wowzz

I see you are in the UK. Before looking at a cruise, have you already explored Australia? It is such an immense country, that to travel all the way there just for a cruise seems strange. You will miss so much by being stuck on a ship! We spent five weeks travelling around, and needed another fifty weeks to really see the country. Apologies if you are a veteran visitor to Oz !

Fortunately when we were on Regal, no one dressed that badly. Best cross Regal off your list 😉

Being a gambling man, I reckon you are looking at Gatwick or Stansted. I wouldn't bother with a package. Book a Premier Inn (refundable rate) at both airports, and do the same with car parking. When you finally get the flight details, cancel the arrangements for the unwanted airport, and then see if you can get a better deal for the airport you are actually flying from. At least you know you have a hotel room and parking sorted, so one less thing to worry about.

From what I have seen on the Princess boards, there are similar issues there as well.

Soleil, because it is closer to Vines, so easier to carry your glass of wine into dinner.

Try this thread https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2882694-caribbean-princess-cb-hurricane-fiona/page/2/

Have to say, from the photos, I think I would have stayed on the ship !

Have you thought about the insurance implications for this ? You will obviously have to declare the medical condition to your insurer. They then will need to agree to you, as a non qualified individual, administering an injection. Somehow, I think I already know the answer.

Without being a party pooper, when are you planning on going ? We booked Britannia for a Caribbean cruise in December 2023 a couple of months ago, and the cabin choice was already pretty limited. I assume you are looking at 2024 - perhaps if you check availability now for the type of cabin you want, it will help you decide. As an aside, as previously mentioned, whenever I have priced up a Marella cruise versus P&O (select type fare, precise balcony location etc) Marella have always been considerably more expensive than P&O, for no obvious benefits, apart from a few different ports, which imho, is not that important in the Caribbean.

We missed a port on Princess. The taxes were credited to our account the next day. P&O just profiteering.

Which Marella ship ? And what sort of cabin are you looking at ?

Same menus, but in our experience the presentation and servide can vary dramatically from ship to ship.

Shame for us as well - my Mum lives 20 miles away, so could spend the night before the cruise at hers.

I think Fred Olsen occasionally cruise from Newcastle.

Sadly, no longer possible, as no cruise lines sail from Harwich currently.

Looked at the prices. Really expensive - the prices are bound to come down after the initial novelty factor wears off, especially as the itineraries are so boring.

I'm having a great day. On holiday in Ilfracombe, great weather, and the Exmoor National Park is spectacular. I'm still not sure about the value of comparing a tour in Ireland to Turkey. Perhaps you can enlighten us.

Comparing a tour in Ireland to one in Turkey is somewhat absurd ! Through our roll call, we joined a private tour in Istanbul and it was perfect.

The OP asked about a private tour/driver, not about driving themselves !

I know that if you need an accessible cabin, or a suite (I wish !) you need to book early, but given the latest shenanigans with pricing and obc, for a bog standard cruise, I really don't see the need to rush to book a cruise 30 months in advance.

Mind you, if you look at the cost of the Yacht Club on MSC you are into luxury cruise line territory !

That would be me as well. I walk to a bar, the bar person pours me a beer, I carry my beer back to my seat. Hardly justifies a need for a tip.

Not sure if knowing what bids are successful actually helps that much. Every cruise is different with varying occupancy levels. Just because you know what a winning bid for a minisuite on Sky is in November 2022, that has no bearing whatsoever on a bid on Island in June 2023.

Although the OP is talking about Sky, so not actually relevant.

Basically there are traffic marshals who will direct you to the drop off zone, which is more or less right outside the terminal building.