Caribbean @ £90 per day? Don’t mind if I do!

I have just returned from the gorgeous Caribbean on a cruise and paid just £90 per person per day which included all food, entertainment, all-inclusive drinks package and visited 12 stunning Caribbean Islands in 14 days. Was it good value for money? It surely was – read on for more!

There is a measure in the cruising world which states if you can cruise for £100 per day you are getting great value for money – and I managed to do better than that! No, I didn’t get any massive Travel Agent discounts like people might suspect – I paid the normal rate like everyone else. My secret is nothing other than I saw a great deal & booked it!

I sailed on Marella Cruises (previously Thomson) and was on the ‘old lady’ of the fleet -The Marella Celebration. Previously a Holland America ship so with a very good pedigree she is now the oldest ship in the Marella fleet but very fondly thought of by the crew who conduct her upkeep her beautifully. From the cabin boys & girls who maintain the larger sized cabins to an excellent standard and the cleaners who do likewise with the public areas, to the maintenance staff who always seemed to have their paint-rollers out in the ports of call. The clients onboard love her too – many having cruised on her for many years previously.

I was especially delighted that when we checked our suitcases in at Gatwick, that we didn’t see them again until they were delivered to our cabins that evening! In addition on our Dreamliner flight to Barbados, we were served 2 meals and free drinks and had a great choice of flims/TV programmes/Music/Games to watch and play in the seatback screens, that was a nice surprise. It even didn’t stop when our flight landed in the dream Caribbean island as we were whisked straight off the flight onto a fleet of waiting coaches on the airport concourse and delivered straight to the ship – bypassing all of the airport arrival & queueing scenario! A marvellous feat of organisation!  Also on our return journey we were given immigration cards a couple of days before our return and the Barbados Immigration team came to the ship and stamped our passports so we did not have to do this at the airport.  Our suitcases were taken from outside our cabins in the middle of the night and again we did not see them until our arrival back at Gatwick! A genuinely marvellous feat of organisation!

With the new Marella ships coming along (Explorer & Explorer 2) and more varied and interesting itineraries to The Caribbean, Central America, Med, Canaries, Asia, Middle East, Scandanavia and the Baltics on their smaller ships with many destinations having cruise and stay options and a fair few from your local UK Airport – ask me for more details!