Advantages: Great For First Time Cruisers
Disadvantages: Not Enough Facilities For Children

...there is very little Pomp & Ceremony. Our cabin was an outside one on the sixth deck. Even though it was not one of the newly refurbished cabins it was still very tidy and presentable. There was maid service twice a day and there were still the nice touches such as turning the sheets over on the bed and putting the lamps on for you every evening. We had a 4 year old in our party and although it is a cruise for 'All Ages' it is not really geared up for children. Yes there is a Kiddies club with fantastic staff and great activities but this is only for 1.5 - 2 hour sessions at a time. So it can be hard sometimes to keep the little ones amused, as there are no facilities when the kiddies club is shut. There were a few children on our cruise but not that many. The staff though from the Room Maid through to the Bar staff were brilliant with all... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap and cheerful introduction
Disadvantages: Too informal and no all inclusive

...don’t want to miss you flight. Conclusion First and foremost I would say this holiday made us realise that cruising is the kind of holiday we would like (so long as there is no significant amount of time at sea). It was enjoyable waking in new ports every day. Sailing away at night was a joy. It is an fantastic way of holidaying. We also realised that this level of cruising was not our style. Some people may consider us snobs, but we would prefer something a little more upmarket and just a touch more formal (though not stuffed shirt). I am 32 and my partner 30 and there is a whole new generation of cruises that are more upmarket catering to our age group. I think in future we will opt for one of those. Having said that for a Butlins style atmosphere, informality and some sillyness this cruise is ideal and would... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Introduction of Dilys Laye
Disadvantages: Samey twee script

...THOUGHTS ON CARRY ON CRUISING As I watch each Norman Hudis film in turn I find it more and more difficult to find something new to say, as it always seems to be a case of 'seen it all before'. It is something we have now come to expect and Carry On Cruising is no exception. Set on the SS Happy Wanderer this film recounts the experiences of passengers and crew on a cruise. Sid James plays the Ship's Captain and seeks nothing less than total professionalism from his staff. With the likes of Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, Jimmy Thompson, Lance Percival and Cyril Chamberlain as first-timers on the ship, Captain Wellington Crowther typically gets less aptitude than he bargained for. Sid simply regenerates his Sergeant role from Carry On Constable, trying in vain to run a tight ship. From the moment he first meets his new crew you... Read review

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Advantages: Smaller ships, more intimate & friendly
Disadvantages: Less facilities on ship

...Firstly I am not new to cruising. I have completed quite a few cruises on several vessels, those being, the original Oriana, Canberra, new Oriana and FOCL Black Prince. This review is based on FOCL in general rather than a single ship. It would be too exhaustive to detail each ship so I hope this will give you an idea of this cruise and seek out your own preference in ship, cabin and cruise itinerary from the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Scandinavia to a World cruise FOCL is a family run cruise line that has a fleet of three ships, Black Prince, Black Watch and the newest Breamar. The difference regarding these ships to others sailing the worlds oceans is the size. FOCL purposely sail smaller ships. This is due to passenger wishes. Smaller vessels allow a friendlier atmosphere, personalised, and intimate. Ships sizes: Black... Read review

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Advantages: Hassel Free
Disadvantages: Diet

...Cruise Myths Some say cruising is for the saga buffs and some say cruising is for elder people, But what is wrong with travelling with the older generation, it makes your cruise complete because they have numerous and interesting stories to acquaint you with. Cruising is for everyone's experience. Increasing in age does not have the same meaning as it used to be in the past. In many cases, the popular stereotype of senior citizens relaxing in a nursing home is now thrown right out the window. More and more senior citizens are making the decision to get out and enjoy life instead of just saving it all for the kids' inheritance. Whether it is on the luxury Saga Ruby or the luxury QueenMary2, cruise ships are becoming more and more fashionable. Nowadays most cruise ships cater for all ages and the myth that cruise ships... Read review

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Advantages: Entertaining & Fun (for all kids), Encourages Crawling & Cruising, Colourful, Versatile, 2 music modes, teaches dexterity, grows with child, multiple activities, ball holder
Disadvantages: Space requirements, volume, music is on the annoying side - only three songs, doesn't fold, potential safety hazard, heavy, batteries run out quickly

...Christopher has been rolling around, army crawling and attempting to get more and more mobile every day. His interest in his Entertainer has been dwindling, as he didn't want to be contained in it for more than a few minutes at a time. Christopher’s Granny saw the Fisher Price Crawl 'n Cruise Playground in Toys r Us and after seeing Christopher pull himself up on her sofa and bop around to some music whilst holding their remote control and changing channels, she thought it would make a good gift for him. ** ASSEMBLY ** This gym comes in no fewer than 16 parts, which must be connected, mostly with screws. My husband put it together in no time at all. No sighing, frustrated sounds or crumpled paper, either. Directions were clear and parts were easily identifiable. It took him almost 30 mins to do so using an electric screwdriver... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Great Value Fabulous service
Disadvantages: expensive excursions, ship a little aged

...We travelled on Thomson Destiny on it's first mediteranian cruise of 2006 on May 4th. We had cruised on this ship previously when it was owned by Airtours and named Sunbird. The Destiny is the biggest in the Thomson fleet. I must say the improvements under the Thomson brand were very much evident. As this was our honeymoon we booked two 1 week cruises, back to back. This cost us about £1,900 with free all inclusive upgrade. We did book an inside cabin as on all my previous cruises I had always been upgraded to an outside cabin. Unfortunately we did were not upgraded and found out on the cruise from passengers that Thomson do not upgrade passengers to outside cabins free of charge. We flew to Majorca from Doncaster Robin Hood on the Thursday departing around 0600 hours. At our arrival airport there was a delay with coaches taking... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap..Nice ship
Disadvantages: more informal than other ships

...I have just returned from a one week cruise onboard the Island express on the Mediterranean Essence Itinerary. We joined the ship at Palma 16 days after disembarking from an eleven day repositioning cruise on the My Travel (Airtours) M/S Carousel. FIRST IMPRESSIONS We flew from Liverpool on an LTE (Palma based - Spanish) Airbus. A good flight arriving about one hour late. After collecting our cases we were directed to the Island Cruises desk where we were given an envelope containing embarkation forms (including a SARS declaration) to fill in on the coach. Also included was a triangular coloured plastic label with your cabin number on it and the sorting number for collection when leaving the ship at the end of your cruise (ours was Lime Green No 3). You fix the label to your case with a plastic strap. You then go to the coach... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap, Informal, Great for First timers
Disadvantages: No cash on board, not a lot for kids

...My other half and I have recently returned from our first cruise. I personally would never of dreamed of going on a cruise because I had the opinion that Cruises were for older people and people with money. But I was wrong, and I thoroughly enjoyed this holiday. We booked it last minute, about 2 weeks before, so managed to get a good deal, around £620 pp with an outside luxury cabin. The Cruise company was Island Cruises, renowned for being 'Informal'. The Cruise title was Med Essence. Now for the full details. Cruise Itinery: Day 1: Flew from UK to Palma Day 2: Day at Sea Day 3: Corsica - France Day 4: Citavecchia - Italy Day 5: Santa Margherita - Italy Day 6: Nice - France Day 7: Menorca - Spain Day 8: Return to Palma for flight back to UK. Day 1: Pleasant flight to Palma, upon arriving at the Airport there are Cruise... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Very informative tour
Disadvantages: nothing to report

...One of the Must- Do activities when visiting Tropical North Queensland is a Daintree River cruise. There are many options available to choose from, you can go for a short 1 hour cruise or you can make a day of it. Check out all the different companies offering river cruises and you are sure to find the one that is right for you. Our needs were simple enough, we were doing a day trip from Cairns to Cape Tribulation and back. We wanted to do a river cruise on the way but didn't want to be tied up for too long in the process. I had flicked through brochures and booklets and hadn't really decided which one to do before we left that morning. We arrived just before 12pm and thought we would see what was on offer, if we ended up in Daintree Village it would have been well timed for lunch so we weren't sweating it. We drove past two... Read review

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