The Yorkshire Cruiser

Love this part of the world.

If you're wanting the traditional afternoon tea experience then the Burj Al Arab in Dubai or Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi are both excellent.

As mentioned above, the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is also a must visit. 

I'm a big fan of Muscat too - the souks have a biblical feel and some of the desert scenery is stunning. You'll be hassled a little bit when you exit the port by vendors wanting to take you on a tour, but just be firm and its fine once you're a little further down the promenade. 

Not sure what Level 3 means but you'll be extremely safe in the UAE. Dubai is safer than London/Paris/New York, much cleaner and you'll receive far better level of service. 

1 minute ago, topnole said:

Aren’t British ales pretty much flat?   Seems it would be easier to have them?

A real ale gets its fizziness from fermentation so it is somewhat flatter than draught or bottled beer.

The issue I believe is that the yeast is in the cask and might not settle with movement. A cask should be allowed to sit still for 24hrs before being tapped (opened) but I'm not sure how much a ship's movement would affect this. 

I wonder if anyone has ever looked into whether it is possible to serve real ale on a cruise ship? I imagine its impossible given the movement of the boat, but would be a great addition to the onboard pub.

My favourite beer is the cans of John Smiths on ships departing Southampton. 

3 minutes ago, LindaD22 said:

We recently did Alaska last month on Enchantment. The ship is perfect for this itinerary with its abundance of windows and cozy spots for viewing the amazing scenery. Doing the inside passage was also a priority for us. I also appreciated the fact that a smaller ship is easier for disembarking, which means we got out and about quicker. The common spaces look great but our cabin definitely was looking like it needed a refresh. The entertainment was adequate, but honestly we were so busy and active every day, taking in all of Alaska’s beauty, that we usually went to bed pretty early! 

Are you sure you were on the Enchantment?

India from Dubai would be great.

Like the ideas above of 7 night Ireland cruises from Southampton.

16 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

Yes, the plan for new cruise ships with much more glass (windows) for seagazing was called Project Vision, before any ships were built.

 

Voyager class ships were called Project Eagle.  Freedom class ships were originally called ultra-voyager class.

 

BTW, Vision class ships are not "six sisters".  They are three pairs of twins.  (when built).  

I remember too when the Oasis class was Project Genesis.

59 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

It will be interesting to see if this still needs to be done after 4am on 11th February, when you will no longer be required to take a LFT/PCR test.

Apparently it will but they are simplifying it

The PLF doesn't need to be completed before sailing, only before your return to the UK.

When we were on Iona in September I believe some guests completed theirs whilst we were docked in Southampton waiting to disembark. Otherwise, it can be completed immediately before flying and apparently is being made easier.

Has anyone purchased a home test kit from anyone other than Optum? I can't purchase one as payment requires a Zip Code and I don't have one of them.

Frustrating as Royal Caribbean says they're suitable for international guests to have sent to their pre-cruise hotels.

5 minutes ago, TravelMadBrits said:

Hi

just recently off - disembarkation and taking your own luggage off - you have to go to guest services and register to do so and ask for a time. I think the earliest was 6am. We got off at 7 and it was very quiet and very quick. From leaving our room, getting the lift and to the car took 15 minutes!

 

You can add cash any time on to your account at guest services. 
 

On the 11/9 sailing only 3 of the MDRs were open. We used Coral and Pearl and they had the same menu (we asked) and looked very similar, decor colour was different. 
 

I don’t think they were mixing groups of people if not travelled together, we didn’t ask for a larger table so someone else may know. 
 

Have a great time, Claudine 

Thanks - we should be able to make an early train then 🙂

One more thing (sorry) - do you know if drinks packages were available to purchase on board? There were a few stories of it being sold out on the early Iona cruises

I'm on the next Iona cruise and would be grateful for any help with the following:

- Disembarkation - what is the earliest time? I need to be off the ship ASAP and plan to carry my own luggage. Is it still possible to do this early?

- Onboard account - is it possible to pay part cash and part card? On Ventura I believe I registered my card, paid so much cash and then the rest was charged to the card. 

- Main Dining Rooms - with all four being Freedom Dining is there any difference between them (such as decor) or is it just a case of searching out the one with the shortest queue each evening? I imagine we'd like to give all four a try. Also, can we request larger tables or will we be kept as a two 'for Covid'?

A brand new cruise company is launching in July: Tradewind Voyages with their 330-capacity ship Golden Horizon.

Her first sailing departs Harwich on 1 July and the first port of call will be my hometown of Whitby on the 3rd. I'm interested to see if anyone posters here are booked on this sailing.

I'll sit on the pool deck with a cool Mojito and will be the happiest man in the world.

Never: my outlook is never say never but AIDA has never appealed to me. Perhaps its memories of sunbed fights at Spanish all-inclusives from my childhood. 

Always: Celebrity: would happily cruise anywhere in the world with Celebrity and be confident of having a great experience.

Try: I've booked my first Oceania cruise and Iooking forward to seeing what they have to offer.

Jan/Feb 2020 - Marella Discovery 2 (former Legend of the Seas) Caribbean and Cuba.

Remember being in the cabin and hearing about a new cornoavirus on the news before dinner. 

I was up for a sailing but expect I won't have had both shots of the vaccine in time (27).

Guess it looks like work all summer and fingers crossed for Arcadia end of October.

I'll be booking on a 'coastal cruise' and the sooner the better. 

I haven't left North Yorkshire in over a year now and bobbing around off the south coast has never been more appealing.

Interested to see further details of the short cruises.

We have Arcadia booked for late-October. Until this announcement I thought it was relatively likely to sail, but now I'm more sceptical. 

When we did a side-by-side on Empress and Symphony from Miami, we received a letter on the last night of our first cruise advising where to meet for transportation to the next ship.

There were a few passengers doing the same and we travelled together in a minibus provided by Royal Caribbean. 

Has Royal Caribbean ever offered sailings from Barbados before?

A popular homeport for British cruise lines, but I've not seen RC offer it before.

Khasab, Oman.

Worth seeing the once as it is an eye-opener, but I'd probably stay on ship in future.

I endorse the advice to change trains at Birmingham New Street - much easier than trekking across London from Waterloo to St Pancras. New Street is well setup for connections. 

It does seem there are fewer train options nowadays. I remember travelling direct from York to Southampton Central (via Sheffield) and vice versa only a few years ago.

Should be easy enough on train if that's an option - there are direct trains between Brighton and Southampton and the journey is just under 2 hours.