A Few Questions about Spirit...help please

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Cruisin Linda.

 

As you can guess from my user name, I'm married to an Arsenal fan. (He set my name up right at the beginning of all sorts) I am a bit brainwashed, but not as mad as he is!

 

Sue

 

Hi Sue,

 

Yes I guessed the Gooner might refer to Arsenal. I actually prefer Tottenham:eek::eek: Thank goodness for Arsenal or the papers would have been full of how dreadful Tottenham were! But my real team is Oxford United. Seen better days, but hopefully on the way up now!

 

You are not from Scotland then?

[CRUISIN LINDA]

We take a 1 litre Stanley flask (expensive but good - have tried others and this is the best). Fill it with hot water from deck urn before retiring and it is still hot for cuppa in the morning. Often refill at breakfast and have a cuppa in the afternoon in cabin. Also use thermal mugs on deck.

:)

 

That sounds good! Is the water hot enough to make tea then, or better for coffee? Roughly how much are they and where would I buy one?

[goonersue]

Linda

 

No, We moved to Scotland in 1993, my OH was relocated in his job. I was born in Middlesex, and my OH too, but not exactly the same place. He has always followed Arsenal since his Dad took him to see them when he was a small boy. I am just brainwashed as I said. I'm not as bothered about them as he is of course, but we occasionally go to see them (Not just now of course, or for a while if they carry on like they have)

 

Sue

[skioncruises]

Hi Linda

 

I bought ours on line but most hardware shops should have them. Approx £20. I did some research and they are indestructable and apparently used by the army. The 1 litre one gave 3 insulated mugs or 4 ships mugs. DH is the teapot so he usually had two to my one. I actually did a trial of temperature at home and it kept almost the same temperature from 10pm til 10am next day. Put top back on and left til 10pm and it was still drinkable.

 

Seems expensive but not breakable. Compared to years ago when we trailed kettle, plus tea, coffee, sugar and dried milk the weight is less because we get the ingredients on board plus mugs. However, we took insulated mugs earlier this year and it was great because DH would make my cuppa in the morning while I was in the shower, put the lid on and it was great to drink when I was ready. We also used to take the mugs up on deck if we were going to be any distance from the Lido. Often sat on promenade deck reading and again they kept hot. I have to leave mine for ages before drinking.

 

I'm rambling. Seems to have been one of those days. I usually just lurk and throw my tuppence worth in every couple of weeks.:cool:

 

Jan:)

[CRUISIN LINDA]

 

I'm rambling. Seems to have been one of those days. I usually just lurk and throw my tuppence worth in every couple of weeks.:cool:

 

Jan:)

 

Hi Jan (how many Jans on here??)

 

Lurk away:) That sounds good. Do they have the sachets of coffee on Thomson, I can't remember. Recent cruises and hotel holidays seem to have stopped them, just doing jugs of coffee at mealtimes. Also do they do milk jiggers (is that the word?)

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Linda

 

No, We moved to Scotland in 1993, my OH was relocated in his job. I was born in Middlesex, and my OH too, but not exactly the same place. He has always followed Arsenal since his Dad took him to see them when he was a small boy. I am just brainwashed as I said. I'm not as bothered about them as he is of course, but we occasionally go to see them (Not just now of course, or for a while if they carry on like they have)

 

Sue

 

Hi Sue,

 

My OH was born in London and lived in Gillespie Road, right near Highbury until he was two. His Dad was a great fan. My late Mother in law used to say she could hear the cups rattle on the dresser when Arsenal scored :) Not rattling much at the moment though;);)

[skioncruises]

Hi Jan (how many Jans on here??)

 

Lurk away:) That sounds good. Do they have the sachets of coffee on Thomson, I can't remember. Recent cruises and hotel holidays seem to have stopped them, just doing jugs of coffee at mealtimes. Also do they do milk jiggers (is that the word?)

 

Hi Linda

 

The other Jan is ekco but I think she is taking time out at the moment.:confused:

 

I took my own sachets of coffee (which I take black) on Destiny in April. Some ships have individual milk thingies and others have jugs of whole or semi skimmed. Coffee in urns and hot water for tea. I liked the Celebration because there was a fair range of herbal teas.

 

Jan:)

[solostar]

Hi Goonersue , where is the review you promised??? :rolleyes:

[Big Chik]

:)

My point was "How are multi socket leads safer than kettles?"

 

Its not the number of sockets that's the problem but how much power you are pulling from the supply. A single kettle or iron takes about 10-20 times as much as a battery charger so you can have 4 battery chargers plugged in and the supply will barely notice it, but add just one kettle and the wires start to get hot...

 

Modern ships have more powerful onboard generators and so can handle the strain(within limits) but older ships as used by Thomson are simply not geared up for heavy duty loads.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Hi Linda

 

The other Jan is ekco but I think she is taking time out at the moment.:confused:

 

Jan:)

 

Jan (ekco) is fine. We have got quite friendly and email each other. She did post on IE explaining that the mods had taken off some of her stuff, so she is taking a bit of a break. But where is Berwyn again??

[skioncruises]

Jan (ekco) is fine. We have got quite friendly and email each other. She did post on IE explaining that the mods had taken off some of her stuff, so she is taking a bit of a break. But where is Berwyn again??

 

Hi Linda

 

This is the last rambling for today - off out shortly.

 

I thought it was you who had struck up a friendship with Jan some time ago. Glad to hear she is ok. I did see she popped up earlier on today. I kind of read between the lines and gathered there had been a problem. Look forward to having her back once the dust has settled.:)

 

I have just been looking on ebay (that's where I got our Aladdin/Stanley 1 litre flask - it was a hardware shop) and notice that the going rate for one is approx. £23.00.

 

Berwyn has been conspicuous by his absence for a few weeks now. Mind you, knowing the shift pattern of the NHS, or lack of it as the case may be, he's probably doing every shift they can squeeze out of him. They still have not got the message that Florence Nightingale is dead and that other organisations can run a shift system and know what they are doing this time next year. Nurses have to phone up when they are on holiday to find out when they are next on duty.:eek:

 

Rambling done.

 

Jan:)

[leedslad]

Right OK

Thermal mugs got...only want them for a coffee at night rather than spilling one all the way home:D

No kettle...not allowed!!

No iron...not a problem as we are not bringing with us the lady that irons:)

Check when we get on board if there are de caff sachets and if not buy a jar of coffee in Corfu

4 way adaptor got...its only for batteries so wont blow the ship up

 

Next question

Just how bad is the draught beer??

If its not good I will have to drink bottles Sol etc...

What the record bar tab picked up by someone on all inclusive;)

[Rebel Rouser]

Leedslad

 

Beers on board..Boddingtons good old manc beer :D plus stella, last Holiday on the Island Escape we also had San Migual.

 

 

Can't remember beer tab ..sorry OH looks after that side :p

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Leedslad

 

Beers on board..Boddingtons good old manc beer :D plus stella, last Holiday on the Island Escape we also had San Migual.

 

 

Can't remember beer tab ..sorry OH looks after that side :p

 

SAN MIGUEL!!

 

Is Boddingtons dark like Guinness or is it a bitter. OH likes Fosters - ugh - cheap stuff! :eek: I prefer Stella or Becks. :D

[bds1958]

Just back from the Spirit last week and regarding draught lager/beer I don't know what lager it is but it definately isn't Stella. Probably the local brew of each port when they resupply the ship. (It isn't badged as Stella on the taps)

 

Also having drunk Boddingtons here it doesn't taste like it either on board.

 

To be perfectly honest it didn't bother me. Both liquids tasted ok and had the desired effect eventually.

 

Enjoy.............

[bds1958]

 

Now can someone tell me if there is a fridge in the basic cabins on the Spirit or not? If not, not worth having a kettle anyway:)

 

Also can you get tea and coffee via room service and is it free?

 

How much is the safety deposit box? It was free on the Dream:cool:

 

No fridge.

 

Can get tea/coffee on Room Service but you're charged. The Lido on Deck 5 isn't far away wherever you are on the ship. Take a thermal mug and fill it there if you're that desperate for a cuppa.

 

Safety deposit boxes are now £15.

[leedslad]

No fridge is a bit of a let down but Im sure we will cope

 

Like the point about the beer having the desired effect "Eventually"

 

Sounds like good old fashioned "holiday beer" to me ...more likely to drown in it than anything else

 

Cant stand Boddys...proper headache beer...its a bit like Stones. Never drink bitter when in a hot climate..just doesnt seem right. If the draught lager is crap it will have to be £1.05p each extra charge for a bottle (or thirteen). Still better than paying £3.50 a go full price. I will make every endeavour to get my monies worth:)

[goonersue]

Sorry solostar, having trouble with our internet.

 

These may not be comprehensive reviews of places on the cruise, because in quite a few places we spent it onboard in the lovely shade with a cold drink, because the weather was so hot. (For us anyway, considering where we live!)

 

Here goes anyway -

 

We landed at Corfu airport, and followed the sign to Thomson cruises. We were greeted by a rep, who found our paperwork, putting a sticker of our cabin number on our cases. We were then directed to the coach that would take us to the port. There we saw another Thomson rep who checked our paperwork and took details of our credit card. When we arrived at the Thomson Spirit, we were taken to our cabin by one of the staff, leaving our cases on the quayside to be delivered to us. (We only had our hand luggage)

Whilst our cases were delivered to us, we went to the Lido restaurant to have some lunch.

Afterwards we went into Corfu to buy some large bottles of water. If you buy them locally they are cheaper than onboard. We had smaller bottles that we had brought with us, so we just filled them up and put them in the 'fridge' in our cabin. Wedidn't stay in Corfu long, as it was hot and we didn't have the appropriate clothes on.

 

KOTER NEXT- The next day we docked at Koter via the fjords, which is amazing scenery, and not something to be missed. We went on the walking tour just to see what the place was like, but a lot of the history went over my head. I'm not a very history minded person. I'd sooner see a place in the flesh! Then it was very interesting.

 

On the Sunday we had a day at sea. In the morning we had the safety drill with the lifeboats, and in the evening it was the Captains 'party'. As this wan't our first cruise we had been to several Captains nights, but decided to go to this one as we thought it might be different, as we hadn't been on the Spirit before. Not really the case. Don't get me wrong, there isn't anything wrong with them, but when you have been to one...

 

KOTER- This was a very sleepy place with a few shops and residential properties. It had a very nice marina and a sort of Lido with a beach.

 

VENICE- This was a place I was interested in. The ship docked away from the main 'highway', so we had a motor launch provided for all the people who were going on the tour to ride in a Gondola and see St. Marks Square. I was amazed at the traffic! Of course it is all water, so there were many launches and boats around. The launch took us to the Gondola station, and after our ride, which I'm glad I went on, we had the rest of the day free. St. Marks Square was very busy, so we ventured into the many small streets there were. They were a mixture of shops and residential. Careful though, they are like a maze. We got lost, and had to ask our way. Luckily, we had a copy of a map of Venice that we got at Destination services, so had an idea where we wanted to go. The same goes for every place we stopped at. They are very handy, especially if you want to go it alone! Also, be careful of the prices of drinks etc. at restaurants. Some restaurants have menus outside, but some don't. These are usually the expensive ones, and they are expensive!

 

SPLIT-Sorry, didn't venture here.

 

DUBROVNIK- We didn't go on an organised tour. Somebody on here had mentioned the cable cars, and after seeing the website, decided to go. We got a taxi from the port side up to the cable car station itself. It cost us 15 euros, but as we weren't sure were we going it was worth it to us. The view from the cable cars, and the station at the top was breathtaking. I really recommend going on one. WARNING: They only take the local currency of Kunas on there. Afterwards, we realised that the old town was within walking distance, and so walked back, and went round the shops. Then we went to the square to get a taxi back. From there it was 10euros. Sometimes you can share a taxi with people who are waiting.We did, so it only cost us 5 euros! There are buses, but they didn't seem very frequent.

 

CORFU-This was the start of our 2nd week, and as we didnm't see much of it on our first day, we decided to go on the half day tour into there, but it was cancelled because of the Greek taxi drivers strike. They were blocking coaches doing tours in, so we didn't see much of Corfu, as it was affecting a lot of things to do with the tourists.

 

The next day was our day at sea. Again there was the lifeboat safety drill, but if it was your second week and you'd already done it once you were exempt. Yet again, that evening was the Captains night as well.

 

AGHIOS NIKOLAOS-Again this was shops, shops and more shops! Thats all I can say about it.

 

KUSADASI-This was a maze of shops too, but be very careful not to show too much interest if any at them, unless you really want something from there. They have assistants outside the shop who never leave you alone, so just ignore them! Also, remember this is the FAKE place. Virtually everythingthat is a brand name (Or so you think) isn't. Its alright if you realise this. My OH bought some 'Lacoste t.shirts. They look the same, but when we got them home and washed them you could tell they weren't. They were really thin. OK, but thin.

 

MYKONOS- This was a tender port. The boats used are really nice, so there is no worry there. Mykonos is a very small place. Or so it seemed. Expensive too. We bought a small shoulderbag from Aghios Nikolaos for 6 euros. Here it was 18 euros! We didn't stay there long. Just long enough for an iced coffee - not too expensive, then we went back on the tender.

 

PIRAEUS-My OH wanted to go to see the Acropolis, so I reluctantly agreed to go on the Athens and The Acropolis tour. It said on the tour details that there were loads of steps up to the Acropolis, so I said that I would stay at the bottom whilst he went up. As it turned out the steps weren't too bad, and quite wide, so I didn't realise that I had walked up the steps to the top. There was quite a bit of restoration work going on up there, but it was still breath taking views. I was glad that I had ventured up there. WARNING: Some of the stones underfoot are marbley and so are slippy. Be careful where you tread.

 

KATAKOLON- We didn't venture here as we had been here on a previous cruise.

 

Then we were back to Corfu, and our flight home. Even though our cases went in the early hours of the morning, we didn't have to disembark until much later in the morning. When we did, it was as smooth a departure as arrival. The only problem we had was that the aircraft developed a fault, and what was supposed to 20 minutes wait turned into 2 hours.

 

This review was not really too informative about the places we stopped at, but maybe it will be interesting reading to some of you that are going on this cruise.

 

The website for the Dubrovnik cable cars is www.dubrovnikcablecar.com.

It is very informative, and it also shows you what else is up at the station.

[welsh-girl]

Thanks goonersue

Great review.

 

We were thinking of giving the Captains "party" a miss and think you've helped us decide. DH will be pleased not to have to take his tux,

 

Now for the really important question............

Is there Marmite available or do I have to bring our own ?

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who can tell me

[goonersue]

Not terribly sure about Marmite. Don't think they have. It would have been with the jam portions, and I would have had that if I'd seen it.

 

The Captains night is nothing special. We loved it the first time, but its all photo taking (getting you to buy), and you have your photo taken with the Captain. If you just want this, you can 'queue jump' I suppose. Then you have a drink of 'bubbly' in the Show lounge, get introduced to the crew, then go for your nosh in the restaurant as usual.

 

Sue

[solostar]

Thanks Goonersue, sounds lovely, can,t wait to see it all for myself :D

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Is it this Friday you are going Leedslad?

 

If so, have a great time:):)

[leedslad]

Yeah Im off to bed now and up again in about 4 and a half hours

 

Its been mad at work this summer so ready for a good chilling break

 

I am really positive before I set off and hope although its a bit of an old steam tub the craic with fellow guests etc etc will make up for its shortcomings

 

Looks like the UK is in for an indian summers so hope you all enjoy:)

[mtt]

Sorry solostar, having trouble with our internet.

 

These may not be comprehensive reviews of places on the cruise, because in quite a few places we spent it onboard in the lovely shade with a cold drink, because the weather was so hot. (For us anyway, considering where we live!)

 

Here goes anyway -

 

We landed at Corfu airport, and followed the sign to Thomson cruises. We were greeted by a rep, who found our paperwork, putting a sticker of our cabin number on our cases. We were then directed to the coach that would take us to the port. There we saw another Thomson rep who checked our paperwork and took details of our credit card. When we arrived at the Thomson Spirit, we were taken to our cabin by one of the staff, leaving our cases on the quayside to be delivered to us. (We only had our hand luggage)

Whilst our cases were delivered to us, we went to the Lido restaurant to have some lunch.

Afterwards we went into Corfu to buy some large bottles of water. If you buy them locally they are cheaper than onboard. We had smaller bottles that we had brought with us, so we just filled them up and put them in the 'fridge' in our cabin. Wedidn't stay in Corfu long, as it was hot and we didn't have the appropriate clothes on.

 

KOTER NEXT- The next day we docked at Koter via the fjords, which is amazing scenery, and not something to be missed. We went on the walking tour just to see what the place was like, but a lot of the history went over my head. I'm not a very history minded person. I'd sooner see a place in the flesh! Then it was very interesting.

 

On the Sunday we had a day at sea. In the morning we had the safety drill with the lifeboats, and in the evening it was the Captains 'party'. As this wan't our first cruise we had been to several Captains nights, but decided to go to this one as we thought it might be different, as we hadn't been on the Spirit before. Not really the case. Don't get me wrong, there isn't anything wrong with them, but when you have been to one...

 

KOTER- This was a very sleepy place with a few shops and residential properties. It had a very nice marina and a sort of Lido with a beach.

 

VENICE- This was a place I was interested in. The ship docked away from the main 'highway', so we had a motor launch provided for all the people who were going on the tour to ride in a Gondola and see St. Marks Square. I was amazed at the traffic! Of course it is all water, so there were many launches and boats around. The launch took us to the Gondola station, and after our ride, which I'm glad I went on, we had the rest of the day free. St. Marks Square was very busy, so we ventured into the many small streets there were. They were a mixture of shops and residential. Careful though, they are like a maze. We got lost, and had to ask our way. Luckily, we had a copy of a map of Venice that we got at Destination services, so had an idea where we wanted to go. The same goes for every place we stopped at. They are very handy, especially if you want to go it alone! Also, be careful of the prices of drinks etc. at restaurants. Some restaurants have menus outside, but some don't. These are usually the expensive ones, and they are expensive!

 

SPLIT-Sorry, didn't venture here.

 

DUBROVNIK- We didn't go on an organised tour. Somebody on here had mentioned the cable cars, and after seeing the website, decided to go. We got a taxi from the port side up to the cable car station itself. It cost us 15 euros, but as we weren't sure were we going it was worth it to us. The view from the cable cars, and the station at the top was breathtaking. I really recommend going on one. WARNING: They only take the local currency of Kunas on there. Afterwards, we realised that the old town was within walking distance, and so walked back, and went round the shops. Then we went to the square to get a taxi back. From there it was 10euros. Sometimes you can share a taxi with people who are waiting.We did, so it only cost us 5 euros! There are buses, but they didn't seem very frequent.

 

CORFU-This was the start of our 2nd week, and as we didnm't see much of it on our first day, we decided to go on the half day tour into there, but it was cancelled because of the Greek taxi drivers strike. They were blocking coaches doing tours in, so we didn't see much of Corfu, as it was affecting a lot of things to do with the tourists.

 

The next day was our day at sea. Again there was the lifeboat safety drill, but if it was your second week and you'd already done it once you were exempt. Yet again, that evening was the Captains night as well.

 

AGHIOS NIKOLAOS-Again this was shops, shops and more shops! Thats all I can say about it.

 

KUSADASI-This was a maze of shops too, but be very careful not to show too much interest if any at them, unless you really want something from there. They have assistants outside the shop who never leave you alone, so just ignore them! Also, remember this is the FAKE place. Virtually everythingthat is a brand name (Or so you think) isn't. Its alright if you realise this. My OH bought some 'Lacoste t.shirts. They look the same, but when we got them home and washed them you could tell they weren't. They were really thin. OK, but thin.

 

MYKONOS- This was a tender port. The boats used are really nice, so there is no worry there. Mykonos is a very small place. Or so it seemed. Expensive too. We bought a small shoulderbag from Aghios Nikolaos for 6 euros. Here it was 18 euros! We didn't stay there long. Just long enough for an iced coffee - not too expensive, then we went back on the tender.

 

PIRAEUS-My OH wanted to go to see the Acropolis, so I reluctantly agreed to go on the Athens and The Acropolis tour. It said on the tour details that there were loads of steps up to the Acropolis, so I said that I would stay at the bottom whilst he went up. As it turned out the steps weren't too bad, and quite wide, so I didn't realise that I had walked up the steps to the top. There was quite a bit of restoration work going on up there, but it was still breath taking views. I was glad that I had ventured up there. WARNING: Some of the stones underfoot are marbley and so are slippy. Be careful where you tread.

 

KATAKOLON- We didn't venture here as we had been here on a previous cruise.

 

Then we were back to Corfu, and our flight home. Even though our cases went in the early hours of the morning, we didn't have to disembark until much later in the morning. When we did, it was as smooth a departure as arrival. The only problem we had was that the aircraft developed a fault, and what was supposed to 20 minutes wait turned into 2 hours.

 

This review was not really too informative about the places we stopped at, but maybe it will be interesting reading to some of you that are going on this cruise.

 

The website for the Dubrovnik cable cars is www.dubrovnikcablecar.com.

It is very informative, and it also shows you what else is up at the station.

 

 

The safety drill is on sunday would have thought it was the saturday, doesn't have to be done within 24hrs

[goonersue]

Its usually done on Thomsons on the first day at sea. Usually the same day as the Captains Night.