Colourful Coasts ...

[lorelei0922]

Thomson's offers two 7 day trips to the Canary Islands in January... Both similar itineraries... not much in the price difference.

 

We've never sailed with Thomsons and were looking for some comparison to other cruiselines. We've only sailed Caribbean cruises with Carnival so far so dont have much frame of reference..

 

This cruise would be mid January with a girl friend.. so just us girls kinda cruise.

 

What can you tell me about the overall experience and what is there for 2 ladies in their early 40's ish to get up to ?

 

I MAY drink enough to make it worth the cost but she almost certainly wouldn't... would we be better off just PAYG ?

 

What other things are "extra" that we might not think of?

 

Has anyone does these Canary Island cruises ? What did you think?

 

I'd love to be sitting on a beach and snorkelling in warm sea this time but I just don't see getting to the Caribbean in our budget.

[geomagot]

compared to caribbean its not that warm in canaries at that time of year? weather can be v unpredictable (its in the atlantic) its usually pleasant about 20 degrees & sunny but can be quite rainy/stormy & sea temperature isnt great for swimming, it can depend which part of the islands the ship docks at, its warmer in the south of tenerife & gnd canaria unfortunately the ship docks in the north (big storm in tenerife last christmas too.... hopefully that was a one off?)

 

on the ai? imo you have to sink quite a few each day to make a dent in the ai at full price and many drinks carry a further supplement we usually do payg (unless they offer us a deal) then we can drink the brands that we like (rather than the house wine & cruise spirits) and our bar bill is never anywhere near what they want for ai.... they have 2 for 1 cocktails and happy hour offers each day and payg bar prices are pretty reasonable

 

hope this helps

[lorelei0922]

compared to caribbean its not that warm in canaries at that time of year? weather can be v unpredictable (its in the atlantic) its usually pleasant about 20 degrees & sunny but can be quite rainy/stormy & sea temperature isnt great for swimming, it can depend which part of the islands the ship docks at, its warmer in the south of tenerife & gnd canaria unfortunately the ship docks in the north (big storm in tenerife last christmas too.... hopefully that was a one off?)

 

on the ai? imo you have to sink quite a few each day to make a dent in the ai at full price and many drinks carry a further supplement we usually do payg (unless they offer us a deal) then we can drink the brands that we like (rather than the house wine & cruise spirits) and our bar bill is never anywhere near what they want for ai.... they have 2 for 1 cocktails and happy hour offers each day and payg bar prices are pretty reasonable

 

hope this helps

 

Thanks for that... my girlfriend and I are meeting today for lunch to do some planning and i'll bring up this stuff..

 

Actually no.. its not nearly as warm and pleasant as the Caribbean. Most of the storms are past in the Caribbean by January and temps hover low to mid 80's with the waters matching... still LOVELY weather.

 

Still... the Canaries are likely a better sunshine opportunity than the med in January lol

 

I'll talk to her about the AI... she routinely drinks black tea or water.. ONLY... though she may think of pushing out the boat for a few drinks on the cruise... HOWEVER... she's particular about the brands so yeah... that might not work for her... perhaps we'll just do the PAYG...less bother in getting what you actually want like you said.

 

How's the food? plenty of choice? good quality?

[merciaman]

Bear in mind that both of you will have to buy the AI so you may have to drink your friends share aswell to get your moneys worth.:)

[geomagot]

How's the food? plenty of choice? good quality?

 

i'm guessing it will be majesty in canaries this winter??

 

cant really comment on quality of majesty food have only been on maj once and that was ages ago (others will know) but id do know that there will be plenty of choice... you have to be an incredibly fussy eater to not find something you like on the menu each day and even if you still cant? the waiters will try and find something for you

 

wine packages are good value imo 5 bottles for about £70 (includes prosecco/zinfandel/pinot grigio etc)

Edited October 21, 2015 by geomagot

[c*r*u*I*s*e]

Hi Lorelei

As others have said the temps should be about 19 to 23'c and usually stay around there in the winter mths.

The island's are Imo fab to explore!! (we went to Tenerife,lanzarote,gran caneria and la Palma as well as Madeira(which was the pick) last October.....the weather was fantastic,after the bay of Biscay........the cruise and experience,worth every penny, so much so that we are going again from 31st October.......

Maybe to you The Canaries could seem a poor second to the Caribbean (can understand that) but it may be that a change is as good as a rest, and you're surprised by how you do enjoy it!!

 

Steve

[lorelei0922]

Thanks for that Steve!

 

I do think we'll have a great time! We've decided to do the Colourful Coasts trip i think as that suits the dates best.

 

Its nothing to do with being a poor second.. at all! I love to explore new places and this will tick those boxes really well. I have recently fallen in love with snorkelling and wanted the warmer weather and water to enjoy that ;)

 

But I'm certain we will have a great time! We've decided to go for the inside room as we are quite happy with cheap and cheerful and dont intend to spend any time in our room beyond sleep anyways and we can use the extra on excursions...

 

Any great ones NOT to miss?

 

It stops at...

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

Santa Cruz, Tenerife

Santa Cruz De La Palma, La Palma

Funchal,Madeira

Agadir,Morocco

Arrecife, Lanzarote

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

 

We actually found the flight cost went down if we fly out of Bristol... go figure... much closer to use down here in Devon and cheaper...

 

Any idea how long the flights to Gran Canaria are?

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Flight to Gran Canaria about 4 hours.

 

Just a warning - the crossing to Agadir can be quite rough, so Canarian flavours may be a better option.

 

We have been on Majesty 3 times, it is a lovely ship, not as swish as Carnival, but lovely staff, good food and brilliant entertainment.

 

Jackie, on here, has been on with friends and loved it (she is away at the moment on Celebration, but I'm sure she will give you some advice when she gets back)

 

As others have said the weather is less predictable than Caribbean, but should be warmer than staying in England;)

 

I'm sure you will have a great time. We love the Canaries and are off there with P&O next month.

[geomagot]

 

Any great ones NOT to miss?

 

 

caldera de taburiente national park la palma.... really beautiful... clear air... stunning scenery and ..... the silence takes your breath away:cool:

 

easy to get a taxi from dockside

[lorelei0922]

Is there a place on the Thomson site to find the excursions that are from them?

 

I found a list of all the excursions for each place but it lists pick up points from hotels etc not the ship or port... and many of them are not applicable to our visit.. ie... evening events etc...

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Thomson just updated their website, but I think this is how you do it!

 

Click on this

 

http://www.thomson.co.uk/cruise/itineraries/Colourful-Coasts-055044

 

then choose a port of call, click on it and then on the tab marked Shore excursions :)

[geomagot]

you can browse/book shorex here (logon with your booking reference)

 

http://cruiseexcursions.thomson.co.uk/BrowseByCruiseArea.aspx?cruiseAreaId=135

 

...... the booking process appears to still on the old part of the website?