Cruise Cabin tips

Discovery 2

The following specifically refer to TUI/ Thompson/ Marella Cruise ships and the Discovery 2 liner and are based on a Nov-18 cruise to Jamaica but they are points to check out with your cruise line anyway.

Cabin

·         You can get bed topper if mattresses provided are uncomfortable. Talk to your cabin steward.

·         I know the cruise is all inclusive but it’s always worth giving a tip at the start of a cruise as I found it earns a lot of goodwill for the duration of your stay. Your call entirely.

·         The cabin is generally cleaned in the morning and the bed revisited nightly.

·         Nightly, the beds are made up, 2 chocolates are placed on the pillows and the daily Skyline magazine is left. Tear out the activity page and stick in your handbag or pocket.

·         On special occasions, the stewards make towel figures and lay them on the beds, Halloween for example.

·         A free safe is located in most cabins, which operates by swiping your credit card or a card provided by Reception across the safe door. Our safe ceased to work as the battery needed replacing and that was done within the hour.

·         Blue beach towels are provided with each cabin and can be used on sub beds onboard or taken to beaches. £10 charge for loss of a towel.

·         Even though the cruise is all-inclusive the drinks and chocolates left on your cabin sideboard are chargeable so beware.  Safer to place them in a cabinet out of sight until the end of the cruise.

·         The cabin also contains a pair of life jackets which you do not have to bring to the compulsory drill at the muster stations on your first night.

·         Please bring a portable clock with you so you can adjust the time as its possible you will be travelling through time zones and there is no clock in the cabin and no ships time shown on the TV channels.

·          All cabin showers have a washing line over the shower and you can hand wash and dry clothes using that line. Purchase hand washing powder in one of the ports the ship visits. There are no passenger self-service laundrettes on board.

     Finally, remember the old maxim of POSH - port out starboard home which indicates which side of the ship you should seek a cabin if you want sun dappling the window at any time during the cruise when the sun is high in the sky.

Holiday Book to read – “Murder On Board”,  is a gripping story of life and death onboard a modern cruise ship. This quirky, humorous tale has garnered 5 star reviews in Goodreads.com already so well worth read.

Click here for the US Kindle version at $2.58 

Click here for the UK Kindle version £1.99

Click here for the US Paperback version $15.00

Click here for the UK Paperback version £11.58

Murder On Board - new fiction for 2019

Murder On Board, my new fiction novel is a story of a modern-day cruise liner, the SS Azara, which carries two thousand passengers and eight hundred crew across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States, the Carribean and South America before returning to Southampton, England. The cruise, which lasts a full fifty days, is a holiday of a lifetime for the passengers but for some onboard, it may end up being the final holiday of their lifetime.

Why so?

Well, because on this cruise the average age of passengers is seventy-three years so the Trafalgar Cruises advertisement should not have read Adult Cruise in the byline but more accurately Geriatric Cruise. When people reach this age, life becomes less certain. A percentage, say 2%  of passengers will die from natural causes.  Another 3%  will develop illnesses while onboard as they cope with the rough seas, high humidity and over-indulging in all of life's pleasures.

Lifes Pleasures ?- such as what?

Dinner out, every night for most passengers is a five-course meal. Your average adult when at home would be lucky, to eat out once a week, nay once a month. Fine dining for fifty nights on the trot would test the staying power of young and healthy individuals. Imagine the effect on ancient bowels, intestines and stomachs of the elderly as they take to bed within an hour of eating? Pass the indigestion tablets, please.

It's a well-known fact that alcohol intake is significantly upped on holidays in general and this is particularly encouraged by the cruise lines as they offer drinks packages to accompany the evening meals. The onboard bars are open from early to very late. Duty-free alcohol sales by the shops on board occur regularly throughout the cruise. Once the ship reaches port alcohol is invariably for sale in the harbour and local shops and can be brought back on board and in quantity.

The sun, once the Caribbean has been reached, is well in excess of  25 degrees most days and holidaymakers, particularly the elderly are rather slow to get the message to use sunblock.

What's the plot?
Luke our central character and his wife Margaret are much younger than most of their fellow passengers and this cruise celebrates Luke's retirement. He's not much of a sun-worshipper but he is determined to challenge himself on this cruise. He and Margaret will be joining classes to learn how to play bridge and dance ballroom dancing. Both will be a challenge for Luke but Margaret appreciates his commitment because these are both activities she really enjoys and he has avoided to date.

Little does she realise that in stretching Luke to learn these skills she is jeopardising other passengers lives. 

Amazon UK – 99 Pence/ Cents 

Amazon US - $1.32

Cruise cabin tips

Discovery 2

The following specifically refer to TUI/ Thompson/ Marella Cruise ships and the Discovery 2 liner and are based on a Nov-18 cruise to Jamaica but they are points to check out with your cruise line anyway.

Cabin

·         You can get bed topper if mattresses provided are uncomfortable. Talk to your cabin steward.

·         I know the cruise is all inclusive but it’s always worth giving a tip at the start of a cruise as I found it earns a lot of goodwill for the duration of your stay. Your call entirely.

·         The cabin is generally cleaned in the morning and the bed revisited nightly.

·         Nightly, the beds are made up, 2 chocolates are placed on the pillows and the daily Skyline magazine is left. Tear out the activity page and stick in your handbag or pocket.

·         On special occasions, the stewards make towel figures and lay them on the beds, Halloween for example.

·         A free safe is located in most cabins, which operates by swiping your credit card or a card provided by Reception across the safe door. Our safe ceased to work as the battery needed replacing and that was done within the hour.

·         Blue beach towels are provided with each cabin and can be used on sub beds onboard or taken to beaches. £10 charge for loss of a towel.

·         Even though the cruise is all-inclusive the drinks and chocolates left on your cabin sideboard are chargeable so beware.  Safer to place them in a cabinet out of sight until the end of the cruise.

·         The cabin also contains a pair of life jackets which you do not have to bring to the compulsory drill at the muster stations on your first night.

·         Please bring a portable clock with you so you can adjust the time as its possible you will be travelling through time zones and there is no clock in the cabin and no ships time shown on the TV channels.

·          All cabin showers have a washing line over the shower and you can hand wash and dry clothes using that line. Purchase hand washing powder in one of the ports the ship visits. There are no passenger self-service laundrettes on board.

     Finally, remember the old maxim of POSH - port out starboard home which indicates which side of the ship you should seek a cabin if you want sun dappling the window at any time during the cruise when the sun is high in the sky.