Winter & Spring

[nancyneptune]

1 minute ago, okavango said:

I suppose one of the problems is the long haul itineries tend to be dedicated flights, they are only going to use the minimum no of flights required ,maybe a fairer split would be Gatwick, Manchester, Glasgow ,but would it work  considering the population density south of manchester

 

 

They obviously have difficulty filling flights from Gatwick as the prices are often drastically reduced near departure dates  This probably due to much more competition from other companies and the number of cruises departing Southhampton, Tilbury etc.

 

 

[okavango]

5 minutes ago, nancyneptune said:

 

 

The Caribbean and America would most probably be  mostly 14 night cruises and re- positioning cruises much longer.  I'm feel pretty sure they would fill these flights no problem given the chance.  They may then win back some of the loyal customers they have lost to other companies.

 

They had no problem filling the Dreamliner to / from Jordan and Dubai a couple of years ago.

 

Emirates fill two flights a day every day from Glasgow to Dubai. 

 

 

 

 

 

But Dubai is mainly just a stepping stone to somewhere else ,flights to a couple of hundred destinations from there

[nancyneptune]

1 minute ago, Jim The Scot said:

Really?😂

 

Was she related to the person that thought Glasgow was a remote area? 😂

 

Different cruises Jim but think they must have gone to the same school , lol !

[Jim The Scot]

 They also fill Florida from glasgow outwith summer very quickly

 

Yeah that would explain it Nancy 

Edited June 25, 2019 by Jim The Scot

[Eglesbrech]

2 minutes ago, nancyneptune said:

 

 

They obviously have difficulty filling flights from Gatwick as the prices are often drastically reduced near departure dates  This probably due to much more competition from other companies and the number of cruises departing Southhampton, Tilbury etc.

 

 

Yes the big reductions are usually from the South. There is so much cruise competition now from Soton, Dover, etc as you say.

 

You would think that one of the big cruise companies would come North and serve Scotland and the North of England all year round rather than just a few weeks in the summer.

[nancyneptune]

19 minutes ago, okavango said:

 

But Dubai is mainly just a stepping stone to somewhere else ,flights to a couple of hundred destinations from there

 

Well aware that Dubai is a hub Okavango as we have used Emirates  several times. 

 

Lots of holiday packages also available from Glasgow to Dubai and the Emirates both Edinburgh and Glasgow at very reasonable prices

Edited June 25, 2019 by nancyneptune

[nancyneptune]

3 minutes ago, Jim The Scot said:

 They also fill Florida from glasgow outwith summer very quickly

 

Yeah that would explain it Nancy 

 

Yes they do Jim. 

[nancyneptune]

5 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

Yes the big reductions are usually from the South. There is so much cruise competition now from Soton, Dover, etc as you say.

 

You would think that one of the big cruise companies would come North and serve Scotland and the North of England all year round rather than just a few weeks in the summer.

 

 

CMV and FO cruise from Scotland at the moment and CMV will be sailing out of Greenock, Dundee and Aberdeen next year.  Some of these cruises are already wait listed so obviously very popular.

 

Lots of big cruise lines call in to Scottish and Irish ports for several months of the year and the numbers are growing rapidly.

 

Thomson used to do a few itineraries round the UK but don't any more. Bad decision. Definitely missing a trick Eglebrech.

[Eglesbrech]

27 minutes ago, nancyneptune said:

 

 

CMV and FO cruise from Scotland at the moment and CMV will be sailing out of Greenock, Dundee and Aberdeen next year.  Some of these cruises are already wait listed so obviously very popular.

 

Lots of big cruise lines call in to Scottish and Irish ports for several months of the year and the numbers are growing rapidly.

 

Thomson used to do a few itineraries round the UK but don't any more. Bad decision. Definitely missing a trick Eglebrech.

Yes the number of port visits is increasing but we do still need something bigger actually embarking.

 

We have tried Fred from Rosyth a few times and while we enjoyed the cruises it is just a bit stayed for us. It would be good to have something a bit more modern.

 

I don’t even mind driving to Newcastle but there is only so often you can visit the Baltic area and Norway. Would be good to have some new ports and some sunshine.

[okavango]

1 hour ago, nancyneptune said:

 

Well aware that Dubai is a hub Okavango as we have used Emirates  several times. 

 

Lots of holiday packages also available from Glasgow to Dubai and the Emirates both Edinburgh and Glasgow at very reasonable prices

 

Yes great prices for long distance , only drawback is if you want a one way job ,price nearly as much as a return ,also the dubai leg is expensive compared to a through journey eg: manchester/dubai/philippines £600 ret ,one way £540 ,manchester dubai 6hrs £400 2nd leg through to philippines 8hrs only £200 more

[Sheila49]

5 hours ago, Jim The Scot said:

They also fill Florida from glasgow outwith summer very quickly

 

 

Edinburgh too. We're flying to Florida from there on Sunday on the Dreamliner.

[Jim The Scot]

Hi Sheila

 

I class june/july summer 😎

 

I was meaning outwith these months

 

Florida,one of my fav destinations.We went last September on Dreamliner but from Glasgow.Correct me if I,m wrong but is there not a short window for flights direct from Edinburgh to Florida?

 

Enjoy

[Sheila49]

I'm not sure Jim, I didn't book this one. We've not been before and were a later addition to the booking when son and daughter-in-law changed their villa and had an extra bedroom. Looking forward to it but it'll be a wee bit different to a cruise which we've done the last few years!

[nancyneptune]

6 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

Yes the number of port visits is increasing but we do still need something bigger actually embarking.

 

We have tried Fred from Rosyth a few times and while we enjoyed the cruises it is just a bit stayed for us. It would be good to have something a bit more modern.

 

I don’t even mind driving to Newcastle but there is only so often you can visit the Baltic area and Norway. Would be good to have some new ports and some sunshine.

 

We have also enjoyed our cruises with Fred.  Must admit a bit more expensive than Marella but there are good deals about from time to time and the standard of food and presentation is much higher.  On our first cruise with Fred out of Greenock we were given a free cabin upgrade. 

 

Quite happy to drive to Newcastle.  Have done the Fjords and repos from Newcastle to the Med at the end of the Baltic / Scandinavian season but now no longer available from Newcastle as the last few Baltic  cruises of the season now depart from Southampton to the Med. 

Another good re- positioning cruise lost to Scotland and the north of England.

[nancyneptune]

1 hour ago, Sheila49 said:

 

 

Edinburgh too. We're flying to Florida from there on Sunday on the Dreamliner.

 

 

Safe journey Sheila. Have a great holiday.

[Sheila49]

4 minutes ago, nancyneptune said:

 

 

Safe journey Sheila. Have a great holiday.

 

Thank you Nancy!😊

[Jim The Scot]

1 hour ago, Sheila49 said:

I'm not sure Jim, I didn't book this one. We've not been before and were a later addition to the booking when son and daughter-in-law changed their villa and had an extra bedroom. Looking forward to it but it'll be a wee bit different to a cruise which we've done the last few years!

 

Had a wee look Sheila and as I thought direct flights from Edi-Flo is a short window,June and July only

 

Have a great time and mind your sun factor 50++++++ as it,ll be hot,hot hot 😎😎😎

[GOQ]

Are there any suitable KLM flights from Edinburgh/Glasgow ?, We used to fly KLM from Cardiff to Schiphol and then onto our destination instead of using Gatwick. My wife would negotiate the airfare out of a holiday package and use KLM instead.

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, GOQ said:

Are there any suitable KLM flights from Edinburgh/Glasgow ?, We used to fly KLM from Cardiff to Schiphol and then onto our destination instead of using Gatwick. My wife would negotiate the airfare out of a holiday package and use KLM instead.

 

The problem is that by taking the flight out of the package you lose all your package rights. If there are any issues with the flight getting there or for example with weather issues, or late return of the ships etc you would be entirely on your own.

 

I may just be too cautious but we were away during 9/11 and it would have cost a fortune if we had to pay all the associated costs for the delay which on a package holiday, the company did. Same thing happened to folks with the Icelandic ash cloud, beast from the East etc.

 

[GOQ]

Yes I completely see your point. The main reason I stick with Marrella is the fact that they fly from my local airport and they offer the flight/transfer/cruise package.

[Sheila49]

13 hours ago, Jim The Scot said:

 

Had a wee look Sheila and as I thought direct flights from Edi-Flo is a short window,June and July only

 

Have a great time and mind your sun factor 50++++++ as it,ll be hot,hot hot 😎😎😎

 

Probably to suit Scottish school holidays.

Yes, apparently average temp for July is 33°😲

[nancyneptune]

7 hours ago, GOQ said:

Yes I completely see your point. The main reason I stick with Marrella is the fact that they fly from my local airport and they offer the flight/transfer/cruise package.

 

 

That's also the reason we stuck with Thomson / Tui / Marella all these years.  

 

Having done most of the itineraries several times we were hoping for the Far East and Middle East cruises but we are stuck with very little choice this winter again.  Marella dumping the  same Canary Island cruises on us year after year with the second week of a 14 night  cruise almost the same as the first week.

[davecttr]

13 hours ago, nancyneptune said:

 

 

That's also the reason we stuck with Thomson / Tui / Marella all these years.  

 

Having done most of the itineraries several times we were hoping for the Far East and Middle East cruises but we are stuck with very little choice this winter again.  Marella dumping the  same Canary Island cruises on us year after year with the second week of a 14 night  cruise almost the same as the first week.

I think it is fair to say there are a limited number of locations suitable for winter cruises. There is the Caribbean, the far east, the middle east and the Canaries. IMO the Canaries is the only one with a reasonable flight time. As for being repetitive, with 6 islands, Maderia and Agidir plus Grand Canary/Tenerife/Maderia featuring on all itineries you are going to going to get repeats

[anchorweight]

On 6/23/2019 at 12:55 PM, Sheila49 said:

 

Yes, one of the captains told us that at the reception for returning passengers. Bet we don't get Scottish flights though!🙁

Wonder if they’ll do that with some bigger ships. 🤔🤔

[nancyneptune]

On 6/27/2019 at 8:10 AM, davecttr said:

I think it is fair to say there are a limited number of locations suitable for winter cruises. There is the Caribbean, the far east, the middle east and the Canaries. IMO the Canaries is the only one with a reasonable flight time. As for being repetitive, with 6 islands, Maderia and Agidir plus Grand Canary/Tenerife/Maderia featuring on all itineries you are going to going to get repeats

 

 

Out of the four itineraries you mention Dave, with the exception of a couple of dates  to the Caribbean throughout the season and one Transatlantic cruise,  all that's available with flights from Scotland is the Canaries.  It's been the same for years.

 

As much as Madeira is a lovely island when you have been on at least five Canary Island cruises and a few Transatlantic cruises which also visit Madeira you have seen all there is to see. 

 

Marella need to be offering more choices from Scottish airports.