coachman8

Hi all, my wife and I are looking to book a cruise over this Christmas and New Year and have enjoyed multiple cruises with Marella and enjoy everything about them. We have been on all the current ships, so are happy with the ships but can’t decide if to head to the Caribbean or Asia and would love to hear your thoughts and experiences if you have travelled with Marella at Xmas to either destination.

We are in our early 50’s , but aren’t the most adventurous types. Port visits for us are normally a scheduled Marella excursion or a stroll around the port area to stretch our legs, look at the local area before getting back on board. Our holidays are about seeing new places but without a rucksack and map !

We cruised on Discovery last summer on the planned USA/Caribbean itinerary but had the ill fated engine issue and spent 5 days in Amber Cove before returning back to Florida.

So I’m asking for shared thoughts on the places you see, the culture and experiences positive and negative on both different areas. They both seem similarly priced and dates etc, so unsure which way to go.

Last question - We haven’t flown premium before and wonder if people think the extra cost is justified against normal/extra leg room seats and if you had to choose between a balcony and premium flights, which would you go for ?
 

Many thanks in advance, I know cruisers love to share their opinions and experiences and guide anyone new in certain areas so would welcome your thoughts.

Ian/Mandy.

Thank you Ormy, it’s advice like yours that’s invaluable when your trying to pick through excursion after excursion. I see that in St Petersburg it seems to be split between Alla tours and official Marella ones, what made you pick Alla ? I’m also told the excursions are quite expensive because of visas etc ? 

Thanks again for the reply. 

Having cruised around the med quite a few times now, I was looking at the Baltic cruises on Explorer 2 for next year. The itineraries look interesting and the two I'm considering are

Baltic Charms 20th June  - Oslo, Gdyniak, St Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Visby, Warnemunde, Kalundborg or Baltic Explorer 11th July - Skagen, Kiel, Tallinn, St Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Warnemunde, Copenhagen.

I know both are similar itineraries and price and would welcome other cruisers opinions if they have travelled on either route before and the highlights. My (wife's) biggest concern is the general weather day to day and sea state. Having been in the Med for the last 6/7 summers and enjoying great weather and calm seas, are we going to be able to swap for the same !

I would welcome any advice/experiences other cruisers have had to help us with our decision.

Thank you for your reply, I'll certainly check the link. I was unsure about restricted views or passenger noise, etc,

Very much looking forward to it.

Have just booked the Dream for the 18th July and am a first time cruiser !

Have booked an outside plus cabin, currently allocated generally to decks 7/9. I would be grateful to hear of others experiences on board "Dream" but specifically is it worth paying the £42 to choose a cabin and avoid any dodgy ones !

Deck 7 seems to be completely reserved for cabins, while Deck 9 is shared and has a limited number of cabins. Higher up = better view ? or is Deck 7 more than high enough already ?

Apologies if these kind of questions have been asked before and if there is a newbies corner then please direct me to it.

Any "dream" info would be gratefully received.