

No, MSC.

deisemum wrote: »

When I was in Corfu a few weeks ago there were free shuttle buses alongside the ship that brought us to the ferry terminal. Outside in the car park the local bus was waiting to take us to the town centre, it cost €1.70 each way.

That must be a new service laid on by the port, or maybe the bus drivers were on a lunch break when we arrived as we had to walk to the ferry terminal. The buses that were waiting beside our ship were only there for the people who had paid for the trip to downtown. The walk to the terminal from our berth was about 1 km so not a big deal for fit people.

blackwarrior

Wondering what is the best place to overnight on Lough Ree north of Athlone? I've emailed several of the marinas on the eastern shore, but no replies. Shore power & showers/toilets ideally. On my own boat nest week. Thanks.

coylemj

blackwarrior wrote: »

Wondering what is the best place to overnight on Lough Ree north of Athlone? I've emailed several of the marinas on the eastern shore, but no replies. Shore power & showers/toilets ideally. On my own boat nest week. Thanks.

Most of those places on eastern Lough Ree just north of Athlone (the inlet east of Coosan Point is known as the 'inner lakes') are just into boat and engine maintenance and winter berthing, they're not really geared to people doing an overnight stop. Ring them if you're still interested, wouldn't rely on e-mail.

Tabnabs

blackwarrior wrote: »

Wondering what is the best place to overnight on Lough Ree north of Athlone? I've emailed several of the marinas on the eastern shore, but no replies. Shore power & showers/toilets ideally. On my own boat nest week. Thanks.

Private marinas on the Shannon are generally not set up for overnight visitors. A very different system to the coast. The Shannon has a myriad of harbours that are free and these are normally used instead.

You have Hodson Bay (beside the hotel & bar, no shop nearby).



or Lecarrow



or Portrunny