1st time crusier on the Destiny 21st Dec - Ive lots of questions..

[cj21]

Hello everyone,

 

You all sound like a friendly bunch so I hope you dont mind me asking a few questions?

 

 

My family and I are so excited as its getting closer and closer, we havent ever been on a cruise before so please excuse some of my dimmer questions.

• Do I need to bring any beach towels for when we go into port? I'm sure we will want to sample some of those Carribean beaches.
  
• Is it chilly at night, I imagine the air con is effective, will we need little cover ups?
  
• Is there any form of dress that we would feel out of place in ie how dressy or how casual does everyone tend to dress?
  
• How do I find out what excursions are available before we go (I'm a planner!!)
  
• Is there anything anyone would recommend me booking ahead of time? salon appointments, dinner seatings etc?
  

thank you in advance x

[Swerve]

Hi cj21,

 

Will do my best to answer your questions from my point of view;

 

Beach Towels: The ship provide large blue beach towels so unless you want to add to your baggage allowance you can take your own ?

 

Chilly Nights: Have always taken either a fleece or similar for night time, you just never know !

 

Dressy Up: You can be as upmarket or casual as you want to be, there's usually one formal night per week.

 

Excursions: Check the Thomsons website for itineraries which will give you an idea, you can't prebook online.

 

Booking Ahead: The only thing you can pre-book is either an early or late meal sitting which you can do when booking the cruise online or phone Thomsons.

 

If you check out the other Thomson threads you'll find other tips which may help you, the electric plugs/sockets for one, anti-mosquito spray !

 

Can I ask a tongue in cheek question, if your plans don't go to plan how does that affect you ? Only asking as your going on a cruise if you see what I mean :)

 

I can guarantee that you and your family will have a fantastic time relaxing and sightseeing :D

[kruzseeka]

Hello and welcome - I'll do my best with some of your questions but I'm sure there will be other posters who will be able to add more/other perspectives and as I haven't done the Caribbean some is supposition based on past experience of Destiny/other Thomson ships. :)

 

• Beach towels - you have a pool towel in your cabin (one each) and this can be changed as often as you want. There is a £10? charge if you lose it though. In the Cruise News (daily paper giving info on the day's activities etc) or perhaps it's in the port information leaflet, they usually request that you don't take ship's towels off the ship - but I don't know how they would know since they don't search your bags. I suspect many people would do - and perhaps given it's the Caribbean and beach trips would be the norm they may have a different policy. Sorry not to be more precise and as they haven't started their Caribbean itineraries yet, perhaps we won't know til someone comes back and tells us.
  
• Again, can't say about the Caribbean, but for Med/Canary cruises I would say a wrap for the evenings is a good idea even if it is hot as the dining room has air-con which can feel a little cool (and the show-lounge too until it fills up for the show when it gets quite warm!). I have a couple of light-weight pashminas (black and cream - go with most things!) which I sometimes need, and sometimes not.
  
• Again, not sure about this trip (a lot depends on luggage allowances and what you can fit in) but on all the Thomson trips we've done on the formal night, in the main dining room most diners will be in evening wear including between 50-75% of men in DJs (in my experience - has varied quite a bit). Jackets and tie are also acceptable but very casual wear would definitely look out of place here - there is the self-service Lido restaurant as an alternative though. Other nights, most people can clearly be seen to have made an effort and changed for dinner (smart casual) and beach wear wouldn't be appropriate. (Of course it may be that the Caribbean is a bit more casual type of holiday so the balance may be different here. I think some would share my view that's it's quite a good excuse to dress up and get the gald rags on for a change so quite a lot of passengers are dressed up as this is part of their holiday experience - although to redress the balance some people choose not to and prefer the more casual dining/dress in the Lido.)
  
• When you get your tickets, there is usually a description of some of the trips on offer (with pricings) and also in the Thomson website, try clicking on 'destinations' then 'more...' and there should be a range of excursions there - although there may well be more when you get on board.
  
• I don't think you can book salon appmts etc prior to departure - in fact our tickets said 'you can book once on board' but suggest you go straight there when you get on board and book what you want so avoiding disappointment on a particular day. If you aren't tied into a day/time though - there are offers during the week so if you want to take a more flexible approach, you might be able to take advantage of some cheaper deals. As for meals, our tickets definitely stated our meal sitting so we must have asked on booking. Try ringing up to fix what you want. Failing that, they are usually quite good at accommodating requests so will probably be able to swap you once on board.
  

Anyway, have a great trip - an let us know what your impressions were. :)

[davecttr]

If you check on the Thomsons site and find a excursion that you just have to go on you can book as soon as you get aboard. Go to Destination Services and you can fill in a form and post it in the box. This box is opened first so you should be able to get a place on any popular excursion.

 

ps. this applies to Celebration but maybe Destiny too.

[Swerve]

What Dave say's and I seem to remember that the forms will be in your cabin ready for you to fill in.

[cj21]

Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for the energy that has gone the above replies, not normally so gushing but honestly overwhelmed at the responses.

 

Thank you x

 

I would love you to add any other comments that would add to what I'm sure will be an amazing experaince for me and my family.

 

In response to "Swerve's" question - "if your plans don't go to plan how does that affect you ? Only asking as your going on a cruise if you see what I mean :)"

 

I imagine we will have an amazing time no matter how much or how little planning ahead I do, but....

why leave anything to chance?