The 'extra holiday' bonus of cruising.....

[sunnyfreckles]

Hi chemmo,

Trying to work out which New Forest inn you are going to? Spent many years living in Southampton and now live out New Forest way - it is a lovely place!

 

 

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[chemmo]

Hi chemmo,

Trying to work out which New Forest inn you are going to? Spent many years living in Southampton and now live out New Forest way - it is a lovely place!

 

 

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A little Inn called The Red Lion in Boldre....It has an apartment for hire above.

 

We prefer to stay in apartments or cottages or villas for the flexibility of accommodation they offer. When only booking for a few days, however, we cannot always do it. The pub has a great looking menu!

 

We are hoping to visit the motor museum one of the days and just enjoy the countryside the rest of the time. We have booked into the port parking so on the Sunday morning it will just be a 15ish mile drive to the port...

[Cotswold Eagle]

Totally agree! As I said in my initial post we have been looking at the New Forest area of the UK. Sorry to those of you from Hampshire but it is an area we have never considered visiting in its own right. However, after a little research we now can't wait! These pre/post cruise breaks are amazing in their own right!

 

 

A quick plug for the Britain Ports of Call board, more so for our overseas friends. We have some regulars who know Hampshire like the back of their hand and help folk out with pre- and post-cruise planning. Always more interesting to help people plan a stay, than answer queries about getting off the ship and to Heathrow!

 

Of course, I suggest they come to the Cotswolds instead ;)

 

 

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[chemmo]

A quick plug for the Britain Ports of Call board, more so for our overseas friends. We have some regulars who know Hampshire like the back of their hand and help folk out with pre- and post-cruise planning. Always more interesting to help people plan a stay, than answer queries about getting off the ship and to Heathrow!

 

Of course, I suggest they come to the Cotswolds instead ;)

 

 

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There are so many 'winding roads' you can take to return to Heathrow....I must agree the Cotswolds really are a beautiful part of England.....

 

When we looked at possible pre cruise routes and stays we were amazed at the choices we had. We wanted to stay in the same place for 2/3 nights with a relatively short drive to the port on the cruise morning. Portsmouth, Salisbury, Winchester....We finally decided on the New Forest area this time as it is totally new to us...I haven't stated the obvious either, that Southampton has things to offer too!

[chemmo]

We love doing extra days especially to somewhere we have never been. On the opposing side, we did three days in Seattle prior to Alaska and would never go back to Seattle.

 

We loved Seattle! We really went over the top with our pre cruise stay from here. We hired a car, drove through the Cascades seeing Mount St. Helens, met up with friends we met on a cruise some years earlier, my husband and son got to visit the Boeing factory (long on their hit list), then we did the usual fish market and Space Needle.....Looking back I think this was one of our vacations where the pre cruise was as stunning as the cruise itself!

[Texed]

So what have been your best pre/post cruise stays?

 

Chemmo,

Great thread. Thanks for starting it. I have loved all of our pre-cruise stays. But, Bora Bora in an overwater has to rank very high on the list. :)

[Cruise Junky]

Still on our hit list after many years....we do seem over the last few years to have gone for the 'Far flung' places. I think knowing, as Villauk said, we are spoilt by many amazing places being just a short flight away we have focused on the distant and are now back to considering those closer to home!

 

I'm in Crete right now at the Blue Palace just outside Elounda. Highly recommend it.

[chemmo]

Chemmo,

 

Great thread. Thanks for starting it. I have loved all of our pre-cruise stays. But, Bora Bora in an overwater has to rank very high on the list. :)

Now I am jealous....we visited Bora Bora on a South Pacific crossing. Seeing the island emerge from the mist is a sight we will never forget. We enjoyed some snorkelling and were nearly crying when it was time to reboard.....If ever a destination should have an overnight that is the place! Only place on the planet we have enjoyed as much for beaches and snorkelling has been the Maldives.

[chemmo]

I'm in Crete right now at the Blue Palace just outside Elounda. Highly recommend it.

We had a land trip of a couple of weeks in Crete many, many years ago....We loved the tavernas, the roads that just came to an end and catching a local bus where a lady had a live chicken in a basket....I think it may be a lot different now than we remember! Elounda was a tiny resort when we were there.

 

We always planned to return one Spring to revisit the mountains....I can see me looking up your hotel later!

[Cruisy McGee]

We loved Seattle! We really went over the top with our pre cruise stay from here. We hired a car, drove through the Cascades seeing Mount St. Helens, met up with friends we met on a cruise some years earlier, my husband and son got to visit the Boeing factory (long on their hit list), then we did the usual fish market and Space Needle.....Looking back I think this was one of our vacations where the pre cruise was as stunning as the cruise itself!

 

Reading this makes me excited. We are doing the same (minus Boeing), but post-cruise this summer. We've never been to Seattle (other than the airport en route to Alaska :D) so we're looking forward to exploring the area.

[sunnyfreckles]

A little Inn called The Red Lion in Boldre....It has an apartment for hire above.

 

 

 

We prefer to stay in apartments or cottages or villas for the flexibility of accommodation they offer. When only booking for a few days, however, we cannot always do it. The pub has a great looking menu!

 

 

 

We are hoping to visit the motor museum one of the days and just enjoy the countryside the rest of the time. We have booked into the port parking so on the Sunday morning it will just be a 15ish mile drive to the port...

 

 

That is a lovely area of the New Forest - we are about 15 miles the other way!

 

 

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[chemmo]

Reading this makes me excited. We are doing the same (minus Boeing), but post-cruise this summer. We've never been to Seattle (other than the airport en route to Alaska :D) so we're looking forward to exploring the area.

 

 

We planed a circular route for our tour slotting in as many small town stop offs as possible. Mount Ranier and Mount St Helens being the highlights. If I remember rightly we got as Far East as Yakima....

 

In Seattle itself we booked a fairly central hotel and did all the typical tourist things including dining at lunch at the fish restaurant with the sea views in the market and dining in the Space Needle. We booked a window table there for just before dusk....we were able to see all of Seattle in daylight and then watch the light fade, then the lights of the city really start to twinkle. Quite magical! I seem to remember the food was fine but wasn't fantastic but the whole meal experience is up there as one of my best ever. We pre booked our meal many weeks in front and were so glad we did...we spoke to people in our hotel and on the cruise who had decided to book on arrival and could only book a lunchtime slot.

 

Wishing you a great cruise and post cruise 'extra holiday'!

[chemmo]

That is a lovely area of the New Forest - we are about 15 miles the other way!

 

 

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You must feel like you are on holiday all the time!

[sunnyfreckles]

You must feel like you are on holiday all the time!

 

 

Absolutely! We love living where we do - husband still works in Southampton so drives through the Forest every day. We're close to some lovely beaches where we live (and our nephew from Leeds says we live on holiday!)

 

 

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[59impala]

Prior to cruise from Venice we flew in to Milan, then stayed a few more days in Varenna, Lake Como. The area is so beautiful I would love to spend more time in the lakes of Northern Italy.

 

This fall we will be spending a week in Auckland before NZ/Australia, then a week after in Sydney area after the cruise.

I've never thought of it as relaxing pre-cruise. I've just thought that it makes sense to get the maximum benefit of airfare dollars.

 

This is a great thread.

 

in 2015 we flew into Milan and trained to Varenna also. What a great spot! We explored the area for five days, hopping on and off the ferries and visiting all the gorgeous lake towns. We loved it and would love to visit again one day. We then flew to Istanbul where we had three nights pre cruise - this was also a great place to visit.

After the cruise we visited the south of Spain (Granada, Seville) - loved Spain too!

We leave NZ in four weeks for another trip to Europe which includes a Celebrity cruise - best of western meditteranean. We have five nights Crete pre cruise and a week in the UK post cruise.

When you come from down under you have to make the most of your time away, and lets face it, you need a bit of time to recover from the flight and time zone change.

 

Herbanrenewal - enjoy your time in Auckland and Sydney.

[chemmo]

This is a great thread.

 

in 2015 we flew into Milan and trained to Varenna also. What a great spot! We explored the area for five days, hopping on and off the ferries and visiting all the gorgeous lake towns. We loved it and would love to visit again one day. We then flew to Istanbul where we had three nights pre cruise - this was also a great place to visit.

After the cruise we visited the south of Spain (Granada, Seville) - loved Spain too!

We leave NZ in four weeks for another trip to Europe which includes a Celebrity cruise - best of western meditteranean. We have five nights Crete pre cruise and a week in the UK post cruise.

When you come from down under you have to make the most of your time away, and lets face it, you need a bit of time to recover from the flight and time zone change.

 

Herbanrenewal - enjoy your time in Auckland and Sydney.

 

What a fabulous holiday you have planned! Make sure you read up on the Minoans before you go to Crete, visiting Knossos is a 'must do'!

 

What plans do you have for the UK? Have you visited before?

 

We are hoping to do the Sydney to Auckland cruise in 2019 or 2020....We will want a few days in both cities pre and post cruise. We have briefly visited Auckland before (cruise, one day port stop) and as we wanted to visit Hobbiton that was all we got to do....Even when you are planning for years to come it is great researching on line, looking out for TV programmes....Planning is truly half the pleasure of a cruise!

[Cruise Junky]

This is a great thread.

 

in 2015 we flew into Milan and trained to Varenna also. What a great spot! We explored the area for five days, hopping on and off the ferries and visiting all the gorgeous lake towns. We loved it and would love to visit again one day. We then flew to Istanbul where we had three nights pre cruise - this was also a great place to visit.

After the cruise we visited the south of Spain (Granada, Seville) - loved Spain too!

We leave NZ in four weeks for another trip to Europe which includes a Celebrity cruise - best of western meditteranean. We have five nights Crete pre cruise and a week in the UK post cruise.

When you come from down under you have to make the most of your time away, and lets face it, you need a bit of time to recover from the flight and time zone change.

 

Herbanrenewal - enjoy your time in Auckland and Sydney.

 

Where in Crete are you staying? We're in Elounda right now but had 3 nights in Chania before this.

[herbanrenewal]

This is a great thread.

 

in 2015 we flew into Milan and trained to Varenna also. What a great spot! We explored the area for five days, hopping on and off the ferries and visiting all the gorgeous lake towns. We loved it and would love to visit again one day. We then flew to Istanbul where we had three nights pre cruise - this was also a great place to visit.

After the cruise we visited the south of Spain (Granada, Seville) - loved Spain too!

We leave NZ in four weeks for another trip to Europe which includes a Celebrity cruise - best of western meditteranean. We have five nights Crete pre cruise and a week in the UK post cruise.

When you come from down under you have to make the most of your time away, and lets face it, you need a bit of time to recover from the flight and time zone change.

 

Herbanrenewal - enjoy your time in Auckland and Sydney.

 

59Impala,

What part of NZ are you located? Have you ever done any of the 360 Fullers ferry tours from Auckland? We are planning to do several of those while in Auckland. I'm really looking forward to this cruise/trip. We're starting on the east coast US flying to San Francisco for a few days to break up the long distances. We've each been to SF several times, but its one of those places there's always more to do and see. On the way home we have a stop over in Fiji, so we booked our flight to arrive in the am, spend several hours there (sort of like a port of call), then catch the red eye back to LA. Fortunately I sleep well during flights. Again spending several days before heading home. It will be my longest trip yet - 5 weeks. Making the most of our airfare dollars.

[59impala]

Where in Crete are you staying? We're in Elounda right now but had 3 nights in Chania before this.

 

Hi, we will be staying in Chania at a wonderful hotel that has a view of the harbour. It looks fabulous.

We had recently rewatched a British TV series called "Who Pays the Ferryman", it was filmed in the 1970s in the area around Elounda. This inspired us to visit Crete, as the food, the music, the scenery, the myths and legends all appeal to us. If you can find the series, have a look. You have to ignore the1970s fashions - they brought a smile to our faces.

Enjoy the rest of your stay. We are looking forward to our trip very much.

[59impala]

What a fabulous holiday you have planned! Make sure you read up on the Minoans before you go to Crete, visiting Knossos is a 'must do'!

 

What plans do you have for the UK? Have you visited before?

 

We are hoping to do the Sydney to Auckland cruise in 2019 or 2020....We will want a few days in both cities pre and post cruise. We have briefly visited Auckland before (cruise, one day port stop) and as we wanted to visit Hobbiton that was all we got to do....Even when you are planning for years to come it is great researching on line, looking out for TV programmes....Planning is truly half the pleasure of a cruise!

 

Yes, our holiday should be fabulous. We love the myths and legends of Greece / Crete and are lookinf forward to our time there.

We have only been to the UK very briefly in 2010 when one of our sons was working near Cardiff for a year. We went to London and Cardiff as part of a trip to Europe and this year we are finally returning to see some more.

We are flying to London and are meeting up and staying for two days, in North London, with some lovely people we met on our last cruise. It will be wonderful to catch up with them again and explore their hometown. From there, we are travelling up to join some friends in Macclesfield and we are travelling north England / Scotland- Whitby, Edinburgh, Loch Lomond, the Lake District. We are really excited about this part of the trip also....well, the whole trip should be awesome, especially with a lovely cruise in the middle.

[59impala]

59Impala,

What part of NZ are you located? Have you ever done any of the 360 Fullers ferry tours from Auckland? We are planning to do several of those while in Auckland. I'm really looking forward to this cruise/trip. We're starting on the east coast US flying to San Francisco for a few days to break up the long distances. We've each been to SF several times, but its one of those places there's always more to do and see. On the way home we have a stop over in Fiji, so we booked our flight to arrive in the am, spend several hours there (sort of like a port of call), then catch the red eye back to LA. Fortunately I sleep well during flights. Again spending several days before heading home. It will be my longest trip yet - 5 weeks. Making the most of our airfare dollars.

 

Hi, we are from Hamilton, which is about an hour and a half south of Auckland. We have done a few trips on the harbour over the years, and Auckland is a lovely city viewed from the water. It is called the City of Sails, as I understand NZ has the highest rate of boat ownership per head of population of anywhere in the world. Understandable as anywhere in NZ is within an hour and a half from a coastline. You must go to Waiheke Island. It has lovely beaches, restaurants and wineries. Enjoy your stay,

[OzKiwiJJ]

For our upcoming September Mediterranean cruise we're flying into Paris for a few days. We've been there a couple of times before so don't have to go crazy sightseeing, we can just relax and recover from the jetlag. Then we're taking the TGV to Barcelona where we'll have a couple of days before and after our cruise.

 

Herbanrenewal, I second 59Impala's recommendation of Waiheke Island when in Auckland. It's a gorgeous place. I'd also suggest going to Tiritiri Matangi Island, which is a bird sanctuary, and also very beautiful.

[Kartgv]

This thread seems to be developing a 'sub-topic' - which port hotels really enhance the cruise experience?. For us, that equates to a restful recovery from plane flights, a fantastic sea or harbor view, and easy access to restaurants and shops. When we're spending thousands on a cruise, spending an extra $100 or so per night to start/end the cruise happily is a 'no-brainer' decision.

 

In Vancouver, for our next cruise we're arriving late the night before, so are staying at the Pan Pacific which is almost right on top of the pier. After the cruise we'll spend a couple of nights at our favorite, the Westin Bayside, in a tower room with a view of the entire harbor. We've watched many cruise ships sail into and out of the port, with gorgeous mountain views in the distance. Bonus - we can usually book using our Starwood points. Hop-on/Hop-off buses stop at both hotels, so it makes sight-seeing easy.

 

In Sydney, we really like the Darling Harbor area and have stayed twice in the Sheraton Four Points (points again!). It's a short cab ride from the Circular Quay cruise pier (though a few smaller ships do come into a closer pier), but has a great view - harbor, sunset, even fireworks every Saturday night. There are loads of restaurants and shops within walking distance. We also spent one night post-cruise at a Holiday Inn which was within 3 or 4 blocks of the Circular Quay pier. It's just a basic hotel, but it has a fantastic roof-top deck with incredible views. The day we were there, there was a great street fair going on right outside and it also had great shopping and restaurants close by.

 

We'd love to hear about some other special places to start your cruises.

[Kartgv]

.... After the cruise we'll spend a couple of nights at our favorite, the Westin Bayside.....

 

Whoops....that should be the Westin Bayshore.

[59impala]

It is great to have a thread that is not about what a miserable cruisline "Celebrity" is.

 

Life is what you make it, nothing is perfect, but the Celebrity cuises I have been on have been pretty dammed close. Enjoy each day, pre cruise, on the cruise and post cruise.