Re: I'm thinking of going to/ has anyone ever been to (Holid : Tue Jun 19, 2012 3:23 pm  

El Barbudo wrote:

The Eiffel Tower is impressively tall.
Very nearly as tall as the tallest in Yorkshire.

Indeed, and as for Fancy London's Shard, schmard.

Re: I'm thinking of going to/ has anyone ever been to (Holid : Tue Jun 19, 2012 3:58 pm  

ROBINSON wrote:

There are apartment blocks in Manchester smaller than Liberty of the Seas. Trust me, it's massive. I'd always baulked at the idea of going on a cruise, thinking it was all old people, ballroom dancing, one place to eat, one place to drink, cramped cabin with a small bed etc etc, but Gemma had been on one two years previously and she assured me that it was like a four star hotel on water. It wasn't - it was like a whole town on water. Several restaurants, several bars, two pools, several hot tubs, a nightclub, big screen showing all the Euro2012 games, a "flow rider" machine. Seriously - have a look. It's amazing. Even the room was like a proper hotel room, spacious, with a balcony and everything. Food was amazing.

I'd love to try a cruise, but they're so bloody expensive. One day...

Re: I'm thinking of going to/ has anyone ever been to (Holid : Tue Jun 19, 2012 4:36 pm  

Rock God X wrote:

I'd love to try a cruise, but they're so bloody expensive. One day...

people say that, but they don't factor in that a lot of them are all inclusive (with some exceptions on drinks etc.), the quality of the food etc. is meant to be amazing on many (my parents are hooked a=on cruises), the thing that puts me off is I imagine it to be like a floating Golf Club, full of Daily Mail readers wearing beige and complaining that it's hot/cold/windy/choppy or whatever else.

I will try one at some point, I just think it's a combination between a SAGA bus tour and Captains Dinners at the golf club, I am sure I am wrong, just not taken the plunge as yet.

Re: I'm thinking of going to/ has anyone ever been to (Holid : Tue Jun 19, 2012 5:00 pm  

Standee wrote:

people say that, but they don't factor in that a lot of them are all inclusive (with some exceptions on drinks etc.), the quality of the food etc. is meant to be amazing on many (my parents are hooked a=on cruises), the thing that puts me off is I imagine it to be like a floating Golf Club, full of Daily Mail readers wearing beige and complaining that it's hot/cold/windy/choppy or whatever else.

I will try one at some point, I just think it's a combination between a SAGA bus tour and Captains Dinners at the golf club, I am sure I am wrong, just not taken the plunge as yet.

I think they used to be like that, but not any more.

Re: I'm thinking of going to/ has anyone ever been to (Holid : Tue Jun 19, 2012 5:59 pm  

Wilde 3 wrote:

Looking for somewhere to go in October (middle 2 weeks) - beach holiday, all inclusive.

Want good weather so thinking Cape Verde or Dominican - is Egypt hot enough?

Dom Rep is hot, as is Egypt. The good thing about Egypt is the lack of humidity, which can be a pain in the Caribbean.

Never been to Cape Verde, but a friend has and commented that its lovely, but windy and as its a 'new' destination the infrastructure is a bit lacking.

Re: I'm thinking of going to/ has anyone ever been to (Holid : Tue Jun 19, 2012 6:02 pm  

Just come back (yesterday) from five days on The Algarve at Vale do Lobo accompanying a friend who designs houses for billionaires, he was looking at two of his (hopefully) next projects, I was just walking around with my mouth wide open in amazement, and stuffing food and beer into it.

I'm sure there are slightly cheaper places to stay, for instance we spent Saturday in Vilamoura and unless you're wanting to berth a yacht there, the rental property seems fairly reasonable, but it was the food along the coast that was just amazing and paying £100 for sunday lunch for two in a beachfront restaurant in the billionaires triangle was actually worth it if only for the live band, the views up the coast and the fact that the whole three hour lunch prevented at least four hooray-henry families from getting seats when they turned up without booking and just expected to be seated because they thought they knew the owners - when your friend spends all year wining and dining his clients in the restaurant THEN you get to know the owners

OK, so he had to slum it with me on a Ryanair flight rather than have one of his clients send the private jet out for him, and we only took hand luggage to avoid extra fees, and took sandwiches for the plane, in fact we didn't spend one penny extra with Ryanair - its the future I tell you, five days away, five kilos of luggage including one kilo of art equipment, and I only smelled a little bit when we came back.

Re: I'm thinking of going to/ has anyone ever been to (Holid : Tue Jun 19, 2012 6:18 pm  

rover49 wrote:

Dom Rep is hot, as is Egypt. The good thing about Egypt is the lack of humidity, which can be a pain in the Caribbean.

Never been to Cape Verde, but a friend has and commented that its lovely, but windy and as its a 'new' destination the infrastructure is a bit lacking.

Some friends of mine go to Cape Verde every January, they love it. They say there's very little to do other than relax.

We've just had a week in Correlejo in Fuerteventura, never been to any of the Canaries before but this little island was great.

Re: I'm thinking of going to/ has anyone ever been to (Holid : Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:39 pm  

Rock God X wrote:

I'd love to try a cruise, but they're so bloody expensive. One day...

We paid just over £2000 between us for a balcony room, on an all inclusive basis. The only thing not included, predictably, are drinks, and we spent less than £500 that week, which included some souvenir photographs and a couple of goes in the casino. Without that it would have nearer £370. Pretty good value I'd say.

I've priced up a Carribean Cruise, and that's even cheaper, though clearly there are flights to factor into that too.

All in all, I'd say it was comparable, probably favourably, to a week in any decent resort you choose to be in, when you factor in spending money.

Re: I'm thinking of going to/ has anyone ever been to (Holid : Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:41 pm  

Dally wrote:

Yes, it's like Blackpool Tower with knobs on (ie the French).

Seriously though, sounds a good trip. Hope you liked Naples - I loved it.

I didn't, to be honest, but that may have been because we were knackered after over a week of constant travel and sightseeing. I'd really have liked to have visited Pompeii, which is something we may well do next time. We just thought that there was no point going for the sake of it and not enjoying it due to tiredness.

Re: I'm thinking of going to/ has anyone ever been to (Holid : Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:44 pm  

Standee wrote:

people say that, but they don't factor in that a lot of them are all inclusive (with some exceptions on drinks etc.), the quality of the food etc. is meant to be amazing on many (my parents are hooked a=on cruises), the thing that puts me off is I imagine it to be like a floating Golf Club, full of Daily Mail readers wearing beige and complaining that it's hot/cold/windy/choppy or whatever else.

I will try one at some point, I just think it's a combination between a SAGA bus tour and Captains Dinners at the golf club, I am sure I am wrong, just not taken the plunge as yet.

That's what I thought, but ours really wasn't like that. People from all walks of life, people of all ages and nationalities. I think a lot of have been turned onto them because (I suppose with their being a recession on) they are easy to budget for, with them being pretty much all-inclusive. As I say, we only spent £500 on board, and we didn't scrimp on anything.