Back on the Marco Polo

We had a wonderful trip in December 2010. We cruised the Rhine in the coldest winter in 60 years and saw all the snow we were hoping for - this may be the subject of a future blog, if this one works!! When we got back home, Rab (my darling wife) said firmly, "That's it! No more overseas travel. Future trips must be confined to Australia and New Zealand." We even went so far as to have a good look at motor homes, so we could travel with our dogs.

Then......while browsing around on the Net, some time in May 2011, she spotted some entries for cruises on the Marco Polo. We had a wonderful Mediterranean cruise on board Marco Polo about thirteen years ago (that may also be the subject of a future blog!) and had thought the ship had been decommissioned. Turned out it had, but only for a couple of years and it was now back in business to excellent reviews. It is not too big and it still looks like a ship and not one of those floating blocks of flats. AND .... there were two cruises, back to back, on offer at what seemed to be a very reasonable price, especially as the Aussie dollar was soaring and exchange rates were excellent.

I never need more than the slightest hint of the possibility of a journey to hop onto the Net and I was soon off like a rocketing pheasant. We got two quotes from local travel agents (and Harold, our pal in Cape Town, just in case!) and I also contacted the primary agents in Britain and negotiated a very good deal.

So...the cruise was affordable, but how about getting there? Initial enquiries were not promising. We just couldn't find anything reasonable - fares of $7,000 - $12,000 were not in our budget. And then....

........we got an e-mail from Malaysian Airlines with a Special Offer: One Week Only!! for members of their "Enrich" frequent flyer programme. Essentially it gave us a 50% discount - two tickets for the price of one. And a low price to boot. Although the flyer said that we had to book on line, our travel agent advertises that they will beat any price. So off to them for a further 5% off - and 15% off the insurance.

The cruise leaves from Tilbury, so we found what seems to be a good hotel nearby and our pal - my 'little sister' Jennie Lee will pick us up at Heathrow and spend the night with us before we board the ship. The last item was to arrange insurance which was a bit of a problem. The insurers wanted medical reports: I had just changed doctors; my cardiologist was away on a conference; when he returned he gave incorrect information. But I got some cover in the end - expensive but essential - limited to $100,000 and costing $250. But better than nothing.

We downloaded the Excursions on offer. Some were pretty pricey - and long. The day trip to Berlin is 12 hours, mostly on a coach!, and costs £135 each. So I think we'll be giving that a miss. Fortunately there are other interesting trips that day - it's the Warnemunde stop and we'll likely book one of those. As we have done we'll likely do our own thing at most ports but it's nice to know what is available. We'll have to go on an organised trip in St Petersburg as the Russians still require visas for individuals. Rab is also a bit concerned about personal safety in Morocco where she says she would feel uneasy about the potential for crime. This from someone who has travelled to many places with very poor reputations for safety.

It still amuses me how cautious we are with these things, despite having budgeted cautiously, but that's our style. Somewhat cavalier at times: careful at others:-) We'll make up our minds about the rest of the trips on the ship as we have done before. Three weeks to go!