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Cruising from Southampton - thoughts?


Joe01

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I'm lost as to what cruise to take next year. However, I really want to sail the revamped Independence. The main issue is that my group dislike cruising from Southampton due to sailing through the Bay of Biscay and the clientele. How can I try and convince them that it is a good idea? Before I get told to go solo, one of the group is celebrating a graduation next year so I can't go solo next year. 

I want to sail Indy as she was the ship that got me into cruising and I want to see her after being revamped. In addition, being from the UK, it is a very short flight, and as I am a fan of Cruise Directors, it will likely be Joff Eaton again who is one of the best.

How can I convince them? If you have sailed from Southampton, what are the positives in your opinion?

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28 minutes ago, JamesGurner said:

We’ve sailed through th bay of Biscay numerous times although it can be choppy I don’t think it’s as bad as what it’s made out. I also like the fact you have 2.5 days at sea (14 night cruise) to enjoy what the ship has to offer and relax before you dock.

I have been seasick from Biscay before, but I do agree that having time at sea is nice. When it is a port intensive itinerary, you barely get any time to enjoy the ship.

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PROS:

1 hour flight from Glasgow to Southampton.

Indy was the ship that got me into cruising - it would be great to return to my roots.

She has been totally revamped and looks gorgeous with many Symphony additions. 

Joff Eaton will likely be the CD.

CONS:

Cruising through the Bay of Biscay

Not many exciting ports.

The clientele who my group are worried about cruising with. Not that it worries me.

 

Would you say it is possible to convince them? If you've sailed from Southampton recently, please tell me the pros and cons.

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When you brought this topic up on a previous thread a few weeks ago you stated that the biggest problem your friends had was that southampton cruises where full of chavs ( Council House And Violent) thats for those that dont know what a chav is, if this is still the case and main issue with your friends then you need to change their attitude towards others who are in their eyes chavs. Pros and cons of ship doesnt matter if all they can see is less desirable passengers, everyone is different and we shouldnt prejudge

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1 hour ago, Ray said:

When you brought this topic up on a previous thread a few weeks ago you stated that the biggest problem your friends had was that southampton cruises where full of chavs ( Council House And Violent) thats for those that dont know what a chav is, if this is still the case and main issue with your friends then you need to change their attitude towards others who are in their eyes chavs. Pros and cons of ship doesnt matter if all they can see is less desirable passengers, everyone is different and we shouldnt prejudge

I think we all have our own opinions, but the area I live in (a bit east of Glasgow) has it's share of chav's so I don't get what their issues are, but it ultimately seems to be a deal breaker for them. 

Frustrating to say the least as Indy is the only ship I want to do next year now that I've done all 4 Oasis Class. 

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I have sailed from Southampton six times - it's very near to where I live.  Five of those have been with Royal Caribbean.  I don't understand the "chav" comment - I have never experienced that; everyone has always been lovely.  I would say that Royal Caribbean from the UK attracts a wide age range - this depends on the itinerary.  For example Independence usually has a high number of passengers from the UK and more families in the school holidays.  Navigator (will be Explorer next year) seems to have more international passengers.  On my Baltic cruise on Navigator this year there was a wide mix of passengers from all countries and all ages (not many children it has to be said)

The port staff at Southampton are great.  You don't have to stick to your allocated boarding time.  Very easy to hand luggage over to the porters on arrival at the port and collect from the warehouse at the end of the cruise.  If you arrive at the port the day before there's lots to do in the vicinity.

Yes, the Bay of Biscay could be an issue - but that partly depends on the time of year.  Take some sea-sick pills and hope for the best.  I've never experienced storms / rough weather that way; unlike the North Sea and around Norwary

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We've just returned from a 6 night France/Spain Cruise on Indy and sailed from Southampton. We went through Bay of Biscay twice and whilst we felt the ship swaying it was by no means an issue for us (our party of 11 ranged in age from 6 to 80 and not one of us felt any sickness whatsoever).

Re the chav issue, put simply - don't worry about it. Yes there was some colorful characters - as i'm sure there are on most cruises, but we didn't see any behavior whatsoever that was inappropriate. I can't recall noticing any football (soccer for our American friends!!)  shirt wearing, beer swilling, tatto'ed, shell suited monsters - so if there was any they must have been well behaved. In short - it's a non issue. (the only caveat I would add to this is that possibly on a short 2 or 3 night cruise from Southampton this could then possibly attract the booze cruise / stag and hen parties, any longer and i think you'll be pretty safe)

The ship was lovely, tons to do, spotlessly clean and the staff were great. We also had Joff as our cruise director and he was excellent too. 

Zero complaints from us ?

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38 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Ok.  I’ll do it.  For us Amerkans, what is a “chav” ?

It’s a generic term - for someone who’s generally from a poorer background, who’s nasty and aggressive! As Ray mention earlier some people say it stands for ‘Council House And Violent’ and that sums it up quite nicely - although not sure that’s the original meaning.

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54 minutes ago, Wilmsta said:

As Ray mention earlier some people say it stands for ‘Council House And Violent’ and that sums it up quite nicely - although not sure that’s the original meaning.

I looked the term up on Wikipedia the other day, says "Council Housed and Violent" is a backronym created to fit the original word. Word's been in use for a really long time. From the article (emphasis added):

Quote

Etymology

Opinion is divided on the origin of the term. Chav may have its origins in the Romani word chavi, meaning "child".[7][8] The word chavvy has existed since at least the 19th century; lexicographer Eric Partridge mentions it in his 1950 dictionary of slang and unconventional English, giving its date of origin as c. 1860.[9]

The word in its current pejorative usage is recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary as first used in a Usenet forum in 1998 and first used in a newspaper in 2002.[10] By 2005 the term had become widespread in its use as to refer to a type of anti-social, uncultured youth, who wear a lot of flashy jewellery, white trainers, baseball caps, and sham designer clothes; the girls expose a lot of midriff.[3]

In his 2011 book, Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class, Owen Jones surmised that the word is an attack on the poor.[11] In the 2010 book Stab Proof Scarecrows by Lance Manley, it was surmised that "chav" was an abbreviation for "council housed and violent".[12] This is widely regarded as a  backronym, a constructed acronym created to fit an existing word.[8] This interpretation of the word was used in a 2012 public statement by Rapper Plan B as he spoke out to oppose the use of the term.[13]

 

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I just got off of a 7 day cruise from Southampton.  Being a geographically challenged person from the US, I don't know if we went through the Bay of Biscay, but I will say that the first night was slightly rough.  Not sea sick rough, but slightly tipsy rough (or was that because I took full advantage of the drink package?).  The people on the ship were truly lovely.  We met many people that we thoroughly enjoyed and did not encounter anyone that I would describe as "chavvy" per the definitions given above.  In fact, I did not really even seen any rude behavior at all.  

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20 hours ago, Wilmsta said:

Re the chav issue, put simply - don't worry about it. Yes there was some colorful characters - as i'm sure there are on most cruises, but we didn't see any behavior whatsoever that was inappropriate. I can't recall noticing any football (soccer for our American friends!!)  shirt wearing, beer swilling, tatto'ed, shell suited monsters - so if there was any they must have been well behaved. In short - it's a non issue. (the only caveat I would add to this is that possibly on a short 2 or 3 night cruise from Southampton this could then possibly attract the booze cruise / stag and hen parties, any longer and i think you'll be pretty safe)

 

I don't think you can get drink packages any longer for short sailings (less than 5 nights?) from the UK - this may reduce the number of stag / hen parties

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2 minutes ago, Sarah said:

I don't think you can get drink packages any longer for short sailings (less than 5 nights?) from the UK - this may reduce the number of stag / hen parties

Ah yes, did read that on here. Shame it has  to come to that really but understandable if it was causing problems and attracting the wrong crowd

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On 9/6/2018 at 6:42 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Ok.  I’ll do it.  For us Amerkans, what is a “chav” ?

It usually applies to a younger person but can apply to older maybe up to mid 30s, dress code is North Face, Henry Lloyd, tracksuits, leggings with tshirts to small that the belly hangs out ( thats the females)  the younger ones maybe as young as 12 yrs old go about in gangs causing hassle, the older ones end up on TV shows such as " on benifits or crimewatch" lol

In scotland we dont have CHAVS we have NEDS, ( non educated deliquents) just the same expect the threats the 12 yr olds shouts at you are in a scottish accent lol

Of course the great british justice service has a great way of dealing with them, basically let them off as its to much paper work. 

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5 hours ago, Ray said:

It usually applies to a younger person but can apply to older maybe up to mid 30s, dress code is North Face, Henry Lloyd, tracksuits, leggings with tshirts to small that the belly hangs out ( thats the females)  the younger ones maybe as young as 12 yrs old go about in gangs causing hassle, the older ones end up on TV shows such as " on benifits or crimewatch" lol

 

White t-shirt, Adidas track pants, Bass Pro Shop trucker hat 

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Hmmmm, interesting thread.  Chavs out of Southampton.  Rednecks out of Galveston.  I don't know what the local terms are but I've heard very similar complaints out of Baltimore and Fort Lauderdale.  You can find low class, crass, bigoted people on any RCCL cruise.  (But let's be clear - it's a minority of sailers.  Most people are friendly and wonderful everywhere.)  If RCCL wants to use a business model to appeal to a lower price point (with more inside cabins and a reduction in free food quality) then you are going to get this element.  In recent years, they've moved closer to (rather than away from) Carnival in that regard.   One way to avoid it is to take longer, more port-intensive cruises. They cost more and don't appeal to the partiers.

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We sailed from Southampton on the 11th August for 2 weeks, the ship was fully booked and had none of the problems other people had mentioned with regards to queuing for things, there was a good mix of people and wide range of ages. The journey going the bay was like a millpond and coming back was 3 metre swells but the ship hardly moved it was worse in the English Channel with 4 metre swells but with the stabilisers out we didn’t feel anything. We took seabands with us but didn’t need to use them. Hope this helps

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