Missed Port Marseille

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, gsmt47471015 said:

But after a few visits the novelty wears off

Strange but the novelty never wears off for us. We cruise about 3 times a year normally, mainly to the Med or Canaries for the warmer weather, and preferably on a big ship with lots of on board venues.  As wheelchair users we prefer ports like Ajaccio, Cadiz and La Coruna where you can walk straight into the Town, and where regular visits are no different to frequent visits to the same beauty spots in the UK, are they???

[Britboys]

8 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Strange but the novelty never wears off for us. We cruise about 3 times a year normally, mainly to the Med or Canaries for the warmer weather, and preferably on a big ship with lots of on board venues.  As wheelchair users we prefer ports like Ajaccio, Cadiz and La Coruna where you can walk straight into the Town, and where regular visits are no different to frequent visits to the same beauty spots in the UK, are they???

Yes, I can understand how that would work for you. I guess that in part it depends on what your cruise budget is. If it only covers one cruise in a year and that is a significant financial investment for you, then it is perhaps more like!y that you want to seek out new destinations. I appreciate however that some people prefer familiarity. Personally, I prefer to seek out places that are new to me but we're all different.

[zap99]

10 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Strange but the novelty never wears off for us. We cruise about 3 times a year normally, mainly to the Med or Canaries for the warmer weather, and preferably on a big ship with lots of on board venues.  As wheelchair users we prefer ports like Ajaccio, Cadiz and La Coruna where you can walk straight into the Town, and where regular visits are no different to frequent visits to the same beauty spots in the UK, are they???

Well said . We ,pre badstuff, we popped over to Paris quite a lot. Some folk were there every day. Admittedly mainly Parisians. DW said shall have a week in Cornwall again next year.  WHAT, we have been there about a hundred times.🤣

[gsmt47471015]

11 hours ago, Britboys said:

Yes, I can understand how that would work for you. I guess that in part it depends on what your cruise budget is. If it only covers one cruise in a year and that is a significant financial investment for you, then it is perhaps more like!y that you want to seek out new destinations. I appreciate however that some people prefer familiarity. Personally, I prefer to seek out places that are new to me but we're all different.

Some ports we would gladly visit again if it was on the itinerary, others not so much , its a balancing act as some ports are nailed on and if you want to go to the odd one or two new ones you have to accept visiting frequent ports ,as such we tend to be quite selective now with both Itinerary and cruise line . Even if we have visited a destination many times we always get off the ship for a wander   

[Britboys]

8 minutes ago, gsmt47471015 said:

Some ports we would gladly visit again if it was on the itinerary, others not so much , its a balancing act as some ports are nailed on and if you want to go to the odd one or two new ones you have to accept visiting frequent ports ,as such we tend to be quite selective now with both Itinerary and cruise line . Even if we have visited a destination many times we always get off the ship for a wander   

Yes - I was really hoping that Gibraltar would feature far less often post-Brexit but unfortunately that isn't the case...

[terrierjohn]

2 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Yes - I was really hoping that Gibraltar would feature far less often post-Brexit but unfortunately that isn't the case...

Gib seems to have disappeared entirely from P&Os family ships, not sure what's happening with Arcadia and Aurora as we are unlikely to cruise on either ship again.

[Britboys]

23 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Gib seems to have disappeared entirely from P&Os family ships, not sure what's happening with Arcadia and Aurora as we are unlikely to cruise on either ship again.

Not entirely - Britannia has quite a few Gib calls. All but about 2 or 3 of the Aurora & Arcadia itineraries call in too. I must admit that I hadn't looked at Arvia's itineraries...

[Snow Hill]

We have visited Gibraltar twice, we have seen virtually all there is to see, curtesy of a friend who used to live there who took us around with the help of one of her friends, to be honest it was not one of the highlights of our cruises. 

[terrierjohn]

30 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Not entirely - Britannia has quite a few Gib calls. All but about 2 or 3 of the Aurora & Arcadia itineraries call in too. I must admit that I hadn't looked at Arvia's itineraries...

Iona seems to have a few Gib calls as well, but there are far more non Gib Med calls overall, whereas in the past nearly all Med cruises needed to stop at Gib, or some other duty free location, to ensure duty free sales could take place on board.

[Palaceman]

This just shows how everyone is different.  We have visited Gib on 7 out of 9 cruises plus a 4 night stay at the Rock Hotel in the last 8 years. I have to say we missed not going there on our last 2 cruises. Looking forward to having an all day visit on Ventura later in the year. Horses for courses.

[Britboys]

7 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Iona seems to have a few Gib calls as well, but there are far more non Gib Med calls overall, whereas in the past nearly all Med cruises needed to stop at Gib, or some other duty free location, to ensure duty free sales could take place on board.

Sadly for me, the ships I'm interested in just seem to keep being drawn back there...🙄

[Billish]

31 minutes ago, Palaceman said:

This just shows how everyone is different.  We have visited Gib on 7 out of 9 cruises plus a 4 night stay at the Rock Hotel in the last 8 years. I have to say we missed not going there on our last 2 cruises. Looking forward to having an all day visit on Ventura later in the year. Horses for courses.

Out of interest, what do you find to do in Gib ? 

Been three times,  and next time we will stay on board, unless you have any recommendations. 

[Fionboard]

Have been to Gib many times but not called there during any cruises recentlyr. The only part I like is Ocean Village for a drink or snack. Find the rest of the place very dated and a bit shabby. Usually only there for a morning anyway so not much time to do anything.  Booze and perfume in the shops may look cheap but beware as there is a lot of fake stuff around. Best buy is leather if you like that sort of thing. 

[gsmt47471015]

3 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Have been to Gib many times but not called there during any cruises recentlyr. The only part I like is Ocean Village for a drink or snack. Find the rest of the place very dated and a bit shabby. Usually only there for a morning anyway so not much time to do anything.  Booze and perfume in the shops may look cheap but beware as there is a lot of fake stuff around. Best buy is leather if you like that sort of thing. 

Often wondered about fake goods , perfume especially, bit late when you try it on unless you test it before leaving the shop , my sense of smell is hopeless so the other half would have to be "the tester"

[Palaceman]

30 minutes ago, Billish said:

Out of interest, what do you find to do in Gib ? 

Been three times,  and next time we will stay on board, unless you have any recommendations. 

As we will be there for the day on our next visit, we are planning a late, relaxed breakfast before walking into the town.  We may go on the cable car for the views and possibly visit the caves while up there. I personally enjoy taking photos in the caves whilst enjoying  the music and colourful lighting. No two visits are the same. It was possible to purchase an all in one ticket, which includes the tunnels and Castle too. Alternatively, make it a more leisurely visit and have a drink (or 2) in Casement Square or the harbour followed by a nice lunch. As I have said we are all different, and what we enjoy is not necessarily someone else's cup of tea.  I am reluctant to recommend any bars/restaurants as the last time we were there was pre pandemic.

[zap99]

2 hours ago, Palaceman said:

As we will be there for the day on our next visit, we are planning a late, relaxed breakfast before walking into the town.  We may go on the cable car for the views and possibly visit the caves while up there. I personally enjoy taking photos in the caves whilst enjoying  the music and colourful lighting. No two visits are the same. It was possible to purchase an all in one ticket, which includes the tunnels and Castle too. Alternatively, make it a more leisurely visit and have a drink (or 2) in Casement Square or the harbour followed by a nice lunch. As I have said we are all different, and what we enjoy is not necessarily someone else's cup of tea.  I am reluctant to recommend any bars/restaurants as the last time we were there was pre pandemic.

As you say , late breakfast, wander around the town and take in the great history. We will avoid the monkeys.🙊🙉🙈

[Britboys]

My next cruise call there is early morning to early afternoon. As long as there is a half decent offer for duty free gin on board, I may just wander to Ocean Village for a mid-morning coffee & brandy. Or I might just stay on board...

[ann141]

4 hours ago, Billish said:

Out of interest, what do you find to do in Gib ? 

Been three times,  and next time we will stay on board, unless you have any recommendations. 

On our recent cruise we went on a Dolphin cruise which was wonderful as we saw lots of dolphins swimming right by the boat.Also for something different to do we once took a bus to the other side of the rock and had a short walk by the sea.

[sogne]

On 7/31/2022 at 11:16 AM, terrierjohn said:

Gib seems to have disappeared entirely from P&Os family ships, not sure what's happening with Arcadia and Aurora as we are unlikely to cruise on either ship again.

Gib 2024 schedule has both Iona, Ventura and Britannia calling there in addition to Aurora and Arcadia

 

 https://www.gibraltarport.com/cruise

 

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, sogne said:

Gib 2024 schedule has both Iona, Ventura and Britannia calling there in addition to Aurora and Arcadia

 

 https://www.gibraltarport.com/cruise

 

But nowhere near as many as pre Brexit, when a Gib stop was essential for most med cruises to ensure duty free sales could take place.

[davecttr]

I have visited Gib several times and consider a half day call there is adequate. Once you have tried the cable car, caves and Napoleonic galleries that is about it. I booked a pub crawl excursion and it was cancelled at short notice, so I did it myself and guess what, almost no decent beer in Gib, only international brands. I did find a back street bar that sold bottled Gibraltar ale. The hops were local and the beer was brewed and bottled in the Isle of Man.

 

The very popular pub on the main drag was interesting, it had lots of tables outside and inside a 1970's atmosphere, including the carpet which I reckon had not been cleaned since the 1970's.

 

I wanted to know the best place to buy booze and the cruise director said they buy it in Morrisons, that way you know you will not go blind.

[zap99]

19 hours ago, ann141 said:

On our recent cruise we went on a Dolphin cruise which was wonderful as we saw lots of dolphins swimming right by the boat.Also for something different to do we once took a bus to the other side of the rock and had a short walk by the sea.

Lots to see in Give if folk look.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

Lots to see in Give if folk look.

Could always go up to Europa Point, taking in views of the prison, leisure centre and car park...😂

[yorkshirephil]

We have always liked Gib, even after the siege caves, cable car, monkeys, etc. Now we just wander through town to the gardens at the far end, mooch around the shops and have a beer or coffee and cake and watch the world go by, pretty much like we do in many places we have visited on cruises over the years, especially during the cold grey winter months where you don't always have that option as it is raining at home.

[Astrajet]

I had an email from P&O this morning advising that the Chateauneuf du Pape & Avignon excursion that we had booked for our September cruise on Britannia was no longer available!  A check of the itinerary revealed that Marseille has disappeared and has been replaced by Toulon!  Disappointed but still looking forward to being back at sea.