Dipping our toes into cruising...

[PlutoFan]

So, as the kids are now 19 and old enough to look after themselves, DH and I are considering trying a cruise to see if we like it.

We thought a good place to start would be with a Med one, for between 4 - 7 nights.

Other than that, we have no idea where to start. I looked at some sites which have all kinds of cruise lines, but feel a bit daunted as to what's the best thing to do.

Should we go with someone like Thomas Cook / Thomson as first-timers or are there specialist TAs we can use to get the sort of things we are looking for?

Has anyone got any recommendations - and possibly more importantly warn us to what what we SHOULDN'T do!

Thanks in advance!

[mick]

We've done six cruises. Three in the Caribbean from Florida, one to the Canaries from Southampton and two to the Med - one from Rome and one from Southampton.

The big problem in sailing from the UK is that you're at sea for maybe 3 days before you pass Gibraltar and reach the Med. So even a 7 day cruise would only touch Spain before it turned round again. The worst part of this is also crossing the Bay of Biscay which can be a bit "choppy".

Our first cruise to the Med for 7 days and it was out of Rome so you're obviously straight into nice weather. When we cruised the Med a second time from Southampton we did 14 days so we were at least 8/9 days in the Med.

Apart from Rome cruises also leave from Palma, Barcelona and Venice and maybe more.

We've booked in a variety of ways. Our first from Rome was through Thomas Cook Cruises on-line with Royal Caribbean. TCC arranged the flights and cruises.

We did two in Florida on Carnival through Travel City Direct before they were taken over by VH. We then did a third in Florida through Virgin Cruises who also arranged the flights and overnight Miami hotel

Just to get more complicated we've also booked direct with Royal Caribbean and Princess direct. Never used a High Street TA.

Sorry if you expected a simple answer.

I have no complaints about any of them.

Maybe to avoid the Bay of Biscay and to get to the sun quicker have a look at TCC and VC and fly to the Med. Then look at cruise ships direct as above (plus P&O).

If you want the eastern Med/Adriatic though for only 7 days you might need to look at starting in Venice.

Hope this helps for starters.

Mick

[PlutoFan]

Thanks Mick, that's a really good starter. I didn't think it would be that simple to be honest .

We were expecting to fly to / from the port so no problem there.

We were thinking Western Med at first, but we've been to most of the usual suspects for ports of call - Barcelona, Palma, Rome, Naples etc so perhaps Eastern Med would be nice to see different places.

Venice sounds like a good place to have a couple of days before or after as well

[mick]

Anne

We are far from being experts and our first experience of the Med via Thomas Cook on the Navigator of the Seas was a very efficient experience. TCC sent us BA flight details and we flew from LHR to Rome very early as I recall. We collected our luggage and followed a few RCI reps with signs to the coaches waiting outside the airport. They put our cases into the coach and we next saw them outside our stateroom on the boat. (Stateroom is posh cruising parlance for cabin).

You can choose to eat formally or casually every meal. I wore a suit and tie every day for 50 years at work so that's the last thing I pack for a holiday. I'd never even consider packing a DJ but some people love it.

We always book a balcony cabin as we love waking up nearly every morning opening the curtains to a new port.

Just take care with the shore excursions though - that's where the costs can mount up.

Mick

[tikka234]

We done our first cruise this year p o cruise from Southampton to Norwegien Fjords 7 nights, absolutely loved it great scenery I was getting up around 5am out on the balcony as we sailed through the fjords stunning views.
We booked excursions with p o loved them all.
Will definitely cruise again just don't know where to

[PlutoFan]

I'm sort of inclined towards someone like TC for our first experience -
a bit like we went with VH for our first family holiday in Florida but DIY'd it after that.

Sounds like a balcony is the way to go. We were probably going to do that anyway - I don't think I could cope with an inside cabin.

We certainly won't be doing DJ & ball gown - I only have one dress and that was for a wedding we went to a couple of months ago, I normally live in very causal clothes!

Do most staterooms have tea & coffee making facilities so you can sit on the balcony with a drink in the morning?

Tikka - I think if our first go is a success, the Fjords may follow along soon after - somewhere I've always fancied seeing.

[mick]

Anne

You'll need to check the cabin amenities page for each cruise line to check tea & coffee. Just like Florida we take instant coffee and Coffeemate anyway.

RCI had kettles but I don't recall whether they provided tea and coffee though. Princess nothing I'm afraid so we had to take mugs up to the buffet restaurant and fill them from a hot water machine.

Either way we enjoyed our first coffees on the balcony.
Mick

[Burgmeister]

We've done 4 cruises, 3 on Royal Caribbean and 1 on NCL.

2 of the RC ones were out of Southampton and we love that as it avoids any airports! Obviously though, that does mean a fair few days before you get the good weather.

We have just booked a cruise on Princess, again out of Southampton, and booked with Thomas Cook. They were the cheapest price for the cruise we had chosen. We have, in the past, booked with Thomas Cook (first cruise), Cruise.co.uk and Vacationstogo (an American company). Thomas Cook were no better or worse than any other cruise agent we have bought through.

Find the cruise line you want (NCL is quite informal - if that's what you are after), choose your itinerary and dates and then contact a few different suppliers to get the best price. Also try direct with the cruise line. Sometimes they can be the best price (not often though)

When we cruised out of Barcelona we opted to add our own flights rather than buy the package. The cruise only fare was £450 per person cheaper than the fly-cruise price. I got all 3 flights for £450 total. We then added on an overnight stay in Barcelona pre-cruise (just in case there were any problems with the flight) for about £80.

Oh, one other thing to bare in mind. Don't forget to add in the price of the "optional" gratuities (not really optional at all tbh). This can add a tidy amount to your cruise fare. If you find any offers with "grats included" then they are worth having (as is a free drinks package).

[MarionG]

We have never cruised before either. Friends and family have and keep on at us to go on one. Hubby doesn't want to do dressing up, like Mick he wore shirt and tie for work for many years. In the end we are doing a "mini cruise" from Port Canaveral next year to the Bahamas with Royal Caribbean. Only 4 days so enough to decide if we like it. Combining it with a week after on the Gulf Coast and 10 days in Orlando.

[Omega1]

Lots of good advice above. We have done around 35 cruises on six different cruise lines. Of these, only three or four have been booked as packages. We find we can get better flight deals by shopping around and certainly get better flight timings/routings. Occasionally, packages come together with a deal that can't be beaten by booking independently.
Also we like to book direct with the cruise line if they are not more expensive than agents - but my experience is that they always price match. The reason for booking direct is that if you go through an agent they very often can't be bothered sorting any issues after the booking (they're not like US agents) - if you go direct to the cruise line, they tell you to go through your agent. Hence we prefer to keep control. Also, if there is a price drop, the cruise line will often give a cabin upgrade or on board credit to compensate. UK agents aren't interested in haggling on your behalf.
Double check that free gratuities or drinks packages are good value - very often cruise lines hike the price and then say they include 'free' extras.
For us, NCL used to be good value, now they are all inclusive, prices have gone up. We don't drink that much so we feel we are paying for drinks we won't drink!
As a rule of thumb, we pay around £55 to £75pppn for an inside cabin. Over the years, we have picked up tips on how to get more onboard credit - we have shares in Carnival Corp which gives $250 obc for a 14 day cruise, future cruise deposit gives $75pp obc, plus other promotions offered by the cruise line. On our coming Caribbean cruise (Princess) we will have $900 obc which will cover our gratuities and bar bill.
Edited to add something about Med itineraries: If you have already visited the usual Med departure ports (Barcelona, Genoa, Rome, etc) then Venice is a lovely port of departure and great for a few days pre cruise. We stay in Mestre which easy to access from the airport and hotels are cheaper. Access to the island by train takes 5-10 mins and costs about €2. Itineraries from Venice take in some lovely ports such as Dubrovnik, Split, Kotor, etc in the Adriatic and longer cruises take in Athens, Katakalon and Greek islands such as Santorini, Mykonos, Crete, etc.