Hi

Could anyone let me know if it is worth upgrading from inside cabin deck 1 or 2 to a deluxe cabin for £308 for the holiday

Thanks

Steve

Personally I wouldn't bother, we had a standard cabin outside on deck 2. It was absolutely fine, and for the length of time you spend in it, the cost of the upgrade doesn't seem worth it to me. Now if you were adding a balcony or a suite, I might be tempted, but to simply upgrade I wouldn't bother.

Having always had a standard inside cabin, hubby and I have decided to treat ourselves next year for our 50th birthdays and have booked a suite on the celebration for July 2009- can't wait!!! Really like the look of the adriatic itinerary. Thomsons are also introducing a premier cruise service which sounds interesting - concierge, complimentary pressing service etc

Gill

Having booked an outside cabin last year after 2 previous cruises with inside cabins, we could not go back to an inside cabin now

hi thanks for the advice i made a bit of a mistake when i said £308 it should be double this as we are going for 2 weeks i think we must be doing the same route as you Gill but we are going the end of may and can't afford a suite you lucky things but being our first cruise i will probably take some of the advice on here and stay on deck 1 or 2. She did offer to move up to deck 3or 4 for £140 for the holiday again on an inside but going by your comments it does not seem worth it unless someone can tell me otherwise

hbrac could you tell me what deck you had your outside cabin on and why you would not go back to an inside as we have not experienced either

thanks
steve

We have been on the bottom deck of a ship and that only means you have an extra couple of floors to go up in the lift. Yes it's nice to be a bit higher up and closer to the restaurants and bars, but it's no big deal and we wouldn't bother unless the cost was minimal.

We have also stayed in inside and outside cabins. On our first cruise we paid for the privilege on having an outside cabin mid-ship, but after that we only booked an inside as it was much cheaper and we could put the extra money to better use elsewhere.

We were lucky enough to be upgraded to an outside free of charge with Airtours several times, but Thomson's are not known for upgrading you. I certainly wouldn't pay £616 extra just to have a porthole, but that is personal preference.

Let us know what you decide Steve and also what you thought of it once you have been.

luci

Agree entirely with Luci....we started on first cruise with an outside, but every one since we have taken the cheapest inside available (cabin size is always the same as outside) which means we can go twice a year, rather than once!

Hi

thanks again

I think I will stick with the indside and as we have never been before we can't compare it with anything and as you say the extra we have saved can go on something else like trips etc, we have got the AI upgrade which should also save us a bit as well.

I will certainly let you know what I thought but its not till May 2009 so if you don't mind waiting.

Steve

Hi

I have cruised on the Celebration twice this year and enjoyed them both and would happily go again but have also been on cruises with alot of other lines. Thomsons are a cheap and cheerful cruise line and to me if you are going to pay more to upgrade to a better cabin then you would be better spending the extra and going with a better cruise line such as Royal Caribbean, P&O, Princess etc as there standard low grade cabins are better that Thomsons upgrade cabins.

Mo

When we went on our first cruise, money was a bit tight as there were 5 of us so we had inside cabins on deck 2. It was a bit disorientating not knowing if it was night or day but you don't really spend much time in the cabin, just to sleep, shower and get dressed to go out again

We gazed wistfully at outside cabins as we passed along the corridor and as my son didn't want to come with the next time, we booked an outside cabin for 4 . We felt we deserved a little extra seeing as we were a bit cramped with 4 adults sharing.
We went up to the next level deck 3/4 for the inside cabin.

Our experience of a higher deck is that there aren't so many kids running up and down making alot of noise. As I say, that was just our experience of the lower decks, others may tell you that it was quiet around their cabins.

If you have an inside cabin it doesn't really matter which deck you're on. If you don't mind going up and down the stairs ( good exersise) or taking the lift go for it. It is cheaper.

We now like being able to see out so that's why we go for outside now. We use the money that we would have paid for our son to indulge ourselves

Thats exactly what we have done - we are paying the same for our suite next year for the two of us as we are paying this year for our 18 year old son to share with us. At least we can then decide whether its worth the extra money or not.

I really wanted to try one of the bigger, more upmarket ships, but I couldn't find any 14 days cruises round the Eastern med - only 10 - 12 days - don't know if anyone knows of any?

Gill

The moral of this story is.....leave the kids at home and you will have a marvellous time

Hi I need advice I am a cruise virgin and have just booked 14 nights Aug 2009 Adriatic Explorer/Pearls of the Aegean for me and other half deck 7 deluxe with drinks package. How much are excursions ? Would it be better to do our own thing ! Any tips/info re Ports of call the same itinerary that Sterling posted. Now, Dress code I like to get dressed up but it is a struggle to get my Hubby into a suit tell him he needs to , please or at least a jacket and tie . Also with drinks package are their restrictions time/choice. Do we need money on board in fact just tell me everything I need to know. I am so looking forward to this cruise (special birthday 50th) and it is ages away yet.

We've booked for our 50th's as well - end July/beg August - in fact our 2nd week might be your first.

We haven't done the adriatic before so can't comment, but a lot of the greek islands you can just get off and explore the pictoresque ports yourself. Athens is worth an excursion, although I think you can also DIY. Prices usually £20/25 half day excursion, £40/50 full day.

Drinks - no real time restriction (unless you like drinking 9.00am!) - most brands included, apart from eg Baileys, where you pay a supplement - you can drink as much wine by the glass as you want with your meal. Drinks such as cointreau and sambucca included in AI, as are most cocktails.

Suit or shirt and jacket recommended for more formal nights - though you could eat in the buffet restaurant if you didn't want to dress up - but thats part of the fun!

Gill

Thanks Gill

Sorry, we are end of Aug. beginning Sept. so we won't meet, but thanks for the info. My husband asks if they do cider on the boat? Do you know?


Elaine

Yes they do cider....LOL I asked this very question for my own husband a few months ago!
They sell Strongbow (cans) and it is NOT part of your AI package, you will have to pay a surcharge of around £1.80 for it........
as for the dress code.......I am afrais to say that your hubby will be happy! Formal night excepted, the accepted dress for the Meridian restaurant is simply a shirt with a collar (can be a polo shirt), and casual trousers (chino's or cords), NOt jeans. Very few men wore a tie or a suit, apart from captains night. Doesnt stop you putting your glad rags on tho!
You will have a great time! We went on our first cruise in march for my 'special' birthday too! and we loved it so much we go on the Emerald in August!
if you have any other questions, just ask!

so are jeans an absolute no then? we go on celebration next easter and i thought other than formal night , hubby would be ok in jeans and shirt/top.or even myself smart jeans with dressy top.

I only noticed one or two men in jeans during the whole week in the Meridian.......and to be honest they did look out of place (and my husband only ever wears jeans at home)

casual trousers other than jeans are fine (for example my husband wore trousers from Next which are jeans but are coloured, beige and have a cord effect, also some chino's from same shop). In fact, I would think jeans may be too warm in the summer months anyway, chino's etc would be cooler I imagine.

As for us ladies, I cant say I noticed any women in jeans, but I would say if they were smart and you had a dressy top on with them you would be absolutely fine. They dont seem to turn anyone away, but it's more how you feel comfortable if everyone else is dressed a certain way.....

We've always upgraded so that we can have a porthole. Personally I couldn't care less but my wife insists we have a little window about the size of a dinner plate so she can see the waves splashing around!