hi Hamrag,

thanx for reply, thankfully last time was on sundream about 4 years ago and didn't have motion sickness.

really looking forward to this, especially with treating ourselves to a balcony cabin, was unlucky and just missed out on the deluxe balcony, so got a premier balcony instead on deck 10.

any tips as to the star would be much appreciated

Dawn

Hi Dawnyboo,

Just been reading your previous posts and notice you asking about late Sept/early October. We have holidayed in the Med. during October school hols. for past 11 years now, and only this year to go before our 3rd child joins the "adult" ranks. We have never been disappointed with the weather, and usually it is comparable with the best weather we would have here between June-August i.e. mid 70's-80 F. Having said that, the weather has sometimes been not so good either before or after our time....we have been very fortunate.

We discovered cruising 4 years ago, have now done 9 with a further 2 this year to come! Weather in the Med during the 3 October cruises has been very good.

In Sicily, would recommend Taormina which is a beautifully quant hillside town, overlooking the sea. We went to Mount Etna in June once and we could not see a thing because of mist & rain. Because it is so high, September may be dodgy.

If you want any suggestions/info on the ports you are going to, then let me know which ones and I will try and help. These days we DIY, and rarely take a ship tour. The real benefit is you leave ship when you want, go only where you want, for as long as you want, and return when you are ready. No cattle herding, and waiting for latecomers etc. to the coach at every stop! Oh yes, it also costs less...an added bonus.

If you are interested I posted a review on the Island Star within Cruise Reviews section (click box at top of page), in October 2006. the reviews are in date order, so you will find it easily enough.

Hi Hamrag

Thanks for you reply. 2 more cruises, lucky you, where and with whom may I ask.
I have already read all reviews, think i'm becoming a little obsessed. Getting mixed opinions, but I suppose its what you make of your holiday yourselves...
Already chosen Taormina, ta, and already pre-booked 'Florence on our own' and 'half day Pompei'. May be a bit foolish pre-booking but I'd rather get some of the costs out the way than build up the credit card onboard. I wish I could be so brave as to 'go it alone' but because we are so new to cruising I'd be panicking that we wouldn't get back to ship on time, but hopefully if my Husband gets bitten by the cruising bug, the more we do, the braver we may become!!!
I assume you are travelling on the more upmarket/formal cruise lines now, what are they like in comparison to the informal lines, I worry that the bigger the ships are, the less friendly they are??? though I have to admit, they have better facilities to keep my Husband occupied...'golf', 'rock wall' etc.
I have read somewhere that hard-sided suitcases are not recommended as soft-sided fit better in storage???
Is storage space ok, (only two of us travelling as our Son doesn't fancy a cruise and is a typical 'hard to please' 16yr old).
I mentioned in the earlier post, just missed out on a deluxe cabin, is it worth pestering Island cruises occasionally to see if any cancellations become available or are the cabin sizes quite decent. I remember on the sundream, 3 of us were in an inside twin with bunks and no room to swing a cat...
I have lots of silly questions, but they pop in my head at the most silliest of times, so bear with me, I may be back!!!
Thanks
Dawn

Happy to answer any questions Dawnyboo

We have just returned from 13 night Caribbean on QM2, June we do 14 night Med with NCL Jade, and October the whole family (boys 25 and 22, daughter 17) do 14 night Med with us on new P&O Ventura.

You are wise to have booked Florence on own....we now know how to DIY Florence, but it is a little bit hassle with a train change involved etc. Pompeii we did on our first cruise as a tour, and you will not be disappointed.

We always just go for an inside cabin, and that is why we can afford to average 2/3 cruises per year. If we were booking balcony it would be 1 per year. In the order we did them we have been on Island Escape, old Carousel, Thomson Spirit, QM2, HAL Noordam, Island Star, Celebrity Century, RCI Voyager of Seas, QM2 again. To be perfectly honest we have enjoyed all of them for different reasons, although we would never have gone back on the Carousel (retired and is now Thomson Calypso). Our purpose in cruising is to see as many ports as possible. Although we have travelled on the "more upmarket/formal cruise lines now" we would not hesitate to use the Island Star or Thomson again at the right price. We have discovered some incredible deals with the better lines, that you would not believe. For instance the NCL we are doing from Southampton through the Med and back on 30 May for 14 nights has cost us cruise only $1010 each i.e. about £525 and the return flight from Glasgow to Southampton with Flybe cost only £65 each. With cost of taxis at Southampton total cost will be £600 each! Only spending money to consider.

The bigger ships are not less friendly, in our experience. We have found cruising folks in general to be good company and with some lines at assigned evening dining tables we have met wonderful folks. For instance on our most recent we had a lovely couple from Vancouver and also from London...best of times we had at the dinner table.

My wife advises that soft cases are best, they squeeze under the bed easier to give more cabin room. On the Island Star the cabins are a good size, and storage space is good too, no worries for you there. Can't imagine that a deluxe cabin on Island Star will be necessary as only difference normally is size.

Incidentally our daughter is roughly same age as your son, and has cruised with us 3 times already and loved it. We were on Royal caribbean's Voyager of Seas in October past and she was gobsmacked by it. Royal Caribbean would certainly be best for that age group. Having said that we know that boys can be harder to please, but they have rock climbing, crazy golf, basketball court and also wave pools and slides on their ships.

Hi everyone I am looking for some advice please.

We have booked a cruise on the Island Star leaving on 28th March. As it was a last minute booking the only cabins available were on Aqua Deck. I have read that some cabins are affected by noise and vibration and wondered if anyone could tell me if I have made the wrong choice.
Also 2 of the ports of call are Valencia and Marseille. Any information on these places would be greatly appreciated e.g. is it worth going it alone or should we take a ship excursion?

Kind Regards
Millie

Marseille is easy to do alone. Just take the ships bus shuttle which will drop you at the marina area, and follow nose from there. Very close to the drop-off point you can get a city tour on open-top bus.

Personally would not worry in the slightest about your cabin, take some earplugs just in case though.

Valencia is a beautiful city and easy to do on your own unless you want to go further afield. We had a shuttle to the city centre and I thought it beautiful.
It was a public holiday and so the shops were more or less closed but I loved it and would love to go back again.

Sue

Hi Millie and welcome to HT!

I have merged your post with an existing topic on the Island Star which may have some useful information.

luci

We were on the Island Star in November and our cabin was right under the pub. You could hear music and announcements, but unless you are very early to bed it shouldn't worry you. It was mostly over by midnight and I went to sleep before then on several nights as I was worn out by all the walking around the ports!!! You can tell I'm not a party animal, but I am a light sleeper. We were on the 2 week cruise and I really enjoyed it. It isn't P & O but it is still very good.

Thank's everyone for the useful information. I am always a bit wary of DIY excursions incase we get lost and are late back to the ship. Husband likes to wander about and explore the area ourselves and says I worry too much.
One other question if that's okay. We also dock in Livorno and have been in Florence a couple of tmes and would like to see somewhere else - not too far from port - Lucca looks fairly easy when I checked the map. Anyone visited here or can suggest another town.
Again many thanks - the information on HT is fantastic.
Kind Regards
Millie

Pisa is worth a visit if you haven't been there....easy to DIY by rail.

Thank you Hamrag I will have a look at the railways timetables. It is a Sunday that we stop at Livorno so hopefully the trains run. Any idea how long it takes to get there?
Regards
Mille

Doesn't take long. Best way is to get a taxi from the ship to the rail station....but they are far from keen to do a short fare, and it is some way from the ship to the port exit. Because the taxi's would not take us we had to take the ship shuttle into the centre of Livorno. Then you get a bus to the rail station. Just ask the shuttle "guide" on board where to go for the bus, you do need to buy your ticket at a newsagent and not on board!! Sounds complicated, but really OK. When you get to Pisa it is about a 20 minute walk through town to the Tower, or get a bus. When you got back to Livorno again, there is no problem getting a cab to take you back to ship.

Given it is a sunday, you will need to plan carefully and, to be honest, maybe not worth it as trains are less frequent on sundays.

Greetins , Can any one advise please? I am booked for a 2 week cruise to the caribbean on board the ISLAND STAR on 29 January 2009 . Any comments from anyone who has done this previously will be greatly appreciated . Shore excursions booked locally cheaper than from the reps, etc ?
Regards wee-john

Hi John

I have merged your post with an existing topic on the Island Star which should give you some information on the ship.

You will find information on the ports in the DIY Shore Excursions - Caribbean Area topic at the top of this forum.

luci

Hi anyone either done this cruise or going on it?

any feedback welcome!

Hi All, travelling on the Island Star...med spirit itinery in Sept/Oct, please can anyone tell me about the 'flavours of Provence' excursion that island cruise offer. We (Husband and I) are doing 'Taomina', 'Pompei' and 'Florence on your own' but were unsure about an excursion in Toulon, any advice or guidance would be much appreciated. My Husband is worried that the wine tasting is going to be non-existant, has anyone done the wine tasting and is it worth it? Basically is there a good range offered so that you can take a bottle or two home? Dawn

I know this is somewhat subjective so please forgive me. We are looking to book the Star for our first ever cruise. With the current discount being offerred we were considering booking a balcony cabin on Golden or Sapphire. Is it worth paying the extra rather than an outside cabin on say Diamond deck. Is it also worth paying the extra £30 to pick the cabin, if so which cabin numbers would be best for each alternative.

Hope this is not too much trouble, thanks,

Jim

jim98 wrote:

I know this is somewhat subjective so please forgive me. We are looking to book the Star for our first ever cruise. With the current discount being offerred we were considering booking a balcony cabin on Golden or Sapphire. Is it worth paying the extra rather than an outside cabin on say Diamond deck. Is it also worth paying the extra £30 to pick the cabin, if so which cabin numbers would be best for each alternative.

Hope this is not too much trouble, thanks,

Jim
I know this is somewhat subjective so please forgive me. We are looking to book the Star for our first ever cruise. With the current discount being offerred we were considering booking a balcony cabin on Golden or Sapphire. Is it worth paying the extra rather than an outside cabin on say Diamond deck. Is it also worth paying the extra £30 to pick the cabin, if so which cabin numbers would be best for each alternative.

Hope this is not too much trouble, thanks,

Jim

Having been on Island Star would personally say a clear "no" to both! Others though would perhaps say "yes". There is a question in my mind, as we would not cruise with Island now...is there a reason why you have picked this ship, as you will get better ships at same or lower prices! If interested let this forum know your date window and price you are looking to pay on Island Star, and we will try and guide.