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Bertie Doe
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Posts posted by Bertie Doe
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1 hour ago, insidecabin said:
They also do park packages which can be reasonable, a bit more than west quay multi storey, cheaper than ABP.
For MSC using Horizon it's <10min walk from Ibis
We prefer the town centre(depending on price) better choice of pubs and restaurants.
Yep, walking's a good idea, assuming the weather is ok. Looking at Ibis's map, you'd need to cross the busy W Quay Road (A33) via the Southern Road underpass, so taxi is fave at the moment.
I'd forgotten about the Ibis parking option. We're doing a Trans in 2 months, so I'll look at their prices, thanks.
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We always use Ibis City Centre, but not Ibis Budget (next door). Clean rooms, friendly staff plus the option to buy breakfast for +£24. They will call you a taxi, which is only a 10 min drive, depending on traffic.
There's also a good TGI Fridays or a McDonalds, with 5 mins walk :-
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On 5/12/2023 at 11:04 AM, Cable3232 said:
MSC offers a "resort" style of cruising and it not trying for ultra-luxury (even in YC), and the prices reflect this.
Yes, spot on the money. I'm trying to persuade my wife to do the 14 nts Virtuosa trip out of Southampton on 3rd june, which includes Rekyavik and Flam. It's £699 pp inside cabin. That's £50 pp per night !! 🛳️
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It's a pity QM2 isn't moored at Berth 46 but (as I write) you can just see part of her stern on Cruise cam and part of her port side on Itchen cam, behind the car export mult-storey .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o8SovvzI3Q
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Ah, thanks all, I should have spotted the rhyming angle from marketing dept 😳I guess Premium Beverage and Speciality Dining, represent the biggest savings.
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Why are NCL using the 'At Sea' in their adverts? Is there any small print which compels them to use this term? Is the free upgrade guaranteed or subject to availability when you get onboard? Thanks in anticipation.
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5 hours ago, Britboys said:
So-called ship broker websites always feature ships that are not actually on the market. They seem to take a speculative punt (pardon the pun) that someone will make an offer the cruise line can't afford not to take...
I'd be surprised if the broker was allowed to advertise a ship for sale, without some sort of input from the owner. I know she's had a recent refurb but the guide price seems a touch high for a 1996 build, compared to others on the market :-
https://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats-for-sale/type-power/class-power-cruise-ship/
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1 hour ago, howmuch! said:
Discovery is currently in Cadiz having a cosmetic refit of cabins on decks 7 and 8, but should be sailing to caribbean from Malaga on the 8th.
Yep, she's one of our fave ships, we had a nice pre-lockdown trip on 21st March 2019, out of Laem Chabang to Sihanoukville, Phu My and Colombo etc., etc.
Before starting this thread I did look at Brummjam's excellent post on Marella Itinaries for 2023/24 and she does have a pretty full diary for the next couple of years :-
https://www.cruisetimetables.com/marella-cruises-2023.html
Perhaps Marella are simply 'testing the water' with a view to getting a replacement vessel? If successful, I hope they keep the Diccovery name.
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Looks like Discovery but not entirely sure Boats for sale UK, boats for sale, used boat sales, Commercial Vessels For Sale 866' 2,074 Pax Cruise Ship - Apollo Duck
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Thanks Keith, Mel and Albert, getting there 2 days early looks fave. I hadn't thought about a car for Miami and the Everglades. I'll have a look at Hertz' prices.
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12 hours ago, phillygwm said:
Hate to disabuse you but Florida heat and humidity is as bad as/worse than NOLA. That said, definitely agree with those who advise getting in a couple days early. Miami, Fort Lauderdale, etc. are nice places to visit.
Ah, I didn't realise Miami's humidity. Our only 2 trips to the US were 30 years apart, both to NO, quite energy sapping 😎 but enjoyable. Will def check out excursions for Miami and Fort L, thanks.
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Yep, thanks all, getting in 2 days early makes sense and we've always wanted to grab some excusions in Florida. I guess it'll be like New Orleans without the humidity 😀
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We've been looking at cruises on board NCL Sky for May or June '23, round trips from Miami. The cruise only, seaview cabins look good with a 33% reduction.
Example ; The Miami/Caribbean, round trip 10 day, 8 ports, comm on 29th May '23 Seaviews down from £1238pp to £840pp two sharing. However, the fly/cruise price is £2144 pp. Which means that the flight element is £1304 pp. I guess these are charter overnight direct flights from UK, arriving mid morning on the 29th.
The ticket search engines I looked at, do not offer overnight's, but direct flights arriving late afternoon on the 28th had prices from £522 to £594 pp return, via KLM, Virgin, BA, Iberia and AA. This gives you a surplus fund of £700+ pp to cover overnight hotel, food and taxi to terminal, with perhaps Miami sightseeing thrown in?
We've done shorthaul flights to say Barcelona and Rome with Easyjet but they provide numerous flights per day - so plenty of backup. The dangers of missing the ship's departure are real but has anyone had problems with DIY longhauls please? Also any feedback on the positive side of arranging your own flights, would be welcome. TIA. Bertie.
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On 8/22/2022 at 5:17 PM, nafarrell said:
I just wondered for anyone that has departed from Southampton recently, the cruise we are taking is near full capacity, what sort of queue times should I expect? I am travelling with my family including my grandmother who is 81, she would have trouble queuing for say three hours on embarkation day.
We were on Sky P in June and Island P in August. It was well organised. In both cases, total queue times were less than 30 minutes. This was around lunchtime, when we got back from the buffet, our cases were in the cabin. We did arrive at the Southampton Terminal about one hour earlier than our allocated boarding time but Princess don't bother to check this. Other cruise lines may be more strict?
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On 8/12/2022 at 7:54 PM, vjmatty said:
Poor OP... just wanted to know about bringing buffet food to the cabin and inadvertently unleashed the great Dishes in the Hallway debate.
Thanks all for tips on getting food to cabin. We left Southampton 3 weeks ago. We asked our steward if he was happy to clear away our (four) plates "No problemo, just leave them in the cabin". He also got us four food covers (see pic), which we used until we got to Iceland on day 5. Thereafter we sat in buffet or MDRs for duration.
Spare a thought for 2 neighbouring cabins (see pic) They tested positive on day 4 (after the Cobh/Cork) stop and missed all the Iceland and Greenland ports. They are German speaking and may have flown to LHR/Gatwick on the same plane? They didn't know one another.
I guess the moral of the story Shipmates, is be ultra cautious for the first part of the holiday. We were lucky insifar as we didn't need to fly to embarkation port but how do you safely snack on a 5 hour flight ??
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4 minutes ago, B17 said:
Am I reading this right? We are sailing on Friday 12th, I have tests booked at Lloyds Chemists but already have had two locations cancelled as they have now pharmasists being available to carry out the tests. One of the stores actually closed because they had no pharmasist at the weekend, I have booked another instore test but no gaurantee they will have someone onsite to test until the time!
Our Boots has been great. Even got an email today, reminding me of tomorrows appointment. Suggest you try Boots Coventry Lower Precinct.
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1 hour ago, Ptroxx said:
I only hit the Buffett for breakfast. And once for dinner as the Juneau was closed one night because of the late port stop in Juneau.
1 hour ago, Ptroxx said:Thx for the pics. I guess the above is Beef/Beuf Wellington? Let's hope. Let's hope it's on Island P next week. I like the cold soup starters that Princess do so well. 😎
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This is indeed good news and thanks Cinegraphic, mtnesterz, arizonaperson, casanbliz, cr8tiv, kiwimum, IEHL, Mike45LC, Sprocket, Paula_Macfan, Jadn13 for the advice and tips.
Thanks Ptroxx for the food pics. Love the Fjord-like backdrop. Hungry already, the buffets going to get a hammering next week 😁
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I'm aware that Princess offer a free delivery service to your cabin, if you order from room service. There's nothing like selecting your own choice and portion sizes and eating it while it's still hot 🙄. So will Princess allow you to take your own selection from the buffet? If yes ? I wonder if they'll supply you with a lid, to keep it warm? We're on Island in 3 days, so thanks in anticipation.
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46 minutes ago, Cinderzz said:
We haven’t cruised for a few years and are due to cruise on Sky Princess this June 2022 to Norway. Please can anyone advise whether they will allow passengers to go ashore independently rather than on an organised shore excursion - our son lives in Norway and we were hoping to meet up with him for the day whilst in Tromso. Thanks 😊
Yes, you can organise your own excursions. If your trip starts 11th June, look at Cruise Critic's Roll Call. You'll see that a number of cruisers have started a 'spread sheet'. The left and right arrows at the bottom of the sheet, take you to the various ports of call. Bit late in the day, you may find a lot of the private excursions are fully booked :- https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2767471-june-11th-2022-14-days-europe-north-cape-norway/page/21/
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The Southampton Specific Covid FAQ is handy :-
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On 4/6/2022 at 8:27 PM, bmc alabama said:
Well, this is what it says on the UPDATED Princess CruiseHealth FAQ's:
Sounds like they may not let you off the ship...
You may also be required to have a COVID-19 test performed prior to disembarkation.
If you refuse to be tested or screened or to follow COVID-19 protocols, you will be denied boarding, and no refund or credit will be issued.
Not quite sure what is meant by "COVID-19 protocols but Joy-Ks posts #659 and #660 are worth a read
Clearly, the company has supreme confidence in the air-con filtration technology. This is not a view shared by Drews-Cruise in #678. But don't worry, I'm convinced Princess will sort out this glitch.
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Arrived late evening at Cairo airport and was met by the tour organiser's 15 seater mini-bus and was taken to the Oasis Hotel (one of many with this name) and joined Peter Maher local Egyptologist and the rest of the 14 people in this group. Most impressed by food quality, buffet style, optional à la carte available but there were no takers.
The mini-bus was to be our taxi for the next 8 days and on day 2, after the buffet breakfast (queue for fresh omlettes) we departed for the Giza Plateau, to visit the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx. I lashed out 300 EGP (£15) for the 15 mins camel ride to the pyramids. Great fun but remember to lean back as the camel rises from it's sitting-down position.
Later we went to Sakkara, visited some Pharonic tombs and the oldest complete Step pyramid. Plenty of photo ops and great narrative from Peter the Timeless tour guide manager. Feeling quite tired when we got back to the hotel, after dinner we had an early night, needed to re-charge our batteries for the trip to the Aswan Dam. Maybe when we get on board ship, we'll be able to chill out and recover? Hmm, think again, Peter has other plans ..
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3 hours ago, jollyjones said:
Checking temperatures is no more than Covid theatre. A large majority of infected people have a temperature only briefly, or never have a temperature at all.
It gives false reassurance and thus is actually worse than useless.
Yep, you're correct with "Covid theatre" I quick Google of this term brought up :-https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252485233/Airports-deploy-thermal-cameras-to-control-Covid-19-science-suggests-its-merely-safety-theatre and "Predicted value of screening is essentially zero".
It's possible that Cairo may have temp monitoring combined with the face ID camera they were using. At the moment, goverments, airports and airlines are struggling to agree common protocols, so temp checks may get consigned to history.
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Ah thats brill, thanks for the info and map.