Very tempted any comments?

Cruise: 25-Apr-13

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt - Red Sea

11 Nights

1 x Deck 3/4 inside

Port of Call:

Sharm El Sheikh , Sharm El Sheikh , Port Sokhna , Suez Canal , Ship At Sea , Beirut , Larnaca , Ashdod , Ship At Sea , Alanya , Rhodes Town , Marmaris

Price includes:

11 night cruise

Full Board

Return flights

Coach transfers

Per

Person:

£764

Total Price:

£1528

Online Savings :

£1240

Stevie ps when does Celebration go Plantinum ?

I mean the new carpets ;)

We did this repo last year after doing Red Sea Magic on its final week. We got a very good All Inclusive for both cruises - so check the prices

The weather was great but we did notice the change in the wind temperature as we neared the Med and obviously early May the Med is colder at night. We did an overnight in Jerusalem which only cost an extra £30 I think but saved two coach journeys if you do two separate day trips and meant we had more time each day - hotel was very good and the food. After Ashdod we did our own thing at the other ports but would only go on Thomson tours in the Red Sea eg Valley of the Kings and Pyramids. The first week we did Petra but unfortunately its not on the repo cruise.

Thomson Spirit Repo Palma to Sharm el Sheikh Oct 2005

Thomson Celebration Red Sea Magic Jan 2007

Ocean Village Caribbean & Central America Feb 2008

Ocean Village Eastern Med August 2008

Ocean Village 2 Caribbean Feb 2009

Ocean Village Caribbean Mar 2010

Thomson Dream Cuba & Caribbean Feb 2011

Thomson Celebration Eastern Med August 2011

Thomson Celebration Red Sea Magic April 2012

Thomson Celebration Repo Red Sea to Med April/May 2012

Thomson Dream Caribbean Feb 2013

Sorry forgot to say we did Alexandria instead of Beirut and obviously would do the Thomson tours there and not go it alone

TA just matched the price and a bit less :confused:

oh my what to do ? :rolleyes:

Stevie

its a dilemma stevie....its a good price, celebration is getting good reviews....full upgrade should be getting close to finishing up by then?

and

there's Horizons:cool::cool::cool::)

go on stevie I dare you. You probably deserve a nice hoiday as well.

Kruzee my love any advice ?:confused:

Stevie :)

Kruzee my love any advice ?

 

Stevie :)

For you darling ..............of course! :D

Well in theory that it - I haven't commented so far as it really is quite a poser and don't really know what to advise! :confused: (Not like me- I know! :D )

First and foremost - it's a brill deal so a definite thumbs up but have you noticed the Spirit relocation which Malch's just posted too? Another fabulous deal. Perhaps that itinerary doesn't appeal to you so much.

We've done a number of repositioning crusies and have REALLY liked them on several fronts; price of course is great, unusual mix of ports not available on one cruise at other times of the season, often one-off, interesting ports of call and perhaps the most attractive for me is the contrast from the starting port to the finishing port which are often very, very different, sometimes even with markedly different cultures too.

It's certainly a fascinating itinerary. Have you been to any of the ports before? Would you be wanting to do the 'big hitters' in terms of excursions from Port Sokhna and Sharm - or are you just planning to enjoy a few rays? The transit through the Suez Canal I'm sure would be extremely interesting - something I'd like to do too.

We thought being able to visit Jerusalem something we'd never imagined we'd do - it made quite an impact on us (that was on a repro at Easter from Limassol ending up in Marmaris so might have been a similar cruise to this a couple of years ago). Rhodes is lovely, I believe Alanya is pretty too. Not been to Larnaca and perhaps Beirut is a question mark but you're definitely getting a good variety of destinations - with that cultural contrast. If you haven't been to Marmaris too if you have time before your airport transfer I'd definitely recommend you get off and have a wander through the Marina and waterfront to one of the lovely cafes there and spend an hour or two enjoying the ambience. So plenty to commend it - variety, interest - and hopefully some sunshine.

Have I helped? I suspect not - it really is a dilemma when weighing up different cruises!!!!!! But at a good price I always think repo cruises offer great opportunities to go to places you probably wouldn't otherwise go to and I know I'll enjoy the cruise experience, I'll love exploring new places so in many ways you can't go wrong.

Of course everyone has diffent preferences/priorities in their cruises but I admit that I'd be tempted if we were looking to go so soon! :D Good luck with your deliberations (are you close to commiting?)! ;)

1, Can you afford the money?

2, Can you afford the time?

Yes? Go for it, you are only here (or somewhere) once!!

I'd go for it. I would think about that time Celebration should be done, so you should have a nice refurbed cabin and bathroom. You don't get an online saving of £1240 often! :D

Go for it, and enjoy some sunshine. :)

Done and booked, up to the loft again :eek:

Thank you all ladies and gents

wonder if full refurb finished by 25 April? :rolleyes:

Stevie :)

Well done, good for you!!I reckon it might be finished but we had an 'old' cabin in Jan and it was fine as was the ship, sure you will have a fab time, we did and your weather will be better for the Egypt bit, it was suprisingly chilly for us but still mananged a tan. Hoping to get a better on from Sunday............

Done and booked, up to the loft again :eek:

 

Thank you all ladies and gents

 

wonder if full refurb finished by 25 April? :rolleyes:

 

Stevie :)

Good for you. Enjoy! ;)

Enjoy Stevie. I like repo cruises because the same people are on all the way so it's a very friendly atmosphere at the end.

Also there is only one welcome/introduction evening and none of the shows are repeated.

I've just seen where Beirut has been cancelled (not surprising really) and has been replaced with Alexandria

Word of warning only go on a Thomson tour here - you will be pestered to death and its a complete s--t tip once you get out of the port!!

Think you are wrong , Ii is other way round

Stevie

I'm on that cruise. The trick of not looking at the price after I've booked hasn't worked this time as I've read this thread! :rolleyes:

The itinerary in the brochure is wrong Vitalsign - it got noticed a while ago. No trouble in Beirut that I know of.

perhaps see you in the bar Grez , are you on same dates ?

be interesting to see the new carpets, and the kettles :D

Stevie

Now its time for the fun bit, planning where you can go. :D

there's Horizons as geo said :rolleyes:

Stevie :)

ps be nice to cruise through Suez Canel , I think :confused:

ports of call ? so much different currency

oh well will take my Tesco card :D

Stevie

Suez canal is fantastic.

One day I hope to go back and see the other side.:)

Done and booked, up to the loft again :eek:

 

Thank you all ladies and gents

 

wonder if full refurb finished by 25 April? :rolleyes:

 

Stevie :)

Good decision. Sailing through the Suez canal is so relaxing. The ships sail in a convoy very slowly so as not to erode the banks. You will pass towns and villages on the way. There are passing places for ships travelling in the opposite direction. Just sit back and enjoy the sunshine. Whether you go to Beirut or Alexandria one thing is certain you will meet friendly and welcoming people. If you do go to Alexandria don't be afraid to venture outside the port. Negotiate a price with a taxi driver and tell him the places you want to see. Take a few Egyptian pounds as entrance fees to some sights have to be paid in local currency. Euros will be fine for the rest of the countries. Us dollars or euros widely accepted in Israel. I'm tempted myself but unfortunately the dates don't suit us. Have a great time.

Hi folks - We just got back from the Celebration yesterday - had a great time. We'd been on her twice before so we could see what had and had not changed.

I will give a brief refurb update here but if you have any questions (drinks too!) let me know.

Hemmingways looked the most different for me. All new furniture and carpets and a nice bookshelf type thing at the left hand end (near the casino) which looked nice but wasn't practical (it wasn't an extension of the library :)). Meridian has new carpets and furniture but ceiling and lighting were the same. Same with the Broadway Show Lounge. Horizons didn't looked like it had been touched but I liked it the way it was so no worries there. The Lido restaurant also has new carpets and furniture. The Terrace Griull behind the lido near the pool has also been refitted and has new chairs and tables and some low soft seating. The sunbeds in this area still looked like the old blue canvas ones. I don't think any major cabin refurb was going on whilst we were onboard. The ship was pretty full I think as it is half term. As we left on Thursday though they were already sectioning off corridors and ripping soft furnishings out of cabins so they are cracking on with it. I thought maybe they were working from top to bottom on the cabins on the refurn but that was not the case. I saw cabins on 7 and 8 which had been 'done' but others which had not. Similiarly we were on deck 1 :eek: and some cabins had been completed and others not. I did have a peek inside the refurbed cabins. New carpets, curtains and bedding are the order of the day but the furniture/wardrobes seemed to be the same (our wardrobes in our cabin - non refurbed - looked in good nick). I would have really liked to have a look at the bathrooms in the platinum cabins but didn't have the nerve to step over the threshold. My husband went up to the sports deck where they are storing ripped out stuff and he said there were a few bathtubs but certainly not the amount of ripped out sanitaryware he would have expected. If anyone has any updates re the refurbed bathrooms that would be great. The gym, spa and kids club all looked the same to me (we used all three).

Please let me know if you have any specific questions about the refit so far and I will try and help.

Rachael :)

Hi Rachael,

glad you had a good time, we have been on Celebration last year

and loved it

re the refurb due to be complete for May, we are going 25th April

so that should be fun if they are still hammering and clanging (just like the engines;)) to finish off the "upgrade" ,will be interesting :cool:

Stevie ;)

Ah yes bless the wobbly old lady. On deck one the vibration was quite noticeable. When the stabilisers kicked in I thought someone was screaming outside our room, but at least it stopped the rolling of the ship ;)