New to cruises

[Claudette]

DH and I have never done a cruise, well not a big ship one, we have both done small boat cruises e.g. down the Nile or a couple of days on a dive boat. But we would like to try the big ship cruise experience. We had one booked last year but in the end we cancelled it before covid and then it was obviously cancelled anyway. This was a US west coast and Mexico cruise, I think it might have been Princess but honestly can’t remember.

I am firstly wondering what cruise line, or are they all much of a muchness? I was trying to get an idea of whether particular cruises lines are known for things such as: formal / less formal, budget / moderate / expensive, average demographic, basic entertainment / lavish entertainment, food options? Anything really.

If anyone has any ideas or knows of a source that provides a comparison of cruise lines I would be very interested.

Thank you.

[Daisychick]

Firstly, welcome to the world of cruising - it's great!

I don't know if I am allowed to mention particular websites but there is a whole host of information on Cruise Critic - it's Tripadvisor for cruises. There are various articles about all the cruise lines and ships plus information for first time cruisers. Each ship has a summary of pros and cons and likely demographic etc.

We have only been on Royal Caribbean and P&O. Some things vary per cruise line and also depending on where you sail from / what demographic is on board.

For example, Royal Caribbean, whilst having formal nights, I wouldn't have said is terribly formal at all. On non formal nights smart jeans in the main dining room are perfectly acceptable. However, there is a noticeable difference between the clothes worn on a Royal Caribbean cruise from, say, Southampton where the majority are Brits (I'm on my holidays, I'm wearing my smart togs) and the Med / US etc where there are more Americans (more casual).

For us, we have always just picked the itinerary we liked rather than had too much emphasis on the ship. This did lead to 10 consecutive cruises with Royal Caribbean though so they must have been doing something right.

Royal Caribbean tend to have a fun theme, with emphasis on sports / activities and lots of things for kids. You can still get formal areas and "sophisticated" things to do should you choose it.

P&O - we have only done a Caribbean Cruise so not sure what they are like in Europe. Very much a British cruiseline. Hardly any other nationalities on board for the Caribbean Cruise. Whilst some may see that as a negative, it didn't bother us and the food is very much catered to Brits.

For all the differences, there are more similarities than differences. My in-laws have also done Holland America Line, Princess and Celebrity. They said Holland America Line was "a bit stuffy" for them. More traditional in terms of activities and decor. They liked Princess and they said Celebrity was slightly more refined than Royal Caribbean and P&O. Having said all that, they are happy to go on any!

There's just so much info and so many different things - if you have any specific questions I'll try to help.

[gismo1554]

So I've cruised with a couple of different lines as below

Cunard is definitely more formal and I would say moderate in terms of cruiseline prices. They tend to be a bit of an older crowd but it is definitely a mix and European more than American. Entertainment is lavish and food (which actually I find on all cruise ships) is wonderful.

Disney is less formal but I would put as more expensive price wise. Definitely more catering to families and children. It tends to be a bit more American. Again lavish entertainment and wonderful food.

Princess I haven't cruised with yet but I am this summer and from research they are pretty informal and I would say the cheapest of the three here. They seem to cater more towards families and probably 30-50 years olds looking at all the info I've seen. Entertainment looks reasonable and food looks similar to the others I have sailed on.

[JudeB]

We have only done two cruises (one Royal Caribbean Greek Islands and one MSC Med). We had two further cruises booked for last year, which obviously didn't happen (both Norwegian).
As pp said, Cruise Critic is a bit like the Dibb but for cruising (although they aren't always as friendly - be warned). You can read reviews on different cruise lines, each ship within the fleet, itineraries and even check out particular room reviews. It's a great resource.
We loved the two cruises we were on and look forward to the day when we get to go on another to belatedly celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.

[Claudette]

Thanks for responses so far, I have heard of Cruise Critic before, I think I was referred to it when I booked the cruise that did not go ahead. By that time, I had already found a cruise so didn’t need to research all the different cruise lines though. I will take another look.

For a bit more context, we would be travelling as a couple ages 47 and 50 currently. Interested in either the Caribbean or South Pacific and don’t want too many completely “at sea” days. I also don’t think we would be interested in a Disney cruise.

[stupet11]

We have only done one cruise, but worth mentioning as worked out really well for a first timers, and have hears others recommend this particular one.

We just did 3 nights, as not sure about a lot of things, so fitted in with a 2 week Orlando holiday...if we didn't like it, out whole holiday wouldn't be a write off.

So, we booked Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas, Perfect Day Cruise (2 adults 47 and 48 and a 16 year old).

We had fights into Miami, so booked the cruise 4 days in, so we no stress if flight issues, and gave us chance to drive down to the Kets for first time.

RC's new dock / parking was great, and we got on the ship really early allowing us to explore. It wasn't a massive ship, but big enough for our first time.

We had indoor cabin (cheapest poss!) and totally fine. We didn't go for drinks packages - we would have enough fizzy pop in Orlando parks) - the free juice, cofee etc was fine... same with food, the buffett was fab, and we prefered to sit down meals - but they were good, and casual smart attire was cool... same as we'd where if going out of an evening in Oralndo, smart shorts, button up shirt / polo.

Entertainment, shops, activity on ship was good - perhaps limited if going for 7 days+ (if we did that we'd perhaps look at bigger ship).

The private island was awesome though, and again no need to pay for extra dinning, as the free tuff was really good. We didnt pay to go into the waterpark as we were doing waterparks in Orlando. I guess the provate island was like a day at Discover Cove - very relaxing, and lots of snorelking!

We didn't do much at Nassu, just got off to say we'd been, but have sine read about some good excursions. We had a day enjoying the ship.

After the cruise we shot up to Orlando for a week at parks. Worked really well, and enjoyed cruising...not sure if I would just want a cruise as my whole holiday though - combining with a Florida stay worked really well, so I'd look to do that - whatever cruises we look at.

[Daisychick]

Originally Posted by Claudette

Thanks for responses so far, I have heard of Cruise Critic before, I think I was referred to it when I booked the cruise that did not go ahead. By that time, I had already found a cruise so didn’t need to research all the different cruise lines though. I will take another look.

For a bit more context, we would be travelling as a couple ages 47 and 50 currently. Interested in either the Caribbean or South Pacific and don’t want too many completely “at sea” days. I also don’t think we would be interested in a Disney cruise.

See more...

So you're the same ages as me and my OH - well he's a couple of years older and I'm a couple younger so we average out about the same!

I can't help with the South Pacific cruise as the only cruise we have done in the Southern Hemisphere was New Zealand from Sydney.

The Caribbean I can help a little with. We have done a Royal Caribbean 1 week cruise from Puerto Rico and 2 P&O 2 week cruises from Barbados.

The Royal Caribbean cruise was tagged onto the end of a week in New York and New Orleans. There were plenty of Royal Caribbean cruises going from Florida but we chose to go from Puerto Rico as at the time we felt that a lot of the 1 week itineraries from Florida were not Caribbean enough.

Explanation - when you leave from Puerto Rico, you are already in the Caribbean and went to the islands you associate most with the Caribbean (Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua etc). The 1 week from Florida went to their own private island, which I am sure is lovely but we wanted to see the locals and the culture etc. Some of the ports you get to from Florida we felt were a bit "commercial".

Now, I might in general prefer Royal Caribbean to P&O overall but... cat amongst the pigeons time. I much prefer the P&O Caribbean cruises to the Royal Caribbean ones.

Why? It's the whole easy-ness thing. With P&O it is much easier (and vastly cheaper) to have a 2 week cruise including flights etc than it is with Royal Caribbean. Royal Caribbean you are generally using scheduled flights so have to arrive the day before, lest you want to risk missing the ship. Then you get yourself to said ship. Not a problem at all really but... on P&O you can get charter flights that P&O set up specifically for cruise passengers only. You leave your luggage when you check in at the airport and the next time you see it is in your cabin. P&O go from Barbados and when you arrive at the airport they bus you directly from the plane (I mean directly - from the bottom of the aircraft steps) to the ship. No immigration, no bag collection.

As you leave from Barbados you are already in the heart of the Caribbean. The 2 cruises we have done have both been on Britannia. We only ever had 1 sea day at a time.

There isn't as much to do on Britannia in terms of "headline" sports / gimmicks. There isn't a mini golf or a zipwire or waterslides or an ice skating rink etc etc. But there is a lot of room around the pool. We are not sunbed worshippers but we do sometimes like to sit out for a few hours on an afternoon. No chance of getting any kind of sun lounger or seat on Royal Caribbean mid afternoon. Every chance on Britannia - in fact we always managed it. Not always in the first place we looked but we always got somewhere. Drinks easier to get on P&O - many waiters wandering around.

Demographic - I would say Royal Caribbean had more families on it than P&O. P&O - we went outside of school holidays and apart from a few families with toddlers it was mainly adults. A bit of a split on ages. Plenty of older teens / twenties right the way through to those about to receive a telegram from the queen. Royal Caribbean - mainly American. P&O - mainly British.

Entertainment - similar on both. A very British slant on P&O, obviously. Both have their "cheese" element but both had plenty to keep you entertained. If you like pub quizzes, P&O is better, if only that they are tailored to Brits, so it's the sort of things we are likely to know.

Did I mention P&O was cheaper? Obviously this was pre Covid but we have had an inside cabin (or cupboard room as we like to call it!) on P&O for £1,150 pp (including flights) for a 2 week cruise. Last time we paid a little bit more to get a large cupboard. Inside rooms are fine for us as we don't spend much time in the rooms. We are usually too busy exploring the ports or on deck getting people to bring us drinks!

Anyway, I have probably banged on for far too long now. But if you have any more questions feel free to ask!

[sully301]

I would hazard a guess that you would like celebrity or Azamara. We're looking at an Asian cruise in either. Have a look at some Vlogs 😀

[KarenG]

Hi Claudette

We are also 47 and 50 and can give you a mix of experience and opinion based on research.

We have actually cruised only on DCL and NCL a couple of times for both and I see you’ve ruled out DCL (I would too unless there was a compelling reason not to, such as travelling with young ones).

We like NCL a lot because it’s very laid back, informal and we enjoy various bars a lot. We’ve found cruises ex USA have the vast majority of cruisers that are American - very noticeably so actually. The cost of an NCL cruise is great value too so we rate them for that and the all inclusive drinks package which is ridiculously cheap or ‘free’ (buried within the cruise price, anyway). I get the feeling that I value ‘value’ more than you might though (just a feeling).

Based on reading your food reports and what I would GUESS you’d enjoy based on accommodation threads and such I’d suggest Celebrity might be a good place to start looking. They definitely market to a slightly more upmarket audience but the prices aren’t outrageous. There are options to book concierge type cabins for very good prices.

HTH
Karen

[duchy]

Cruisers tend to be very loyal to “their” cruise line so take criticism of “others” with a pinch of salt.
YouTube is great for getting a feel for which company’s style appeals to you the most.
I’d start by looking at Celebrity. Holland America too.