It's A Small World - A Never-ending Pre-trip Report

[jedijill]

Those pictures are stunning! Love the dolphins! The palace looks like one of the sets from Game of Thrones!

Jill in CO

 

[dolphingirl47]

Those pictures are stunning!

That is what I thought.

Love the dolphins!

I just hope that I get to see some.

The palace looks like one of the sets from Game of Thrones!

I have never watched this. I just Googled it and it was partly filmed in Morocco and Malta, both of which have a fair bit of Arabic architecture.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

I had no idea there were Arabian Gulf cruises, how exciting!!! Those pictures are absolutely gorgeous. I can't wait to hear your report on this one

I do enjoy staying home for a bit, but three weeks would be too much. I'm so glad you were able to find something any plans for the other two weeks?

 

[dolphingirl47]

I had no idea there were Arabian Gulf cruises, how exciting!!!

Yes, quite a few cruise lines offer them between October and March/April. Winters in the Middle East are lovely and the cruises offer the cruise lines an alternative to bringing their ships back to the Caribbean after the European season.

I can't wait to hear your report on this one

I said to Graham the other day that I will probably have non-stop trip reports going until at least spring of 2017. I am hoping to have the Disneyland Paris one wrapped up before I go on this cruise and will start posting the one for my Coast to Coast Adventure once I get back. I will see where I fit this one in. I may have to do two consecutive trip reports.

I do enjoy staying home for a bit, but three weeks would be too much.

I usually get twitchy after three or four days.

any plans for the other two weeks?

Nothing concrete yet. I may have a quick day trip to London to see the Christmas decorations and visit Harrods. Other than that, I will run various errands and spend some quality time writing trip reports.

Corinna

 

[PrincessInOz]

I'm looking forward to your Middle East cruise! Can't wait to see those pictures.

Well done on getting that booked so *we* can enjoy it.

 

[Pinkocto]

Yes, quite a few cruise lines offer them between October and March/April. Winters in the Middle East are lovely and the cruises offer the cruise lines an alternative to bringing their ships back to the Caribbean after the European season.

I'm going to have to put this on my bucket list.

I said to Graham the other day that I will probably have non-stop trip reports going until at least spring of 2017. I am hoping to have the Disneyland Paris one wrapped up before I go on this cruise and will start posting the one for my Coast to Coast Adventure once I get back. I will see where I fit this one in. I may have to do two consecutive trip reports.

I look forward to hearing about all of them

Nothing concrete yet. I may have a quick day trip to London to see the Christmas decorations and visit Harrods. Other than that, I will run various errands and spend some quality time writing trip reports.

Corinna

That sounds lovely One day I must get back to Harrods, I did not spend nearly enough time in there.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Can't wait to see those pictures.

I will finally be able to give my 25mm prime lens a proper workout on this trip.

Well done on getting that booked so *we* can enjoy it.

I like that concept. I have justified my Disney Dooney habit for quite a while with looking at cost per use. Maybe I should do a similar thing for our trips by comparing the cost to how many people benefit from it.

I'm going to have to put this on my bucket list.

I think it is a great cruise and something a bit different.

I look forward to hearing about all of them

And I am looking forward to writing all of them. I have to say this year I suffered from acute trip report withdrawal.

That sounds lovely One day I must get back to Harrods, I did not spend nearly enough time in there.

I am really looking forward to this. The first time I set foot into Harrods, I had a full-blown panic attack as I felt completely out of place. Nowadays, I just treat it like a museum and I can appreciate it for all its special little touches.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Not a great deal has happened in terms of preparations for this trip since we booked our first excursion. It has been a pretty busy week for both of us. What I did manage to sort out is getting the hotel booked for our one night in Dubai. We normally stay at the Premier Inn near the airport, but this time round the rate they quoted me was crazy. So instead I booked the Holiday Inn Express, which is right next door. Unlike the Premier Inn, they don't have a pool, which is a bit of a shame. So rather than the morning swim that I had anticipated, we can have an extra hour in bed. The port does not open until 12:30.

I am currently pondering if I should get the soda package. I like my soft drinks, but I am struggling to find out what they offer in terms of soda. Some of the newer ships have Coca Cola freestyle machines and pretty much all the information available is geared towards this. Our ship does not have them and there is very little information around how this works and what is included. I am so spoiled having soft drinks included on DCL. I did not bother with the soda package when we sailed on NCL in 2009 and figured I just would get a soft drink occasionally, but the prices were quite high so I never bothered.

The second thing I am pondering is whether or not to get the photo package. They don't have the electronic version on our ship so you end up getting all the prints. However, we will have a very generous luggage allowance so bringing the prints back won't be an issue.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

I am really looking forward to this. The first time I set foot into Harrods, I had a full-blown panic attack as I felt completely out of place. Nowadays, I just treat it like a museum and I can appreciate it for all its special little touches.

Corinna

I'm glad you can enjoy going there now. It does have the museum feel, I totally agree with you.

 

[Pinkocto]

How much is the soda package?

You really enjoy the photos on your trips, will you be disappointed if you don't have them this time? If so I'd say go for it.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I'm with Pam. I think you should go for your photo package. Aside from you getting pictures, I've really enjoyed looking at them on your TRs as well.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I'm glad you can enjoy going there now.

I am glad, too. Nowadays I could spend ages in the food hall and Harrods is truly magical at Christmas time. They also have some tie in with Disney now and I have not seen this yet.

How much is the soda package?

$8 per day.

You really enjoy the photos on your trips, will you be disappointed if you don't have them this time?

That is the thing, I simply don't know. On DCL, the character photos are a big deal for me and that element won't be there on RCL. I don't really know what to expect in terms of photo opportunities. I am also struggling to find out much by the way of information about the smaller/ older ships and what is on offer. Most of the information online is about the newer mega ships.

Aside from you getting pictures, I've really enjoyed looking at them on your TRs as well.

Now there is an argument.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

All this discussion moved me to pay for my photo package for my cruise next week. I enjoy seeing the pictures of you as well, but without the characters would there really be that much draw to get a lot of photos taken? Then on the other hand, you really like your photos, so having to purchase them separately might not be as good for you as if you got the package in the first place.

 

[MeganAndOwen]

Wow Corinna Khasab looks beautiful! The rest of the cruise sounds wonderful too. Hope you have a great time

 

[dolphingirl47]

All this discussion moved me to pay for my photo package for my cruise next week.

I am glad that you pre-purchased this,

I enjoy seeing the pictures of you as well, but without the characters would there really be that much draw to get a lot of photos taken?

That is part of the problem. I really don't know what to expect. On NCL I would have loved to have a photo package as they took photos in every port as well as 4 or 5 backdrops per night. At the time this was not an option and I only have a handful of photos from this trip. I am just wondering if I would get enough photos to make this worth my while.

Then on the other hand, you really like your photos, so having to purchase them separately might not be as good for you as if you got the package in the first place.

I just would not. I would probably buy two or three if I had to buy them separately, but no more than that.

Wow Corinna Khasab looks beautiful! The rest of the cruise sounds wonderful too.

I am really looking forward to this. I am now officially on leave and most of the errands I had to run were taken care of today so I will have quality time to spend on here and my trip report for the next couple of days.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

Hmmmm, that's a difficult decision about the photo package. But without knowing for sure what you'd get I'd be inclined to just take my own photos instead. And you take great photos.

I'd have to buy the soda package for myself, I enjoy soda that much, but I don't know how much you drink it.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Hmmmm, that's a difficult decision about the photo package. But without knowing for sure what you'd get I'd be inclined to just take my own photos instead.

I think I am going to go for it. Apparently you can let them know up to 3 PM on the last day of the cruise if you change your mind and you get a refund. If they run any specials on the ship, they pricematch as well so there really is no risk.

I'd have to buy the soda package for myself, I enjoy soda that much, but I don't know how much you drink it.

I do like my soda. I will have a couple with lunch and dinner and another couple at some stage during the day when I am on vacation.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

That's great that you can change your mind about the photo package that late and still get a refund.

Considering each soda is a couple dollars each, maybe even $3-$4, the $8 a day would be worth it.

 

[tiggrbaby]

What an exciting trip! I know it's not what you originally planned, but it seems like it will be magical in its own way.

 

[franandaj]

For us the soda issue would be no question. Yes for Fran, no for me. I rarely drink soda if at all. She on the other hand practically coarses it through her veins!

That's great they will let you decide on the photos on the ship.

I am so behind on my own packing. I need to go to bed early so I can get up early and do something. I've been so busy lately that it's been killing me!