This was our first cruise so here are a few things we'd wished we had known. As we have only been with TUI Marella some of these tips may only be appropriate to them.
1. Get a balcony: This is defiantly worth upgrading to if you can. You get more room and obviously a better view. Having said that our son had the cheapest inside cabin and they were still very nice. You can always leave your room and go up on the decks for the view but the balcony gives you that extra bit of privacy.
2. Take lots of clothes: We had 20kg weight limit on your main suitcase and we had an additional 10kg on the hand luggage. I notoriously don't take enough clothes on holiday and certainly didn't on this trip. This was primarily because of the way boat life goes. During the day you can be off exploring but in the evening you are expected to dress appropriately depending on where you are eating and most people did make an effort. They also had theme nights like 'dress to impress' so you probably want at least 2 changes of clothing per day. There is laundry service on board which I only discovered near the end if you want to save weight for other things.
3. Your Boat Card: No cash is accepted on board. Instead when you arrive they take bank card details and issue you with a card which is scanned every time you make a purchase or get a drink from the bar, even if it is included as part of your package. Because you use this card all the time some people had it on a lanyard around their neck. They don't take money from your account until after the cruise and you can settle up in cash at reception (don't try and pay in Euros because the exchange rate is not good) but depending on what you are doing I can imagine you could end up with an unexpected or un-budgeted for bill at the end.
4. The onboard App: The onboard App works via internal wifi and doesn't require a data connection. You can check out what's going on, what the weather is going to be like in the next port, book an excursion or check out your bill. It will also give you a full itinerary of what is happening on the boat so you can plan your day.
5. Don't bother getting on board WiFi: This can be expensive and is probably unnecessary when cruising around Europe (at least for now) because your calls, text and data are the same as if you were in the UK. If you are going to places outside of Europe its worth checking which countries are included in your plan. However sometimes its nice not to look at your phone for a week or two.
6. Don't book a tour in every port: We booked 5 tours and only 2 were really worth the money, Florence and Rome. There is a free shuttle bus which will take you in to the port itself for a bit of culture and shopping. It also means you can go at your own pace and don't have to worry meeting up with the rest of the tour. Some tours however are essential, we would never have seen half of what we saw in Rome without a guide so be discriminating when booking. Also try and book the tours you want BEFORE you go because the most popular ones will sell out fast.
7. Suitcases leave before you do: This was something new. We were required to leave our suitcases, packed tagged and ready the night before we left outside our rooms. These were then taken to airport and checked in without us. Its very efficient and means you don't have to mess around getting on and off the coach from the boat to the airport or queue to book your bags in, you can go straight through security. The only fly in the ointment is that your night clothes and toiletries will have to go in your hand luggage so make sure you have some that are airport security appropriate.
Comentarios