All in portExploring

Eight Hours Ashore in Kerala…

Eight Hours Ashore in Kerala…

Cathy Rogers
Affiliate Link, Celebrity Cruises, Cruise Destination, Cruise Excursion, Cruise Planning, Far East Cruising, portExploring

Back at the start of the year - when the world looked very, very different and we had no idea how lucky we were - we took cruise on a Dubai - Singapore route onboard Celebrity Constellation. As we were travelling to some completely unfamiliar countries and ports we decided to change our usual DIY approach to going ashore for a couple of ports partly also because we had some very short days in port. A recommendation in talkExplore Facebook group led us to take a look at the excursions from the Viator Company.

Six Lessons Learnt on my Worst Ever Shore Excursion...

Six Lessons Learnt on my Worst Ever Shore Excursion...

Cathy Rogers
Cruise Destination, Cruise Planning, Cruise Port, Cruise Excursion, portExploring, Far East Cruising, Princess Cruise

I wanted to share my thoughts on our ‘worst ever’ port excursion as we learnt some important lessons from it, both about the questions you should ask when booking a shore excursion and also about what we took ashore with us that day. We were visiting Laem Chabang in Thailand on a Princess Cruise, which is what we call a ‘FOR’ port - a large industrial port ‘FOR’ Bangkok which is actually 125km away…

Five FREE ways to spend a day in Dover, England

Five FREE ways to spend a day in Dover, England

Cathy Rogers
Cruise Destination, Cruise Excursion, Cruise Planning, Cruise Port, Europe, portExploring, UK Cruising, Saga Cruises

DOVER... The majority of visitors to Dover arrive through the frankly uninspiring Ferry Port on the Eastern side of Dover Harbour, drive off the ferry and get out of Dover as fast as they can Others arrive at the Western Docks by cruise ship and are herded onto a coach trip to see the sights of London!  So while most of these arriving passengers will have spotted the famous white cliffs from the sea and some may even have noticed the famous Dover Castle perched high above the port they are missing out on some real hidden gems. There is a lot more to Britains oldest port than white cliffs so make time on your visit for a little portExplore.…

Going Ashore - new Covid rules may change plans.

Going Ashore - new Covid rules may change plans.

Cathy Rogers
Cruise Basics, Cruise Destination, Cruise Excursion, Covid 19, Cruise Planning, New to Cruise, New to Cruising, portExploring

Sailaway - safely back onboard ship and the perfect time to reflect on an awesome day spent ashore!

But the perfect day isn't something that just happens is it? It needs planning!

And it's difficult to plan ahead at the moment because the rules on cruising are changing all the time.

So we have thought about the best way to move forward in the current uncertainty.

Read our Blog post GOING ASHORE and see if you agree...

Most stressful day ashore and worst excursion ever!

Most stressful day ashore and worst excursion ever!

Cathy Rogers
Cruise Destination, Cruise Planning, Cruise Port, Cruise Excursion, portExploring, Far East Cruising, Princess Cruise

I wanted to share my thoughts on our ‘worst ever’ port excursion as we learnt some important lessons from it, both about the questions you should ask when booking a shore excursion and also about what we took ashore with us that day. We were visiting Laem Chabang in Thailand on a Princess Cruise, which is what we call a ‘FOR’ port - a large industrial port ‘FOR’ Bangkok which is actually 125km away…

Why Cruisers may be more welcome in the Med next year...

Why Cruisers may be more welcome in the Med next year...

Cathy Rogers
Conscious Cruising, Cruise News, Cruise Planning, Europe, MSC Cruises, Responsible cruising, portExploring, Virgin Voyages, Mediterranean Cruising

Could this be the start of a ‘Slow Cruise’ movement…

In the same way that the extremes of Nouvelle Cuisine led to the founding of the Slow Food movement and restaurants service food celebrating ‘regional traditions, good food, gastronomic pleasure and a slow pace of life’ I think we may see the beginning of a “slow Cruise’ movement. As the actual process of disembarking a ship and spending a day ashore becomes more difficult, that we will become much more discerning about what we do and where we decide to visit. Maybe we will even learn to wind down, relax, stop rushing around and appreciate our time onboard a little more.


MSC OPERA - A MOTHER & DAUGHTER MINI-BREAK

MSC OPERA - A MOTHER & DAUGHTER MINI-BREAK

Cathy Rogers
Mini Cruise, MultiGen cruising, Cruise Destination, Cruise Planning, Europe, portExploring

My daughter and I were looking for a short break away when we fell across an absolute bargain 5 night section of a repositioning cruise on MSC Opera, the following weekend. After upgrading to an Aurea Suite (of which more later) and upgrading the all inclusive drinks package to Premium it was still cheaper than a pampering weekend for two at a spa in the UK! We added two Easyjet flights ourselves as there were no MSC flights available and we were ready to go!

Hidden Gems of the UK - DOVER our guest blog for the HIDDEN GEMS series

Hidden Gems of the UK - DOVER our guest blog for the HIDDEN GEMS series

Cathy Rogers
Covid 19, Cruise Destination, Cruise Excursion, Cruise Planning, Cruise Port, Europe, portExploring, UK Cruising, Virgin Voyages

DOVER... The majority of visitors to Dover arrive through the frankly uninspiring Ferry Port on the Eastern side of Dover Harbour, drive off the ferry and get out of Dover as fast as they can Others arrive at the Western Docks by cruise ship and are herded onto a coach trip to see the sights of London!  So while most of these arriving passengers will have spotted the famous white cliffs from the sea and some may even have noticed the famous Dover Castle perched high above the port they are missing out on some real hidden gems. There is a lot more to Britains oldest port than white cliffs so make time on your visit for a little portExplore.…

Is there such a thing as a Perfect Port?

Is there such a thing as a Perfect Port?

Cathy Rogers
Cruise Destination, Cruise Excursion, Cruise Planning, Cruise Port, Europe, portExploring, New to Cruising, Princess Cruise, Mediterranean Cruising

As I spend my life writing about cruising and what do to ashore in port I am often asked, “Which is the best port, which one is your favourite?” I can't really answer because of course, I don’t have one! It is impossible, there are so many wonderful places that you can visit on a cruise that one individual port in the whole world won't stand out above all others. But the question got me thinking... I decided that there are definitely a few things that would go together to make my perfect port - see if you agree…

Stormy Solent Delays Disembarkation!

Cathy Rogers
Cruise Port, Europe, Mini Cruise, P&O, UK Cruising, portExploring, Cruise Excursion, Cruise Destination

The 07.00 wake up call from the Captain was a surprise as we expected him to say that we were in dock rather than that were were just entering the Solent for the second time, heading for a different terminal than the one we had left from. It really is amazing that the wind could have been that strong and yet it really wasn't rough enough to even wake us up! Even the Red Funnel Ferry tucked herself in our wind shadow for a bit of protection as we crept slowly into the Solent.