First Cruise

[solostar]

Hello , I have never been on a cruise before and as a taster I am considering one of Thomsons Stay & Cruise, Eastern Mediterranean. Could anyone give me any feedback on these, I would appreciate any info.Thanks.

[infoqueen]

cruising is absolutely fab most people once they do it cant get enough i am one of those went on the spirit two years ago round the med and loved it, went on island escape last year and did rome, pisa, nice etc going on the spirit again in just over 2 weeks doing the adriatic venice, croatia etc cant wait. first year did cruise and stay but would advise you do stay then cruise as you come down to earth rapidly after the cruise even though the hotels are lovely you dont get treated the way you do on ship (ie they fold your bed down and put chocolates on your pillow) do try it i guarantee you will love it. will post a review on here when we get back on the 3rd sept

[jenny wren]

In March this year we did a Stay and Cruise ....staying at the Ledra Beach hotel, Paphos in Cyprus and then a week on Spirit doing Egypt, Israel and Turkey...the weather was good but probably would have been better a week or two later as the resort did not appear fully open. We hired a car and toured around a bit which was nice but we couldn't wait to get on the ship and were not disappointed!!!:D

 

I would agree to do the stay bit first....but once you've tried a cruise you probably won't want to have land based holidays ever again!!!!

[ekco]

We are of the opposite opinion. Cruise first, then stay. We did the Ottoman Treasures which is pretty full on and we were quite tired and were glad of the peaceful club resort we stayed in after. 5* and worth every penny with it's beautiful grounds and private beach overlooking a marina.

 

It depends if you like to stay on board or go off an explore the sights. :):)

 

Jan

[its,only,me]

We have done both , but much prefer stay then cruise , thought that this year would be tiring with all the sights ie, rome ect, so would need a rest 2nd week , but still missed the ship

 

mrs.c

[solostar]

Thankyou so much for your replies, so quick! The adriatic tour is the one I am looking at , Infoqueen, so I would appreciate you letting me know how you get on. A few people have told me exactly the same about the cruise being better than the stay, and I will definately want to get off ship and explore. My husband, typically, is wondering what the bar prices are like. I think I was quoted £676 for 4, for a week, I don,t think we could get through that, but I suppose it depends on the prices.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

We are of the opposite opinion. Cruise first, then stay. We did the Ottoman Treasures which is pretty full on and we were quite tired and were glad of the peaceful club resort we stayed in after. 5* and worth every penny with it's beautiful grounds and private beach overlooking a marina.

 

It depends if you like to stay on board or go off an explore the sights. :):)

 

Jan

 

Hi Jan, I'm with you on this:) Cruising and visiting all the places can be quite tiring (must be getting old:eek:) so prefer to stay second week.

 

Our first cruise was Red Sea cruise and stay, as we thought if we did not like cruising we would have the week on land to get over it! But, we loved it:D Just come back from 7th cruise and two more booked:eek:

[infoqueen]

solostar drinks prices were quite reasonable we are pretty avarage drinkers and found that it was much cheaper to settle the bar bill at the end of the cruise rather than pay for all inclusive also we were off ship on the days that we were in port so wouldnt really get our moneys worth on all inclusive its a different matter obviously if you get free ai. any questions you have please ask its a really comfy ship not flash but becomes like a second home and the staff look after you so well.

[1160451]

I would prefer cruise cruise :)

 

But if pushed would stay 2nd.

 

have a good one

[budgie1]

Ive done Stay and Cruise and 2 weeks b2b. Done 2 weeks Cruise and Stay this year thinking I would have a rest after the cruise. Stayed at the Belchikiz in Olu. Lovely Hotel. But we hated the stay part. Its difficult to going back to laying beside a pool (brain dead), all day and walking up and down the same prom every evening. Not for me im afriad. Back to the 2 weeks b2b on the boat next year. And it was tooooo hot. Missed the nice breeze on the boat. ;)

[solostar]

cruising is absolutely fab most people once they do it cant get enough i am one of those went on the spirit two years ago round the med and loved it, went on island escape last year and did rome, pisa, nice etc going on the spirit again in just over 2 weeks doing the adriatic venice, croatia etc cant wait. first year did cruise and stay but would advise you do stay then cruise as you come down to earth rapidly after the cruise even though the hotels are lovely you dont get treated the way you do on ship (ie they fold your bed down and put chocolates on your pillow) do try it i guarantee you will love it. will post a review on here when we get back on the 3rd sept

 

I will look forward to that, think I am going to go for a stay and cruise, doing same cruise as above. Stopping at an all-in Hotel. Have a great time. Will be wanting to d.i.y. shore excursions so any info will be very welcome.:)

[solostar]

Thanks to you all for the information. I have just booked a back to back on Spirit for next September because you have made it sound so good. I will be gathering as much info as possible, so keep it up! :D