dronnygirl

Best to take layers rather than just warm clothing. When we visited there was a heat wave and we spent 2 weeks in shorts and t.shirts. We were often round the pool for the sail aways and only needed a jumper later in the evening. However, it can be cold and also rainy! With regards to balcony cabin, it's lovely to get up early and sit out to watch the sail up the fjords. It's absolutely gorgeous

As mentioned above, there will be an announcement advising what time and where you can collect tickets. If there are lots of excursions, you may have to wait quite a while as they have priority. There is no booking in advance. Best to be ready early and take everything you need with you for going ashore as you will have to take the tender when they announce your ticket number.

There are 4 ships arriving that day, luckily Marella is due at 7am so should be the first. It's a tender port so I would advise getting off the ship as early as possible. Marella will announce the time tender tickets will be issued and once you have a ticket you have to wait in the theatre to be called. I'd advise to get there early. You should then be able to get the cable car without too long a queue (best if you can be at the front). There are buses to Oia, they take around half an hour. It's also best to be at Oia early as it gets very, very busy. The restaurants are very expensive. We pre arranged a hire car in Fira and drove to Oia, had an early lunch then drove around the island which was lovely. We got back to Fira but saw that the queue for coming down the cablecar was 90 mins so we had to walk down the donkey track - not pleasant as it's very slippy with squashed donkey poo - and it took us half an hour. If you book an excursion you usually get priority on the tenders and the buses take you up a track rather than the cablecar. Other alternative is tender to shore and you can get a boat trip to Oia from the dock, then come back to Fira by bus. Enjoy your day whatever you decide to do

If you are looking for outside space away from the pool to sunbathe, there are plenty of sunbeds on the veranda. It's much quieter and you can always get a sunbed

Nice for lunch outside and lovely for afternoon cakes and a cuppa!

Shame, but at least we can pick up a copy if required. Many other cruise lines have stopped them altogether, everything is on line. We like to keep our Cruise News for info

Hi gavman, if you are comparing cruises you need to take everything into account. For example flights, amount of port days etc. It is not usual for excursions to be included but it's very easy to DIY the ports. WiFi isn't usually included but you can use it in the port buildings and cafes. You don't need to upgrade to the drinks package unless you like the branded spirits etc. It's possible to not spend anything if you don't want to, you can come back to the ship for lunch and go ashore again if you want to. We've done many Marella cruises, I'm sure you will enjoy it

Explorer 2 sails from Dubrovnik, it's a beautiful area to visit. We really enjoyed it in September

Not sure about your mobility problem but check out Emilie Ferries. I understand the ferry is very near Stadsgarden where the ship docks and takes you to Djurgarden where the ABBA museum is situated

Is this Explorer 2? It looks like the front of the ship

Hi Broomeboy, as Jim said you will need to do a trip to Rome from the ship. There are various excursions but they usually do 'Rome on your own' so you can wander wherever you like for a few hours. We went on the train but that's not for everyone . We bought a pop-up map of Rome online and planned our route around Rome in advance so that we didn't waste time . We got to see all the sights , a brilliant day out. Enjoy!

On Explorer 2 this sign is shown for double bed fixed against the wall on deck 8. Not sure if this is the case with Discovery

The water dispenser on each floor is really good, always cold water available and a carafe in every cabin.

Don't forget the weather can go either way, we were in Norway July 2018 and it was very hot the whole time. Shorts and t.shirts all the time. Best to take layers to cover any type of weather

Definitely can get decaffeinated in the MDR and the buffet

The bus into Chania is only 10-15 minutes. You get off in the centre of Chania, cross over the road and you are in a lovely shopping centre. There are modern shops and there are also market lanes. You eventually get down to the beautiful port where there are lots of cafes and bars

Totally agree with all you said Jim. We like to feel comfortable on holiday, really don't fancy the new huge ships no matter how nice they are. However, not sure where you live in Scotland but Ambassador are doing cruises from Dundee! Reading about them they sound similar to Marella and have some good itineraries

We also love Marella, had many fabulous cruises and visited so many places that we wouldn't have visited without Marella. However, we are open to try different things and are booked on Princess this summer as we wanted to visit the Baltic. The price is similar to Marella for 2 weeks (drinks included) but we will have 4 sea days. We'll see how we go but I'm sure we will be back with Marella at some point.

Many thanks for your help

First time on Princess for many years, can we just turn up at the MDR when we want to or do we have to book first?

In Flam there is teepee type shop where you can purchase items made by the Sami people. Some lovely items but very expensive. All can be paid by credit card

Jamie, I think it's appalling what they have offered, and you seem to be very reasonable about it. Obviously these things can happen but should be put right quickly and compensated accordingly. Good luck and please let us know how you go on.

Friends of ours visited the Baltic last May on Britannia and had an overnight in Helsinki.

We were on Explorer 2 in September and were told she was going in for refurb in October. We asked what was going to be done and it was mainly work on the engines and underneath. Some of the staff were staying onboard to help with painting and cleaning. Most of the ship looked to be in good condition and so was our cabin but, as you say, the bathroom let it down. The grouting in the shower was in desperate need of attention, it's a pity as it's such a quick and easy fix

I can recommend Stugeron tablets for sea sickness although the ships are very stable. Having done many cruises I've only had to take tablets twice. They are around £4 in Boots but much more expensive on board