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Original poster

TUI Cruise

75 replies

AlbertCampion · 30/01/2023 21:48

We're thinking of going on a Mediterranean cruise in August 2024. This would be a very special holiday for us - we'd need 18 months to save - so we want to make sure we get it right! We're looking at TUI as they seem to be good value and family-friendly (we'll have 11 to DS with us). Has anyone got any feedback on TUI cruises? Or tips/tricks? Must-dos? We're usually a week-in-a-self-catering-cottage family so v nervous about splashing out and getting it wrong.

OP posts:
CraftyGin · 04/02/2023 18:06

Blueberrycreampie · 31/01/2023 21:40

Have been on several cruises, RCI, Princess, Cunard etc but are going on a Marella cruise next week. We only booked a week ago and we are flying to Tenerife and cruising from there. I've looked at lots of YouTube and read reviews and think it will be fine. Looking forward to it and will feed back if you like?

We did that cruise last year. You are already there and hopefully having a blast.

What I would say about it as it is not the best itinerary, but that's what you get for short hall winter. Madeira was fab, though.

We were still under Covid restrictions then, so hopefully you have been able to ditch your mask.

It was a very relaxed and much-needed break.

tinytemper66 · 04/02/2023 18:09

I am about to go on my 3rd Marella cruise 🚢 we have booked the biggest cabin on the ship. It is an Adriatic cruise 🚢 it is adult only. We will go with a different cruise company next time. I liked where it was going.

Blueberrycreampie · 04/02/2023 18:38

@CraftyGin Ha! Not there yet - we join the ship next Tuesday but the more I read about it, the more I'm looking forward to it. Never been on an all inclusive ship before but think I'll manage😊.

Blueberrycreampie · 04/02/2023 18:39

tinytemper66 · 04/02/2023 18:09

I am about to go on my 3rd Marella cruise 🚢 we have booked the biggest cabin on the ship. It is an Adriatic cruise 🚢 it is adult only. We will go with a different cruise company next time. I liked where it was going.

Ours is too - only had the exec or inside. Jealous of your adults only though!

CraftyGin · 04/02/2023 19:18

Blueberrycreampie · 04/02/2023 18:38

@CraftyGin Ha! Not there yet - we join the ship next Tuesday but the more I read about it, the more I'm looking forward to it. Never been on an all inclusive ship before but think I'll manage😊.

If you have the same itinerary we had, don't feel bad about having only a short stop on Fuertaventura and La Gomera. You can get back to the ship for lunch, although I think we might have had a couple of sangrias first. That's unless you want to do specific excursions.

In Lanzarote, we avoided Arrecife and took a taxi to the main beach area (can't remember the name). It was great, though. For perspective, we bought the 10 Euro bus passes, but since Arrecife was the first day, the queues to get on the coaches were massive. We then thought we would just get a taxi to Arrecife, but the taxi driver talked us out of it.

We loved Madeira and Grand Canaria.

tinytemper66 · 04/02/2023 20:11

@Blueberrycreampie 😂 I was worried that the adults on board would be drunk all day etc but there were two occasions where I noticed people drunk. We went on the same ship, adult only, in 2019. Tops are included plus we have the drinks pad have due to the cabin we booked. I do like to spoil myself whilst on holiday. The ports we are visiting are easily accessible and we can walk into the towns from the ship.

Blueberrycreampie · 04/02/2023 20:47

@CraftyGin Ooh thanks for these tips - not going to Fuertaventura but think
I may have been there before - not sure? Been to La Gomera before and loved it. We hired a taxi to take us for a drive then asked him to drop us at The Parador where we had lunch and then sunbathed by the pool. Had a lovely day with OH and his elderly mum. Been to Madeira before but we are stopping at Agadir which tbh not really looking forward to.

Blueberrycreampie · 04/02/2023 20:53

tinytemper66 · 04/02/2023 20:11

@Blueberrycreampie 😂 I was worried that the adults on board would be drunk all day etc but there were two occasions where I noticed people drunk. We went on the same ship, adult only, in 2019. Tops are included plus we have the drinks pad have due to the cabin we booked. I do like to spoil myself whilst on holiday. The ports we are visiting are easily accessible and we can walk into the towns from the ship.

I do love the Adriatic and would love to see more of it - must look out for that cruise! I have a big birthday while we're away so wanted to have a memorable holiday. Most of our holidays are fairly low budget eg cheap flights and self catering accommodation to Greece, Spain etc so it's a bit of a one off!

Blueberrycreampie · 04/02/2023 20:55

@CraftyGin If you do happen to remember the beach you went to in Lanzarote could you let me know please?

CraftyGin · 04/02/2023 21:28

Blueberrycreampie · 04/02/2023 20:55

@CraftyGin If you do happen to remember the beach you went to in Lanzarote could you let me know please?

Looking at the map, I think it was Puerto del Carmen.

Basically, this was a beautiful beach with amenities on one side of the road, and a strip of bars, restaurants and tourist shops on the other.

We walked up and down and settled into a tapas bar for an hour or so, where you could basically people-watch and take in the atmosphere of the town. I think they had WiFi, which is massive when you are on a cruise.

I also tried to buy shorts (there were several places) but not catering to UK proportions :(. It was a lovely relaxed day, nevertheless.

Without children with us, we didn't partake of the beach. If you do have children, there are loads of things to do, including things like banana boat rides.

NCTDN · 04/02/2023 21:32

tinytemper66 · 04/02/2023 18:09

I am about to go on my 3rd Marella cruise 🚢 we have booked the biggest cabin on the ship. It is an Adriatic cruise 🚢 it is adult only. We will go with a different cruise company next time. I liked where it was going.

This was the cruise we did. Split was amazing!

Blueberrycreampie · 04/02/2023 21:32

Thank you for this, will have a look at the map! 👍

CraftyGin · 04/02/2023 21:46

Blueberrycreampie · 04/02/2023 20:53

I do love the Adriatic and would love to see more of it - must look out for that cruise! I have a big birthday while we're away so wanted to have a memorable holiday. Most of our holidays are fairly low budget eg cheap flights and self catering accommodation to Greece, Spain etc so it's a bit of a one off!

Show quote history

Our Adriatic cruise was Corfu - Venice - Portoroz - Sibernic - Dubrovnic - Montenigro - Corfu.

Venice is amazing, of course. With a smaller ship, you can sail up the Guidecca. We didn't do any of the ship's excursions. We made our way in and out of the city via very sleek James Bond style cruisers. We then just walked around, had lunch, did a gondola ride, bought some tat and returned to the ship. The sail-away was amazing.

I loved Portoroz. We took a ship's coach to the beach resort and just chilled on the beach. DH and the girls did watersports. We then had a really lovely lunch.

Sibernic was an interesting place - we basically walked around and then had lunch in the square, listening to our Bosnian waiter telling us how he was so hard done by. A lot of cruises stop at Split instead of Sibernic.

Dubrovnic is amazing and the scene of the civil war, We spent the morning at a beach resort where we had lunch and then took the bus to the city to see the buildings with bullet wounds. We took a cable car above the city which had the most amazing views. I think they could rival Rio. There was a supermarket opposite the cruise terminal where we spent the local Croation currency on crap that my daughter would throw up the next day.

Montenigro is the most impressive navigation through small channels. They resemble fjords. I had to stay on the ship with my sick daughter, but DH took the other two up a mountain. The town was a mini Dubrovnik

Corfu - when we got back to Corfu it was phenomenally hot. We basically couldn't do anything that wasn't in the shade - we had lunch, wandered the shops, stepped into an orthodox church, and returned to the ship for a quick drink before our departure.

NCTDN · 04/02/2023 21:55

@tinytemper66 what ports are you stopping at and when are you going?

Original poster
AlbertCampion · 04/02/2023 22:37

Gosh, I've been away for a day and have come back to loads more responses! Thank you so much to everyone for posting.

@Blueberrycreampie if you wouldn't mind giving some feedback, that would be amazing. Hope you have a fantastic time!

For those asking for an itinerary, we are thinking of doing this one: www.tui.co.uk/cruise/itineraries/Mediterranean-Medley-101352

DS loves Italy and I have always wanted to do Barcelona. We like lazing around reading books and DS loves a swim but we also love to visit sites of cultural interest. Never done a cruise before but the whole idea came about because DS wanted to see lots of different places in one go.

I had heard about the tip thing which was what also drew me to TUI. We're going to have to save hard for this holiday, so hidden extras are best avoided. I have looked at companies like Royal Caribbean but unless I am missing something they seem to be significantly more expensive, which I think takes them out of our price range, sadly.

OP posts:
Blueberrycreampie · 04/02/2023 22:48

@CraftyGin This sounds fab, I love seeing new places - that itinerary is really interesting. Been to Dubrovnik, Venice and Corfu but not the others. Montenegro looked lovely on the Susan Calman programme!

Blueberrycreampie · 04/02/2023 22:51

AlbertCampion · 04/02/2023 22:37

Gosh, I've been away for a day and have come back to loads more responses! Thank you so much to everyone for posting.

@Blueberrycreampie if you wouldn't mind giving some feedback, that would be amazing. Hope you have a fantastic time!

For those asking for an itinerary, we are thinking of doing this one: www.tui.co.uk/cruise/itineraries/Mediterranean-Medley-101352

DS loves Italy and I have always wanted to do Barcelona. We like lazing around reading books and DS loves a swim but we also love to visit sites of cultural interest. Never done a cruise before but the whole idea came about because DS wanted to see lots of different places in one go.

I had heard about the tip thing which was what also drew me to TUI. We're going to have to save hard for this holiday, so hidden extras are best avoided. I have looked at companies like Royal Caribbean but unless I am missing something they seem to be significantly more expensive, which I think takes them out of our price range, sadly.

Love the sound of this itinerary. Of course I will report back - the good and the not so good!

RJnomore1 · 04/02/2023 23:04

We have been on quite a few and going in July with our 28 yo for a fortnight around the med again . I love marella, it’s very relaxed, fun but not high brow entertainment, decent and varied food. No hidden costs unless you choose them. Lots of activities too. A gym and running track which keeps dh happy. A very mixed crowd age wise which I enjoy. Chances to get dressed up and have a formal evening or go to the casual restaurant if you prefer. Everyone very friendly and great staff. Of course this is our first since covid so things may have changed.

We went to Toulon, it was a surprise his lovely it was and I had the best mussels (bearing in mind im Scottish!) at a place in the harbour there. The advice to check the excursions v making your own way for price is good, eg civitavecchia for Rome you can get the train straight there for a fraction of the price, it’s a wee walk through the port that’s all.

you will love it. It’s not butlins but you won’t feel on edge either. And a new place every day is amazing,

RJnomore1 · 04/02/2023 23:04

Sorry she’s 18, typo!

tinytemper66 · 05/02/2023 07:26

NCTDN · 04/02/2023 21:55

@tinytemper66 what ports are you stopping at and when are you going?

Here is the itinerary.

TUI Cruise
NCTDN · 05/02/2023 08:35

@tinytemper66 that's the one we did, but Montenegro wasn't on it last year, it was Ravenna instead (nice but not anywhere to rave about). Are you doing any excursions? When are you going?

NCTDN · 05/02/2023 08:40

Oops Ravenna is on there. It's Rijeka that's not - that's a shame as I really liked there. It was like an understated Croatian version of Nice.

Blueberrycreampie · 05/02/2023 08:51

@tinytemper66 I've been watching some YouTube vids of Marella Explorer, and in particular Andy and Kirstie. Their tour to a magical castle built into the rock and the enormous caves - you get a train through them - is wonderful! The tour is in Slovenia but leaves from Trieste. I think it's called Castles and Caves, and they filmed it last summer. Is this something you'd be interested in?

tinytemper66 · 05/02/2023 13:10

Blueberrycreampie · 05/02/2023 08:51

@tinytemper66 I've been watching some YouTube vids of Marella Explorer, and in particular Andy and Kirstie. Their tour to a magical castle built into the rock and the enormous caves - you get a train through them - is wonderful! The tour is in Slovenia but leaves from Trieste. I think it's called Castles and Caves, and they filmed it last summer. Is this something you'd be interested in?

Probably not. We will just visit the port town as we have been to a few of the places. There is a beach near Ravenna so will have a dip in the sea. I don't fancy being on a coach. The first time we cruised we went on an excursion at every port and it was exhausting. X

CraftyGin · 05/02/2023 14:45

AlbertCampion · 04/02/2023 22:37

Gosh, I've been away for a day and have come back to loads more responses! Thank you so much to everyone for posting.

@Blueberrycreampie if you wouldn't mind giving some feedback, that would be amazing. Hope you have a fantastic time!

For those asking for an itinerary, we are thinking of doing this one: www.tui.co.uk/cruise/itineraries/Mediterranean-Medley-101352

DS loves Italy and I have always wanted to do Barcelona. We like lazing around reading books and DS loves a swim but we also love to visit sites of cultural interest. Never done a cruise before but the whole idea came about because DS wanted to see lots of different places in one go.

I had heard about the tip thing which was what also drew me to TUI. We're going to have to save hard for this holiday, so hidden extras are best avoided. I have looked at companies like Royal Caribbean but unless I am missing something they seem to be significantly more expensive, which I think takes them out of our price range, sadly.

We did a similar cruise.

Palma - we went for a short walk before DH had an asthma attack without his inhaler, so back to the ship and in the bar at 11.30am.

Barcelona - fab place. The advantage of a cruise is that you get a taster and then can go back for proper break. As it happened, we had been to Barcelona a couple of years before and did the main sites, so we were very chilled this time. We went to the cathedral, lunch on Las Ramblas, and DH to some of the girls to the aquarium, while I went to a bar with my other DD.

Toulon - you can take a train to Monte Carlo, but we didn't. We took a little tram/train around the main sites with commentary, and then spent the rest of the day in a lovely private beach.

Livorno - the main attraction is Pisa. We took a taxi to Pisa and did DIY Tower. This was a bit risky as there, were timed tickets for the Tower which are guaranteed on the ship's excursion. We lucked out as we were early. Our taxi waited for us and whizzed us back to Livorno in time for lunch. We ate in a very traditional trattoria and then wandered around the shops and market. We returned to the ship mid-afternoon to take advantage of our AI package.