Dipping our toes into cruising...

[dismadbrit]

Cruising is fab, once you have done one you will want to do another.

Check web sites such as Cruise 118, Planet Cruise, Iglucruise, Cruise Critic, Cruise 1st Uk to get an idea of prices and where you want to go.
Shorter cruises from the UK tend to sail around Brugge and Jersey, as Mick says for the Med you will need a 7 day cruise.
Do you want AI or just FB?, tips added or not?, again companies differ what they offer. For me personally I wouldn't have an inside cabin, but they are the cheaper option so look at prices for both, some offer tea and coffee in rooms some don't.
A good choice to start would be to look at Thomson, smaller ships (the big ships are just that BIG) and most offer AI and tips included.

[PlutoFan]

Some fantastic tips here, thanks all.

I'd be quite happy to source flights myself, it's just the cruise booking I'm a bit wary of, but perhaps I'm over-worrying.

So to summarise so far -

You can be as 'dressy' as you like - smart casual is fine, NCL are less informal
Check what is actually included (tips / drinks), and whether it's really value for money.
Balcony would be best (unless we win the Lottery and get a suite - the baby grand pianos in some of those make me laugh) if we aren't restricted too much on our budget.
Be wary of extra costs, e.g. tips (if not included), shore excursions

I think I need to sit down with DH and come up with a 'when' and 'roughly where' and then what comes up on the searches will determine 'how long'.

[dismadbrit]

You can be as un dressy as you want and not even set foot in the formal dining room if you don't want to, there will be some sort of food 24hrs.

Sort your excursions once you have your cruise sorted.

I usually book flights and the cruise as a package if it is the Med (not sure what would happen if the flight was delayed as I'm not important enough for the ship to wait for me I wouldn't have a clue what to do etc) and DIY if we leave from the US as we usually spend a few days in the area before we cruise.

[stecee]

Prepare to get hooked
Another thing to look out for is to check the location of your cabin. Try to avoid getting a cabin directly above a music venue or directly under the pool area as these can be noisy.
We love having a balcony and for us, it really adds to the whole cruising experience.

[BevS97]

I’m also hoping to start cruising next summer.

Another thought, my parents cruised out of Venice a few years ago but it was an indirect flight. There luggage was lost on the way and took 10 days to find them! It kept arriving in ports after they had left. They’d booked a package with MSC so the luggage followed them but I don’t know what would have happened if they were DIY.

My thought is if it’s indirect I’d want to go at least the day before to give luggage time to arrive, and definitely have more than a few essentials in a carry-on. Lack of luggage really ruined their experience.

[Omega1]

Originally Posted by BevS97

My thought is if it’s indirect I’d want to go at least the day before to give luggage time to arrive, and definitely have more than a few essentials in a carry-on.

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Definitely. We do one night pre cruise in Europe and two nights in the US as a minimum. It's not just if the luggage doesn't arrive, it's also making provision if flights are delayed or cancelled.
We've only ever had one flight cancellation going to Fort Lauderdale for a cruise, we got in a day late but still had two days before the cruise departed.

[scarecrow]

Cruise nation is another good UK to look at pricing. One year I got a balcony cabin with a hotel for 11 nights plus 1 night hotel for £900 each in August school hols.

I also use viva voyage UK and Viva voyage.com.

I agree about Venice for your first cruise, it's a bit like Disney there is something magical about the place.

For your first cruise stick with the American lines.

If you compare to Disney hotels I like to think of them like this.

Carnival, NCL and RCL as moderates

Princess, Celebrity as delux

Disney think Grand Floridian (service & food and shows) the Magic is a bit small for me now but it is a lovely ship all the same.

Symphony of the Seas is in the Med next year, it looks amazing but it's very big.

The older smaller ships sail from Venice.

Hop over to cruise critic and scroll through people's reviews to see what you fancy.

Last year I went on NCL Spirit very small older ship and really enjoyed it, casual dining, good shows and the food was mainly good. We visited some amazing ports, Israel (overnight) Rhodes, Crete, Cyrpus, Split, Kotor and Venice. As always met some lovely people.

As others have said fly in a day or so before if DIY.

If booking cruise independently I find it best to book directly with the cruise line in the US, that way you can get price drops or upgrades and even move rooms, depending upon which cruise line you use.

You cannot book Princess in the US you have to book in the UK and pay substantially more, it's a real peeve of mine.

[Omega1]

Originally Posted by scarecrow

You cannot book Princess in the US you have to book in the UK and pay substantially more, it's a real peeve of mine.

See more...

...and mine. Regional pricing they call it - it's galling that some passengers have access to better pricing, promotions and conditions for the same product, simply because of where they live.
Cruise lines operate in a global market, why don't we get similar treatment? Here endeth the rant!

[scarecrow]

I vote with my feet, I won't cruise with Princess. (Although I'd love to ).

[grottyrotty]

Following this thread, as we're tempted to dip our tootsies in the holiday cruise holidays.

Thinking of the med at the moment, but the choice is so daunting!

Deb