Any ideas for new itineraries for 2024 or even 2025

[wowzz]

22 minutes ago, Waju said:

Usually the beaches are an expensive taxi ride away and when you add on sunbeds and parasols and maybe a bucket of been you've spent nearly £100.

Sweeping generalisation there.

Depends what you mean by "expensive taxi" ride, but normally $25 will get you to a decent beach, and if you share with another couple, that is less than $6 each.

Somwhere like The Boatyard in Barbados for example charges 30usd per person,  which includes chair, parasol, one drink and a taxi back to the ship.

Edited August 31, 2022 by wowzz

[Son of Anarchy]

Last times we were in Sint Maarten, there was the beach at Phillipsburg, about 20 minute walk from the ship or I think $5 water taxi, pier to pier.  I think it was about $20 for to two loungers, parasol and a bucket of 4 or 5 beers.  We used the local bus to get to Maho Beach (where the planes fly in really low) for about $2pp each way.  Take your blue P&O sunbed towel, and grab grog from the supermarket next to the beach.

[Happy afloat]

35 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Sweeping generalisation there.

Depends what you mean by "expensive taxi" ride, but normally $25 will get you to a decent beach, and if you share with another couple, that is less than $6 each.

Somwhere like The Boatyard in Barbados for example charges 30usd per person,  which includes chair, parasol, one drink and a taxi back to the ship.

Boatyard also includes (or did 4 years ago) a trip out in a boat and snorkeling over a wreck. The very generous cocktails were about 6usd each.

[Gettingwarmer]

1 hour ago, Waju said:

Earlier this year we went on Azura and did some Greek Islands, Dubrovnik and Malta and we honestly didn't see a single sandy beach!

We often visit these places and never visit a beach. Why would you when there is so much more to see. 

[Waju]

Oh dear I'm in trouble 😉

 

It just goes to show how much we all want different things out of our cruise.  I was just trying to put across how I felt about our recent experiences.  We have taken lots of local buses, trains and water taxis but I love a morning or afternoon on a lovely sandy beach and don't come across that many without having to travel - one of my favourites is a little beach in Corsica, right next to the ship and then wander round the corner for a beer and a spot of people watching.  Our day in St Maartin was one of my best ever days on a holiday, we took a boat trip to Maho Beach and I bobbed about in the beautiful clear water for an hour and a half watching the planes go overhead.

 

On our last holiday we went to Taranto in Italy and thought it was an awful, dirty place but I'm sure someone will come along and tell me they loved it!

 

 

[zap99]

5 minutes ago, Waju said:

Oh dear I'm in trouble 😉

 

It just goes to show how much we all want different things out of our cruise.  I was just trying to put across how I felt about our recent experiences.  We have taken lots of local buses, trains and water taxis but I love a morning or afternoon on a lovely sandy beach and don't come across that many without having to travel - one of my favourites is a little beach in Corsica, right next to the ship and then wander round the corner for a beer and a spot of people watching.  Our day in St Maartin was one of my best ever days on a holiday, we took a boat trip to Maho Beach and I bobbed about in the beautiful clear water for an hour and a half watching the planes go overhead.

 

On our last holiday we went to Taranto in Italy and thought it was an awful, dirty place but I'm sure someone will come along and tell me they loved it!

 

 

Don't worry.  Many folk take beach holidays, we took a couple this year and enjoy having some time on the beach when they are on a cruise. We are on Anthem of the seas next week and will have a couple of trips to the beach. That is if the ship Don't fall over.🤣

[Gettingwarmer]

 

23 minutes ago, Waju said:

 

Oh dear I'm in trouble 😉

 

It just goes to show how much we all want different things out of our cruise.

 

Didn’t mean to sound abrasive. I think as the ships need deep water to dock it is unlikely that sandy beaches are really close, even in the Caribbean. Ajaccio in the med and Huatulco in Mexico are two I know of. 

 

Edited August 31, 2022 by Gettingwarmer
Photo of Huatulco. Just walk down dock to beach.

[Son of Anarchy]

17 minutes ago, Waju said:

On our last holiday we went to Taranto in Italy and thought it was an awful, dirty place but I'm sure someone will come along and tell me they loved it!

 

 

The Fleet Air Arm love Taranto so much, they have an annual celebration of their battle there.

[Megabear2]

Regarding Greek islands with sandy beaches a lot aren't visited by cruise ships.  The best sandy beaches on the "main" islands will be found in Crete, Mykonos, Zante and Skiathos.  I used to work in Athens and had the pleasure of going to different islands every weekend and the smaller islands and northern Greek peninsular offered the sand rather than shingle.  Interestingly The Times list of the best sandy beaches in Greece includes Myrtos beach of Captain Corelli fame yet the local Kefalonians say it is an inhabitable environment with huge undercurrents.

 

Yes there are small sandy beaches elsewhere but not of the big wide picturesque variety.

 

[Waju]

1 hour ago, Son of Anarchy said:

The Fleet Air Arm love Taranto so much, they have an annual celebration of their battle there.

They might well love it but I thought it was awful, there was more rubbish in the sea than I've seen anywhere!

[JDB78]

Late onto this thread. We only get away once a year, we booked for this year, next year but haven't booked yet for 2024 purely due to the fact that the itineraries are exactly the same as 22 and 23. We had cruises cancelled in lockdown that docked in Monte Carlo,
Civitavecchia, Naples and Cagliari, but now from Southampton at least, there seems to be very little variety, with some docks completely off the agenda?

[wowzz]

11 minutes ago, JDB78 said:

Late onto this thread. We only get away once a year, we booked for this year, next year but haven't booked yet for 2024 purely due to the fact that the itineraries are exactly the same as 22 and 23. We had cruises cancelled in lockdown that docked in Monte Carlo,
Civitavecchia, Naples and Cagliari, but now from Southampton at least, there seems to be very little variety, with some docks completely off the agenda?

To be honest,  most of the major cruise lines visit  the same old ports year after year, because there are very few alternatives,  given the size of ships. 

We have booked a Princess cruise next April which  has two new ports for us (Bilbao  and La Rochelle). But we would have booked the cruise regardless, just to get away !

But realistically,  cruising from Southampton,  the chances of getting new ports on mainstream cruise lines, is going to  be be difficult,  given the constraints of distance and ship size.

[jeanlyon]

Our Aurora cruise October 2023 has some nice ports in Greece and elsewhere.

[Josy1953]

14 hours ago, wowzz said:

To be honest,  most of the major cruise lines visit  the same old ports year after year, because there are very few alternatives,  given the size of ships. 

We have booked a Princess cruise next April which  has two new ports for us (Bilbao  and La Rochelle). But we would have booked the cruise regardless, just to get away !

But realistically,  cruising from Southampton,  the chances of getting new ports on mainstream cruise lines, is going to  be be difficult,  given the constraints of distance and ship size.

It is always good to have new ports to explore.  I spent some time in Bilbao for work and found it interesting to look around with some interesting architecture. If you are interested in museums I would recommend a visit to the Guugenheim museum, a very modern building that is also worth looking at from an architectural perspective.

We also visited La Rochelle on a cruise but found it less interesting.

Edited September 3, 2022 by Josy1953

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, Josy1953 said:

It is always good to have new ports to explore.  I spent some time in Bilbao for work and found it interesting to look around with some interesting architecture. If you are interested in museums I would recommend a visit to the Guugenheim museum, a very modern building that is also worth looking at from an architectural perspective.

We also visited La Rochelle on the same cruise but found it less interesting.

Thanks for the update. 

The Guggenheim museum is on our list, although recent reviews would suggest that viewing it from outside is sufficient - the exhibits inside are of limited appeal.

[JDB78]

14 hours ago, wowzz said:

To be honest,  most of the major cruise lines visit  the same old ports year after year, because there are very few alternatives,  given the size of ships. 

We have booked a Princess cruise next April which  has two new ports for us (Bilbao  and La Rochelle). But we would have booked the cruise regardless, just to get away !

But realistically,  cruising from Southampton,  the chances of getting new ports on mainstream cruise lines, is going to  be be difficult,  given the constraints of distance and ship size.

Was looking forward to Sicily and visiting Pompei as never visited before. Post Covid there seems to be a lot less choice? Especially the Italian stops?

[Ardennais]

18 hours ago, wowzz said:

To be honest,  most of the major cruise lines visit  the same old ports year after year, because there are very few alternatives,  given the size of ships. 

We have booked a Princess cruise next April which  has two new ports for us (Bilbao  and La Rochelle). But we would have booked the cruise regardless, just to get away !

But realistically,  cruising from Southampton,  the chances of getting new ports on mainstream cruise lines, is going to  be be difficult,  given the constraints of distance and ship size.

We enjoyed the Guggenheim - interior and exterior! I seem to remember that we also visited a transporter style bridge just outside Bilbao. First time in La Rochelle we just ambled around the town. Second time, we took an excursion to Santes and a very interesting chateau. 

[Ardennais]

Just now, Ardennais said:

We enjoyed the Guggenheim - interior and exterior! I seem to remember that we also visited a transporter style bridge just outside Bilbao. First time in La Rochelle we just ambled around the town. Second time, we took an excursion to Santes and a very interesting chateau. 

I think our trip to Guernica was also from Bilbao one time. Highly recommended, 

[Cruisemeister2002]

4 hours ago, JDB78 said:

Was looking forward to Sicily and visiting Pompei as never visited before. Post Covid there seems to be a lot less choice? Especially the Italian stops?

can honestly say Pompei is highly recommended. Did it a few years ago and thought it was amazing. Plenty of walking though and astounding to see how advanced they were for so long ago. Funnily enough the last time we visited Civitevechia for trips to Rome as we had been to Rome before we stay in Civitevechia. Sometimes it pays to not go on trips, but to venture locally.

[Josy1953]

35 minutes ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

can honestly say Pompei is highly recommended. Did it a few years ago and thought it was amazing. Plenty of walking though and astounding to see how advanced they were for so long ago. Funnily enough the last time we visited Civitevechia for trips to Rome as we had been to Rome before we stay in Civitevechia. Sometimes it pays to not go on trips, but to venture locally.

I would also recommend Pompei or an equally interesting place to visit is Herculaneum.  We caught the train to Pompei on one of our visits to Naples.

 

Another thing to considering is that just outside the port you can get a ferry to Capri, Ischia or Sorrento all of which are worth visiting if you haven't  been there before.

[Ulsteinvik]

Seems that they will reduce 2024 the Baltic cruises. Britannia has still 5 gaps where she was supposed to do Baltics and she is booked now on 12 June 2024 in Orkney.

[Bobblehat71]

On 9/3/2022 at 5:19 PM, Ardennais said:

We enjoyed the Guggenheim - interior and exterior! I seem to remember that we also visited a transporter style bridge just outside Bilbao. First time in La Rochelle we just ambled around the town. Second time, we took an excursion to Santes and a very interesting chateau. 

 

I really enjoyed the Guggenheim , well worth a look even if its not your thing. I don't remember the entrance fee being particularly expensive either. From there you can take a nice stroll down the river to the old town .Lots of nice tapas Bars. Its only a short stroll back to the bus from there.  La Rochelle is quite nice for a  stroll about and beer but not a huge amount there.

Edited September 8, 2022 by Bobblehat71

[Yorkypete]

How about an itinery where the ship will be able to visit every port ON the itinery and not just wander about the oceans!

[terrierjohn]

42 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

How about an itinery where the ship will be able to visit every port ON the itinery and not just wander about the oceans!

Since we cruise for cruising that would not concern us, although we do like to go ashore, but not too concerned now about where that is, having visited most of  the major european ports at least once.

[majortom10]

2 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

How about an itinery where the ship will be able to visit every port ON the itinery and not just wander about the oceans!

That is something that no cruise line can guarantee due to the circumstances beyond their control.