Thanks to the last three folk who took the trouble to give advice. Shall bear it all in mind.
I do agree about using the anti-bacterial gel. It has been well in evidence on the last three cruises I went on (Armonia, Ocean Village and Norwegian Dream, all last year) and it should become second nature to use it. Even on getting on the ship etc. At the gangplank. Some people do dodge, I have seen 'em. And I have seen folks going straight out of the loo without washing their hands. Ladies too. I don't hesitate to tell if I see dirty habits. Oh, I do go on.
Again thanks to all.

I don't agree at all with Hamraq: for me, Agadir was one of the high-lights of the cruise: a chance for a whole day exploring the city.

It was my first experience of the N. African mainland - and my very first experience was to see the poverty of the sardine workers from the ship (right opposite where she docks).

I took the bus into town (didn't have any dirhams, but everyone was very friendly and I was given a free ride, so to speak).

Once in Agadir, I explored the shops/souks, enjoyed the beautiful long beach, took a tour on the road train (the driver even made a detour for me off-route), spoke to loads of people (including a family from a Saharan oasis) and was invited into a home for tea. It was really interesting to see how the city had been rebuilt after its destruction by the earthquake.

I decided to walk back to the ship in the evening, but was offered a lift by policemen - who were fascinated by the idea of meeting someone from England.

I have memories of a really great day - loads of new things to see, interesting food, ultra-friendly people.... Do give Agadir a try - but watch out for the over-charging cabbies who suround the ship!

Incidentally, on leaving the cruise, my case was damaged by careless handling. Thomson's staff told me this is common.

Enjoy yourselves!

My only regret was that I had to save the climb up to the Kasbah till next time!

Oh - one other thing. There had been a group of annoying passengers on the ship. The captain saved them for Agadir where they were handed over to the police and left behind. I bet they really enjoyed Moroccan hospitality!

For those of you sailing on the 24th November with me - Dont forget to pack your umbrellas, have just been looking at the forecasts on weather.co.uk and it looks like showers everyday except when in Agadir. Just my bl**dy luck!!!!

Very interesting posting, Cruiser. Glad to see the spirit of adventure (and observation) is still going strong. Thanks for that.

Don't worry too much Challdell
According to the BBC weather we were supposed to have dull cloudy days for most of the time. Agadir was supposed to be the worst day for weather and I spent most of the day on deck sunbathing!!! Before we went we found a weather website called INVALID URL click on international and type in destination. It can take some time as you have to look at each port of call seperately but it will give you the weather for that day. It will also give you a forecast up to 15 days in advance. We found this to be very accurate. The worst day for weather was Madeira it was raining for most of the but still warm. Hope this is useful for you

Hi Murphymo

Thanks for that website, I will check it out.

Just noticed that you are the same age as me, interested as to if you thought the cruise was more geared for 'mature guests' Have heard many mixed opinions of other cruises.

Hi Challdell
There is a wide range of ages on board from children to people in their 80's!!! I went on the cruise with my mum and neither of us felt out of place at any time. There was a good mix of families and couples of all ages. In fact I am looking to book another cruise in April next year with friends for my hubbys birthday. Also mum and I have already requested annual leave at work to go back in november next year!

Ooops Sorry.

Hope someone can help me, have just booked a Colourful Coasts cruise as a surprise for my sister and her husband. They will be leaving on Friday (had a bereavement in family).
I cant afford to give them much money towards doing the tours available, but want them to see as much as possible to hep take their minds off.

What Im looking for is details that I can copy off for them of things they could do in the ports by themselves to maybe save money.
If anyone has done DIYs for this cruise could you please please post the details.

I would normally search the site myself to gather info, but unfortunately am running out of time.

Do hope you can help.

Many Thanks.xxx

Hi bridge and welcome to HT!

You should find some useful information in THIS TOPIC. You may also find some information in the "DIY Excursions - Med Area" topic at the top of the forum.

HTH

luci

Regarding leaving your cases outside at midnight on the day of depature, you actually have to put a security seal over the 'join' so that when you check your suitcases in at the airport, instead of asking if your luggage has been left unattended (which it obviously has overnight), they can see it hasn't been opened since you packed it.

Therefore I would say it is impossible to return to your luggage on the day of departure, even when you collect it from the quayside. If you open it, you will be breaking the security seal and could have all kinds of problems at the airport as your luggage is now a security risk. Normally I carry toiletries in my hand luggage but with the new airport restrictions this will probably be impossible too. Therefore I would say it is ship's toiletries only that can be used on your departure day.

I have never seen the handsanitisation stations in the food/entrance areas on the Destiny, even though I make a point of looking for them. Either I'm more short-sighted than I thought (quite possible!) or its a new (and welcome) thing. I took my own last year as you can buy a bottle in Superdrug for about a £1.

Jessthepest,

Thanks for the info regarding the luggage, think my toiletries should be fine, as I now plan to leave behind what I dont use.
Am now thinking of my clothes from the evening before, I guess I shall just have to leave them right until the last minute.
Starting to stress about silly things now as less than 24hrs till we fly.

Hi Jess
We were on the Destiny two weeks ago and there were hand sanitisers at the entrance to the ship at all ports. There were also hand sanitisers at the buffet (although not everyone used them!!!) Also before you entered the seven seas restaurant for the evening meal one of the waiters made sure everyone used them. I wonder if they have only just been introduced onboard! Can't say I was too impressed with the security seals as mine had been ripped when I collected my case at the quayside!!!

Ah yes, must be new then because they definitely didn't have waiters with them at the door in June, nor did they in July 05. Well that's good news then! Something I can leave off my packing list for New Year!

I agree, the security seals aren't the best!

Recently returned from Colourful Coasts (10-17 Nov) which was our first cruise and had a great time. Having read some of the posts above looks like most of what I was going to say has been said, however for what it's worth here are some of my observations and tips. I've also done a more detailed review in the Cruise Review section

Upon arrival at the port in Tenerife they take your photo - we weren't ready for that after travelling all day and it looked awful!

I can't believe I went on holiday for a whole week and didn't actually go swimming - we just never seemed to have the time. The pools looked quite nice but I hardly saw anyone in them all week. Two reasons I guess, it wasn't the warmest weather some days, and they are right in the middle as a focal point, ie all the sun beds face them which put me off a bit! I did get to paddle in the sea in Lanzarote though - even though it rained.

We upgraded to a Deluxe cabin, which I have to say was well worth the extra. We even had a bath so it was just like a decent size normal hotel room.

We didn't take the all-inclusive drinks package after all, and are really pleased that we didn't. We spent £140 in drinks in total which is exactly half of we would have paid if we took the all inclusive. And as it happens most of the drinks we like (eg Smirnoff Ice and Budweiser) had a premium to pay anyway.

We met some lovely people on the cruise and this really made the holiday for us. So I think I'm hooked, trouble is not sure I can convince my hubby to go again as we had a couple of not-so-smooth sailing days and he suffered quite a bit. But that won't stop me looking at the brochures!

And a query for "Cruiser" - were you on the 10th-17th Cruise? If so I'm intrigued by the unruly passengers comments. We didn't see anything going on - any idea who they were?

Oh and our security seals were broken by the time we got on the coach too. Bit pointless really.

Just spoken with someone we cruised with last year on Thomson Celebration whom have just returned from a week on Destiny.
In comparison they said Destiny was rubbish against Celebration.
Has anyone been on both -whom can comment please?

In reply to sunseekers question, we have sailed on both and out of personal choice both my wife and I prefer the Celebration. Having said that I wouldn't say the Destiny was rubbish at all, we had a good holiday earlier this month on her and didn't have any complaints.

Zosoman thankyou for your reply, I am glad to hear that your feedback is positive on The Destiny.

We will be travelling on the Destiny, Colourful Coasts on the 29th December. Please can anyone who has just been or those of you who go before this date please let me know what the weathers like for this time of year.

Anyone else on the colourful coasts for Christmas??

I am very very lucky because we have just come off a P&O cruise in the caribbean about a week ago!! The thought of a boring christmas at home prompted me to get back on the internet and see what was on offer. Obviously price was a decideing factor and this came out as the best optio price wise, so 3 weeks to go and we're off!!

We've done the Spirit before and I think that the Destiny will be similar but perhaps a little less in many aspects, so we have booked the drinks package, are going with low expectations and intend to make the most of it!! Party ....Party....Party.......

I reckon the weather could be OK but unpredictable, so packing for a week could be just as tricky as packing for a fortnight in hot weather!

I just need to do some homework on the DIY stuff in the ports and get my head round what essential electrical stuff to take given the cabin voltage.

Anyone else going for christmas?

Anyone got any idea what the dress code/evening entertainment will be given that we'll be away from 22nd Dec to 29th Dec??

Not many sleeps to go!!!!