Cheers Bobby, hope your well, got that cruise booked yet? You won't go hungry! xx

@@midatravel going into hays travel next week 🙂

Hi Kevin, thanks for your lovely comments. You have a real treat to look forward to, its a great cruise and some amazing islands. Just bear in mind the video is a year old so things could have changed but at least it will give you an idea of what there is to do. We do tend to book most of our trips with Tui, if things go wrong then the ship will not leave without you if you are delayed getting back. If the trip is cancelled or they change the port itinerary, you will have no problems getting a refund. When we went on this cruise we did find the Tui prices quite competitive in comparison to local tours, the main difference was the local tours were a little longer in length. The Caribbean has been welcoming cruise passengers for many years and therefore when you get off the ship in any port you will find people selling tours. Plus side is you will get it cheaper, you can negotiate from the asking price. The negatives are that you may have to wait for the trip to fill up. Just ensure that you allow at least a couple of hours to get back before the ship departs. If you book online with a company then ensure that their cancellation and refund is valid up to at least 24hrs before the trip, schedules do get changed. A great site for checking for trips on these islands is Viator, will post the link at the end. You also of course have trip advisor and Marella Voyager facebook pages. There is also a specific facebook page for this cruise, search for 'Marella Voyager, Paradise islands and Taste of the tropics' page. Viator link is.www.viator.com/?m=64814&supag=102141774692&supsc=kwd-270303623&supai=421009286043&supdv=c&supnt=g&suplp=9045438&supli=&supti=kwd-270303623&tsem=true&supci=kwd-270303623&supap1=&supap2=&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD-gbd5XAo49Y1dKeQy1ggmN06p8B&gclid=CjwKCAiA1eO7BhATEiwAm0Ee-PsR8VOl-TSZLSP7nuYqGd0x6HYzGZERDWSpXBU6mRInIM-9O9_neRoCOaAQAvD_BwE

I think we feel the same, on the whole we are always happy when we leave any of the dining establishments on Marella. The great thing is if you love something you can order seconds or if you don't you can order something else. 🙂

Love the entertainment on Marella. 💃🎤🙂

Cheers Chris, wow your cruise is so close, great way to start the new year. You should have no problem in booking the Dining Club as long as you do it on the first night on board, you will be able to do it on the Navigate app or just go to the Dining club and book from there. Think the price puts a lot of people from going but for something special we found it well worth the money. Sometimes you have to spoil yourself. Hope you have a fabulous time and enjoy Marella as much as we do. 🚢🚢🚢🌞🌞🌞🍹🍹🍹😎😎😎

Have to agree with you on this one, just does not seem to go with the song she is singing. Charlotte was lovely and did have a superb voice. 🎤💃😀

They were the professional cruise dancers who join in and dance in the shoes, did some excellent dancing in a number of the shows. 💃😀

They also danced for marella discovery before the explorer as I saw them on there as well

Great song and great show 😀

Cheers Andy, excited for your cruise, so close now. Sure you are going to have an amazing time, what a way to start the new year! Have fun. 🚢🚢🚢🍹🍹🍹🌞🌞🌞😎😎😎

@@midatravel Thanks - its our first ever cruise so sure we shall enjoy it and get the buzz for it!! 2 more bears on tour hahaha

Cheers Bobby, hope you have a fantastic 2025 also xx

Cheers kieth, happy new year to you both too, hope its the best yet! 😀

Bless you sweetheart. Hope it’s not too rough for you. Wishing you a very happy and healthy 2025. Love and hugs from us both xxx

We are always impressed with the shows on Marella Pat, one of our highlights is going to the theatre each night. xxx

Hope you were singing along 😂😂

I just so want that piano!

Our friends dog, they have two and both are treated like kings! 😂😂😂

Beautiful song...

Hi Kieth, i do think you are right that the introduction of a loyalty scheme would of course increase prices so maybe not as good as we would hope it would be. I think they have made this decision and nothing looks like it is going to change. Still think the ships know who there repeat customers are and could mark it by giving them upgrades available for that cruise but then i guess there will be shouts of inconsistency of who gets it. Won't hold my breath waiting for any announcement. ☹

Happy new year to you too, interesting that you mention that despite only 2 smaller cruise ships in port the day you visited was still very busy. It is such a shame, we found the same when we went on our first visit to Dubrovnik, totally spoilt by masses of people within the city walls. Our second visit was a little quieter so i guess you can get lucky but unlikely. Will look forward to seeing your vlog, interested to see info about that cruise in detail. Take care and catch you real soon. 🚢😎

@@midatravel there is a playlist of the two week cruise on my channel.

@@Rockdoc2174 Cheers Kieth, just watched day 14 and 15 and will watch them all when i can. Can you remember the name of the cruises you did?

@ enjoy! The two were Ottoman Odyssey and Aegean Jewels. It was the first time Marella had home-ported in Marmaris for (IIRC) 12 years and it looks as if it didn’t work well because this year similar cruises are going from Limassol. The problem may have started with flights going through Dalaman which was 90 minutes from Marmaris and could be a bit ‘third world’ - as was Gran Canaria’s airport this time it has to be said! We liked Marmaris itself and the two cruises worked very well *except* for the trip to the Gallipoli WW1 battlefields. That was simply too ambitious and Marella refunded it. We won’t sail with Marella again until 11th August 2026 when we go from Palma on Discovery 2. The attraction is the eclipse on 12th. In the meantime we’re slumming it on Princess, Cunard (three times) and P&O! I think we’re addicted. BTW, you were talking about organising a group cruise. We’re going on Paul and Carole Love to Travel’s group cruise on Sky Princess in May next year. It’s their first and they went on one of Gary Bembridge’s to get an idea of what was involved. They came back with a lot of info on the fine details. Perhaps you might do the same rather than dive in at the deep end?

Hi. We worked out what we were likely to need on each island. Most of the islands take US Dollars but if you are visiting a french island like Guadaloupe you are also going to need some Euro. We took just $160 dollars and £60 Euro for our 2 week Caribbean cruise. We were able to use our Starling bank card everywhere, this card is great because there are zero charges for transactions and also free withdrawals from ATM's. There are other online banks such as MONZA which are similar. We just use it for holidays and pre load money into the account. If you spend money on the islands ensure you receive change in the currency you use, they will try and give you change in local currency which will be impossible to change back. Also ensure that any US bank notes are not ripped, defaced or damaged in any way. They are not likely to be accepted anywhere. Hope this helps. 😎

Sorry, forgot to say thanks for watching and for your lovely comments. 😀

Hi Alexis, thanks so much, a big happy new year to you all as well with love and hugs xxx

@midatravel xx

Hi. We have been on Discovery 2 but not for this itinerary. The Discovery 2 is a lovely ship so i don't think you will have any worries there but the main factor is the ports of call and how much you want to see these places, always a deciding factor for us so if they appeal then go for it and have a fab time. 🚢🍾😎🍹🌞💃

Oh you were so close with this one, maybe the next version will sport your name! 🙂

Hi Kieth. I understand that the ETIAS has not been given a launch date yet but it is expected to come into force at some time in 2025. You will need this is you are from a non EU country and are visiting a member country of the EU. I think at the moment we just have to keep watching for news and i'm sure when it does come into force it will get a lot of publicity. Sorry can't be more helpful at moment but will keep an eye out for anymore news. 🙂

Hi Dan, amazing to think of you on that cruise at the moment. We loved surf and turf so hope you did too. You are very welcome for the videos and info, we really enjoy passing on what we learn from our experiences. Keep enjoying and let us know how you get on when you can. 🙂

Hi Sally, although we do love the speciality restaurants we are more than happy with the non speciality options, we particularly love Vista and have to admit asking for 2 plates each of the lamb dinner which was amazing. Great tip about not being afraid to ask for 2nds if you love it or you are still hungry. We often had 2 desserts. 😂😂😂

Think we came to the conclusion that it was exercise enough just seeing it! 😂😂😂. Think there is no wrong option with drinks choice, we personally had premium on our first Marella cruise, but decided we did not need it for future cruises. Worth going through the drinks booklet and seeing if it is worth upgrading for your drink preferences. At less than £12 a day it represents amazing value for money compared to other cruise lines. 🍹🍾😎

Thats so good to hear, a great way to celebrate a 50th Birthday. Trouble is when you have done one you want to do another one! 😂😂😂

Hi Paul, thanks so much for your lovely comments, appreciate you watching and for taking the time to comment, it means a lot to us and helps show that we are moving in the right direction. 🙂

Hi Kevin is it the Voyager you are going on, if it is this ship then look for the playlist on our home page and there are lots of videos in that folder about the food options both standard and speciality, any problems get back to us. May well do another food video covering all three of the Marella ships we have sailed on. Hope this helps. 🚢🌞😎🍹🚢🙂

😂😂😂. We learnt the hard way with the alcoholic content, makes for a good evening though! 😂😂😂

Glad you enjoyed this showcast, that female singer was indeed brilliant. Hopefully got a few more videos to come off that cruise. 🎤😀

We have always found the Show casts on Marella cruises so friendly, we even had a dance off in the nightclub with one of them. 😂 We lost!

Hi Michael, a big thank you for watching and for your lovely comments. We have definitely become Marella fans and tell everyone we can to try them. 😀

Oh Pat we do love having you with us, you are such a good supporter of our channel and we really appreciate everything you do for us. Thanks for sending to Aga and Elaine, hope they get chance to watch it. Just a shame the picture quality was so poor in places. Need to sort out our internet! Take care and speak soon. Big hugs xx

@@midatravel internet issues happen all the time, your channel is not alone. My pleasure guys, everyone’s feed back from cruises experienced were such a great help to me. You guys gave me the confidence to try Marella cruises. I’m so happy, I literally pushed myself out of my comfort zone. Just shows anything is possible, think positive is my moto. Xx

Me too! xx

Hi James, thanks so much for your lovely comment. Love having you join us and hope we can keep your loving it. Take care. 😃

@@patriciaanne4449 Your a star! xx

Great live guys! Loved your jumpers and especially wee Lily’s jumper. Sorry I couldn’t make it last night xx

@@Mary_Rees Don't you worry Mary, fully understand why and our thoughts were definitely with you. Hope it all went well. We have missed you but I know you will be back with us soon. xx

Hi, In Guadaloupe the currency is the Euro. We took a small amount if needed but we found that cards were accepted everywhere we went so didn't need to use it. If you go off in a taxii or hire sun beds if going to a beach then definitely make sure you have Euro's. Hope this helps. Have a great time, fantastic cruise and beautiful islands. 😎☀

Great to have you join us again, always lovely to see you. Sorry to hear you couldn't get the cruise this time round but next year will give you more time to get excited and time to plan. Take care and have a fabulous time in Portugal. 🚢☀😎🍹😃

Thanks so much for watching. Will be doing a video soon showing port and whats nearby, this one will include commentary. So much so close to see. I was amazed how beautiful the city is and absolutey amazed how clean it was everywhere, can't remember seeing any litter at all! ☀😎🚢

Absolutely agree and spotlessly clean as well. 😃

Some small shops closed but didn’t notice all

@davidvenus3919 thanks.

Definitely the case but then you have the benefit that they are open late into the evening which i quite like. Days doing tourist spots and nights spending the cash! 😱

@midatravel we made the mistake of getting off the ship too early. As soon as the sun started to go in the temperature dropped like a stone and we hadn't got enough layers on. We had to go back before they lit the lights, though they were worth seeing anyway.

Classic Cole Porter number, some of the old ones are the best, sang this in panto a few times. 🎤🎵

@@midatravel oh wow, musically talented eh? Maybe you could add a snippet to one of your vlogs xx

@@Mary_Rees Dave's the musically talented one, it's the welsh thing, they can all sing! I'm more acting and used to love playing the dame in panto and singing comedy songs badly! Was many years ago then so any video I have is very poor quality, maybe now I can play clips on our live streams I will show something on there. 😱😱😱

@@midatravel Hello guys, I’m back from cruising, I absolutely love musical shows. The Discovery 2 fantastic talented entertainment, awesome singing…. 👏👏😍❤️❤️

@@patriciaanne4449 We wouldn't miss the shows and think Marella do a brilliant job of getting the show cast together and so well rehearsed. We have found that the female singers seem to always be stronger but I am sure we will find a good male cast one day. So happy you enjoyed your cruise xx

Hi, thanks for your lovely comments and indeed for watching. The Adriatic on the Explorer will be such a lovely way for you to experience your first time abroad, it will be so exciting. Airport for dummies is such a good idea and something we will look to do at sometime in the future, next time we fly i will be able to film what is needed. Definitely a few things we have learned over the years from our mistakes. 🤔

Hi Julie. I am not 100% but i think ours was at 6.30pm and i think the other one was about 9pm. Strangely the Exchange can be found on the speciality dining on the cruise control and when it appears you will be able to see the performance times and book your preferred one. Hope this helps. Believe it was like marmite but i now read of many more people enjoying it than not. We absolutely loved it and had such a laugh. Its an immersive experience and we highly recommend dressing for occasion, more and more people are doing that but its not compulsory. Have a great cruise. 🚢🍹☀😎🎵😃🚢

@@midatravel Thanks so much for your advice and tips! I went on Cruise Control and have booked this up for our group of 5- we are going to the "The Lock-in" and looking forward to trying something different!! Getting very excited now and can't wait to get on board!! :-) Best wishes. Julie xx

@@JulieWoodall-u8g Its definitely something different and will be great fun as part of a group. I am so happy you managed to book the Lock In, it was our favourite although we loved both. Just go with it and hopefully you will love it as much as we did. Let me know if you can how you get on. Excited for you,, I know what it's like the closer it gets and now we know just what you have to look forward to. Happy cruising. 🙂🙂🙂

Hi Martin, thanks for your lovely comments, we got ours from Decathlon but there are many on Amazon. Here is the link to the one i have, other colours available. www.decathlon.co.uk/p/_/R-p-158325