louthebowler

Another good one is Italy Shore drivers. A group of us(arranged via rollcall) used them for Rome, Florence and Naples. All three tours were very good and all three drivers had great local knowledge. It was good to be in 8-10 seater vans, travelling in comfort and not being herded along with 30-40 people like a lot of tours we saw. I think Florence was a good example as we got in heavy traffic our driver headed down some very narrow roads and managed to miss all the traffic.

Yes, Istanbul was amazing, but will have to go back as the only building we managed to get into was Blue Mosque. 2 days of excessive walking in Venice(thanks to getting continually lost!) had taken their toll on hubbys arthritis, so after 45 mins of queueing for Blue Mosque we realised he couldn't manage the even longer queues for the others on our list. That's the great thing about cruising though, we can go again and again as you cant see everything in just a few hours.

Ha! I said 'simples' but I was concerned when we got off the tram at Eminonu but almost immediately the Kabatas tram pulled in. It's not like a train station, no other platforms so hold tight.

Your DIY info for the trams was perfect. As we queued for a couple of minutes to get our tokens I re-read your info( printed and took with me!) and so it was straight up to machine and had tokens in seconds. Thanks

I was going to order a bottle for my cabin as I did on HAL and P&O both lines charge less than $30. When I saw the price for NCL , changed my mind, then I remembered that it doesn't matter this cruise, previously been in balcony cabins, but this cruise we are inside so wont be quite the same to have a drink without the view!!

Of all the things to worry about anymore.... here is my tidbit:

 

Everyday there is a chance for something bad to happen to any of us. Like other members have mentioned we can die in a car, stray bullet can hit you while your sleeping, catch pneumonia and die from that, ect.

 

I'd love to know where you sleep, if there is a danger of being hit by a stray bullet:eek:

Great review. Going on Spirit in two weeks so this came at a perfect to for us. Thank you so much. Can't wait now!

Thanks for the information. We are going to DIY as everything seems quite close together, although in our case not sure it will be "simples"!!!!

Book whichever you feel comfortable with, but research is the best starting point. looks through the port of call section on CC and also tripadvisor for reviews to see the positives and negatives of any tour.

Just walking off the ship and picking a tour at random may by okay, but you have no knowledge of them so it is a little more risky, personally, I like to have some info about who I'm travelling with!

I was going to suggest checking with people on your roll call, but just looked and its the quietest rollcall ive ever seen so not much hope there for you, so just have to hope you get a response here. sorry couldn't help. enjoy your cruise, we liked the Ventura, those yummy biscuits in the cabin to enjoy with a cuppa, im going to miss that on my upcoming cruise (NCL). we would have been on your cruise but couldn't manage midweek holiday dates. Hopefully someone else will be interested in joining you.

I have also tried to search for photo reviews of Spirit. I only found two. Do you guys happen to have a link where I could found more of those?

I too am going on Spirit for the first time soon and was advised on here about loads of photos by 'computerworks'. take a look, it looks a lovely ship

Our cruise earlier this year was on Holland America, linked with P and O to their owners Carnival. tipping was nearly double the amount paid on P and O, but I go with the flow. That's the tipping amount for that ship so that's what we pay. We always opt for freedom dining (or whatever name its given by that particular cruiseline) so gratuities are paid up front. I know we've paid, the staff know we've paid, but as we eat 80% of our meals in the buffet does that mean cruisers are looking at us thinking we are trying to get out of tipping?

Yes, I would prefer the gratuity to be added to cruisefare.(as long as the staff get it)

We are going on NCL in oct, think gratuity probably dearer on there too and the drinks!!! Now that could get me starting another thread- P and O fly cruises to the med being midweek- no good for us workers, cant afford to take three weeks off work for a two week cruise.:(

Thanks all. I've look at pictures by computerworks. The ship looks lovely and very different.

I've stopped worrying now,it's a cabin on a cruise ship, that'll do for me!!

Now its irks me to say this (i'm a milklady whose livelihood relies on people getting milk delivered!), if your cruise is going to spain , gib, Portugal, fresh milk is easy to get from the supermarkets there.:D fridges in cabin not cold enough to store milk for too many days, at least I wouldn't. much better to get small amount every few days.

All-ready2cruise and Philtiger. Brilliant. Thanks so much.The CC people are amazing.:).

my apologies, realised too late and can't alter the title.

just been allocated cabin 10099 on Spirit. have never been in an inside cabin before and on the deck plan these appear to be lengthways on the ship as opposed to the usual widthways. I convinced myself (and Hubby) that an inside cabin would be fine on a port intensive cruise round the med but am starting to get a little nervous now cabin has been allocated, especially now ive seen the deck plan and cant quite figure how they work.

If anyone has been in one of these cabins on Spirit I would really like your input.

I was really enjoying this review. What happened?

Please bear in mind the major roadworks around the area, as they really slow the traffic up. Check Manchester airport website for guidance. I'd rather be too early than muss my flight!

Also, p and o will let you take soft drinks and spirits on board with you.:)

Ocean villiage is now defunct but was actually P&O ( carnival corp ). Point is that I'm not bothered who pays what. If I was ...., have you looked at the Cruise only prices in the USA compared with Europe ?.In Britain we get ripped of by ALL the cruise lines. Being bitter about it won't make things Cheaper, just gets you angry.

oops. I must be getting old, your post clearly said Ocean Village and I knew that, but my head was thinking Island Escape. Sorry about that.

:mad:

 

Why should they?. If so why can't they have a wives go free, husbands, blonde haired etc. If you want to take kids on a cruise, pay the fare. If not the lost revenue gets added to everone elses bill.

I only wanted the same option as the USA cruisers. We are looking at the same ship, itinery etc. THAT WAS MY POINT. I don't want something that the cruiseline doesn't do just. I CAN and WILL pay for my grandson but my friends across the pond wont have to.

Your favourite cruise is on Ocean Village, so if Thomson said everyone in the North was getting a 25% discount but not the South , you wouldn't be bothered:confused:

Many thanks for the links, I will have a good look and see if any dates available for us. CC people always come up with the answers:D

The consumer protection rights (ABTA) only provide cover if the company goes into Liquidation. If you don't think that NCL will go bust just go to http://www.ncl.com

everytime I try to go to the US site it puts me on the UK site. I even tried your link but still ended up on the UK one

This kids sail free offer always seems to miss out the uk market, and I don't see why. we have kids(grandson in our case) the same as everyone else, so I cant see why NCL cant give us the same offer.

(One big bonus for me would be sailings from Liverpool I would never be at home

Ah yes, 10mins on motorway, a quick hop through the tunnel and there we are- if only.

Sorry- we have made this a (things we would love thread!):D

maybe we should start a new one and get as many people as possible to vote for Liverpool!