Bonjour à tous ! les catalogues étant déjà sortis je lance le nouveau calendrier 2021 si dores et déjà vous avez vos dates de départs à vos claviers pour les nouvelles inscriptions en attendant passez à tous une très bonne fin de soirée 🙂

JANVIER FEVRIER MARS AVRIL MAI JUIN JUILLET AOUT SEPTEMBRE OCTOBRE NOVEMBRE DECEMBRE

We’ve just returned from a cruise that my wife and I will remember—unfortunately, not in a good way. There’s so much to say that I’ll proceed chapter by chapter. Pre-Cruise On January 24th, 2025, I booked through a supposedly attentive cruise agent the repositioning cruise of the CFC Renaissance to the French West Indies, initially departing from Le Havre, then from Dunkirk, on November 1st, 2025. The return flight was included in the price of this trip. From January, right after booking, this adventure got off to a bad start. Used to major cruise lines, I asked my agent to reserve a table for 4 at the "Vatel" restaurant for the second seating, and to link this reservation to the cabin of friends traveling with us. First brush-off: "Ask the maître d’ at the restaurant entrance on the first night."

"To govern is to foresee, and to foresee nothing is to head for disaster," as Émile de Girardin said.

Following this maxim, in February, I started looking for transportation to Le Havre, which was initially the departure port. Then, I asked the travel agent which airport the return flight would land at. I knew flights from Pointe-à-Pitre to Paris served both main Parisian airports. Here, I found myself like a ping-pong ball between the cruise agent and CFC: The cruise agent said, "Ask CFC," and CFC replied, "No, your agent is your intermediary—ask them." It went back and forth like that. Impossible to pre-book the flight that would take us back to our final destination. During the summer, we learned that the departure port was no longer Le Havre but Dunkirk. We canceled our transfers to Le Havre but, of course, lost the cost of the reservations. Meanwhile, we purchased our "Beverage" package—we chose the "Fraîcheur" option, which included all non-alcoholic cocktails, canned sodas, fruit juices, bottled water, and regular coffees. This detail is important for the rest of the story. Every month, I followed up to find out the return airport. Nothing until October 28th (3 days before departure), when CFC finally informed me it was Orly, along with the flight number and time. Of course, on top of booking at full price, I had to arrange my final transfer home. Since I had very little time before the return flight, I had to book an Uber in a rush for the Orly/CDG transfer. Right after, we were told that our first stop in Lisbon—the most anticipated for many cruisers—had been canceled due to a strike at the port of Lisbon and replaced with Vigo, Spain. A completely unremarkable stop—nothing outstanding. As you can see, the prelude was already problematic, yet we’re far from reaching the peak of our disappointments. .......... to be continued soon.

hi everyone I’ll go ahead and restart the cruise calendar for 2025 for now. It can give people ideas and might help members meet up!

Two essential rules: don’t “quote” the calendar when replying—this’ll avoid any confusion and if you can, list your cruise in this example format: enter the month first, then date /username / SHIP / number of days / destination / departure port

FEBRUARY

14/02- poupou10 / CELEBRITY INFINITY /11 days / Greece Turkey Cyprus / Piraeus (Athens) AUGUST 01/08- poupou10 / REGAL PRINCESS /13 days / British Isles / Southampton YOUR TURN 😉 NUMBER OF CRUISES 2025: 2 JANUARY FEBRUARY 14/02- poupou10 / CELEBRITY INFINITY /11 days / Greece Turkey Cyprus / Piraeus (Athens) MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST 01/08- poupou10 / REGAL PRINCESS /13 days / British Isles / Southampton SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

Bonjour

Voilà ce qui serait prévu à partir de la mi-août :

http://crew-center.com/costa-cruises-plans-re-start-voyages-7-ships-5-phases

Cordialement

Bonjour Une croisiere de novembre qui vient d'etre annulée par Msc en juillet rentre t'elle dans le cadre de l'ordonnance du gouvernement car cette croisière a lieu aprés le 15 septembre fin de l'ordonnance ? Mich74

Bonjour, Susceptible d'être intéressés par un circuit Europe du Nord en juillet 2020, nous avions repéré une croisière de 14 jours sur Splendida dans les offres Msc Voyager le mois dernier à 3230 € (avec remise de 15 % + 5 %) en cabine double intérieure. Aujourd'hui, avec l'offre de MSC à 50 % pour le second passager, elle est proposée à 3700 € (avec ou sans l'offre Msc Voyager) ! Je ne suis jamais surpris de ces pratiques commerciales qui consistent à augmenter les tarifs avant les offres promotionnelles, mais il me semble que dans ce cas, c'est un peu abusé... (ps : même remarque pour avril en Méditerranée sur le Divina) Certains ont ils constaté la même chose ? Cdt

Si vous devez partir en croisière depuis un départ Français, les navires n'ont plus le droit d'accoster jusqu'au 15 Avril (voir Article 3) : https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000041722917&dateTexte=&categorieLien=id

Article 3

Jusqu'au 15 avril 2020, il est interdit aux navires de croisière et aux navires à passagers transportant plus de 100 passagers de faire escale en Corse, et de faire escale ou de mouiller dans les eaux intérieures et les eaux territoriales des départements et régions d'outre-mer, ainsi que de Saint-Barthélemy et Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, et Wallis-et-Futuna, sauf dérogation accordée par le représentant de l'Etat compétent pour ces mêmes collectivités.

Hi there A few photos from the Explora Journey—the ship is stunning, and I can confirm the dining is on par with Michelin-starred restaurants. Plus, you get to choose between several restaurants where everything is included, even drinks and champagne!

Bonjour, Si vous êtes intéressés par des échanges de bons plans sur cette croisière, merci de me contacter. A bientôt

Bonjour à tous, je pars sur le Fortuna (si il part) vers les Açores le 15/04/20 de marseille, par rapport aux 2 escales que je vais faire je cherche des idées pour PRAIA dA Vitoria 08H00-18H00 et PONTA DELGADA 11h00-18h00 (c'est court). Il y a des CR mais des personnes qui on fait des séjours de 8 jours ou plus donc différent pour moi pas le temps. merci de vos réponses. Bonne croisière à vous

Bonjour Plusieurs dates et lieux de départs et d’escales pour cette transat au départ des Caraïbes (Guadeloupe ou Martinique) sur le Costa Magica du 12 ou 19 mars au 4 avril (et Canaries Gibraltar Barcelone Savone Marseille) C’est un peu l’omnibus de l’Atlantique... Qui sera sur le navire de où à quand ? J’y monte le 19 mars à Fort de France ( où j’arrive le 16 mars) pour finir le 4 avril à Marseille... ce sera ma 4e transat. Je serai ravie de rencontrer des forumeurs. Si toutefois le « virus à couronne  » nous laisse embarquer et descendre aux escales. Qu’en pensez-vous Cordialement Dominique

Mon épouse et moi-même sommes inscrits pour la croisière sur le Costa Favolosa, départ de Fort de France le 20 mars prochain et retour à Marseille le 11 avril suivant, soit pour une durée de 23 jours. Ce sera notre 7ème transatlantique. On aime ça... Y a t'il des personnes qui feront cette croisière et qui aimeraient avoir des contacts?

Bonjour, nous venons de réserver une croisière transat. Au départ de Marseille. Pour Miami à bord du msc Divina. novembre prochain. Y a t’il des personnes qui seront du voyage ?

Hi everyone, Okay, here I go—I haven’t done a cruise review in ages, and even longer since I’ve posted one on this forum. So, this is kinda your fault, Catherine, if I’m getting back into it... I just hope I haven’t lost my touch!

It’s a transatlantic cruise, so there are a lot of sea days. That means this review will mostly focus on the ship, especially the "Haven" section, which doesn’t get much coverage on this forum. There’ll definitely be some comparisons with MSC’s Yacht Club, since they’re direct competitors.

This will be my third cruise with NCL—a company I really love—but my first in The Haven.

My two previous cruises were on smaller ships: the NCL Sun for the Chilean fjords and the NCL Spirit in February 2025 in Asia, departing from Taiwan and arriving in Korea. I *loved* the Spirit.

Alright, let’s get started!

This trip was booked almost last-minute in early October for late November, after I had to cut short my August trip for medical reasons.

At first, when I looked at this cruise, I hadn’t specifically decided to go for The Haven. I wanted a relaxing cruise but still with destinations I hadn’t been to before. I kinda stumbled upon this one, and the itinerary appealed to me. I also found the balcony cabin price pretty good—around 2800 € for a balcony cabin (for two), all-inclusive package included. Not including flights, of course. In the end, we decided to try The Haven (obviously not the same price), but I think we got a great deal for the promised perks.

Itinerary: Departure from Lisbon, arrival in Galveston, Texas. Stops: St. Martin, St. Thomas, La Romana, Cabo Rojo, Falmouth in Jamaica.

Hello, We’re sailing on the Norwegian Viva from Lisbon to Galveston. From what I’ve read on the NCL site, there’s no formal night; is that correct? If so, that’ll lighten the suitcase! 😊 The ship stops in Cabo Rojo in the Dominican Republic, and I haven’t found much info on this stop—it seems to be recent. I’m thinking of just heading to the seaside near the ship, but if you’ve got another **bon plan**, I’m all ears. Same for La Romana: last time we went to Bayahibe Beach, so if you’ve got another idea... Thanks in advance!

Hi, is anyone joining the transatlantic cruise on the Costa Fortuna from November 22 to December 12, from Marseille to Fort-de-France? I’m traveling solo, so if you’re in the same boat, feel free to reach out!

Bonjour Quelqu’un aurait il des infos sur transatlantique départ Pointe a Pitre via Savone avec Costa ? Merci

Bonjour, J'ouvre ce Topic pour que nous puissions échanger nos expériences, nous réunir sur le bateau... C'est notre septième transatlantique … presque toutes vers les caraïbes . Nous restons 22 jours .. retour Pointe à pitre . Les années précédentes... Les échanges sur le forum et bateau ont été très sympa; Nous connaissons, toutes les escales .. nous n'aimons pas les excursions , nous nous déplaçons en bus ….si vous avez besoin d' informations , ce sera volontiers que je vous les donnerai.. Jean Claude (le mari) joue au tarot …. y a t il des joueurs ? à bientôt Jocelyne

Hi everyone.

If there’s one trip I’ve always wanted to take, it’s a long boat journey far from my daily routine—something like crossing the Atlantic. I first thought about traveling on a cargo ship or similar, as some of these boats used to accept individual passengers, but I’ve read that this has become very rare since COVID. Plus, the options that might work for me are way out of my budget, like Neoline, for example.

A cruise seems like the best solution for me, especially since what I really love is the idea of a long stay on a ship—making stops in different places, exploring them, the change of scenery, and a real break from the daily grind. I’ve never been on a cruise before, so I was thinking of doing a 21-day cruise between a port in mainland France (Marseille) and Pointe-à-Pitre. The departure port doesn’t really matter—Marseille, Le Havre, or even a nearby European city would work.

Since I want to travel solo, I’m really keen on cruises designed for solo travelers. MSC has one from Marseille to Pointe-à-Pitre, lasting 21 days, departing next November (so in a few months). The price is within my budget, just over 1800 €.

I see that other cruises with similar routes and durations are planned for next year, November 2027, but the prices are totally different—around 3500 €, which is clearly out of my budget.

So, my question is: do you think I should wait for a possible price drop for the 2027 cruises (if I understand correctly, prices are adjusted based on how full the ship is and how close the departure date is) or should I book the one in November 2026? I could easily take three weeks off this fall. Also, is it too late to book for November 2026? I’ve read that visas might be required for some stops.

For the rest—accommodation in Guadeloupe and the flight ticket back to France—it’s not a problem; I can sort that out pretty easily.

Nous avons effectué une croisière transatlantique en novembre 2019 et nous avons eu recours à BAG EXPRESS. Notre valise n'est jamais arrivée à bord nous avons du nous débrouiller par nos propres moyens . Nous sommes en février 2020, la valise est perdue ou volée le dossier est clos et BAG EXPRESS cherche bien sûr a se défiler de ses responsabilités . Bonne chance aux futurs croisiéristes qui auront affaire à ce remarquable transporteur !

bonjour, je pars le 1er décembre de Marseille pour une transatlantique sur le Costa Favolosa. Le prix des excursions à la Romana est très cher et je cherche des gens pour partager un taxi avec moi pour aller à la plage de Bayahibe. Si vous etes intéressés, n'hesitez pas à me contacter.

Hello, Looking forward to a beautiful transatlantic crossing on December 6th. Anyone from the forum going?

Hi there, I’m traveling on a transatlantic cruise from Rio to Barcelona from March 16 to 31, 2026. My partner only drinks water, and I’m looking for another couple in the same situation so we can optimize a drinks package that isn’t worth it if one of us doesn’t consume anything (Costa). Thanks for your feedback, Daniel

We’ve booked the transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary. I understand that for the gala evenings, we need to wear a tuxedo and an evening gown. Do we need a very expensive chic evening gown, or can a more modest one still be tasteful? And where can I buy one? I have the same question about the tuxedo. Thanks!

I’ve finally gotten around to writing a review of our transatlantic cruise on the Costa Fortuna. We’ve always loved cruises, especially transatlantic ones. In recent years, we were MSC customers (Diamond card). But this year, we decided to return to Costa, though there was one downside: we lost all the points from our old Costa card (I think we were "Gold"). Still, since we’re former customers, the company generously gave us 1 point and the bronze card. It’s better than nothing.

Our departure nearly went wrong. The ship was leaving Marseille on Friday, December 22 at 2:00 PM, and we were told to be at the port by 10:30 AM. This unusual departure time meant we had to travel to Marseille the day before (since we live in the Paris area). So, we booked a flight from Orly to Marseille on the 21st at 5:15 PM. But December 21 was a particularly rough day in France with a big snowstorm. And as everyone knows, planes and trains don’t handle snow very well. At Orly, in the waiting area, everyone was anxious as the minutes ticked by. The departure time kept getting pushed back in 15-minute increments. They eventually let us board the plane with no guarantees. Once inside, the captain announced we were waiting for a takeoff slot. About an hour later, he said the plane needed de-icing and the wait could be long since airport staff were overwhelmed. Miraculously, after what felt like forever, the de-icing truck finally arrived, and we took off—over two hours late. When we landed in Marseille, the terminal was practically empty. Luckily, our hotel wasn’t too far away.

We later found out that passengers who took the train were even less lucky—trains were canceled. Later, at our table, we met a neighbor who had boarded in Malaga by plane because his Paris-Marseille train had turned back. He’d incurred extra costs, lost two days of the cruise, and had quite a bit of stress.

The next day in Marseille, our boarding went smoothly. We were surprised by the large number of passengers. We later learned that 1,300 people had boarded in Marseille. Since the ship wasn’t full (between 2,300 and 2,500 passengers), the French were in the majority (a rare occurrence). We noticed during the cruise that the French are just as loud as the Italians. The only upside? At least we could understand what was being said.

More to come later.....

Hello soon-to-be retired travelers flying from Orly to Fort-de-France! We’re taking the transatlantic cruise on the Virtuosa, which departs from Fort-de-France on Saturday, April 5th and arrives in Le Havre on Sunday, April 20th. Are excursions possible without necessarily going through MSC for Guadeloupe, St. Martin, the Azores, and Lisbon? Has any forum traveler already done this cruise and have some tips and advice to share with us? Thanks in advance.

Sauf erreur de ma part, je ne vois plus de croisière en 2021 au départ de Miami et de Fort Lauderdale sur leur site. Est ce une conséquence de la transatlantique retour du Luminosa ( qui semble-t-il a donné lieu à une plainte aux US) ou simplement une programmation en attente?

Bonjour, je recherche des croisiéristes français pour partager taxi lors des escales notamment à Sainte Lucie. D'après mes recherches, il faut compter 160 dollars US pour 4 personnes pour une visite des principaux sites de l'île. Nous sommes deux. Merci😉

Hi everyone (and yes, ladies first 😎)

I was wondering, besides MSC and Costa, which cruise lines are your favorites? Which ones would you like to try?

For my part, I’ve tried Virgin… and how can I put it… it was one of the best cruises of my life! There are a lot of preconceptions about the company that honestly aren’t entirely justified (even if I’ll admit I’m their target audience!).

Anyway, if you’re interested, I’ll give you a little rundown 🙂

13/03/2020 : Le Prefet Stanislas Cazelle a indiqué que "les navires avec plus de 1.000 personnes (passagers plus équipage) ne seront plus dès à présent autorisés à accoster en Martinique" en vertu des directives gouvernementales qui interdisent les rassemblements de plus de 1.000 personnes. "Au vu de l’urgence sanitaire globale en cours (...), Costa Croisières a décidé d’annuler la prochaine croisière du Costa Magica de même que sa croisière transatlantique (respectivement les 13 et 20 mars)", a indiqué le groupe. "La même décision a été prise pour les deux prochaines croisières dans les Caraïbes et la croisière transatlantique du Costa Favolosa (14, 21 et 28 mars)".