passport

[limey-51]

thinking of taking a cruise in the med in september on the island escape, just one small problem,my wife is an american citizen and as such she as an american passport not a british one, my question is how we would get on regarding going ashore would she need different visas?I believe all british people are put on a group visa,have asked a travel agents and their reply was think it willl be o/k I would hate to get to these different ports and then find out we could not go ashore because of this. all replys will be gratefully appreciated.

Tel.

[highlandlassie]

I am not sure to be honest, however why don't you contact the American embassy in London.

[Rebel Rouser]

Europe is a spectacular continent with so many different cultures and languages to absorb, it's no wonder that travelers from all over the world strive to visit at least once in their lifetimes. As a U.S. traveler, you must be aware of current passport and visa requirements for traveling to Europe.

 

 

Passports

 

All countries in Europe require that U.S. citizens have passports to gain entry. Unless otherwise specified, your passport should have two to four blank pages and be valid for an additional three months after the return date from Europe.

 

 

Visas for European Countries in the Schengen Agreement

 

Signed in 1985, the Schengen Agreement allows nationals of countries that signed the agreement to travel freely between all Schengen countries. American citizens are granted similar courtesies. U.S. citizens who visit a Schengen country for tourism or business for less than 90 days are not required to have visas. If you are traveling to a Schengen country for any other reason or you wish to stay longer than 90 days, you are required to have a visa for entry into that country. Throughout the years, more countries have signed on to the agreement. As of June 2009, 25 countries participate in the Schengen Agreement: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

 

 

 

Waves to Highland Lassie

[limey-51]

Thanks to both of you for your replys I took you have both been very helpful shows what a decent forum this is , if we book a cruise I will be back with more questions you can be sure of that the only other time I have been to sea is with "the grey funnel line".

Tel.

[Rebel Rouser]

Thanks to both of you for your replys I took you have both been very helpful shows what a decent forum this is , if we book a cruise I will be back with more questions you can be sure of that the only other time I have been to sea is with "the grey funnel line".

Tel.

 

 

I take it the grey funnel line is saga

:D

[limey-51]

Indeed some of the cruises were "sagas"but at least we got paid for pleasures of sailing on HMS ships.

[Rebel Rouser]

Just a heads up.

 

We have just returned from the marinas & monuments cruise on the island escape,we was a little worried having read what some people had put on the reviews site.We have been on the thomson destiny ans spirit this year too and the island escape in our opinion was just as good.The food was very varied and plenty of it.The whole ship was kept very clean.The shows were brilliant.The quality of the food was really good with a themed night every night and also a carvery.All the staff on the ship were very friendly.I can honestly say i do not know why anyone would grumble.Our cruise was under ***** each and we found it unbelieveable.The only thing i can say is some passengers need to wait their turn,there was some passengers pushing in and keeping seats which i found quite annoying,you know who you are and you need to wait your turn!they also got up early to reserve sun beds which most of them didnt even use.This is just selfish towards other passengers.At food times some people were piling on food as though it was going to run out which nothing ever run out,as soon as a dish was emptied it was replaced so again to you passengers stop being greedy there is plenty to go around.We found the island escape to be a lovely laid back value for money cruise and i would certainly go back on this ship.The cabin was cleaned twice a day.Our housekeeper was called glen and he did a marvellous job at keeping our room spotless.He would make animals out of towels which was a nice touch.Our room was a outside cabin at the front of the ship on deck 8.It was very spacious and had a large window.We loved every minute of our time on the island escape.I personally think to the people that would complain if you want a flashy cruise you go and pay thousands for it but i think this ship was great and i can honestly find nothing to complain about.

 

 

Hope this helps, posted Nov 2011

[limey-51]

Hi,

Rebel rouser, can you remember what your cabin number was on the island escape? much rather go on a recommendation than pot luck.

Thanks

Tel.

[Rebel Rouser]

Limey

 

Had many numbers over the years, have been on the Escape 11 times so far and haven't had a bad one yet (luck?) mainly on deck 5 outside but have had some on deck 7. Get midships...if it's choppy you won't hear the waves slapping against the hull or the anchor chain if it's a tender port.

 

 

RR (Tel)

[ekco]

Don't book a cabin on deck 8 near the front. We did, not only did it pitch and roll all week but we didn't get a wink of sleep as there was loud banging all night. It sounded as if someone had a sledge hammer and was pounding the side of the ship. Also deck 8 is the only one with a small promenade and is the smoking deck. This means that a lot of the windows have net curtains up as they look out onto hoards of people smoking all day, fine if you're a smoker but not very private. The standard cabin was not as good as we had on deck 9 but you have to be careful on that deck as we had an outside one but the view was obscured by a tender. On the deck plan it looks as though there are gaps between the lifeboats but these are taken up with the ironwork holding the lifeboats in place. So, an outside cabin not far from the middle of the ship would be my advice as the ship is an ex ferry so does move a bit. Have a look at the itinerary map and see which side gets the best view of the land as otherwise you will see nothing but sea all week. We did this on the Med. Titans last year and saw a fair bit of Italy, France and Spain en-route. Deck 3 and 4 are pretty busy all the time as the crew quarters are on one side and the disembarkation points are there as well and can get very noisy very early in the morning midships.:):)

 

Jan