Camela wrote:Once a cruiser, always a cruiser. Glad you've succumbed again Dave!! Late checkout is a great option. We did it once on Silversea in Athens. We usually book cruise only and later flights from the arrival port are always cheaper as the cruise lines book out the earlier ones, so staying on board was great. Next cruise we did with them it wasn't available. Maybe it helps that your trip is a complete package, cruise and flights with TUI.
I think this was our 31st cruise (I'm not quite sure whether I should count back-to-back cruises as one cruise or two!) but I don't really think of us as cruisers any more. Basically, we love the Caribbean and can't imagine not having a holiday there to look forward to. We wouldn't want to spend a week in a resort on one island, but a cruise like the next one will give us seven different islands and seven different beaches! So cruising is the best way for us to have a Caribbean holiday. Also, TUI/Marella suits us perfectly because their recently-acquired ships are the right size, their approach is friendly and relaxed, they're very all-inclusive but what isn't included (excursions and wi-fi) are sensibly priced, and having TUI doing both flights and cruise makes for a seamless operation. As well as all that, Explorer 2 is probably our favourite ship, sails from Barbados (no US cruises for us!) and is child-free!
