Hi Craig,

From memory, on Opera, there is a thermostat in the room on the wall to the left of the dressing mirror. My room was nice and warm but some others had their thermostat turned down low when they arrived and didn't discover how to turn it up till near the end of the cruise! (brrr)

Seven weeks to go! Wow how time flies by. I've been back for 8 weeks! Wish it were the other way round now.

Hope the Texaco offer works out for you. Do keep us informed if they start another one for cruises, I'm getting a serious case of "land fever"! Oh well, a few mins. on a fast ferry to Boulogne will have to suffice this weekend. I'll just close my eyes and dream.....

:-)
Hilary

7 weeks today and all us 12th Sept flying from Heathrow should be aboard the plane by now ready to to Malpensa

All I need to do now is get my money changed to monopoly money and pack my case

Glad to see Phil is on the mend and should make his cruise in October we are all thinking of you and look forward to the next instalment of the balcony cruise

all those fellow HT'ers going soon have a great time and don't forget to post your review when you get back.

Mike

I haven't yet received a letter from DE, but when I do, I think it'll be time to find out how effective my legal insurance is. If we accept being put off till 2006 or 2007, even acceptance by inaction, then that acceptance may prevent us from taking legal action until the expiry of that period (if I remember correctly, it's called estoppel).

As for the excuses about hurricanes .. the "discovery" stage of litigation allows you access to all the relevant paperwork of the other party. If the other party refuese to grant access, or you think they're holding something back, then you can get a court order.

It would be interesting to see how many people DE/R*** were planning, before the hurricanes happened, to send on caribean cruises.

Jim

Here is a review on my MSC Melody £10 cruise in July.

Mon 11th - The flight was uneventful and caught the coach at Malpensa airport and set off for Genoa. The bus journey took about 2½ hrs. On arrival at Genoa the computers were down and the queue to get on was massive. I met a couple of other women on the £10 Daily Express cruise and we lined up together. After being issued with our charge card the maitre' d was waiting to find out your seating requirements for dinner. I wanted 1st sitting on a large table. 1st sitting was at 7pm and 2nd sitting didn't start till 9pm. That's too late for me I'm afraid. A female member of the cabin staff took me to my cabin and my luggage was already there. Went up to the buffet where there wasn't much of a choice but managed to find something to eat and sat in a little dining room at the end of the ship which was air conditioned. There were tables around the pool with the retractable roof but it was far too hot for me. I like to be cool while eating. Got back to cabin and unpacked ready for the lifeboat drill at 4.30pm. Because people were embarking/disembarking at all the stops along the route the crew didn't seem to know who was supposed to attend the drill or not. Nobody I'd seen at the airport had lined up. After that at 5.15pm there was a talk by Ayesha the English hostess and I met up with some more people on the £10 D.E. cruise. At dinner there were 4 of us on the D.E. cruise, one guy who was on a Texaco promotion and 2 Australians (a mother & daughter). I had tomato soup, roast pork, white & dark chocolate parfait all washed down with a ½ carafe of red wine (cost €6, a deal). I knew beforehand from people who had been on the same cruise and this was one of the helpful tips they passed on. The show in Club Universe was "Circus Circus" and it was pretty good. There was a woman on there who could do all sorts with a hula hoop! The juggler was OK but he kept dropping his balls! I had a quick walk on deck for a breath of fresh air, went back to my cabin and read the paper. I slept like a log cause I had the earplugs in.

Tue 12th - Naples. Breakfast in the Galaxy restaurant of poached eggs on toast. Went on deck and sunbathed till 11am. Met Gill and went for a bite of lunch in the buffet then we went ashore. We walked to the open topped bus tour and paid €20. We both did the Art Tour then Gill got off but I stayed on and did the tour again then got off that bus and went on another bus and did the Bay of Naples tour as well. Your ticket entitled you to 2 trips. Got back onboard about 5pm so went up on deck to catch a few rays ready for the sailway at 6pm. However we were still docked at 6.30pm so I had to go down and shower & dress for dinner. I had the consomme soup, roast lamb and lemon profiteroles. I hadn't asked for wine but everyone who had wine the night before had the same waiting for them on the table on arrival which I was quite happy with but some people didn't want wine so the waiter had to take it away. Obviously I drank mine rather than hurt his feelings. I'm a caring person like that!! Went to the variety show with Ann, Rob & Alan (from dinner) and it was good. After that we went to the Junkanoo lounge where they were teaching the merengue. Then it was back to Club Universe for Mr Pizza. A bit like the generation game where people were selected from the audience, whittled down then the finalists had to make a pizza and a winner was announced. As usual, the oldest, fattest, guy with the worst pizza won! I went for a walk on deck and got chatting to a woman from Malta. There was a pastry buffet at 0030 hrs but didn't make that. Slept well.

Wed 13th - Malta. Breakfast in Satellite Cafe then a spot of sunbathing. Had a bite of lunch in the Riviera terrace then met Rob, Anne & Gill to go ashore. We caught a taxi and for €12 each we went to some palace gardens then on to the silent city of Medina & Rabat. I bought 1000 cigs in the duty free shop for about €78 which wasn't too bad. We got back to the ship at 4.30pm and managed to go for a swim & sunbathe till 6pm. For dinner I had consomme soup with barley & cauliflower, meatballs, rum baba & wine. The show was called "Puppets Corletts Characters" which was funny - but it wasn't supposed to be funny! We moved to the Blue Riband bar where Ayesha (the English rep) was having an informal get together. I went for a walk on deck and didn't make the barbeque buffet at 0030 hrs.

Thu 14th - Tunis. Had a lovely long lie and was awaked by the crew drill between 8 - 9am. I finished my 1st book entitled "PS, I love you" by Cecelia Aherne which Richard & Judy had recommended. It was supposed to be a real tearjerker but I was disappointed. Anyway started another blockbuster by Danielle Steel called "The Wedding". If you wanted to go ashore in Tunis you were supposed to be at the disco between 8.30 - 9am for immigration to check your passport but I'd missed that so I went for a walk on deck. As I'd missed breakfast had lunch in the Galaxy restaurant; bean soup, tuna club sandwich with French fries. Went to Satellite cafe for fruit for dessert. Had a lovely nap till 4pm then went up to sunbathe till 6.15pm. It was Gala night; I had shrimp cocktail, Tuscan soup, lamp chops and pears in red wine. I had missed the first sitting get together with the Captain so I joined Gill in the queue for the 2nd sitting guests and had about 5 glasses of bubbly. Went to the Club Universe to see the show "Mediterrano" then afterwards went to the Junkanoo Lounge to watch the oriental dancing. Had a walk on deck and on my way back to my cabin saw Gill & cronies in the Blue Riband so joined then for a beer.

Fri 15th - Ibiza - at sea till 7pm. Up at 10am to book the Ibiza island tour for tomorrow then I registered my credit card to pay my bill. Went up on deck but couldn't find a vacant sunbed so I walked to the front of the ship and stood and watched the waves reading my book. Lunch was in the Galaxy restaurant where I had ribs & sausage type casserole, ice cream & apple strudel. I had a lovely nap and then went back up to sunbathe and found a bed no problem. Dinner was only one sitting and as my usual table was full I sat at another table for 4. The waiter said, "This is not your table". I said, "My table is full so this is now my table". He said he was expecting people at 7pm and I said "First come, first served". I felt rushed all thru the meal though and at the end I reported him to the Maitre'd. For dinner I had tomato & feta cheese soup, forestiere chicken. After dinner I caught the shuttle bus into Ibiza and what an eye opener that was. I walked around and came upon the entrance to the castle and who was filming there (for a holiday programme I presume) - Curly Watts from ex-Coronation Street. Some girls asked to have their photo taken with him inbetween shots. I found an internet cafe and checked my emails and sent a few messages - all for the sum of €1. I bought 3 little bottles of Cava in a local supermarket then made my way back to the shuttle bus and bed.

Sat 16th Ibiza. Up early for buffet breakfast in Sunrise Terrace then did my island tour. We went to San Antonio, San Jose, then the castle & cathedral in Ibiza town. Lunch was in the Galaxy restaurant and I had shrimp cocktail, courgette frittata, Capri cake followed by a nap.
Our provisional bill was slipped thru your door and I didn't recognise one purchase so I went to query it with the accountants. Everyone else must have been and gone cos there was nobody else there. I asked to see a copy of the receipt and he looked it up on his computer and said it had been a mineral water. I knew there and then it was a mistake. Now if he had said a beer I might have accepted that but no way would I pay for water. Anyway, off someone went to the bar to get the receipt and afterwards he said "You are right madam, there has been a mistake". I said I knew that.
Anyway, it all got sorted out but I found out afterwards there 3 out of the 7 people on our table also had discrepancies on their bills. Makes you wonder eh. Bought 2 litre bottles of Gordons gin in the duty free shop for €11.80!!!! What a bargain. Got dressed up for the gala dinner and went to the cinema to see "Hide and Seek". (I found out later this film was also shown in your cabin). For dinner I had beef consomme, the lobster & baked Alaska plus some complimentary champagne. Afterwards we went to Club Universe for the show and had a few more sherberts. I had a little bit of a hangover the next day.

Sun 16th - St Tropez. Had a long lie and went for lunch in Galaxy restaurant. I had chowder & potato soup, scrambled eggs with smoked salmon followed by crème caramel and ice cream. Delicious. I took the tender into St Tropez and had a walk round the shops and the port but it was plotting so after a couple of hours I caught the tender back to the ship and had a lovely few hours sunbathing in peace & quiet.

For the last dinner I had plaice parcels (which in actual fact looked like sushi & it was foul), tortellini soup, cod in sauce (yuk) and fresh fruit. I made a few wrong choices that night but oh well. Everyone else was going to catch the tender back to St Tropez as we didn't leave till midnight but I wanted to start my packing. The cases had to be outside your cabin by 3am correctly labelled and I couldn't get everything in my case so I had to leave 2 of the books I'd taken. I also forgot to pack the little nightlight I'd taken and its still plugged in!! Tips were €20 for the waiter and €20 for the cabin staff.

Mon 17th - Genoa. Had breakfast in the buffet then packed the rest of my stuff and left the cabin at 8am as requested. Sat in a lounge area till my luggage label was called. Caught the bus and had about 4½ hrs to wait at the airport. Tried to get an earlier flight without success but was able to book my seat & check in my luggage quite early. There were a few flights cancelled and a lot delayed because of strike action by the cabin crew but luckily our flight was one of the lucky ones.

Well, looking back now I can honestly say that was the best £10 I've every spent!!!

Hi lesleyfb, wow you certainly did get your £10 worth all that food and complimentry champagne You clearly had a great time and no complaints but what is 'potting'?? thanks for the very detailed review Carol R.

Sorry lesleyfb it was 'plotting' I wanted to say not 'potting'. Who was doing it and why did it make you want to go back to the ship? Surely nobody was plotting against you. Do let me know before I become even more confused, Carol R

The word 'plotting' has me confused too Carol!.

Great review Lesley and what a neat way to do it day by day! Did you write everything down? I can just about remember what I ate when I look at the menus! It seems to me that apart from the fish parcels and cod, you enjoyed everything else which is pretty good for a week!

Was your Alitalia experience better this time?

Sorry. I picked that word up from my sister who's American. It means extremely hot. Too hot to do anything.

No. Alitalia was just the same fiasco as before. One long queue with everyone for the 1st 3 flights in it. Some people were beginning to panic thinking they might miss their flight. Luckily I wasn't too far back in the queue this time and was able to bypass a whole bunch of people who were milling around the entrance to the check in but if you were further back you were unaware you could bypass people on later flights.
In fact, one male flight attendant banged the back of my seat hard a couple of times and said, "seat up, seat up". I nearly had a heart attack. I found out also that he was really rude to a woman on the flight who needed to get past his trolley to go to the toilet and he had her in tears! Who needs that at the start of a vacation. She reported him to the senior cabin crew member though and the other girls winked at her so it looked as though he was getting up their noses as well.
I kept a note of what I did because I wanted my husband to share the experience when I got back - okay, its from its armchair but I wanted him to feel as though he'd been there. Hee Hee.

Hii lesleyfb what a sweet sensitive soul you are wanting him to enjoy every moment and every mouthful of delicious food, not a single gloating thought If I ever get my cruise I will be following your example and writing down all the highlights so my old man can enjoy it from his armchair as well good on you. Carol R

Thanks for your review lesleyfb, I really must do mine, although I know it wont be as good as yours.
I got my letter from DE today, the bit about the hurricains annoys me more than being told we will have to wait. They need to be honest with us, and including balloni like that just makes me very cross because we know none of the other cruise lines had there schedules disrupted, or maybe just the one cruise that was in that area at that time, not the whole years programme including the med. When I spoke to DE last week they didnt know when they would resume booking or what cruise lines they would be using, or indeed why they felt they should just be able to extend the sailing dates as they wished. To be honest I do not think they know themselves what they are going to do yet,and I think late 2006 or later is taking the micky, our cruises were supposed to be 2004/2005.

Because they aren't a travel agent I would have thought that the DE will have to hunt around for an actual agent to do the bookings. But who are they going to choose? As can be seen from what happened to Rise, there isn't much profit in selling £10 cruises if nobody is going to also buy the expensive add-ons. So I think that the DE will be struggling to find another travel company to handle the bookings.

The DE are not capable in doing the job themselves. They are a newspaper and not a travel agent. They would not have the staff in their organization who have the experience to negotiate with the various cruise lines and handle the nuts and bolts of booking over 2,000 cruise holidays. And, of course, they are not ABTA or IATA bonded. So who can they choose to take on this poisoned challis?

Trisantona,

Fair comment......I hadn`t really thought about that until now.

What about if the took on experienced travel industry staff specifically for this job and the bookings were made direct with the cruise company? Do cruise companies (such as MSC) have to be bonded in some way or not?

What I mean is that MSC are an Italian company running ships registered in Panama, so what jurisdiction does the booking come under?

At least the DE group have the money to `buy their way out` of the problem.........if they so choose........and COULD solve it quite easily by chartering a ship out of season. That would drop the `per head` cost to them.

I agree with Tony that the best solution would be for the DE to charter a ship and put all of us still waiting on the one cruise. I went on the Braemar in May and that had been chartered by Victoria Travel. They charter at least one ship each year and fill it because they are that much cheaper. The cruise is not in the brochure but you see it advertised in newspapers or on their web site. Sorry if I'm advertising but I 'm just showing it can be done.

I would imagine that the DE will approach another promotions agency to carry out their committments. There are many others around and the one that springs to mind is Landaround. I seem to recall postings about people getting trouble free promotional cruises and flights through them. My heart sank too when I read that they are throwing up the hurricane situation again. On the first Watchdog program, every cruise line that had been mentioned in the original advertising reported that the hurricanes had no or minimal effect on their cruise schedules. The answer by SM to this was that Carnival cruise lines had advised them that they had problems! How can one cruise line having problems in August 2004 have had the effect that the first Express cruise took place in February 2005! I am sure we would all like to know who among the applicants had been booked on a Carnival cruise!!! Can I appeal to the newspaper to please stop insulting our intelligence!

I`ll second that Magsy..............we expect it from Mark doowhacky but not from a National Newspaper Group.

I mean, if one is going to make excuses, at least use a little imagination...........perhaps get their cartoonists on the case!

Even if Landaround or another promotions company are approached how are they going to make a profit if most people are sticking out for the basic £10 cruise? I can just imagine the telephone conversation :- "Hello , this is the Daily Express. Could you book us 2,000 cruises ? Oh, by the way, they cannot cost more than £10 each" If I was a promotions company and received such a phone call I know what my answer would be . It would be along the lines of "go forth and multiply"!.

I agree in essence Tris, but given the opportunity of selling 2-4-1s and for sharers, they may well be interested!

But how many people want the upgrades and 2-4-1s? This why Rise got in the mess they did because so many of the original applicants did not want those options .