Who has decided to take a summer staycation cruise?

[teabear]

21 hours ago, PORT ROYAL said:

Sorry to interject.

The Double Tree is old, tired and past it’s best, with no decent views from rooms and iffy parking. In a word depressing.

Book the Hilton Ageas, more modern, bright with views from rooms, with it’s own Cruise stay packages, including your own private taxi to and from port.

And the buffet breakfast at Ageas is better and has a larger selection of items.

 

https://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/hilton-at-the-ageas-bowl-southampton-SOUAGHI/about/park-and-stay.html

 

Consider the Ageas executive floor having lounge access, with complimentary alcoholic drinks and a hot/cold nibbles buffet in the evening, plus a tea/coffee machine and soft drinks 24/7 

 

Second all the Ageas bits - lovely hotel, top class service and the spa is really well run for a polish up before cruising especially if just coming off a stint offshore on an oilfield.  If the price fits your budget, try it - golf right outside the front door

[PORT ROYAL]

2 hours ago, Couple-Somerset said:

anyone have any 10% or 15% off parking codes for Southampton docks please?

Only have 5% Parking4Cruises 

P4CREVIEW05

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, P&O SUE said:

I haven’t stayed in a Travelodge for ages as the last one we stayed in was very disappointing. They’d taken away the bath for ‘safety reasons’ and there wasn’t even coffee and tea in the room! You had to go to a vending machine in the corridor and, of course had to pay! Not impressed, John won’t let me book them again!

 

Anyone wanting a Premier Inn out of town with free parking, the one at Eastleigh is good just off the M3. Last time we stayed (2019) we sat chatting with other cruise guests on tables outside til it got dark! Great fun.

Not our experience - have always had tea making facilities in TLs.

[smokey01]

3 hours ago, Couple-Somerset said:

anyone have any 10% or 15% off parking codes for Southampton docks please?

 I have this one that gives up to 35% off Parking4Cruises who I have used many times

 

EMSUUK19

[Beckett]

4 hours ago, ohnonotmeagain said:

Give me an email ,its not my primary email so it's ok and I'll give you the deal.Very pleased with myself!!

Fergusbaby@mail.com

It's jdavis8@nhs.net. Thanks again. Jane.x

[Francisdrake]

On 3/31/2021 at 12:46 PM, davemorton said:

This is torture.  I would love to book up, but not having had my jab yet, I wont be able to travel. 😞 

I'm in the same boat so to speak but erring towards gambling and booking one for the tail end of September and hoping the vaccine roll out picks up pace again, the online calculators I've been looking at have been predicting I'd get my 1st dose back end of April/early May which would mean I'm looking at end of July/ early August for 2nd jab.

Edited April 4, 2021 by Francisdrake

[yorkshirephil]

We booked an Ikea log cabin

[peteukmcr]

Glad we didn’t wait for Celebrity, £1319 pp for a 7 night sailing 😱 

[Son of Anarchy]

59 minutes ago, peteukmcr said:

Glad we didn’t wait for Celebrity, £1319 pp for a 7 night sailing 😱 

Out of interest, what type of cabin was that for?  Makes our £779 for a balcony on Iona sound very good value.

[wowzz]

8 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Out of interest, what type of cabin was that for?  Makes our £779 for a balcony on Iona sound very good value.

I'm assuming the pricing is for a balcony, as it is not possible to book an inside or ocean view cabin - certainly not when I tried to do so just now!

The Celebrity price does include drinks,  tips and wifi, which somewhat mitigates the pricing differential.  I suppose much depends on how much premium one thinks it is worth paying for being on Celebrity,  which is obviously a major step up in quality from P&O. 

Edited April 6, 2021 by wowzz

[zap99]

3 hours ago, wowzz said:

I'm assuming the pricing is for a balcony, as it is not possible to book an inside or ocean view cabin - certainly not when I tried to do so just now!

The Celebrity price does include drinks,  tips and wifi, which somewhat mitigates the pricing differential.  I suppose much depends on how much premium one thinks it is worth paying for being on Celebrity,  which is obviously a major step up in quality from P&O. 

Also some of the Celebrity UK cruises are 8 nights and include port stops. Children ( under 18's) are permitted with a negative PCR test.

[majortom10]

I have booked a Seacation cruise with Princess but wish I hadnt now with the problems getting travel insurance to cover such a cruise and to the standard Princess are requiring.

 

[MX-Drew]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

I have booked a Seacation cruise with Princess but wish I hadnt now with the problems getting travel insurance to cover such a cruise and to the standard Princess are requiring.

 

Try All Clear, had it confirmed from them they cover all the issues and a reasonable price.

[peteukmcr]

7 hours ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Out of interest, what type of cabin was that for?  Makes our £779 for a balcony on Iona sound very good value.

Standard balcony on deck 7 (that deck and higher was what was offered) - most on deck 6 on that class of ship are obstructed. You still pay more depending where you want to be on that deck. Decks 8 & 9 are more expensive. 

[peteukmcr]

6 hours ago, wowzz said:

I'm assuming the pricing is for a balcony, as it is not possible to book an inside or ocean view cabin - certainly not when I tried to do so just now!

The Celebrity price does include drinks,  tips and wifi, which somewhat mitigates the pricing differential.  I suppose much depends on how much premium one thinks it is worth paying for being on Celebrity,  which is obviously a major step up in quality from P&O. 

We have a 5 night with MSC including grats and premium drinks for £740 pp with the 'fantastica' experience. Even though we love Celebrity we cannot justify £2698 (£1349 pp for the cabin we'd prefer) for 7 nights with 2 port stops (Liverpool and Belfast) compared to £1480. Just over £1200 extra for 2 more nights and Wi-Fi. Also Celebrity are departing from Southampton so we'd have at least another £400 in transport and overnight accommodation costs. With MSC we're departing from Liverpool only 35 miles away.

[majortom10]

2 hours ago, MX-Drew said:

Try All Clear, had it confirmed from them they cover all the issues and a reasonable price.

They were 3 times the price my current annual cruise insurance policy with Staysure so too expensive for me.

[MX-Drew]

20 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

They were 3 times the price my current annual cruise insurance policy with Staysure so too expensive for me.

I only went for a single trip as it seems so specialised but that said I have asked again if they will cover on board medical expenses and they have said yes twice and once no so I have asked that they check again with the underwriter and send a clear worded response.  

[FamilyCruiserUK]

With rcl rleasing their staycation prices tomorrow the wife and i have been debating on which cruise line is winning the " UK staycation cruise wars"..

 

With the ammount of cruises currently on offer, would be interesting to know whos got more bookings, which is better value for money etc....

 

We are going for P and O currently the fav to go on for us brits

[wowzz]

9 minutes ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

With rcl rleasing their staycation prices tomorrow the wife and i have been debating on which cruise line is winning the " UK staycation cruise wars"..

 

With the ammount of cruises currently on offer, would be interesting to know whos got more bookings, which is better value for money etc....

 

We are going for P and O currently the fav to go on for us brits

Well, its Brits only for every cruise, which puts us off a bit! 

[Bertie Doe]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

They were 3 times the price my current annual cruise insurance policy with Staysure so too expensive for me.

I use one of those Insurance search engines. I tick a) single trip b) £2m medical cover c) no medical probs d) cruise cover.

 

I ticked Eire, Spain, France, Portugal, Italy and picked a random 2 weeks in June. I'm 74 next birthday. The cheapest ones on the search list which also gave Enhanced Covid Cover were :-

RAC at £81

Insure with Ease at £86

Needless to say there was the caveat that  you won't be covered if the FCDO advise against traveling to these countries. How do these prices compare yours?

 

[shopaholic6]

3 minutes ago, Bertie Doe said:

I use one of those Insurance search engines. I tick a) single trip b) £2m medical cover c) no medical probs d) cruise cover.

 

I ticked Eire, Spain, France, Portugal, Italy and picked a random 2 weeks in June. I'm 74 next birthday. The cheapest ones on the search list which also gave Enhanced Covid Cover were :-

RAC at £81

Insure with Ease at £86

Needless to say there was the caveat that  you won't be covered if the FCDO advise against traveling to these countries. How do these prices compare yours?

 

I think the issue is a lot of companies apparently do not cover on board medical treatment whilst in Uk waters 🤔

Edited April 6, 2021 by shopaholic6

[majortom10]

56 minutes ago, shopaholic6 said:

I think the issue is a lot of companies apparently do not cover on board medical treatment whilst in Uk waters 🤔

That is the main issue especially as the ship never leaves UK waters or calls at a foreign port.

[Bertie Doe]

2 hours ago, shopaholic6 said:

I think the issue is a lot of companies apparently do not cover on board medical treatment whilst in Uk waters 🤔

I don't know about RAC but looking at Insure With Ease, no mention of onboard medical exclusions in the small print.

By the way, I haven't  used either of the above. I'll probably use the search engine again just before final balance is due.

I often change our car and home insurance at regular intervals as Insurers are constantly jockeying for position. They'll drop there prices for a week or two if they need to get more business on their books quickly.

[yorkshirephil]

First formal night sorted

[Bertie Doe]

3 hours ago, shopaholic6 said:

I think the issue is a lot of companies apparently do not cover on board medical treatment whilst in Uk waters 🤔

Ah yes you're right, I ticked Spain, France etc, so Insure With Ease won't cover medical things in UK waters. Hmmm that's a real pain. I wonder why they (and others) do this?