Atlantic coasts of France and Spain

[Cappers]

Good evening everyone:) Have any of you seasoned intrepid travellers done a cruise around these areas? La Coruna, Bilbao, La Rochelle and St Nazaire? It's not a Thomson one,,it's a P&O one on Oceana but it's appealing to me! It's from 19th -26th April which will be for my special birthday but I was wondering about the weather in this area at that time of year,,,particularly the dreaded BOB:eek: It's basically all in and around that BOB area,,all the way across it to La Coruna and then back again,,,hhhmmm,,,I know there's no guarantees anywhere but do any of you have any experience of something similar? Pleeeeze...I posted on the P&O forum but no-one answered:o

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Hi Cappers.
We did something a bit similar on Fred.Olsen in 2010. It was called French Collection and we went to Amsterdam, Antwerp, La Rochelle, San Malo, Guernsey & Honfleur. We really enjoyed it. It was bit different. We went in July though and the weather was OK, but don't know what April would be like. I think I saw the one you are talking about and thought it looked good. I've probably not been a lot of help, but at least you have got an answer on here :D:D:D

[Cappers]

Thank you Linda:D:D It's hard to decide which one to do isn't it when you see 3 or 4 that you fancy. I've got plenty of time yet to get it sorted though so I'm going to think very carefully before I book it! I'm only 50 once and I want it to be special;)

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Oooh lucky you, I'm 65 next month and shall be celebrating it in Agadir :eek: Didn't realise that when I booked the cruise :o:o

[Cappers]

I've just been looking at Fred but they don't have anything suitable in April, nor do Celebrity...we quite fancy trying Celebrity. I really fancy the Souks and Sangria on the Escape,,but I also want a formal evening so I can dress up and feel glamorous for 1 night around my birthday and the Escape just doesn't do full on glamour does it,,I do love it though! Oooohhhh,,decisions decisions. I'm sure Agadir will be lovely for your birthday!

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Celebrity Eclipse is a lovely ship, but the food wasn't very good (where have we heard that before?:rolleyes:) Also not as friendly as Thomson :(

Not done P&O, but my brother loves them. Mind you he hasn't been on any other line! Edited January 13, 2014 by CRUISIN LINDA

[Eglesbrech]

The BOB is in the lap of the gods no matter the time of year but you have a good chance of decent weather at this time of the year. Oceania is a pretty stable ship.

The ports on offer are really good.The port for La Rochelle is in the middle of nowhere but only a short shuttle ride to the beautiful little town. The port and harbour area are really quaint with some lovely shops, cafés and restaurants. Great little place for some chic French gifts.

If you have not been to Bilbao before then there is the obvious choice, the shuttle into Bilbao stops just a minute away from the Guggenheim which is just amazing. If you prefer not to shuttle (approx 20 minutes away from the port town with usually a long queue and wait for the shuttle back) then there is a lovely promenade walk right on the port and a glass lift up to the local town which has lots of individual shops, nice tapas bars and friendly people. Of it is a good day then there is also a nice clean beach just a few minutes walk from the ship.

La Corunna is a walk off port but not that exciting, though you can pass a pleasant day there. Shops, bars etc.

This is a nice cruise area where you can see and do lots or just relax and do very little.

[joeholiday2]

If you do it Cappers make sure you book midships cabin, we were tossed around like being in a tumble dryer some nights in our cabin right at the front of the Oceana. It was bad going, but fine on the way back, that's the unpredictability of the BOB....

We liked La Coruna, we just walked over to the lighthouse and around towards the long beach. Not an awful lot there, but pleasant enough to walk around. The Deportivo stadium is right in the centre of town, and the aquarium is supposed to be good. There is a funicular that goes up to a viewpoint, we fancied that but never made it there as the ship left around 3pm.

There is always the trip to Compostela de Santiago if you feel the need for spiritual enlightenment.

Not done any of the other places.

DW is also 50 this year and we will be on the Majesty, she says there is nowhere else she would rather be than on a Thomsons ship.

PS. find the town hall square in La Coruna, walk up the steps to the left of the town hall and have a look inside the church to the left, it's really nice. Edited January 13, 2014 by joeholiday2
ps