New format for cruising with Jane McDonald

[loub 14]

I knew there was going to be a new series starting this week but I didn’t realise they were changing the format of the show. Previous series’ have seen one episode feature a single ship/cruise, often meaning a lot is packed into each show. This time around they have changed it to make it two episodes per cruise. The first cruise will be Holland America visiting Sydney, Tasmania and then New Zealand.  This is followed by a Silver sea cruise on board Silver Muse around South America including Patagonia.

Who’s looking forward to the new series and will you be watching?

[2torts 345]

I'll definitely be watching. I like to see different ships & places & think Janes a great presenter.

[Davybe 529]

Love the program ,always watched ,and have before now watched again ,when repeated.....Davybe

[Sea Cruiser 89]

Whens this back on?

[cruise addict 164]

Always enjoy her show.

[Bumble Bee 107]

1 hour ago, Sea Cruiser said:

Whens this back on?

I think it starts this Friday

[Davybe 529]

14 minutes ago, Bumble Bee said:

I think it starts this Friday

9-0pm Channel 5 .....Davybe

[TrentAnn 31]

I'll be watching too 👍

[Tally 392]

Thanks I'll be watching. I like Jane McDonald. 😊

[jinky 96]

It was Ok but format is getting a little boring - massage and drinking on board, taking the most expensive trips off ship by the look of next weeks trailer and declaring "I love my life" at various stages - who wouldn`t! The first episode didn`t make me want to go to NZ - at least not by ship. I think NZ and Australia cry out for a land trip rather than cruising and dropping in here and there.

[*Dancing Queen* 394]

Oh I don't know jinky, we did a cruise around Australia and it was superb the only downside was there was so much we wanted to do in each port we had to hope we had made the right choice, an Australian dinner companion was eager to know daily how we had enjoyed our experiences and she thought we had made good choices, we mainly did DIY which worked out much more expensive than the ships tours but it enabled us to see a lot more and spend as much or as little time as we wanted to in each place, the following year some friends did an 'air cruise' and were very disappointed as they spent more time in airports and up in the air than in the actual places visited, Australia is such a vast country unless you've got a few months to spare to really explore it I would have thought a 'taster' by sea is a good second choice.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode and can't wait for next week.

[DavidH 596]

9 hours ago, *Dancing Queen* said:

Oh I don't know jinky, we did a cruise around Australia and it was superb the only downside was there was so much we wanted to do in each port we had to hope we had made the right choice, an Australian dinner companion was eager to know daily how we had enjoyed our experiences and she thought we had made good choices, we mainly did DIY which worked out much more expensive than the ships tours but it enabled us to see a lot more and spend as much or as little time as we wanted to in each place, the following year some friends did an 'air cruise' and were very disappointed as they spent more time in airports and up in the air than in the actual places visited, Australia is such a vast country unless you've got a few months to spare to really explore it I would have thought a 'taster' by sea is a good second choice.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode and can't wait for next week.

Hi Dancing Queen,

Glad you enjoyed your Australia cruise but I defy anyone to visit the Red Centre from a cruise ship.  We did a 4 week land tour with Scenic in 2014.  Fantastic organisation and a great experience.  Flew into Perth from the UK.  Our internal flights took us to Alice Springs, Cairns, Melbourne and finally, Sydney.

Cannot recommend Scenic highly enough if anyone really wants a taste of Australia. 

DavidH

[smtcan 274]

We cruised Australia to New Zealand a few years ago.  We spent a week in Sydney before the cruise and explored the Blue Mountains, Bondi Beach and other local sites.    We toured the North Island of New Zealand for a week after the cruise.  This gave us an introduction to that part of the world, but we intend to do a land tour next year to see more of the centre of Australia.  The air fare to get to Australia is so expensive that we want to see as much as possible while we are there.

We prefer to plan our own travel rather than rely on tour companies, so we do plenty of research before planning trips, or planning additional travel before or after a cruise. 

Sheila

[GiGi 105]

I enjoyed Jane’s show I think she’s very entertaining, ok I could without the busting into song at the end but never mind. We have some friends that recently did New Zealand and Australia on a cruise and they loved it, they now want to go back and spend more time in the places they enjoyed the most. 

[Davybe 529]

Not to sure about the new format ,but then again we will see what the ship has to offer,Looked very nice to me) the food and entertainment will get a bit more cover.

For those who like spa treatment, or shore excursions these are getting covered  in more depth.

The last series people did not like because it did not cover whatever (Food, Cabin, Entertainment) Some cruises deserve more in depth TV not the usual quick ,blink and you will miss it type of program.....Davybe

[DavidH 596]

9 hours ago, smtcan said:

We cruised Australia to New Zealand a few years ago.  We spent a week in Sydney before the cruise and explored the Blue Mountains, Bondi Beach and other local sites.    We toured the North Island of New Zealand for a week after the cruise.  This gave us an introduction to that part of the world, but we intend to do a land tour next year to see more of the centre of Australia.  The air fare to get to Australia is so expensive that we want to see as much as possible while we are there.

We prefer to plan our own travel rather than rely on tour companies, so we do plenty of research before planning trips, or planning additional travel before or after a cruise. 

Sheila

Hi Sheila,

I can understand your thinking.  We also, as a general approach, do a fair bit of advance research and like to do our own  planning.

In early 2008 we spent 6 weeks touring New Zealand in a motorhome (we are caravanners in the UK).  It wasn't long enough to do such a magnificent country justice but we have been back since to pick up on the areas we didn't get to.  However, when it came to considering Australia, the huge distances involved put us off the motorhome option and we felt Scenic's tour package offered us the best opportunity of maximising our time there.  For us, it proved to be a great choice.

DavidH

[*Dancing Queen* 394]

21 hours ago, DavidH said:

Hi Dancing Queen,

Glad you enjoyed your Australia cruise but I defy anyone to visit the Red Centre from a cruise ship.  We did a 4 week land tour with Scenic in 2014.  Fantastic organisation and a great experience.  Flew into Perth from the UK.  Our internal flights took us to Alice Springs, Cairns, Melbourne and finally, Sydney.

Cannot recommend Scenic highly enough if anyone really wants a taste of Australia. 

DavidH

Very true David, I imagine for anyone doing a land tour the Red Centre is the ultimate 'must do'.  I'm sure you had a wonderful experience and saw far more than I did but my point was this is Jane McDonald on a cruise ship and we are only going to see the minimum of what is on offer in port because basically she is promoting the ship. 

[Davybe 529]

Having watched both episodes I quite liked it ,that particular cruise deserved the extra time it got ,having so much to show us...Davybe