Destiny this Summer

[Tracey - Ann]

Hi Everyone - Newbie here

 

We are booked on the Destiny to do Moorish Delights and Mediterranean Renaissnace this summer - we cannot wait. We have cruised twice before - many years ago without our kids but only to Germany and France for the weekends.

If anyone could spare a few mins to answer a couple of questions we will be very grateful.

Firstly - Ports - Are we supplied with info for ports of call prior to docking. We really dont want to do lots of organised trips but like to venture out using taxes and buses. I am worried info on cheaper options wont be provided. I have searched Destinations on here but some of the ports are not mentioned.

Secondly - The travel agent did say that people do wear evening clothes for gala evenings - is this correct ? We do like the idea of a tux and evening dress.

Thirdly - We have booked early dinner, will this be OK to catch the show after ?

Lastly - Are there places onboard we can sit and have 5 mins peace and quiet ? We do have 2 young teenagers with us - sometimes its nice just to chill.

 

Thanks a lot to any info at all you can give us.

 

Tracey - Ann XX:)

[kruzseeka]

Hi Tracey Ann,

Welcome! hope this is the first of many cruises you will enjoy!

 

Yes, you do get a guide for each port of call with essential information regarding where you are docked etc., and a map showing the main tourist sites, post office, tourist info etc. and a little guidance on sites of interest. (These should already be in your cabin when you arrive.) The destination services are usually ok providing you with information, although sometimes it's not as accurate as it might be - could be down to their lack of knowledge/familiarity with the port - also they are in the business of selling ships' tours. Having said that, I've always found them helpful when you approach them with specific questions.

 

If you post a question about specific ports of call either on this forum or the destinations forums, you will get lots of advice on what to see, how to get there, tips for getting around and any pitfalls. Like you, we prefer to do our own thing in the main - find out as much as you can before you go either from here or by Googling your ports of call (and try Trip Advisor, Virtual Tourist and other such sites) for destination highlights/advice. I often send an email to the tourist office wherever we're going and ask for a city map/tourist guide which can be helpful for planning before you go.

Destination services do a port showcase presentation (telling you about the places you are going to) as well as presentations about their trips. You can pick up some helpful advice at these - although they do vary a bit.

 

We've done both these itineraries, but I think the ports of call are a bit different especially the Moorish Delights, but if you let us know which ports you are going to, I'm sure some of us will be able to help further.

 

As for evening wear - yes, on the Captain's Gala night, people do dress up - many in DJs/long dresses/evening wear, but otherwise suits/ties and smart trousers/skirts/dresses for the ladies are ok. We usually take all the gear and enjoy dressing up once in a while. In our experience, at least 50% will be in evening dress - sometimes more like 75% but everyone makes an effort and dresses nicely for the main dining room. It's not a bit stuffy though! For those who prefer not to dress up for Gala night, the Lido restaurant provides a buffet. Other evenings in the main dining room is smart casual - dress/smart trousers/skirt & top for ladies and shirt/smart trousers for the men.

 

The shows are planned to start about half an hour before you would expect to get out of the dining room. We were on Destiny in April and were able to make the first show quite comfortably. (But if you did miss it, you could always catch the second one!)

 

Yes, there are some places to chill out. There is the Sky Bar at the top of the ship - great views - also Blakes Bar and the Clipper Bar where you can sit and when not in use for entertainments etc, the Oklahoma Lounge is used by quite a few people to read/relax. Of course, there are the sun decks too and other areas around the deck with tables & chairs where you can sit either in the shade or in the sun. You get a 'Cruise News' each evening posted under your door telling you about the activities/timings of events for the next day - but it's quite easy to find somewhere quiet if you want to.

 

Anyway, hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise, I'm sure you will!

[Tracey - Ann]

Thanks so much for your detailed reply. It was very helpful. What a fab forum !

I think we will take a tour in Casablanca as reading some advice on here it does not seem to be too safe. My husband knows Gibralter very well as his parent lived there when my FIL was in the forces. We have been to Majorca and Minorca before but if anyone knows where the nearest waterpark is to Palma please can you let me know. As we are doing 2 weeks back to back we are going to have a full day in Palma and thought the kids would enjoy a waterpark.

In Spain we are docking at Ceuta, Almeria and Valencia. Do we dock in walking /taxi or bus distance from these towns - is there plently to see here or do we need to travel elsewhere ?

We have been to Rome before so we are happy to get a bus and potter about on our own.

We also dock at Villefranche. As I understand we can go to Cannes and Monaco from here, I read that they are about 20 mins apart on a bus. Is this correct ? Is this also the port to see Nice and Monte Carlo ?

Also Livorno in Italy - is this near to the leaning tower of Pisa - there is nothing at all in my itinery notes about this.

I am so sorry that there are so many questions but I really appreciate any info.

Thanks in anticipation. Tracey - Ann X:)

[kruzseeka]

If you are taking a tour in Casablanca, I could recommend the one which includes the Mosque - it was extremely interesting and so ornate and beautiful. The scale of it all had to be seen to be believed. This trip also included a city tour with a visit to the market. It's £30 for 4.5 hours, but we thought it was worth it as Casablanca was not somewhere we wanted to be exploring on our own. Your other ports of call in Spain are the ones which are different from when we went so sorry can't help with that.

 

Villefranche is lovely - the trains are easy to catch from there to Cannes or Monte Carlo and only take about 10 minutes I believe. We spent the day in Villefranche itself which we thought was charming. I don't suppose your teenagers would be bothered about the Villa Ephrussi (wonderful gardens and views) in Villefranche but we really enjoyed a visit there.

 

The Destinations guide offered trips to 1) Monte Carlo & Monaco £29 for 4.5 hours 2) Nice, Monaco & Monte Carlo £39 for 6 hours 3) Scenic French Riviera £27 for 3.5 hours 4) Best of the Riviera - Cannes, Nice, Grasse - £39 for 8.5 hours 5) Nice and Eze £26 for 4 hours. But Villefranche is one destination where I think people find it easy and cheap to do their own thing.

 

Livorno is the port for trips to Florence and Pisa. I think it's a bit more difficult to get to the station here to get trains to Florence, Pisa or Lucca (the main attractions) and I believe the trains are not quite as frequent as from Civitavecchia to Rome (a lot of people do this as a DiY trip - pretty straight forward and about 9Euros return when we did it). The ship's trips from Livorno were:

1) Florence & Pisa £51 approx 10.5 hours 2) Leaning Tower of Pisa £32 4 hours 3) Florence on your own £27 approx 9 hours 4) A Taste of Tuscany £28 for 4 hours 5) Puccini Lake and Pisa £40 for 5.5 hours. We did the Florence on your own and enjoyed having a guide with some basic information during the journey to Florence plus some guidance about Florence itself when we got there. Then, we were left to explore ourselves. It's a very easy, walkable city to get around and see the main sights. As with lots of places though, do take care of your valuables here!

 

One tip: if you decide you definitely want to do a particular tour and it's one which has limited availability (for example the Alhambra was) book as soon as you get on board as we found alot of people were disappointed that some trips were full before they got round to booking. (N.B. all prices were from last year. You didn't say how old your teenagers are, but if they qualify for the child's price - they were all half of the adult fare.)

 

Sorry, don't know about a water park in Majorca - sounds like a good plan for the kids - but if you draw a blank on this and want any info on doing the train ride through the mountains to the Port of Soller (which is what we did on our 'middle' day) just ask.

 

Happy planning!

[Tracey - Ann]

Thanks again Kruzseeker. You have been so helpful.

 

Our children are 12 and 15 - wiil they be half price for any tours ? The tours will add a lot of money to our trip so we will be taking the advice that I have read on here and choosing about 3 tours and then doing our own thing.

 

We are really lucky with our kids, they love pottering about and are quite happy wandering round churches and sights of interest as well as harbours and shops.

 

We really are so looking forward to our holiday but have a few concerns as 2 weeks is quite a long time to cruise if you have only been for a weekend before. !!

 

I do worry that we will end up next to some really noisey people in the cabin and wont be able to sleep, that there will be hundreds of small children running everywhere, that we all will be seasick and about the lack of space in the cabin. We do have 2 cabins though and last year we spent 3 weeks touring the USA in a RV so the cabins should be more comfortable than that. !!

 

Goodness I sound like a real miserable person but I am not - I just want my family to enjoy the holiday and although the overall price of the cruise was very reasonable for everything it is still alot of money for our family.

 

Thanks again

 

Tracey - Ann

[smiffy1951]

:) Hi Tracey Ann

 

We've been on 5 Thomson cruises now (number 6 at the end of this month)and have never had a problem with noisy neighbours or lots of small children running about.

 

They do have a Kids Club on board which keeps them entertained.

 

As for seasickness - I wouldn't worry in the Med. I suffer from seasickness generally but have only had a problem once on a cruise and that was in the Atlantic. If you do suffer at all you can get tablets called Sturegon(I think that's how you spell it)They sell them in the chemist here but when I suffered on board they had them at the Reception desk and once I'd started taking them I had no further problems.

 

Cabin space is okay. Let's face it you only get dressed and sleep in there so unless you intend to have a "Rave Up" you should be fine - ha ha!!!

 

Have a lovely time - I'm sure you will.

[Tracey - Ann]

Thank you also smiffy for your reply.

 

I do not think we will be having any rave-ups, but you never know - a couple of all inclusive cocktails and a MP3 player and speakers - I may well be partying all night. lol. !!!

 

Seriously though, thanks I feel reassured now after having great advice.

Really happy to hear you did not get sea sick on the Med (or in it !!)

 

Cant wait now

 

Tracey - Ann XX

[sobral]

I have cruised 5 times with Thomson in the Med and going again this summer- you will have a wonderful time as all above comments confirm. Dont worry about two weeks of cruising- the first time I cruised I only got 1 week and by the end of it me and kids were soooooo depressed we were getting off! Since then we always get 2 weeks and we are still depressed getting off!

You will become a cruise addict like the rest of us on here! lol!

Enjoy your cruise

[Tracey - Ann]

sobral - thanks for your reply - we are going on Moorish Delights and Mediterranean Renaissnace, have you been on these ?

 

We really cant wait now - 6 weeks to go :)

 

Tracey - Ann

[sobral]

Yes we have been on both, enjoyed med ren best, Moorish delights was not my cup of tea- Casablanca- docks in an industrial port- not pretty at all- my advice would be to go on the organised excursions for this one- safer! We went off on our own and were hounded by local pedlars etc who are really persistent! We went into Tunis with excursion- dont know if you will visit there and guide just took us to the shops of his friends to spend money but enjoyed the Cave of Hercules. But if you go to Gibraltar- thats great- see apes, caves, dolphin safari and....really cheap shopping!!The Med Rennaisance changes some ports so I am not sure which ones you will be going to but they are all wonderful especially VilleFranche- if you are going there. Enjoy!

[kruzseeka]

Hi Tracy-Ann

 

Just had a look at the Thomson cruise brochure and it refers to children as between 2 -16 inclusive, so I guess your teenagers will be included and child prices will apply. I suppose as an indication, if your booking has them classified as 'children' then any concessions on trips etc. would also be at the child rate. This will be a bonus for you - especially as I read on an NCL site that the reduction for a child on one trip was $124, down from the adult price of $129. Outrageous! All in all, I think Thomson are pretty good comparatively.

[cruiseanywhere2]

Hi

 

I am sorry to have to tell you that from what I remember taking our son when he was 15 we had to pay full for him on the trips as the child price is up to 12, rubbish I know, but you will have a great time.

 

We are totally hooked and are taking our daughter and her fiance on their 1st cruise on 20th June and can't wait to show them why we love it so much.

[Tracey - Ann]

Thanks again for the replies and info - all very much appreciated. I think we just want to take 3 or possibly 4 organised tours and do the rest ourselves. This will make the trip more reasonable for us, especially if we have to pay fully for our daughters.

 

I think the ports of call have changed on our trip to others I have been reading about. We are going to :

Palma, Gibralter, casablanca, ceuta, Almeria, Valencia, Villefranche, Livorno,civitavecchia, olbia and Mahon.

 

Any general tips or info will be much appreciated.

 

Tracey - Ann X

[smiffy1951]

:) Hi Tracey-Ann

 

Not sure about most of your destinations but in Gibralter you can walk into the town (or get a bus from the where the ship docks - not expensive) and you can pick up a taxi or minibus yourself and they will take you to all the main attractions like the caves and the apes. They will give you a price before you go. The one we used didn't want paying until we got back so at least we knew we weren't being ripped off. It was cheaper than the ship excursion too.

The only other places we've visited was civitavecchia when we did the ship excursion to Rome but I know quite a few people got the train into the City and did their own thing. I must admit I loved Rome itself and we had a guided tour plus time to ourselves as well. Also we did a ship excursion for Casablanca around the city. I wasn't overly impressed but it was a Sunday so a bit quiet and we didn't get to do much shopping!!!!

 

Regards

 

Janet:)

[Swerve]

Have you checked the Ports of Call on the Thomsons website......

 

http://www.thomsonbeach.co.uk/th/cruise/viewPorts.do

 

We love the Destiny and looking forward very much to December. Enjoy your cruise :D

[Tracey - Ann]

Thanks again you could people. I am copying and pasting all of your replies so I can do some serious planning.

 

You really have been very helpful.

 

Tracey - Ann X

[Tracey - Ann]

So sorry - meant to say Good people !

[pumpkin77]

I will be interested to see how you get on - we are off on Aug 28th on the destiny - round the med - cant remeber which one it is now though, although I know we are going majorca, villefranche, 2 stops in italy, sardinia, menorca and majorca!

 

Enjoy!

[ladyjayneq]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for all the info given to Tracy-Ann.

Hubby and I are doing the same back to back in October on the Spirit. We're 1st timers as well and I've been avidly reading these posts for info.

 

 

Tracy-Ann - Will look forward to hearing how you got on.

[ladyjayneq]

I know it's nothing to do with the Destiny thread but how do i get my countdown clock to appear on my messages, I've saved it but thought it came up automaticaly, what am i doing wrong?

 

 

added to message just seen this message and lo & behold my clocks there.

[Tracey - Ann]

Pumpkin - your trip does sound the same as ours, I will give a full report when we return. We are going in 5 weeks time.

Can anyone advise me about currency? We were going to take euros and stirling - can we change money onboard ? What is the currency for sardinia and casablanca ? Thanks lots

Tracey - Ann X

[Girl Cruiser]

Tracey - Ann,

 

The only currency you will need is Euros, and they are both accepted in Sardinia and Casablanca. You can change money onboard, but it's probably cheaper to do that before you leave the UK.

 

Hope you have a great time,

Rachel.

[Tracey - Ann]

Thank you Girl cruiser. You must like the Destiny alot - thats a great recommendation.

Just a few other quick questions if anyone can help.

 

At what time roughly to the organised excursions leave at in the morning ?

 

Do you think it would be OK to use walkie talkies on board - so we can find out where our 2 teenagers will be.

 

We are embarking mid morning, will we be able to get a lunch onboard ?

 

Is it Ok to get up early in the morning and bring a nice cup of tea back to the cabin ? If so are trays provided - we will need to bring back 4 cups.

 

Thanks in advance for any answers.

 

Tracey - Ann X

[kruzseeka]

Hi Tracey-Ann

 

Yes, there will be food available all day in the Lido restaurant and main dining room at lunchtime so you will be able to find something to eat as soon as you get on board.

 

Organised excursions leave at different times according to how long they are for and how far you have to travel (a long travel time will mean an early start to give you sufficient time at your destination.) Most leave between about 8.15 - 9.30 so it varies but to help with logistics, they stagger leaving times so that everyone isn't trying to get off the ship at the same time.

 

There are trays in the Lido - I saw quite a few people fetching an early morning cuppa in those thermos type mugs which I thought was a good idea - keeps your drink hot and avoids spills!

 

Not sure about your walkie-talkie suggestion - not come across that before.

 

Anyway, have a great trip.

[Girl Cruiser]

Hi Tracey - Ann,

 

There will not be a problem using walkie-talkies, I saw a family using them last year to find out where each other was on the ship.

 

Enjoy!

Rachel. x