13 nights on the Dream,29th Oct

Hi everyone, can anyone tell me if we will have more than one formal night on this cruise? Need to know what to pack, one "posh frock" or two? Also will we get two complimentary breakfasts in cabin or still just one? We have only done seven night cruises with Thomson before. Tickets arrived yesterday, so excited already:).

Hi everyone, can anyone tell me if we will have more than one formal night on this cruise? Need to know what to pack, one "posh frock" or two? Also will we get two complimentary breakfasts in cabin or still just one? We have only done seven night cruises with Thomson before. Tickets arrived yesterday, so excited already:).

Generally 14 nighters have two formal nights and we did the Celebration relocation earlier in the year (12 nights) and we had two formal nights then - so would expect that you would have two. Sorry, don't know about the breakfasts. Isn't it great when the tickets arrive? Enjoy the anticipation! :)

Hi everyone, can anyone tell me if we will have more than one formal night on this cruise? Need to know what to pack, one "posh frock" or two? Also will we get two complimentary breakfasts in cabin or still just one? We have only done seven night cruises with Thomson before. Tickets arrived yesterday, so excited already:).

Good question, 2 posh frocks then.Think I had this answered before. Still think there is only me n hubby and yourselves on this cruise.....bliss ;) . You got your tickets already, wonder if ours are on the way then, hope so. Travel agent maybe calling this week :) . Really looking forward to this holiday but really unsure what the seas will be like, not expecting it to be like a milkpond so will take our ginger capsules and sturegon (not sure on spelling) ! Looks like the manchester flight is full but how many cruise passengers will be on board I don't know. :rolleyes:

This is my first post here. We are also travelling on the Thomson Dream 29th October. Cannot wait. I was looking for a Roll Call but couldn`t find it. Do you have a link please.

We want to do some trips on our own but need advice. Have you travelled to any of the destinations before?

We have been to Tenerife and Lanzarote but not the rest.

We are flying from Exeter.

I dont know if there are Thomson roll calls. We fly from Bournemouth. We have done all the destinations before except Almeria & Cagliari, have to say you must do Rome(the vatican) its awesome! Havent done it on our own but quite a lot of people do. Dont advise Naples on your own, it seems to get worse each time we have been(people have been robbed there,including crewmembers). Not long to go now, cant wait.

thanks Teddy for the advice on Naples. Definately want to do a trip to the Vatican but might go on an organised one for that.

Sometimes it is not worth doing the organised trips when you can do it cheaper yourself but obviously other times it is, so nice to get advice from someone who has been before.

Can`t wait, counting the days.:)

We want to do some trips on our own but need advice. Have you travelled to any of the destinations before?

We have been to Tenerife and Lanzarote but not the rest.

We are flying from Exeter.

I dont know if there are Thomson roll calls. We fly from Bournemouth. We have done all the destinations before except Almeria & Cagliari, have to say you must do Rome(the vatican) its awesome! Havent done it on our own but quite a lot of people do. Dont advise Naples on your own, it seems to get worse each time we have been(people have been robbed there,including crewmembers). Not long to go now, cant wait.

Thought this looked interesting for Cagliari;

http://www.citytourcagliari.com/english/tour.html

If you haven't done the Alhambra Palace that's a good trip from Almeria - we did it from Malaga and really enjoyed it. Not cheap though! Goggling Almeria - it looks as though it may be quite interesting in its own right. May be ok for a DiY wander.

I think some of the ports would be ok to DiY. Monte Carlo or Nice from Villefranche looks easy enough - the station is right in the town near the tender stop. Don't know about the weather or what the gardens may be like but the Villa Ephrussi in Villefranche is a gem:

http://www.villa-ephrussi.com/en/ephrussi/

If you want details of how to get there- I can give you more info (we walked it from Villefranche).

I do take your point about Naples but it is very cheap to get to Pompeii or Herculaneum on the train. But clearly you have to be alert. (But then again we thought we were targeted in Barcelona and Athens so it is prudent to be careful in many cities.)

Casablanca is a bit different - not somewhere I'd be too confident to wander around - we did the ship's Mosque visit - that was extremely interesting and a very impressive building.

A good DiY in Lanzarote is the Manrique Fundacion - it would be a taxi ride but there are a lot of fabulous trips here - Timanfaya (Fire Mountain), the Caves (Jameos del Agua) and the Mirador del Rio - all inspirational designs by Manrique.

Gibraltar is easy to do a trip up the Rock with local taxi firms - they will take you to the Caves, to the Tunnels and to see the apes too. We picked one up with other passengers - about 10/12 of us from near the cable car (we had been intending to up via the cable car but it was explained to us that we'd then have to do a lot of walking from the cable car on top of the Rock to see the other things up there). That was a few years ago - I'd be surprised if the same kind of trip can't be found at the port. It worked out cheaper than Thomson's trip.

Florence and Rome we've done the 'On Your Own' excursions which allows you to go to see whatever you want to see and at your own pace. We've done Rome on the train but ended coming back really early as we were worried about being late. It cost us more for the Thomson transfer but we did get a couple of hours longer in Rome. Entry to the Vatican is free and the coach drops you off right in front of St Peter's (or it did in July when we went). Although there was a queue it moved quickly. You need to wear long trousers and have covered shoulders/knees to get in. Getting into the Sistine Chapel (Vatican Museum) can involve long queues and is payable.

Think that's all I can help with. It's so much fun planning isn't it? Enjoy! :)

thanks very much Kruzseeka,gd info, Cagliari bus tour looks ideal for us. Checked out the gardens from Villefranche but their website says they are open til September 15th, so maybe next time,it looks lovely. Do you or anyone else happen to know if we can do Capri on our own, got tickets with list of available excursions, no mention of Capri? Yes love the planning, makes the cruise seem closer!

thanks very much Kruzseeka,gd info, Cagliari bus tour looks ideal for us. Checked out the gardens from Villefranche but their website says they are open til September 15th, so maybe next time,it looks lovely. Do you or anyone else happen to know if we can do Capri on our own, got tickets with list of available excursions, no mention of Capri? Yes love the planning, makes the cruise seem closer!

I think there is a hydrofoil from the port to Capri - if you check out the 'Forums' on this site - go to Ports of Call and select 'Europe' you can then choose 'Italy' and the threads there have loads of info on Naples/Pompeii/Sorrento/Amalfi and Capri.

We did the Thomson tour to Amalfi and Sorrento last time we were there and enjoyed it very much - but it wasn't cheap. I'd have liked to try Capri (I think Thomson offered a trip there - but it was in the middle of the summer so schedules/trips offered may change a bit later in the year) but hadn't got the confidnece to do it ourselves.

If you do a search on the Forum I mentioned though, you'll be able to ask the specific questions - I think I checked out the hydrofoil timetable before we went but as I said, chose not to go there in the end.

Good luck with the planning. :)

This is my first post here. We are also travelling on the Thomson Dream 29th October. Cannot wait. I was looking for a Roll Call but couldn`t find it. Do you have a link please.

We want to do some trips on our own but need advice. Have you travelled to any of the destinations before?

We have been to Tenerife and Lanzarote but not the rest.

We are flying from Exeter.

Hi

We are so looking forward to this Cruise, we have also been to Tenerife and Lanzarote(hoping to get on the bus to Playa Blanca here). Same as you though and not been to the other ports of call....unsure ourselves on trips etc, hopefully there will be some HOHO buses as we find these really good. My tickets are not here yet though, you got yours?

Sue

Hi

 

We are so looking forward to this Cruise, we have also been to Tenerife and Lanzarote(hoping to get on the bus to Playa Blanca here). Same as you though and not been to the other ports of call....unsure ourselves on trips etc, hopefully there will be some HOHO buses as we find these really good. My tickets are not here yet though, you got yours?

 

Sue

Hi Sue,

Don't know whether you've picked up this site but I've found it very useful for local buses in Lanzarote. If you tick the box for Bus #6 I think that gives you the timetable for the Playa Blanca bus service. Don't know where the buses pick up though - think the port's a little out of Arrecife as I think they offered a payable shuttle.

http://www.lanzarote.com/bus/

Enjoy your cruise. :)

Just booked Dream for 13 nights 29 October. Excited about our first ever cruise and a chance to visit some new places. Villefranche, Naples, Almeria and Gibraltar.

Just a couple of idiot questions, what % of men go for DJs for the Gala nights, need to decide if I need to replace my old DJ or will my wedding and funeral suit do?

Can you switch between the Orion restaurant and the buffet or do you have to commit to one or another?

Just booked Dream for 13 nights 29 October. Excited about our first ever cruise and a chance to visit some new places. Villefranche, Naples, Almeria and Gibraltar.

 

Just a couple of idiot questions, what % of men go for DJs for the Gala nights, need to decide if I need to replace my old DJ or will my wedding and funeral suit do?

 

Can you switch between the Orion restaurant and the buffet or do you have to commit to one or another?

About 80-90% in dinner jackets but it does vary from week to week.

You can dine in either the mdr or the buffet (or both :eek:) and as it is open seating in the mdr you don't have to tell your waiters that you will not be there the following night. If like me you try to get the same waiters each evening it is good to let them know if you intend to have a night off.

Just booked Dream for 13 nights 29 October. Excited about our first ever cruise and a chance to visit some new places. Villefranche, Naples, Almeria and Gibraltar.

 

Just a couple of idiot questions, what % of men go for DJs for the Gala nights, need to decide if I need to replace my old DJ or will my wedding and funeral suit do?

 

Can you switch between the Orion restaurant and the buffet or do you have to commit to one or another?

Welcome to the forum and to your first cruise! :) There are some excellent deals on this trip just now - great to take advantage of a good deal to test the water so to speak! :D I'm sure you will enjoy it - as you've mentioned you get to see lots of places and it's really exciting waking up each morning somewhere new. Add to that superb service, good food, excellent entertainment and it's a fabulous package - well for me it is but then I'm a convert! Chances are you will be too after your first experience.

As Dave has said, you can choose to eat wherever each day - no restrictions at all eat where you want, when you want except on formal night when there are two sittings for the main dining room but even then if you don't want to go you can eat in the Lido restaurant. The formal night is an opportunity to dress up a bit though and most do enter into the spirit. Either your DJ or your suit would be acceptable though.

If you've not seen the threads on here for new cruisers you might find ecko's thread of interest as there are some good tips:

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1171965

Quite a few of these ports lend themselves to independent travel (and the Destinations Team are good to give information and help for DiY-ers) - we usually DiY if it's easy to do so, but sometimes taking an organised excursion seems to be best. If you have any more questions just ask. Someone will have the answer. We've all been first timers so understand what a mystery it all is at the beginning - but it all quickly slots into place. Once you check in at the airport you just follow instructions - it's a well-oiled machine.

Enjoy the planning and anticipation - and most of all have a wonderful trip! ;)

Thanks for the information and the new cruiser's link.

We are planning to do most of the stops under our own steam as our usual holidays are more self organied so we are used to the vagaries of foreign trains and busses.

Booked yesterday on the spur of the moment for this 13 night cruise. We did our first cruise (Med. medley) on the Dream 2nd July this year..... which we loved. We are off again on the Destiny on 2nd Dec this year. I think we most definitely have the cruise bug. Happy cruising everybody x

Booked yesterday on the spur of the moment for this 13 night cruise. We did our first cruise (Med. medley) on the Dream 2nd July this year..... which we loved. We are off again on the Destiny on 2nd Dec this year. I think we most definitely have the cruise bug. Happy cruising everybody x

Good for you! :D You were on the Dream the same time as us in July - we had a great time too. This trip is such a bargain at the moment i can see why you would be tempted! Enjoy! ;)

We had so much sadness & bad luck last year & as a result didn't take a holiday at all. I now feel that there is so much to do & so little time to do it, that I just want to make the most of life while I can. Very much looking forward to our (short notice & totally unplanned) cruise on the 29th Oct. Thank-you for your kind wishes.

Just joined. I was also wondering how many formal nights so thanks for asking the question.

I'm also wondering what clothes to take for the Med in November - does anybody know if it will still be warm in the day? Or do we need jeans and jumpers?

So looking foward to it, can't wait. Been reading all the useful stuff people have put on - and had a good laugh. Hope the people on board are as friendly as they appear to be on here :)

 

So looking foward to it' date=' can't wait. Been reading all the useful stuff people have put on - and had a good laugh. Hope the people on board are as friendly as they appear to be on here :)[/quote']

 

They are! ;) Enjoy!

 

P.S. No idea about the weather though - perhaps best to go for a mix - some of each; crops n tops and jeans and jumpers!

Hi

Glad to see there are some more people joining us :) Anyone else getting excited :eek: cases are out and starting to think about what to pack :confused: jumpers, coats, jeans.....unsure what the weather will be like. Will certainly be taking my ginger capsules and sturegeon as I expect we will not be sailing on a lake :( .

Sue

Haven`t been on the forum for a while but getting excited now and have made my list of what to take. As there are no roll calls for our cruise can we perhaps all meet up somehow? any suggestions as to where and when?

Our friends are on this trip and have just had a letter informing them of a change of itinerary from Casablanca to Funchal, Madeira due to a religious holiday in Casablanca.

Our friends are on this trip and have just had a letter informing them of a change of itinerary from Casablanca to Funchal, Madeira due to a religious holiday in Casablanca.

Hi Kruzseeka

That sounds good to me as I don't think there was much at Casablanca, so Madeira.......nice cake :) thanks for the info

Sue

Hi Kruzseeka

 

That sounds good to me as I don't think there was much at Casablanca, so Madeira.......nice cake :) thanks for the info

 

Sue

Yes, Madeira is beautiful and Funchal easy to walk off the ship and adopt a DiY approach. Morocco is culturally very different and interesting but perhaps not so easy to go independently so on the whole Madeira may well be a change for the better!