Cruising on Funchal 31st January 2007

[2ofus]

We are a couple going on the 41 night cruise from Singapore.We would like to hear from anyone else who is also doing this cruise and any information from anyone who has been on Funchal recently.

[sparkieplug24]

I was on the Funchal in may 2006 and had a great time although this was only for 10 days around the Baltics. I am not sure if I would fancy that length of cruise on her but then I am not sure if I could go any ship for that length of time.

 

The funchal is small but has great entertainment there is actually a post further down regarding the Funchal and there is a Austrlian family who have just came back this week there is an email address on the page for you to contact them.

 

Is there anything in particular you want to know if there is let me know I will try and help.

 

Donna

[tekema2]

Hi

This is Peter & Carol ( +3 teenagers)

and we have just been on 5 day cruise to Albany (actually never got to Albany....and thats another story)

Feel free to email us if you have any questions about the ship...

 

As a sailing person (+ I have built three yachts when much younger) I was most impressed at the cleaniness and maintainence of the vessel.

After we survived a bad storm, the ship seems exceeding strong and able to handle anything.

It does roll a bit as its small compared to larger vessels, but it had

a great homey feel to it as if it was part of you.

 

Cheers

Peter & Carol

tekema2@hotmail.com

:) :) :) :)

[2ofus]

Hi Donna,

Thank you for you reply we are getting really excited about our cruise. We have got an outside standard cabin on Madeira deck. Any idea what they are like?. Was there plenty to do on days at sea?. Have heard that food, service and entertainment are good is there anything else you can tell us good or bad. Nola & Leon

[2ofus]

Hi Peter & Carol,

Thanks for the reply.Looking forward to the cruise, hope the ship doesn't feel too small. How did it seem to you?. Hope we don't get any rough weather.We know you had bigger cabins but do you know much about outside standard on Madeira deck?. Nola & Leon

[tekema2]

Hi Peter & Carol,

Thanks for the reply.Looking forward to the cruise, hope the ship doesn't feel too small. How did it seem to you?. Hope we don't get any rough weather.We know you had bigger cabins but do you know much about outside standard on Madeira deck?. Nola & Leon

Hi Nola and Leon,

It is a small ship, but it feels like your own private yacht mainly because

its feels so homely (hard to describe)...

We loved it and are planning to go again, as it is smaller ship it did roll a bit

but then again we got caught in a force 9 storm of Cape Naturalist and had to seek shelter in Geograph Bay for 2 days (smart captain)

 

We had cabin 21 and the kids had cabin 411 on the azores deck

one deck above you.

We took lots of pics, so if you want email us and we can give you our contacts details...

If you in WA come for a BBQ and a chat

 

Cheers

Peter & Carol

tekema2@hotmail.com

[sparkieplug24]

Hi Nola & Leon

 

On our trip there was stuff going on during the day this was things like live music in the bars as there was a wonderful duet on board who were very talented. There were quizzies and bingo also if you like that sort of thing. As well as various how to demonstratrions such as napking folding and veg carvings and so on. As well as port talks and when we were on board there was magician on board whose name at this moment escapes me it will probably come to me at 3 in the morning lol. He did some magic workshops there was also a movie shown in the afternoon. When we went in May due to the fact we were mostly in the Baltic sea although the weather for the most part was nice it was really not nice enough for using the pool and things but I am sure you will be able to make use of this on your trip more than we did on ours as they usually do activities etc around the pool.

 

There was a problem with the air conditioning and a rumour was going around that there was a problem with the plumbing although I didnt notice any problems with either although lots of passenger were complaining that their air conditioning didnt work or wouldnt switch off ours was fine.

 

With reference to your cabin ours was quite big we were in an economy right at the bottom of the ship and this was spacious. However I did hear a number of passengers complain about the size of some of the higher grade cabins and did see a couple first hand that were smaller than ours.

 

Hope this helps

 

Donna

[justcruisingalong]

Hi,

 

We have booked a night in Beijing with pickup, tours and return to ship. Private guide. Even with just the two of us it saves us about AU$300 on the ships offering. The saving increases with more people. Anyone interested in joining - the tourist agency can put on bigger vehicles if necessary with a few days notice. 7+ people halves the cost compared to the ship (including hotel). We have booked 'Wangfujing Grand Hotel' in Beijing.

 

Not having sailed on the Funchal before, we cannot comment constructively.

Tom and Diane

[FNQ]

Hi 2 of us

 

Yes we are going on funchal next week.

We live in Nth Qld - flying to singapore on tuesday via Brisbane.

We have cabin 67 in Madeira Deck. I have just emailed another past passenger and they tell me there is no guest laundry or irons on board so we need to take plenty of drip dry - no iron clothes if possible otherwise we have to pay (which I don't mind so much) but waiting for clothes to return could be a hassle.

It's hard to know what clothes to take -41 nights a long time through hot climates to cold then back to hot again. I have hat & gloves, coat etc for china & Japan which I expect should be near freezing. Also 4 formal nts on board.

Are you staying at Peninsular excelsior Hotel in singapore? It seems a lot of the passengers have been booked in there as a package. We might meet you on the coach.

Regards

Barb & Jerry

[FNQ]

Hi Tom & Diane

We missed out on the overnight excursion to Beijing and were dissapointed so we booked the day tours available on the boat, but if we can get out of them we would love to join you. We would welcome the opportunity to see Beijing at night. The brochures say we will lose our money if we cancel but will talk to someone on board & see what we can do. Our cabin is 67 on Madeira deck, our names Jerry & Barb McAtamney if you want to contact us on board to confirm. What are your contact details? Have you arranged any other excursions on your own? We have also booked on the day trips in Bangkok as we were not sure how to book personal arrangements.

We live in Nth Qld & are flying out of Brisbane on tuesday & staying at Peninsula Excelsior in singapore prior to boarding.

Hope to meet you

Barb & Jerry

[justcruisingalong]

Hi Barb & Jerry and anyone else on above cruise.

 

We are available via skype ('thewebpeople') which is in our public profile. If not on line, you can leave a voice message and we will call you back as we have skypeout. Else, if you wish, give us another mode of contact on cruise critic. I haven't yet worked all of cc out, but you can add contact details via your admin area, which is 'User CP' on top of all pages when you have logged in. You can view peoples profile by clicking their user name at the top of any posting.

 

Tom :) (& Diane :) )

 

PS We live in Sydney

[2ofus]

Hi Donna,

Thanks for the extra info. We fly out tomorrow to pick up the ship and we are really looking forward to the trip. We will post some info about the cruise when we get back late March. Nola & Leon

[MaeveMac]

Hi Jerry and Barbara

 

I hope I am trying to contact the right people here. My name is Maeve, I am the youngest daughter of your uncle Noel whom you came to stay with in Ireland approximately 10years ago. My family have been trying to contact your for awhile now. If this is indeed the Jerry and Barbara whom I think you are I would greatly appreciate you contacting me.

 

Hopefully I will hear from you soon,

Your cousin Maeve:)