terry2

Bobmon, that sounds useful, many thanks.

Hi, we are going to go on the Explorer at the end of the month from Southampton.  This is the first time we have cruised from Southampton (we used to live 'up north'), so don't know the area. 

 We prefer to stay in a hotel  the night before; one where we can leave the car until we return. Do you know of any suitable hotels - especially if you have used them?

Thanks in advance.

3 hours ago, Pensioncruiser said:

Well I think they have if you read my post above its very clear 'flat irons' and any item with an element. Which Mrs PC is not happy about as that would include her curling tongues😒

Well, again from the FAQs:

"20) Can I take electrical items onboard the cruise ship?

In the marella cruise FAQs - (number 14) says

"

This will be a massive hit for BA shares, compensation​ for flight delays will be enormous just hope they can withstand it.

That'll be the least of their worries. I knew someone in BAs IT services back in the 80's and the estimate then was for each minute of outage in the booking system, they lost £100K per minute in direct revenue and about £500K per minute overall (as the people who booked elsewhere stayed with the alternate airlines).

The system is that BEFORE you park you go to the terminal itself where they issue you with paperwork and you drop off your luggage. You then take your car to the car park with the voucher they give you. There is then a shuttle bus fir the short journey back to the terminal.

Not quite, usually you do not go to the terminal in your car (*). As you enter the port area, they ask if you have dropped off your luggage and if not you get directed towards a baggage handling shed. Before you get to that you meet some Thomson staff, where they sort out some paperwork and you get labels for the suitcases. Then you go on to the baggage hall where you drop off your luggage. Then you drive back to the port entrance, re-enter and this time get directed towards the car park.

(*) the cars that go to the terminal are for the North sea car ferries.

Thanks for the further advice. Cheers!

On the other hand it is only going to take 20 mins to drive there so no need to change hotels

Unless there is a problem with the tunnels, in which case you need to allow time to drive via Newcastle.

Unless you have a good reason to be staying in South Shields, I would suggest you change your premier inn booking from South Shields to North Shields, as you are then so much closer.

Worst case scenario is that they can be sent out FOUR days before the election day.

You'll likely know this, but if you book independently I think you have to ensure the visas are included

That isn't quite right - cruise passengers do NOT need visas as long as they are using a registered (ie approved) tour company/guide.

What you do need is the tour company booking in order to get through Russian immigration.

The relevant bit on the FCO site says:

"According to Russian law, cruise or ferry passengers can stay in Russia for 72 hours without visas only if they have booked tours through the companies officially licensed by the Russian government. These companies will supply you with a tour ticket, which is called a blanket visa or booking confirmation, and let you pass the customs/immigration offices without any other documents except your valid passport and the migration card that you will be given onboard.

This visa-free exception applies only to those who travel within an organised group and who don’t intend to explore the cities on their own. Cruise passengers are free to use any authorised local travel agencies (not only cruise ship tour companies) for visa-free shore tours."

Why wouldn't they just ask you to reply to the email?

No idea, presumably that would be too obvious for them!

Yes,

they've made the same sequence of changes to our flights later in the month.

They also want us to phone up to speak to someone to confirm we have received the e-mail about the time change. There doesn't seem to be a way of doing on the web, or by an automated call - we have to phone and hang on until it actually gets answered. Arrrggghh!

We have sailed Sun, Dawn & Sea a few times on deck 5. ... Would be better picking a cabin towards the elevator foyer. Enjoy your cruise!

OK we will look to be towards the elevators when we book. Just out of interest (nosiness) which cabins have you been in and on which ships?

Thanks for the information.

I note that some people think we would be better higher and more central; however 'the boss' prefers a low down cabin, so that is what we will be choosing.

Hi all,

we are thinking about taking a cruise around New Zealand on the Sun Princess in November. Now my wife prefers to have an inside cabin on a low deck; so we are thinking about an IF or IC cabin on deck 5 or 6 (plaza or emerald). We would like to hear any information from people who have stayed in cabins in those areas about how they got on and (especially) if there are any to avoid.

Thanks in advance for your help. Terry

Has anyone rented a car on a stop at the International Cruise Ship Port (Port of Tyne)?

Forgot to ask - where are you planning to go, we might be able to suggest alternatives.

Has anyone rented a car on a stop at the International Cruise Ship Port (Port of Tyne)?

If you can't get the information you want, then you might have to consider taking a taxi to the airport (about 30mins / £25) where there are car hire firms. http://www.newcastleairport.com/car-hire .

Has anyone stopped in Newcastle recently. Have been looking at getting into the city.

It is usually simpler to just take a taxi into town and also to get back.

If there is more than one person it could well work out cheaper too.

RCI Legend of the Seas is on its way back to Europe from the South Pacific and approaching Cochin. It should arrive in Cadiz (I presume) by the end of March for its rebranding and refit. Hopefully when we arrive in Cadiz end of April after Dreams TA we should get sight of her as we did Discovery 1 last year.

As I recall, her last cruise as Legend of the Seas is from Dubai on the 13th, and ends in Barcelona on the 28th; with the move to Cadiz on the 29th March.

The only place we have taken a tour recently was in St. Petersburg because getting off the ship by yourself requires a relatively expensive tourist visa, while the excursion do not. That excursion had all the flaws of every other one. We would have loved to spend more time at the Hermitage, and less time at the mediocre lunch. It was ok, but I'm glad we do not do tours anymore.

This isn't quite true - you have to be on a tour to avoid having to get a visa, but it does NOT have to be a ship's tour. Note that you do have to have pre-booked the tour.

You can even pre-book to have a tour with your own personal guide (I have a friend who did that).

I would hate to cause you problems from inaccurate information terry2 so, as I said earlier, I will double check in May.

Many thanks.

We too had the warning in Cruise News when on Spirit last year as our itinerary included Gibraltar. I am not sure if having some Duty Free purchases invalidates the right to also bring in Duty Paid - therefore, to be on the safe side, I would suggest that you just buy in your EU ports ensuring that you have receipts as proof of purchase and avoid buying any bottles in Gibraltar.

Thanks, Our trip does include Gibraltar, as the last stop before Malaga.

I'm booked on a cruise on the Discovery2 from Malaga this summer. However there is a tale that in Malaga, on the your return trip from the ship to the airport, Spanish customs X-ray your luggage looking for duty-free booze, tobacco etc.

What happens if you have booze that was bought duty paid eg at Porto? Do you have to prove it, or does that cause so much trouble that it is not worth it.

Previously it has been our custom to buy some local drinks for our (adult) children as presents as tokens of the trip; but we could do without any hassle on the return trip which is stressful enough as it is.

Thanks in advance.

We normally use Sterizar foam (we buy it on t'internet) as it is effective against norovirus. We haven't had any problems since we started using it.