thinking of cruising for the first time

[Clamshell]

Perfect, thanks very much 😀😀

I'm not so fussed about formal nights, we are very relaxed and don't dress up a lot, it's just not our thing.

So is food and soft drinks always included and alcoholic drinks extra?

[Omega1]

Originally Posted by Clamshell

Perfect, thanks very much 😀😀

I'm not so fussed about formal nights, we are very relaxed and don't dress up a lot, it's just not our thing.

So is food and soft drinks always included and alcoholic drinks extra?

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Our favourite cruise lines have a range of dining options - main dining (fixed time or anytime), buffet, speciality (additional fee), pizzeria, grill, etc. Main dining dress is smart casual except formal night. If we don't feel like dressing up on formal night we go to the buffet or speciality.
Food, tea, standard coffee, water are included, sodas and alcohol are extra. There are usually a range of drinks packages available on board from speciality coffee and soda cards to wine packages to all inclusive. You can of course buy drinks as and when at the bars.
Cruise lines have widely different policies for taking alcohol on board.

[Cara040]

We are in exactly the same boat - pardon the pun. Apart from there is also DD who will be 10 next year.
I really fancy the fjord cruise but would have to fit school half term as it does this year, but dd and DH are leaning towards the med as dd wants to be able to swim whilst on board.

We are to POFQ in October having done riverside in 2013 - our holidays mirror yours!

[Bats]

Originally Posted by Cara040

We are in exactly the same boat - pardon the pun. Apart from there is also DD who will be 10 next year.
I really fancy the fjord cruise but would have to fit school half term as it does this year, but dd and DH are leaning towards the med as dd wants to be able to swim whilst on board.

We are to POFQ in October having done riverside in 2013 - our holidays mirror yours!

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You can swim on board anyway, they heat the pools (or at least they do on Disney!)

[scarecrow]

Originally Posted by Omega1

Good summary from Cyclospora. We've been on around 26 cruises including RCCL, Costa, NCL, Holland America, Celebrity and Princess. We are 'more mature' and consequently travel out of school holidays which means very few children. We've been fortunate to sail most cruise itineraries around the world.
Princess, HAL and Celebrity are our favourites because of the quality of the service, food, entertainment, etc. I'm not saying the entertainment isn't good on other cruise lines but not to our taste. The main factors for us are itinerary and cost. In general we pay a max of £75pppn for a decent inside cabin, we used to go for balcony cabins but now prefer more cruises for our money - we have had several cruises where it was either too hot or too cold to use the balcony! We usually book cruise only and then book flights separately (for lots of reasons) but always get to the port one day in advance in Europe, two days in the USA and three days elsewhere.
Cruising the Med, in my view, is better from Med ports because you haven't got the long sail from Southampton to get there - we know many people who prefer sailing from UK and avoid flying. Embarking in Barcelona, Rome, Venice, Athens etc allows you to get further into the Eastern Med and some great ports of call - Greek Islands, Adriatic, Turkey, etc. Some ports are easier logistically to depart from eg Rome to port (Civitavecchia) transfers are expensive whereas Barcelona and Venice are a short taxi ride. Baltic and Fjords cruises are easily done from the UK.
Pretty well all med ports of call are well served by public transport / taxis/ private tour companies which means that you don't have to go on expensive ship excursions. For example we went to Portofino from Genoa - the ship tour was £55pp we paid £10pp for the train. We got there before them and had longer and not herded past some beautiful viewpoints. We've done hundreds of independent trips all over the world and haven't missed the ship- yet!
I could go on! Have a read on Cruisecritic for advice on specific ports and Toms Port Guides.com
Come back if you have any specific questions.

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What agree at write up. Roll on my retirement!

For the OP if it's your first cruise fly to the Med and go from there. I look on the cruises departing from the UK that you loose 3 to 4 days with potential rough seas and cooler weather. Whereas fly to the med and mostly apart from returning to Barcelona you get lily pond seas ( in the Summer) and hot weather from day 1.

[Clamshell]

Originally Posted by Cara040

We are in exactly the same boat - pardon the pun. Apart from there is also DD who will be 10 next year.
I really fancy the fjord cruise but would have to fit school half term as it does this year, but dd and DH are leaning towards the med as dd wants to be able to swim whilst on board.

We are to POFQ in October having done riverside in 2013 - our holidays mirror yours!

See more...

Ha ha - just goes to show its a good plan then!

[Clamshell]

Originally Posted by scarecrow

What agree at write up. Roll on my retirement!

For the OP if it's your first cruise fly to the Med and go from there. I look on the cruises departing from the UK that you loose 3 to 4 days with potential rough seas and cooler weather. Whereas fly to the med and mostly apart from returning to Barcelona you get lily pond seas ( in the Summer) and hot weather from day 1.

See more...

Lily pond seas do sound very nice 😀😀

[DIBBadmin]

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