sleepingcat

Just to add, as you say 'first time', French, Italian and Spanish women are nearly all very stylish dressers, much more than we are in the UK for example. Especially somewhere like Barcelona, or any of the large cities. They ve got smart casual off to a T. So although as JB says above, I will never look like a local (Im way too tall, apart from anything else) I do raise my game a bit compared to what I would wear on holiday in the UK.  

hi there from the UK! very cheaply from any household or hardware store, I ve had a succession of circular plastic drip dryers. It looks a bit like a sideways cartwheel with a single hook on the top and with a set of pegs attached underneath. Packs flat in the top of my suitcase, and there is always somewhere to attach it to in the shower/bath (using that plastic wash line we all like to travel with).  Travels everywhere we go whether on cruise, motorhome or hotel or apartment trip.

2 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Question: No idea what to do I  Gran Canaria and Lanzarote, any ideas gratefully received!

hey megabear - Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is one of my favourite ports.  Its an easy walk off the ship.

I think we ve been there 3 times. You can

*use a bus or taxi to get to the old part of the city where there is a fantastic museum with the history of Columbus and the later explorations of south America

(we used the hop on hop off bus which is convenient, but not one of the best in terms of what you see and as far as I remember expensive, it does pick up at the port gate though).

* hire a pedal cycle as there are nice dedicated off road cycle routes

* walk to the beach on the opp coast from where the ship docks, only about 15 mins, nice beach and lots of attractive cafes etc

*personally I always go shopping in El Corte Ingles, Spains best department store, huge,  lovely quality like Harrods or Selfridges, and the branch in Las Palmas is enormous. (I bought 3 handbags on our  last visit!), and  walkable from the ship. 

I grew up about 10 miles from Falmouth.  As children we loved the castle which has cannon and lots of history (I'm not quite sure where cruise ships dock or tender, but it ll almost be walkable from the docks). There is a lovely beach (Gyllingvase, with a good cafe, but nb the water will be cold by US standards). Since I grew up the National Maritime museum has opened: a great museum right by the docks and the harbour with lots of interesting stuff and things that kids can climb on and do.  There are also river trips up the Fal or across the estuary to St Mawes (another castle there, the twin of the one in Falmouth but smaller).  

the hop on hop off in Dublin is one of the best we have used. we spent a whole day as far as I remember, and excellent guides on board as well.  

another bit of info.  the walk back down the mountain is lovely and an easy wide track. so would save double queuing.  I was there in  a September and dont remember queuing for anything and certainly had not prebooked the funicular.  I woke up and saw the clear day and just went for it. 

I agree about the weather often being misty, work contact I was there to see confirmed that.  so  you might want to decide on the day when you see what the cloud base is. 

The historic Main Street area is walkable from the ship, so definitely okay in a taxi.  All the food we came across is a bit what we call in the UK  'chips with everything' but we had a pleasant lunch in an outdoor cafe, as far as I remember.  

If any of your group are interested in naval history, the museum(s) (I think there are several) look worth a visit, though we did not visit, as we used up most of our time going up the rock on the cable car. 

and , yes, the apes are aggressive and to be avoided (but when you see how some tourists treat them, its not surprising). 

oh lucky you! Yes, get a motorhome for the South Island and pick it up in South Island to avoid the  high ferry charges from wellington to Picton, its easy as foot passengers and doesn't require advance booking.  

( on our trip we did South Island first, picking up the motorhome in Christchurch, after returning it we got a free repositioning car hire to Picton(you only pay the fuel and insurance). then a one way hire in Wellington which we dropped off in Auckland. then a cruise ship to return to UK). 

NZ campsites could not at all be described as 'high end'  in our experience (as compared to what we are used to in Europe), but they have what you need, and unlike other places there is usually a kitchen campers can use, and it may be equipped. Though they have great troubles with backpackers stealing their stuff.  Take care with your m/h hire, there are loads of complaints in reviews about the main companies.  But having said that, almost all the campsites also have cabins or bungalows, so a car tour is also possible. We preferred motorhome as we own one in UK. Note that many roads in South Island are gravel rather than tarmac, and some m/h hire companies will not insure you for the gravel roads.  if you want to explore the glaciers, parks, mountains etc you need a hire company without that restriction. 

final bit of advice is dont try to see everything. we had 21 days in South Island and never even got down to Milford sound.  we like to spend at least 2 nights in each place to get the feel of it, and if we like it we stay longer. we did not prebook anything except the motorhome and the apartment in Auckland at the end. 

There is a specific camping road atlas for NZ which we bought ahead of time in UK and used for planning. the hire company would have given us one included in the hire if we had not already had a copy. 

all good advice above. another reason to give Mont St M a miss is that it gets really overbusy and crowded. our last visit was in shoulder time ie mid May and we walked over from the campsite early and got there for coffee.  by lunchtime the place was too busy for comfort.  maybe you can go another time from Cherbourg cruise call which is a shorter journey. 

We think Honfleur is lovely, though also busy. the tourist office provided a good self guided walking tour leaflet. and the seafood is to die for. 

Hi Colin. Ill give you a brief summary of how we organised 4 weeks in NZ (south followed by north island) then boarded P and O Arcadia for half RWC return to the UK.  One of the best things we did was to send our suitcase of cruise clothes and formal wear  unaccompanied on Arcadia when she left Southampton. so there were all our fresh smart clothes waiting for us in our cabin when we boarded in Auckland. 

We rented a motorhome for the South Island (we have a motorhome in UK so best option for us). Dropping it in Christchurch, we did a repositioning hire with a car hire firm, you only pay for the fuel and insurance, the hire is free, to get to Picton.  So our fares on the ferry were as foot passengers. Picked up another hire car  in Wellington for our week in the North Island, one way hire dropped off in downtown Auckland. We did 3 nights pre cruise in Auckland and rented an apartment with a washing machine so that all travel stained clothes were clean before boarding. apartment was only 5 mins walk from the dock, but we did get a taxi to take us. Hope these practical tips help your planning. If you d like more info on intinerary/best bits/ bits not to bother with, let me know .

Hi NYAS, Concarneau is really lovely with lots of interesting history and views. and you can pretty much wander on your own. our last visit was enhanced by jazz musicians playing in the square in the walled town. tourist office has good maps. havent been to Vannes. and not to Quimper for about 50 years!

You'll find that all French towns have a good tourist office website, and some of it will be in English (Brittany gets lots of British visitors because its just a hop for us). have a lovely time. 

the soundproofing between cabins and decks is good on S of A so that is another reason why a guarantee cabin is less of a risk with Saga. 

I havent found anything which gathers the cabin reviews together.  If you go to  the CC reviews of the ship you are interested in and scroll through, you will find that some reviewers write a review of their specific cabin.  Ive found that quite helpful in the past. And some bloggers take photos and videos of their cabins.

Also on some cruise companies own websites they have interior photos of each cabin, we used this when booking a so called 'obstructed view' cabin , from which we had a prime view on waking up next to Sydney opera house, what I mean is, it was hardly obstructed at all. 

St Vaast la hougue and Barfleur are two very pretty ports, fishing villages, only about 20 miles from Cherbourg. and the drive over via the coast road is pleasant. Maybe use a taxi or local tour company to get you there for the day?

Tourist info in Cherbourg should be able to advise

https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/unmissable-sites/cherbourg-en-cotentin/

Just to add to JB 's good advice above, and this is based on doing our own thing for the landing beaches, as we were in our motorhome not on a cruise: if you have a personal connection to operation overlord, as many of us do, research precisely where you want to go.  My dad was bosun on a Royal Navy LST (landing ship tanks) and mainly transported Canadians and their equipment, so with my husband I went to the Canadian museum which is less visited and was a moving and tearful experience for me. A tour of the US beaches while interesting would not have had the same personal impact. 

and btw we are all assuming you are interesting in the ww2 landings, but of course you might prefer an art tour, in which case from Le Havre, Honfleur is nearby and there have been lots of previous posts about how to do this as well.  

Hi cali82

we did what you are doing in 2014, except had spent previous 2 nights in an Aparthotel with a washing machine prior to boarding! although walking distance, we got a taxi for our bags and got to wharf at 12 prompt. as it was a RWC hardly anyone was boarding, so we were on board at once, cabin was ready, reunited with our unaccompanied suitcase of evening and cruise wear which had come direct from the UK. we had lunch, and then disembarked to do our own walking tour of downtown Auckland, I think we went to Albert Park and the art gallery.  It was all incredibly easy and laid back, as I have to say, everything is in NZ. If I was you I would nt book anything but just do your own thing. 

We did half a world cruise, boarding in Auckland and coming back to Southampton on Arcadia in 2014.  We had an obstructed view cabin, as suggested by Britboys. (great location as the prom deck is just below).  Loved every minute of it.  P and O arranged our flights in to NZ for us for an all in price.   they were fine with us flying out to NZ a month before we boarded Arcadia. (arranged with a well known cruise TA located in Derbyshire). We also sent our evening wear/cruise wear by luggage forwarding direct to the ship, so when we boarded in Auckland, we had clean fresh clothes waiting (recommended). 

also looking at world segments for 2024 on Arcadia, as we want to go through the other canal the one we havent done yet. Good luck with your plans. 

great minds get there at the same time! some of us have nothing better to do on New Years eve , once we have watched the fireworks over the harbour bridge in Sydney. happy new year to all.

this one ought to do the job, but unsure how well it will operate if it recognises you are not in the UK

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk

It will take you through to whatever company operates the actual trains.  and btw southampton central station to the cruise terminals is an easy taxi. 

You probably dont really need reservations as the train service is very frequent, but it might save a bit of time. 

oh apologies Mark, I see you are already here (just catching up !)

I would repost on the Fred Olsen board, you ll get replies from folk who have done this cruise with Fred which may add something to the useful stuff  you've already received above.  

agree with all the good advice above. 

The train along the coast to Cascais is a nice ride and you could get off in Estoril as you've already seen Cascais.  We did this on one of our cruise ship calls, , as the station was an easy walk from the cruise terminal. We can also recommend the Modern Art Museum.  the better museum is the Gulbenkian, but that time it happened the ship was there on its closed day so we did the Modern Art Museum instead and it was also good. 

as to weather, good to warn you about cold, but also to know that it can easily be warm enough to eat out in the sun at lunchtime as we did on a lovely birthday in January 2019 in Lisbon. We were there on a different ship this last January and it was again very sunny. 

I know we cannot recommend a tour we have nt done, but in 2019 I did investigate guided wild life tours of the wetland area nature reserve close by.  it didn't work with the ship timings, but as you have an overnight it will probably work. Others have posted rave reviews. 

cruising from Britain we tend to often get a port call in Lisbon  as it is on the way to most places, but I will never tire of it, it is one our our favourite cities and the sail in one of the best. 

when last in Malaga on a ship we did the city bus hop on hop off all day ticket. Picked it up at the port gates.  It was good value, compared to some other cities where we ve tried this. as far as I remember there were two routes and you could get off one and continue on the other.  We went out to the botanical gardens. Also possible from centre of Malaga is the light railway which goes along the scenic coast, frequent trains as it serves the airport. 

Maria, just to add fashion advice for Spain in winter: In Barcelona the locals will all be wearing their winter clothes, lovely stylish leather jackets and coats and boots  (Spanish women are super stylish, especially in the cities, and if you like clothes be sure to check out the fashion stores). They laugh when they see tourists in their summer clothes.  It wont be cold the way that you know cold at home, but it wont be hot. In the sun in the middle of the day it may  be warm enough to sit out at a bar, for example. We were in Cadiz last January and everything was covered in thick mist (I thought I had a photo somewhere but can't find it).  but another year another cruise in Lisbon we celebrated a birthday with lunch on a restaurant terrace in lovely sunshine. As JB says, its somewhat hit and miss, be ready for anything.

downtown Auckland is a pretty nice place to spend a day. Auckland harbour is one of the most beautiful in the world. A harbour cruise would be a good option or the skytower(or whatever its called). The cruise terminal is right in the downtown.  so I might suggest the opposite, ie get a hotel room as close as possible to where the ship docks and use that as a base for your day, then rest up and go out to the airport later. 

our experience was  2 nights in Auckland prior to boarding a half world cruise.  the cruise dock is so close that my husband walked down from our hotel before  breakfast to see if our ship had arrived.  if we hadn't had luggage we could have walked to the check in. 

we did not like driving around Auckland, the road system is not great, got lost several times finding our way in to centre, so would not recommend hiring a car. and it is busy.