January on IOTS

[bryden11, liverpool]

Hi
I have booked a cruise for January 2011 on IOTS.
Any ideas on what the weather may be like, not expecting much sun. Also, we are in a family oceanview cabin at the bow (cabin 6200), anyone let me know if this was a good/bad move.
Thanks very much.

[gooner, dykes]

Hello Sailor,
We are on booked on the 8th. too.
Up in the crows nest. Look forward to seeing you all.
Can't believe it's almost fully booked. Hopefully it will be full with cynical old gits like me.
Staying in the De Vere the night before, as we are travelling down from Edinburgh.
Will it be insensitive to mention, Nelson & Trafalgar, when we get to Cadiz?
Avast ye blaggards
Alan

[Cruise Fairy, Indiana USA]

Hi
I have booked a cruise for January 2011 on IOTS.
Any ideas on what the weather may be like, not expecting much sun. Also, we are in a family oceanview cabin at the bow (cabin 6200), anyone let me know if this was a good/bad move.
Thanks very much.

If walking a LOT is not a problem then you should be OK. IOTS is so big it is like walking around a huge shopping Mall. Bear in mind that you will make the trip from your room to the restaurants at least 3 times a day, and then several more times depending on the day, if in port or at sea etc. The walking can get tedious and time consuming. I would go for midships or aft if you get the choice to move, the amenities you use the most are much closer to those areas.

[budgie, Forfar]

Agree with your comments Morris re relaxing, Im quite sure the weather will also be better than we would have been experiencing at home at this time of year.

[morris, st. columb]

We have had good weather in the Med in December...in fact sat in t shirt and shorts on the Costa del Sol on Christmas Day one year! I'm sure it won't be raining EVERY day!!

Although there are 8 sea days there are 10 port days so we will be busy on those 10 days and if it means we have to relax/read/watch tv in the cabin for most of the 8 days then so be it !! We have booked a balcony cabin so that we can have fresh air even if it is raining!!!!!:D

[kevinyork, York]

We were on the IOTS the seas last spring and it is an excellent ship. The drawback for this winter cruise though IMHO will be the lack of space inside if the weather means you cant be on deck. We had a couple of poor weather days and every available inside space was taken, permanently. We would walk from one end to the other repeatedly and trying to find somewhere to sit was near impossible. Given that this winter cruise has 8 sea days I think I would be going a bit stir crazy being cooped up inside for this length of time with 3500 people who all want to look for somewhere to sit. Its a shame IOTS doesnt have a pool that can be covered to cope with poorer weather. The ship has loads of deck space and things to do on deck all of which will be inaccessible on a winter med cruise.

[morris, st. columb]

We have done a few of the the bigger ships.... Ventura and Eclipse to name two... but we still like Thomson very much and sailed on Spirit in March this year....we think all ships have positives and negatives even the brand new ones have negatives !!!!:D

[budgie, Forfar]

We are going in Feb (18 nighter) and hope the weather isnt too bad to us, but hey-ho it will be a nice relaxing break anyways.
Gald to hear so many positves from previous sailors on IOTS.
We have had 5 previous cruises with Thomsons and they were all great but thought it time to try sailing with the big ships.

[morris, st. columb]

Yes we too are looking forward to it...we have two sets of friends who have been on her and have nothing but praise so we thought we'd give her a try !!

[bryden11, liverpool]

Thanks Morris, we are also booked for the 8th. We have cruised on IOTS before, in 2008, but it was an inside cabin towards the stern. It is a lovely ship, and there is plenty to do in either good or bad weather. Looking forward to it big time.

[morris, st. columb]

We have also booked IOTS for january...on the 8th....don't know about the weather but figured it was a big enough ship to provide things to do if it was raining every day???? We just liked the itinerary, like the sound of the ship and hoped that January would have less children on board than December !!!

Normally the bow cabins move up and down a bit but as this is such a huge ship I would imagine that it will be neglible....we are on the same deck but more midships.....it is fairly low so movement will be less than on the higher decks.