Lady Ann Marquis

Hi Margaret & john, It was lovely meeting the both of you.

We had an uneventful journey home, looked out for you at the airport just in case we overlapped but didn't spot you.

We took off a few minutes early and landed about 15 minutes early which makes a nice change.

Hope you enjoy your cruise in November and many happy returns in advance.

 

Rick & Pauline.

We also had a really good journey from the ship to home; we left the dock at 9am cleared security around 10am so you would already be boarding by the time we got through to the gate.

Our flight also benefited from the tail wind but unfortunately although we arrived 15 mins early the airport didn't have the walkway ready for us so we lost that benefit.

The big bonus was our son was there waiting on us - Craig’s time keeping normally leaves a lot to be desired!!! So we were very happy that he made it on time….

Happy cruising – you can email us at Ladyannmarquis@gmail.com to let us know when you book your next cruise. Who knows we might meet up again, as I have already said to PC we will very likely book another Thomson cruise in the future.

Kindest regards John and Margaret

If you wish I will post a thread on your behalf:D

 

We actually like all the ships probably we liked the old Destiny & Calypso & Emerald, favourite at the moment Dream but have not been on Discovery yet:)

Hi PC That would be great if you don't mind.

We loved the Island Breeze but that was a way way way back.

There is a lot that we liked about Thomson cruising the first thing being the up front price includes tips (even though you still give small thank you tips) I wish all company's would pay the staff a fair wage and charge accordingly...

Loved the tea and coffee on tap all day and the relaxed attitude in allowing you to have a bottle in the cabin for drinks getting ready for dinner and a night cap as you are getting ready for bed. Very civilised, some of the American ships could learn a lesson or two in customer and staff care from Thomson. To be honest we thought the Celebration was maybe a bit on the small side if we were doing longer than a week but the Dream and Discovery both look nice - we will certainly look to book a Thomson cruise again.

Good morning, sorry we have not done any of those PoC as we also have only been to EC, also only ever cruised Thomson. There is a least on poster on here, geomagot, who has a vast experience of the Caribbean and a great memory he was most useful this year when I just wanted to visit beaches I am certain if you put out a request thread you will receive a good response.

Good searching;)

As you may have gathered by the way I contacted you the first time that I have no idea how to put out a request?!?

BTW, what is your favourite Thomson ship?

Never done a TA but have done seven Caribbean btb cruises but the one this year was probably our last getting a bit to far now for Mrs PC, we have booked the Dream in April for our early cruise next year and Discovery for our September break, and for the first time we have booked a JS? mainly with left over's from not going Caribbean. Don't tell anyone but I think we will miss the Caribbean so much it may be on the cards for 2018 on Discovery 2. It is an unbelievable place and I envy you if its your first time.

JS? Ah got it, Junior Suite... Lucky you. You won't want to leave the cabin ;)

We have done 12 ports in the Caribbean but never done western side before - Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatan and Harvest Caye, which is NCLs new private Island stop - it is due to open for business in November and we are due there in November so we shall see! Any pointers on any of these ports?

John fancies South America for 2018 and we have seen a nice 14day cruise on the Emerald Princess plus a 5 day land tour but it has to be Jan - Mar time for that part of the world and as we normally spend several weeks in the Canaries during the winter I am loathe to risk lossing our spot in the apartment we rent so we will have to give it some serious thought....

Anyway its time for my much needed beauty sleep - sweet dreams.

Think I was being optimistic when I said 4 weeks till we go its 5???

Oh dear how on earth will you last a full extra week!?! :eek:

Its 81/2 weeks until our next holiday, which is 10 days in Spain with our two sons. If the weather gets better here before then (hopefully!) then we will head off in the camper up the north of Scotland.

But it is a full 14 weeks until our first 3 week cruise, our first Transatlantic cruise and our first Western Caribbean cruise. Have you done either a TA or WC cruise?

Its a big birthday for me in November hence the cruise and last week was an early anniversary present. That is my excuse and I am sticking with it but honestly when you get to my age who needs more stuff :rolleyes:

Thanks for all that

You are welcome...:)

Hi Lady Ann thank you for your wishes & happy v, I am pleased you had a good time, questions did you have any problems picking up the tickets for the HOHO and the free shuttle bus in Rijeka is that provided by the ship or the port authority.

And did you manage to get into Dubrovnik;)

Well its just four weeks on Thursday for us but we have two weeks:p

Good day - I hope you had a nice birthday and that the head isn't too bad today ;)

We got on the ship around 12 noon after a wee bit of hanging about at the port as lots of flights arrive about the same time and they only let 35 people on the ship at a time so a slow process. We got a bit of lunch and then headed into Dubrovnik on the local bus nae bother.

Had a good walk about the old town and harbour - really lovely. We didn't try walking the walls as it was too hot and as far as we could tell the cable car didn't seem to be working but the view from the bus from the airport could hardly be beaten.

We turned up for the HoHo bus at 2. 30 but not enough people interested so it didn't run. Instead we walked up to the wee Fort and then to the beach before catching the bus back for 5.30 safety drill.

We went out for a walk along to the harbour after the safety drill and got some water and cola from the supermarket, in the port, for the cabin.

Most folk we spoke to who were onboard for 2 weeks didn't bother with Dubrovnik as they were back on the middle Thursday and could go into Dubrovnik in the morning - there were 8 ships in port the day we arrived 3 of them were rather large vessels so you can imagine how busy it was.

We didn't get the drinks package as part of our deal with this cruise - it was offered at £26 per head per day but we decided we wouldn't drink that much on a cruise that you were in ports all but one day. Thus we were very pleasantly surprises when on the Friday the ships duty free had a special offer on 15% off all booze, which you were allowed to take it to your cabin. We got 2 lts of smirnoff and 1lt of ameretto for £25.50 we drank some of this in the cabin and brought the rest home. Note this offer was only on the one day and was much cheaper than the duty free at the airport.

Koper HoHo couldn't be easier you see the desk as soon as you clear port customs just head to the desk tell them your name and pay. R & P and J & me got there 15/20 mins early and we all four got the front seats on the coach. Quite a few people used this HoHo tour. The tour guide will point out the free bus in Piran.

To be honest I don't know regards the shuttle bus in Rijeka only that we left the ship about 9.30 and started to walk into town (its not that far but its not that nice a walk) the bus past us - it stated clearly Free Shuttle Bus for Thomsons cruise passengers but no one seemed to know about it. One also past us when we were walking back into the port so ask at the ships reception.

Have fun.....

Thanks for the report Lady Ann and welcome back, I have few question's when I have had a good read bit busy at the moment, it just happens to by what day which comes round once a year but I will come back tomorrow.

Happy birthday to you Happy birthday dear PC happy birthday to you.... 21 again;)

Probably see you on the bus in Koper if not before.

I'm a short guy with short grey hair and a funny brown hat.

 

Rick.

Hi Rick and Pauline - it was lovely to meet you both. John and I enjoyed the time we spent with you both.

Pauline, I hope you manage to convince Rick into do a family cruise;)

Rick its only money:rolleyes:

Hope we meet again sometime:)

Thank you have a good one😁😁

Hi PC

Well that’s it all over and very nice it was to. As promised here is a wee report on some of the ports of call but before I go any further we agree with you about Korcula it was our favourite as well.

Koper as you already know the town and beach here are both very pleasant - we spent a lovely couple of hours here in the afternoon with Rick and Pauline. The HOHO trip in the morning was really nice and well worth doing, Piran is very pretty they call it little Venice –it’s easy to see why. You get a couple of hours here, which allowed us to walk from the bus stop into town (there is a little free bus into the town if you prefer) it is only a ten minute stroll at most to the town square and the information centre. From the square we went up to the church with the bell tower, it’s a little bit of a climb but nothing too strenuous. We didn’t venture up the bell tower but the view I am sure would be amazing from up there but if you go to the back of the church up the few steps on the right side there is a great view and then come down the left side and you get a look into the church, which is very nice. We then followed the path down from the left side and it took us to the start of the promenade where I dipped my feet in the water. There are lots of little inexpensive bars all along the prom and plenty of ice cream shops as well!!! We walked right along the prom to the beach area near the harbour and had another wee paddle. The beaches as you know aren’t sandy but the water is crystal clear.

Rijeka, it’s a pretty uninspired walk from the port to the town but there was a free shuttle bus running that we didn’t know about until we started walking so ask about that, as it’s not a very nice walk.

We walked into the centre and caught the HOHO bus at the museum near the fruit market at 10am other times up on the board it runs every 2.5hrs.( It only cost 50 kuna so about £6 each and worth doing to see a wee bit of the country side) It took us up the hill to Trsat where there is a nice church and the castle we got off for 20 mins and had a walk about (you can stay off and walk to the castle and catch the next bus).

From there you do a pretty uninspired drive to the Tower shopping centre (again you can get off and catch the next bus back to town)

You then head back to town this time stopping at the main bus stop, which is beside the little craft market, I would suggest catching the bus from here unless you particularly want to see the church, which is a famous pilgrim place of worship. I think the HOHO leaves this point around 11.20am from here you drive along the coast to the nice little seaside holiday resort of Opatija about 30 mins along the coast. The weather wasn’t nice so we stayed on the bus and got back to Rijeka at 12.30pm but on a better day we would have stayed in Opatija until the next HOHO bus.

Rijeka town itself has a very modern pedestrianised shopping centre; there is a nice garden area in front of the museum with seats and the fruit and craft market as previously mentioned it took us about an hour to stroll around these areas.

Durres, so many people didn’t get off the ship here, which we thought was a real shame. Make no mistake it is a working town but there are lots of sculptures dotted around the place, a nice main street area with plenty of shops and café’s. There is a lovely square at the top of the shopping street with fountains. There is also an amphitheatre, which you can walk around if you aren’t good with steps go in on the way down it’s the second left turn after all the stairs at the mosque, which is also an entrance to the amphitheatre. When you come back down instead of heading to the ship turn left, which leads you to a rather nice promenade, which goes for a fair distance. We sat in a lovely wee café here with a nice view

we ordered a pint and a half pint of local beer it came to 400 lek, which should have been 3 euro but the waiter asked for 3.50 euro but for the convenience of not changing money we were more than happy to give him that plus a tip as it was a really nice view. Oh and of course we managed a paddle. We walked right to the end of the prom but if you walk as far as the pier you can see right to the end without walking that far…

Hope some of this info is helpful enjoy….

Don't worry Rick you will easily recognise Lady Ann she will be the one in the Tiara!!!

One up to you PC but I am not sure there is enough room in the case for my Tiara - so may have to make do with my pink hat.

Rick, both John and I are vertically challenged but seem to have no trouble growing outwards unfortunately! :eek: - Your description could be of John except his hat is green I think! :rolleyes:

Maybe we should carry a red rose;)

Yes only 2 more working days to go.

Even if it does brighten up here I know where I'd rather be.

Not started the packing yet, Pauline says she will do it on Wednesday.

She'll probably be pestering me, asking what I want taking, after all these years you'd think he'd learn to mind read wouldn't you?

We are on the early flight from Manchester (5.20) and land at 9.15, so we should have plenty of time for a good look around Dubrovnik and a stroll around the wall.

 

Rick.

We are on the 6am from Glasgow so will be about an hour later than you arriving in Dubrovnik - hopefully we will be able to fit in a fair amount of sight seeing (if we can stay awake that is;)

Such a failing on her part not knowing exactly what you will want and not want with you!!! To be honest I am no better as we have the same problem here - my telepathy skills are crap!

If we don't bump into one another have a great time.:)

All sounds good to me but I will have your feed back on my new ports:rolleyes: difficult to believe early to bed on a cruise:eek:you can rest when you get home. Your hand luggage! if you look in the Thomson brochure A-Z guide page 248 under 'On Thomson Airways' it clearly states 7kg:) just copy it and take along just in case.

Dubrovnik as I said, a long while ago, last time we docked early afternoon on the last day so you would have time then to go in but I would recommend a taxi not bus because of the queues,

9 weeks for us:(

Hi PC and Rick

Are you ready Rick - its nearly time for the off. :) We certainly will not be sad to escape this rain - although the weather looks good by the weekend here - Ah well!!

The cases are nearly all packed and well within weight allowance - we invested in IT cases only 2.5KG makes a big difference.

PC I will get back to you re the new ports when we get home but incase I forget you can email me at Ladyannmarquis@gmail.com to remind me.

Happy cruising :)

Sorry to put a dampener on things but if you haven't paid for extra hold luggage you have 20kg the 23kg limit is for elf & safety😉 it's costs about £20 for 5kg extra which you can share, you do get 23kg if flying premium to Caribbean 😗

Ah, that will learn me to read things correctly... still happy about the extra 2kg

Its actually 2am for you cases, hand luggage can go either way but you do have 7kg, they stopped us once and said we could only take 5kg but the rep sorted it for us, we did have paperwork to prove it. Drink has always been OK to take on, I have in the past asked and it was allowed. You may have to buy it in Dubrovnik as they may not sell it onboard depending on the poc. Shops in the dock area.

Just looked at page 248 and underlined the 7 kg of hand luggage and copied Regards hold luggage it seems to say we can have up 23kg in one piece of hold luggage but no restrictions on how many pieces!?! Not that it matters for a week as with 23kg plus 7kg that's 5kg more than I thought - magic.:):):):) Thank you for that info and advice.

We are due to dock at 5am on the last day but our flights home are at 11.15am so....

Our flight is due into Dubrovnik at 10.15am so I am hoping we should manage to get on board - grab a light lunch and get out by 1.30/2pm. So as you say a taxi is the best option. Even if we have to be back for 6pm we will still have at least 3hrs, which will give us an over view - next time we will make sure Dubrovnik is a port of call not the embarkation port.

Its actually 2am for you cases, hand luggage can go either way but you do have 7kg, they stopped us once and said we could only take 5kg but the rep sorted it for us, we did have paperwork to prove it. Drink has always been OK to take on, I have in the past asked and it was allowed. You may have to buy it in Dubrovnik as they may not sell it onboard depending on the poc. Shops in the dock area.

Will double check our paperwork re hand luggage weight as 7 Kg would be really good.

Ah, the 2am deadline for luggage won't matter too much to us we will hopefully be in dreamland long before then ;)

Good news about being able to take a bottle of wine etc onboard.

Our agent asked TOM what time our safety check would be but the reply was between 6pm and 8pm so it wasn't very enlightening. Will just have to wait and see if its possible to fit in the 2 hour sight seeing bus tour of Dubrovnik or not. If not it will give us something to do next time ;)

Still got to decide what to do in Durres but on first glance its not the most exciting looking port of call (some reviews advise not to bother going ashore but that seem a bit silly to me :rolleyes:) Excursions seem very expensive but as its the last day it might be nice just to chill around the town and port area...

Discover ancient Durres with its modern new resort coastline. Visit the Archaeological Museum on the waterfront for an impressive historical overview. Then explore the remains of the public baths, the aqueduct and the largest Roman amphitheatre in the Balkans dating back to the 7th Century. Ahmet Zogu’s Villa, perched atop the Durres hill, offers splendid views of the Adriatic. Stroll along the waterfront and enjoy a snack of fresh figs and olives, or a coffee at one of the seaside cafés. Browse the palm tree lined shopping district for handcrafted wooden boxes, fanciful woolen socks and the fine local Skenderbeu Brandy in this emerging Albanian port.

Love fresh figs and brandy idea but may give the olives a miss and who doesn't want a pair of fanciful socks - make great Christmas presents :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Happy cruising

Just one thing you have to remember is that on you return:eek:sorry to bring that up, you will not be able to access your luggage once it has gone from your cabin, everything has to go in hand luggage for your return.

We always take a change of clothes in our hand luggage on the way out just in case:rolleyes:

Yuk, trying not to think about that but yes cases outside the cabin by midnight. Are Thomson quite strick with hand luggage weight?

Yep a good plan, we always do the same thankfully, as one year we landed in Singapore but our luggage didn't.:eek:

On a different note do Thomson allow you to buy booze onboard for use in the cabin? We aren't big drinkers so didn't go for the booze package but we do like a wee drink in the cabin pre dinner. :)

Hadn't realised the luggage was bonded, thats great news.

 

Rick.

Isn't it just...:cool: Its getting exciting;):)

Hope it all works out for you please report on your return. Just one other point, which you may already know, your luggage will be bonded at your UK airport and you will not see it again until on board, you don't have to collect it at Dubrovnik, great, same on your return.

Thanks, yep its one of the great joys of booking this type of cruise. Just need to mind essentials in hand luggage. Sun lotion hats etc.

Sorry no we just walked out of the terminal & the water taxis and monorail, people Carrier were about the same distance from what I can recall, for us it was a good 20mins but we are oldie's it did not seem that much further into the Roma square but as I say it was for Mrs PC and it was hot with no shade. Good luck with whatever you decide but don't miss the sail in/out😁

Hi thanks for that if its a 20 min stroll that isn't beyond us but a 20 min fast hike well the be a different matter.

It seems you can get a taxi from the port but not to the people mover - I found this info: Marittima is only a couple of minutes from the Piazzale Roma by taxi. A free shuttle bus normally runs on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays during the cruise season to Piazzale Roma. So a taxi or shuttle then a vape into the city looks like it is the way forward for us.

Just over two weeks to go til the start of our cruise:):):)

Its about a 20min walk from the ship to the water taxis I would say go early because of the queues, or you can walk or catch the monorail into the Piazzale Roma we did last year but Mrs PC said not again its a long way and can be very hot;) we are either doing the easy Venice or Venice on your own with no worries about waiting for transport:)

Hi

I looked at both of those and they do have some appeal but we like the flexibility of a DIY option.

You said its about 20 mins to the Alilaguna Blue public ferry and a longer walk to the monorail - could you get a taxi to the monorail do you know? Sorry rushing as usual, off out.

Kindest regards LAM

PS they on take Kuna in most of the shops.

That's a real handy bit of info.

PS they on take Kuna in most of the shops.

Thank you that sounds just the type of place we like, a seat with a view.

I have just started to look at Venice or more specifically getting from the port into the city. There seems to be several options but it seems to me the simplest and cheapest is to walk to the people mover, which takes you to the vap dock for 1.5 euro and from there you can buy a daily ticket 16 euro and hop and hop off the vap to your hearts content but I need to double check this info as most of the sites I looked at send you to the blue line but then you need a different ticket for the grand canal so more complicated and much more expensive. Then I am sure that Thomson will have their own option to get us into the city. We haven't been to venice since 1990 so very excited to be going back.

Well its bedtime no more research tonight.

Thanks again.

Korcula just happens to be our favourite port and you certainly can walk round in a couple of hours, depending how many bars you visit:p Its shaped a bit like a beetles back protruding into the Adriatic, you have a walkway all the way round with a central spine road going up to St Marks Cathedral the two palaces and Museum this road/path has roads off to the left and right you have a small beach opposite the Governors tower on the way back, no sun beds. If you stay in the town area you are only ever a few mins from the tender drop off point. Have had a look at our phots and yes I have noticed the water taxis.

Thanks for additional info.

Will just need to wait and see what happens re arrival time etc and then decide if we have time to fit in a wee trip on a water taxi.

We canny drink too much when sight seeing otherwise we find ourselves continually looking for loos!!!! So baring in mind our limited capacity, which bar would you recommend. We tend to like bars with views.

Been 4 times never seen a water taxi where does that go too and from? Never to old to learn!!

Never been - just doing some research and came across the following. Thought it might be fun to Jump on a water taxi and get a bus or taxi back. With a shorter time in port than originally expected will need to think about it a bit more.

From what I have read it is possible to stroll around the port and main town of Korcula in a couple of hours. CAN YOU TELL US IF THAT IS REALISTIC OR NOT?

There are public water taxis departing from the water taxi port, which is located alongside the main road between the bus station and the car park/large Konzum supermarket. Depending upon when you come & how many people are wanting to go will affect how often the taxis depart.

To take water taxi you just turn up at taxi boat pick up point at East Port of Korcula (Punta Jurana aka Obala Korculanskih Brodograditelja), situated right next to Konzum supermarket and local bus stop and jump into first boat due to leave to your destination (map of Korcula archipelago)

Taxi Boat Timetable:

The earliest taxi boat from Korcula leaves about 8am depending of season and weather.

Prices:

· Return ticket for taxi boat to Badija, Vrnik or any other islet in the Archipelago cost 55 Kuna.

· Return ticket for taxi boat to Luka Korculanska beach is 35 kuna

· Return ticket to Lumbarda cost 75 Kuna.

Lumbarda is small fishermen’s village of around 1200 inhabitants. It is situated at the eastern part of Island of Korcula, about 5 kilometers from Korcula Old Town.

The village is built around small bay and on the hills behind it, and is surrounded by large sandy vineyards. To reach the village you can drive along a nice asphalt road passing through a picturesque area of pine woods and olive groves along the coast of the island.

· Beaches in Lumbarda : the village is a well known for its beaches, as all sandy beaches on Korcula Island are located right here. The beaches include Beach Vela Przina , Beach Bilin Zal , Beach Tatinja and others – see full list and info about beaches

We ended up on the waterfront, and found a water taxi that would take us to the beach. It's about a 40 minute boat ride, or a 15 minute bus ride. The bus would have been quicker, but the water taxi has the added bonus of getting a tour of the other islands around Korcula.

In the late afternoon we hopped back onto the water taxi and headed back to Korcula Town. We had some great views coming back into the town, and it was once again easy to see why it is called a mini Dubrovnik. They look almost identical from the water.

Average prices for taxi ride in Korcula are:

· Taxi Korcula to Lumbarda = 100 Kuna

KORČULA TO LUMBARDA BUS TIMETABLE

Bus station Korčula and Bus station Lumbarda are connected with daily bus lines all year round.

There is 12 kilometers between Korčula and Lumbarda, and a bus ride takes about 15 minutes. Please consider increased road congestion during the season.

Please see below departures from Korčula to Lumbarda - do not forget to choose the correct date of travel. If you want to know about return journey here are the information about the route Lumbarda - Korčula.

TIMETABLE KORČULA-LUMBARDA

Departure Arrival Info Traveling time Changes Carrier Standard Price Reductions Book

10:00 10:15 00:15 Autotrans d.o.o. 15,00 kn

14:00 14:15 00:15 Autotrans d.o.o. 15,00 kn

17:05 17:20 00:15 Autotrans d.o.o. 15,00 kn

18:45 19:00 00:15 Autotrans d.o.o. 15,00 kn

TIMETABLE LUMBARDA-KORČULA

Departure Arrival Info Traveling time Changes Carrier Standard Price Reductions Book

10:15 10:30 00:15 Autotrans d.o.o. 15,00 kn

14:15 14:30 00:15 Autotrans d.o.o. 15,00 kn

17:20 17:35 00:15 Autotrans d.o.o. 15,00 kn

19:00 19:15 00:15 Autotrans d.o.o. 15,00 kn

Regards Margaret