Thoughts on Dover to Barcelona 7/2017-sort of wordy sorry!

[tink1970]

This isn't a TR, just a few thoughts since I wasn't able to read much about this repositioning Europe cruise.
Hopefully it will help someone considering it for the future

Travel party was myself, DH, DM and DF. This is pertinent since I made some decisions based on convenience of traveling with 2 elderly (ish) parents and a spouse who doesn't travel to Europe as much as I do. I would definitely done the beginning of our trip differently if it had been with DD (excellent traveler) or just DH (only one person to corral!).

We left Tuesday for a Friday cruise-I didn't want to run the risk of travel snafus. I would have preferred more time in London, but DH doesn't like to miss more than 2 weeks of work. Since that's what pays for the trips, I can't complain (out loud!). We stayed at one of the DCL hotels (JW Marriott Grosvenor House) and took DCL transportation. Unfortunately our driver didn't understand me (and vice versa) so we spent an extra 15 min in traffic while he took us to the wrong hotel. He was annoyed and we weren't too happy.

Tip-SHOW the driver where you expect to be taken if you aren't understanding each other (sigh...)
Tip-It really is easy to have DCL pick up and take to the hotel. It is NOT inexpensive...so if you are in any way experienced in traveling, I'd DIY. Having to shepherd 3 people was just too much for me so it was worth it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this option for most people.

JW Marriott Grosvenor House was nice (it's JW Marriott which usually means they're nice) but I didn't love the location (near the American Embassy and Hyde Park) in Mayfair. I'm happy if there's a pub and Tesco or Sainsbury nearby...didn't find either. It was nice to walk to Hyde Park and explore but I wouldn't stay there again. The wifi was spotty and it took us 24 hours to clear up confusion regarding how to spell our name so we could have wifi. I expect a little more out of a 4 (or 5 star) hotel. Breakfast was included in our (outrageously expensive DCL) rate, but we had to have them reverse charges since one day we were charged. So little things but they add up.


Since convenience was the name of the game, we also took the DCL transport to Dover on the day of embarkation. We were able to meet with the representatives Thursday, who walked us through the luggage routine (leave in room by 8:30, when it would be picked up), leave hotel at 10:45. We also received a letter reiterating this. Easiest part of the trip so far...bus left as scheduled, no problems (well except traffic!).

Arrival at the port was fairly easy, although by the time we were there at 1:00 there was quite a crowd. Still, the process was smooth and the crowd was managed well. No line once we made it through the screenings at Concierge check in desk, and we were able to walk on and go to our rooms immediately. Suitcases were delivered shortly after so we were able to unpack before the drill. The meet and greet with Andy and Manuela went quickly and off to cabanas to eat since the sit down lunch (Animators or Lumiere's, I've already forgotten!) was closed.

TIP: don't take DCL transportation if you want to be there as soon as the port opens

Our cabin was 8532, a 1 bedroom suite. This was a great cabin, with the sideways configuration. It held 4 adults easily and if DD had been there the Murphy bed was in the living area so it still would not have been cramped. The location was just mid-right off the stairs/elevators but no noise from there. There was noise at night I'm guessing from Vibe which was 2 decks above (running, thumping) but that did NOT prevent any of us from sleeping (just a note if you're a light sleeper, it might). The benefits of concierge have been debated on many threads-since this was a once in a lifetime trip for my parents (and DH loves his good coffee) it was worth it TO US. Andy and Manuela were wonderful.

Dining-Some nights were better than others, to be honest. Our rotation was LAACLAC. My favorite menu is the first night in Lumiere's. Fortunately we're not foodies so there was always something we could find to eat, although the last evening I did have mac n cheese and chicken tenders
Our servers were good, it took them a couple of nights to realize we didn't want small talk or bonding. That's just our family, nothing against them. The only downside was a family of 16 that had 2 8 tops near our table. The adults would sit at one while the 8 children under 7 or so would sit at the other with NO adult supervision. Running into servers, climbing up on things, yelling, etc. It was very disruptive (another reason we didn't linger). It was mentioned to the head server and he did...nothing. The downside to DCL wanting everyone to be happy. You can please some of the people all of the time but not all of the people all of the time.

Palo-I usually prefer brunch to dinner but scheduled both (to avoid Pirate Night) and dinner was surprisingly better than expected. The butternut pasta (ravioli) was sweet but really good. Desserts (we tried 4 between the 4 of us) were better than expected as well. Unfortunately the server charged us for this dinner so it took some concierge magic to erase that charge-we're platinum so it should have been gratis sans tip of course-we did receive many apologies for the mix up. Brunch was wonderful as I've always experienced.

Weather-cool and breezy, but sunny in Dover; cool, gray and overcast in Le Havre and the first sea day. The second sea day it got a little sunnier and by Lisbon it was sunny and in the 70s. Cadiz and Barcelona were sunny, humid and warm. Definitely spring/summer/fall packing weather for this Florida girl!

Ports * disclaimer, I only left in Lisbon but my other family members went on shore excursions in all 3 ports ** my family is risk adverse so all tours were with DCL

Le Havre-DH/DM went on the Adults Only Paris sight seeing (it had a different name I'm sure). I'd encouraged them to go with me and take the chunnel when we were in London but they didn't listen. So, surprise- "a lot of bus riding and about only 2 hours to explore." This is where I don't say I TOLD YOU SO! That said, even with not a lot of time, they enjoyed seeing Paris. It's on both of their To Return Someday List.

DF went on the Adults only DDay Beaches Tour and this was very good. It was a "bucket list" item for him and he was very pleased he went. The guide was good as was lunch.

Lisbon-DH and I went on the Adults only tour to Cascais and Sintra. We did this because it included a trip to Cabo de Roca, the westernmost point in Europe. This was a lot of bus touring and the highlight for me was Cab de Roca, where we spent the least time. If I were to do it again, I'd hire a driver to go to Cabo de Roca. I just didn't enjoy the length of bus time and although Sintra is a lovely city it was so packed with tourists it just seemed frentic.

TIP: the public WCs cost .50 Euro so have coins available

DM/DF did Adults only Lisbon by Tram and Bus-this was an overview of the city, which they liked but again, more bus time then they'd prefer. It was a good overview.

We were about 30 min late departing because the ship waited for a late tour. The traffic was pretty bad which I believe accounted for that.

Cadiz-DH did the La Brena National Park Bicycle Ride-he said this was surprisingly challenging with hills, about 9 or 10 KM (so 5 miles) and some of the children couldn't complete it. It was hot, humid and hilly so not a flat, easy ride by far. His impression was that of the group perhaps only 2 teenage boys and he had fun. Not for the casual biker it seems.

DM went on Beekeeper for a Day, which she thought was interesting. Long and hot, but interesting-and she made a candle to keep. There were a lot of children on this tour but she thought they had fun.

DF went on Jerez and Sherry Tasting and enjoyed seeing Jerez. He wasn't sure why children were on an alcohol tasting tour (I believe they had grape juice or something) but had a good time. This was the hottest day for touring and I think it took a little out of all of them.

We were about an hour late leaving port waiting for a tour excursion to return. This affected our being able to see the Rock of Gibraltar which disappointed my father. It was still interesting to see the coast of Africa as we cruised through the Straights.

Disembarkation- we left after eating in the concierge lounge around 7:45, since we were supposed to meet Barcelona Day Tours for pick up, tour and drop off at the hotel at 8:30. The process for us was smooth and we were out waiting by 8:15. BDT arrived at 8:29 and two of the three families were on board and ready to go by 8:35. Unfortunately we waited an hour for the third family and left without them. They finally met up with us at Park Guell, and said sometime between when we got through passport control and when they did (around 8:00 I think) the machines went down, causing quite a back up. It sounded like a frustrating morning for a lot of people. The early walk offs were off by 6:45 and general debarkation was around 7:30. I think if everything went well-ship clearing, etc we could have made the 10:30 flight out...but it wasn't worth the stress for me and I was glad we had a day in Barcelona.

Barcelona Day Tours is highly rated by Trip Advisors and I think that the confusion with the third family as well as an accident on one of the main streets sort of threw them off their game. We were able to get an overview of the city, walk around La Sagrada Familia, briefly in Park Guell (most of that time was in the WC queue for me) and then taken to our hotels. I'm trying to be fair taking in the extenuating circumstances but not completely sure it was worth what we paid. The city was lovely, however, and it remains on all of our To Return List.

Hotels in Barcelona-we did NOT stay at a DCL hotel, finally going rouge --DH and I stayed at the Barcelona Arts Ritz Carlton near the Olympic Village (and beaches). This was very nice and a great way to spend our last night of vacation. DF/DM were in the AC Cotton Hotel, a boutique hotel more centrally located. They enjoyed this very much. We caught cabs to the airport the next day (fortunately the cab strike was the Thursday before we arrived) and it was an easy 30 minute drive.

TIP- get off the ship early especially if you have tours/transportation waiting, you just never know what the chokepoint is going to be
TIP- they don't open the check in at the airport until 3 hours before the flight; it was a bit of a madhouse finding the correct queue; if you can, check in first and then do bag drop OR be sky priority (if you're Delta).
TIP-gates do change from the time of check in to boarding; I'm aware of that but some people weren't-always check and check again once you're through security.

Final thoughts-Overall, this was a good cruise. We chose it because it had different cities and we would all see someplace new. I think our cabin was perfect for us and was worth the cost of a car
I'd never been on the Magic (done with my Grand Slam now), and had forgotten how much more I enjoy the smaller ships to the larger ones.

I only left in one port, the rest of the time was spent in the gym, Rainforest Room and on the pool deck during port days. I prefer and empty ship to bus rides. Those were my favorite days

I don't know if I'll sail DCL anytime soon again, however. As I mentioned, there were parents abdicating their parenting responsibilities as well as more smoking (on verandahs) than I enjoy. DCL doesn't appear to want to make waves so rules weren't really enforced and this affected our dining experience as well as spending time on the verandahs (my favorite thing). We'll see if I'm finally ready to make the jump to Oceania, Viking, or SilverSea in the future.

Apologies for the length, and if you make it through this novel, thanks for reading
If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer if I can!

 

[cmph]

Thanks for posting this! We thought about doing the opposite of this one (started in Barcelona, ended in Dover) next summer but are traveling with extended family who preferred Alaska. You never hear much about this itinerary, but it's still in my head for 2019 now. I liked that the ports were not places we had been (well, except Barcelona), particularly for DH who lived in Europe a large chunk of his life. I wouldn't want to travel far to get to cities that I'd rather visit for land-based touring, and I know you stayed on-board - but did you get a sense of how much there was to do right there without a long bus ride? Also curious about the smoking part - did that seem to be attributed to a larger percentage of European guests? Did you notice it anywhere other than your verandah?

 

[tink1970]

@cmph-

It's a good itinerary for sure! DCL provided buses into Le Havre (and I believe next year they'll be porting in Cherbourg as well as Vigo, Spain) and Lisbon. In Cadiz you could just walk into town, I believe it was a 10 min walk-lots of people did that. In Lisbon you could also walk and some of the interesting sites like the old quarter weren't too far from the port or bus drop. With a good guidebook I think it would be fairly easy to see those two cities. I was even tempted to leave in Cadiz...but an empty adult pool area was more enticing

I think some of the smoking was probably due to the different makeup of guests. Also I haven't been on the smaller ships for a while and I'm accustomed to the smoking area on deck 4 being right outside the clubs-on the Magic it seemed as though there were smoking areas both fore AND aft on deck 4 (or they were "created" by passengers ??). It wasn't a super big deal but I knew that they weren't going to tell the people in the Roy Suite (next to ours) to stop smoking on the verandah so just accepted that.


I didn't mention in my novel above that most people dressed slightly more formally in the MDRs (especially on "formal night") than I am accustomed to seeing on the Caribbean cruises. I don't feel strongly either way, but had I taken that into consideration (I knew from reading on the boards but sort of forgot when packing) I would have probably packed another dress. Again, not a big deal just wish I would've considered it. Enjoy Alaska-I've been on 2 cruises there and loved both.

 

[cmph]

@cmph-

It's a good itinerary for sure! DCL provided buses into Le Havre (and I believe next year they'll be porting in Cherbourg as well as Vigo, Spain) and Lisbon. In Cadiz you could just walk into town, I believe it was a 10 min walk-lots of people did that. In Lisbon you could also walk and some of the interesting sites like the old quarter weren't too far from the port or bus drop. With a good guidebook I think it would be fairly easy to see those two cities. I was even tempted to leave in Cadiz...but an empty adult pool area was more enticing

I think some of the smoking was probably due to the different makeup of guests. Also I haven't been on the smaller ships for a while and I'm accustomed to the smoking area on deck 4 being right outside the clubs-on the Magic it seemed as though there were smoking areas both fore AND aft on deck 4 (or they were "created" by passengers ??). It wasn't a super big deal but I knew that they weren't going to tell the people in the Roy Suite (next to ours) to stop smoking on the verandah so just accepted that.


I didn't mention in my novel above that most people dressed slightly more formally in the MDRs (especially on "formal night") than I am accustomed to seeing on the Caribbean cruises. I don't feel strongly either way, but had I taken that into consideration (I knew from reading on the boards but sort of forgot when packing) I would have probably packed another dress. Again, not a big deal just wish I would've considered it. Enjoy Alaska-I've been on 2 cruises there and loved both.

I'm chuckling at the part about the Roy Suite! Nope, no way they were going to be told to stop, eh? I haven't sailed on the Magic, but I assume it's the same set-up for smoking areas as the Wonder, and I couldn't even guess where that was. Now, that doesn't mean I didn't walk right past it, but it's probably not used as much as in Europe. I'd guess smoking is something that is going to be around more on European cruises, no matter the cruise line. I have been on Princess in Alaska, but this will be a first for the bulk of our party, so we are looking forward to it! It's a teensy bit selfish, but I am slightly bummed that we're doing that instead of the European one. No way we could swing two big vacations in one summer with vacation time, etc, so 2019 it'll have to be!

 

[Mommb]

We were on this cruise, and I can confirm that is was easy to walk from the port to the historical areas of Lisbon and Cadiz. We booked a private walking tour in Lisbon and did a "free" (no cost, but tips expected) walking tour in Cadiz. It took around 15 minutes to walk from the port to the meeting place both days.

During the stop in Le Havte, we did the Disney tour to the monastery on an island at Mont St. Michel. It was worth seeing, but did require several hours on a bus each way, and a lot of waiting for the group to catch up with the guide as we moved through the tour. If I had the trip to do over again, I'd look into booking a private tour -- that wouldn't cut the travel time, but would have allowed us to learn more about the site without as much jockeying for position to hear our guide.

I did not notice much smoking, but we were not on our Deck 7 veranda much and I wasn't on Deck 4 at night except the night we went by Gibraltar. Seeing Africa was interesting, but by the time we reached the Gibraltar, the fog was too heavy to see anything.

 

[Miggee]

This isn't a TR, just a few thoughts since I wasn't able to read much about this repositioning Europe cruise.
Hopefully it will help someone considering it for the future

Travel party was myself, DH, DM and DF. This is pertinent since I made some decisions based on convenience of traveling with 2 elderly (ish) parents and a spouse who doesn't travel to Europe as much as I do. I would definitely done the beginning of our trip differently if it had been with DD (excellent traveler) or just DH (only one person to corral!).

We left Tuesday for a Friday cruise-I didn't want to run the risk of travel snafus. I would have preferred more time in London, but DH doesn't like to miss more than 2 weeks of work. Since that's what pays for the trips, I can't complain (out loud!). We stayed at one of the DCL hotels (JW Marriott Grosvenor House) and took DCL transportation. Unfortunately our driver didn't understand me (and vice versa) so we spent an extra 15 min in traffic while he took us to the wrong hotel. He was annoyed and we weren't too happy.

Tip-SHOW the driver where you expect to be taken if you aren't understanding each other (sigh...)
Tip-It really is easy to have DCL pick up and take to the hotel. It is NOT inexpensive...so if you are in any way experienced in traveling, I'd DIY. Having to shepherd 3 people was just too much for me so it was worth it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this option for most people.

JW Marriott Grosvenor House was nice (it's JW Marriott which usually means they're nice) but I didn't love the location (near the American Embassy and Hyde Park) in Mayfair. I'm happy if there's a pub and Tesco or Sainsbury nearby...didn't find either. It was nice to walk to Hyde Park and explore but I wouldn't stay there again. The wifi was spotty and it took us 24 hours to clear up confusion regarding how to spell our name so we could have wifi. I expect a little more out of a 4 (or 5 star) hotel. Breakfast was included in our (outrageously expensive DCL) rate, but we had to have them reverse charges since one day we were charged. So little things but they add up.


Since convenience was the name of the game, we also took the DCL transport to Dover on the day of embarkation. We were able to meet with the representatives Thursday, who walked us through the luggage routine (leave in room by 8:30, when it would be picked up), leave hotel at 10:45. We also received a letter reiterating this. Easiest part of the trip so far...bus left as scheduled, no problems (well except traffic!).

Arrival at the port was fairly easy, although by the time we were there at 1:00 there was quite a crowd. Still, the process was smooth and the crowd was managed well. No line once we made it through the screenings at Concierge check in desk, and we were able to walk on and go to our rooms immediately. Suitcases were delivered shortly after so we were able to unpack before the drill. The meet and greet with Andy and Manuela went quickly and off to cabanas to eat since the sit down lunch (Animators or Lumiere's, I've already forgotten!) was closed.

TIP: don't take DCL transportation if you want to be there as soon as the port opens

Our cabin was 8532, a 1 bedroom suite. This was a great cabin, with the sideways configuration. It held 4 adults easily and if DD had been there the Murphy bed was in the living area so it still would not have been cramped. The location was just mid-right off the stairs/elevators but no noise from there. There was noise at night I'm guessing from Vibe which was 2 decks above (running, thumping) but that did NOT prevent any of us from sleeping (just a note if you're a light sleeper, it might). The benefits of concierge have been debated on many threads-since this was a once in a lifetime trip for my parents (and DH loves his good coffee) it was worth it TO US. Andy and Manuela were wonderful.

Dining-Some nights were better than others, to be honest. Our rotation was LAACLAC. My favorite menu is the first night in Lumiere's. Fortunately we're not foodies so there was always something we could find to eat, although the last evening I did have mac n cheese and chicken tenders
Our servers were good, it took them a couple of nights to realize we didn't want small talk or bonding. That's just our family, nothing against them. The only downside was a family of 16 that had 2 8 tops near our table. The adults would sit at one while the 8 children under 7 or so would sit at the other with NO adult supervision. Running into servers, climbing up on things, yelling, etc. It was very disruptive (another reason we didn't linger). It was mentioned to the head server and he did...nothing. The downside to DCL wanting everyone to be happy. You can please some of the people all of the time but not all of the people all of the time.

Palo-I usually prefer brunch to dinner but scheduled both (to avoid Pirate Night) and dinner was surprisingly better than expected. The butternut pasta (ravioli) was sweet but really good. Desserts (we tried 4 between the 4 of us) were better than expected as well. Unfortunately the server charged us for this dinner so it took some concierge magic to erase that charge-we're platinum so it should have been gratis sans tip of course-we did receive many apologies for the mix up. Brunch was wonderful as I've always experienced.

Weather-cool and breezy, but sunny in Dover; cool, gray and overcast in Le Havre and the first sea day. The second sea day it got a little sunnier and by Lisbon it was sunny and in the 70s. Cadiz and Barcelona were sunny, humid and warm. Definitely spring/summer/fall packing weather for this Florida girl!

Ports * disclaimer, I only left in Lisbon but my other family members went on shore excursions in all 3 ports ** my family is risk adverse so all tours were with DCL

Le Havre-DH/DM went on the Adults Only Paris sight seeing (it had a different name I'm sure). I'd encouraged them to go with me and take the chunnel when we were in London but they didn't listen. So, surprise- "a lot of bus riding and about only 2 hours to explore." This is where I don't say I TOLD YOU SO! That said, even with not a lot of time, they enjoyed seeing Paris. It's on both of their To Return Someday List.

DF went on the Adults only DDay Beaches Tour and this was very good. It was a "bucket list" item for him and he was very pleased he went. The guide was good as was lunch.

Lisbon-DH and I went on the Adults only tour to Cascais and Sintra. We did this because it included a trip to Cabo de Roca, the westernmost point in Europe. This was a lot of bus touring and the highlight for me was Cab de Roca, where we spent the least time. If I were to do it again, I'd hire a driver to go to Cabo de Roca. I just didn't enjoy the length of bus time and although Sintra is a lovely city it was so packed with tourists it just seemed frentic.

TIP: the public WCs cost .50 Euro so have coins available

DM/DF did Adults only Lisbon by Tram and Bus-this was an overview of the city, which they liked but again, more bus time then they'd prefer. It was a good overview.

We were about 30 min late departing because the ship waited for a late tour. The traffic was pretty bad which I believe accounted for that.

Cadiz-DH did the La Brena National Park Bicycle Ride-he said this was surprisingly challenging with hills, about 9 or 10 KM (so 5 miles) and some of the children couldn't complete it. It was hot, humid and hilly so not a flat, easy ride by far. His impression was that of the group perhaps only 2 teenage boys and he had fun. Not for the casual biker it seems.

DM went on Beekeeper for a Day, which she thought was interesting. Long and hot, but interesting-and she made a candle to keep. There were a lot of children on this tour but she thought they had fun.

DF went on Jerez and Sherry Tasting and enjoyed seeing Jerez. He wasn't sure why children were on an alcohol tasting tour (I believe they had grape juice or something) but had a good time. This was the hottest day for touring and I think it took a little out of all of them.

We were about an hour late leaving port waiting for a tour excursion to return. This affected our being able to see the Rock of Gibraltar which disappointed my father. It was still interesting to see the coast of Africa as we cruised through the Straights.

Disembarkation- we left after eating in the concierge lounge around 7:45, since we were supposed to meet Barcelona Day Tours for pick up, tour and drop off at the hotel at 8:30. The process for us was smooth and we were out waiting by 8:15. BDT arrived at 8:29 and two of the three families were on board and ready to go by 8:35. Unfortunately we waited an hour for the third family and left without them. They finally met up with us at Park Guell, and said sometime between when we got through passport control and when they did (around 8:00 I think) the machines went down, causing quite a back up. It sounded like a frustrating morning for a lot of people. The early walk offs were off by 6:45 and general debarkation was around 7:30. I think if everything went well-ship clearing, etc we could have made the 10:30 flight out...but it wasn't worth the stress for me and I was glad we had a day in Barcelona.

Barcelona Day Tours is highly rated by Trip Advisors and I think that the confusion with the third family as well as an accident on one of the main streets sort of threw them off their game. We were able to get an overview of the city, walk around La Sagrada Familia, briefly in Park Guell (most of that time was in the WC queue for me) and then taken to our hotels. I'm trying to be fair taking in the extenuating circumstances but not completely sure it was worth what we paid. The city was lovely, however, and it remains on all of our To Return List.

Hotels in Barcelona-we did NOT stay at a DCL hotel, finally going rouge --DH and I stayed at the Barcelona Arts Ritz Carlton near the Olympic Village (and beaches). This was very nice and a great way to spend our last night of vacation. DF/DM were in the AC Cotton Hotel, a boutique hotel more centrally located. They enjoyed this very much. We caught cabs to the airport the next day (fortunately the cab strike was the Thursday before we arrived) and it was an easy 30 minute drive.

TIP- get off the ship early especially if you have tours/transportation waiting, you just never know what the chokepoint is going to be
TIP- they don't open the check in at the airport until 3 hours before the flight; it was a bit of a madhouse finding the correct queue; if you can, check in first and then do bag drop OR be sky priority (if you're Delta).
TIP-gates do change from the time of check in to boarding; I'm aware of that but some people weren't-always check and check again once you're through security.

Final thoughts-Overall, this was a good cruise. We chose it because it had different cities and we would all see someplace new. I think our cabin was perfect for us and was worth the cost of a car
I'd never been on the Magic (done with my Grand Slam now), and had forgotten how much more I enjoy the smaller ships to the larger ones.

I only left in one port, the rest of the time was spent in the gym, Rainforest Room and on the pool deck during port days. I prefer and empty ship to bus rides. Those were my favorite days

I don't know if I'll sail DCL anytime soon again, however. As I mentioned, there were parents abdicating their parenting responsibilities as well as more smoking (on verandahs) than I enjoy. DCL doesn't appear to want to make waves so rules weren't really enforced and this affected our dining experience as well as spending time on the verandahs (my favorite thing). We'll see if I'm finally ready to make the jump to Oceania, Viking, or SilverSea in the future.

Apologies for the length, and if you make it through this novel, thanks for reading
If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer if I can!

thank you for this! there are not a lot of info on this board around european cruises!

 

[tink1970]

there are not a lot of info on this board around european cruises!

You're welcome, I had the same problem when I was researching this cruise.

 

[scottishclover]

I am thinking of this cruise for next year so thanks for posting. What were the seas like when you sailed along the west coast of France? I've heard the Bay of Biscay can be rough. Also were there lots of children on board? I have two teens of my own but I am a teacher, so the last thing I want on my holidays is lots of unsupervised children running about!

 

[janiebubble]

I am thinking of this cruise for next year so thanks for posting. What were the seas like when you sailed along the west coast of France? I've heard the Bay of Biscay can be rough. Also were there lots of children on board? I have two teens of my own but I am a teacher, so the last thing I want on my holidays is lots of unsupervised children running about!

we did this cruise 2 years ago (the ports were different - Vigo, Lisbon, Gibraltar) but the basic route was the same. The Bay of Biscay was rough ... we sailed in early August and I hadn't considered the fact the weather could be cooler ... all I'd packed was summer clothes! I ended up purchasing a hoodie in the shop onboard and I still needed blankets on deck those first two days. I travelled with extended family - some of them found it so rough they ended up missing dinner, I saw people not move from seats around the atrium staring into the distance clutching ginger ale ... I'd felt movement in Dover and took some Stugeron sea sickness tablets on day one, I was fine ... I could feel motion and couldn't walk in a straight line but not unwell (and I'm someone who suffers from motion sickness and vertigo). Others have sailed this route and the seas have been calm (a colleague did it last October half term and it was fine) so you can't guarantee the weather! It didn't detract from the cruise for me, but dinner on the second night was half empty ... I think many were feeling the effects!!

 

[tink1970]

I am thinking of this cruise for next year so thanks for posting. What were the seas like when you sailed along the west coast of France? I've heard the Bay of Biscay can be rough. Also were there lots of children on board? I have two teens of my own but I am a teacher, so the last thing I want on my holidays is lots of unsupervised children running about!

I had read the Bay of Biscayne could be rough but I didn't find it so on our trip. The weather was cooler and more overcast than my mother and father had expected, but I'd read a lot about the BoB crossing and concluded that it can be smooth, rocky or in between-sort of luck of the draw. We were fortunate- mom had her Scop patch and was fine; the 3 of us without it had no problems. I had requested ginger ale in our fridge prior to sailing but fortunately didn't need the 8 cans we were provided

There were children on board...and I don't know if it was a lot versus a few that were totally out of control, behavior wise. I was to the point of not wanting to go to MDR at night since it was like Romper Room (dating myself I realize). I'm pretty sure July/August are the peaks of family traveling for European families so add that to those of us who flew over from the US so there were definitely children everywhere (including, occasionally, the Adult Only Areas albeit for not too long). It really did cause me to re-think cruise lines in the future- I enjoy my DD and her friends but am way past wanting to be kicked, shoved and endure screaming from others' little darlings.

 

[coloradocutie]

Thank you!