Booking my first cruise - help please!

[Bearblue26]

DH and I (both early 30s) have decided we would like to go on a Mediterranean cruise in 2023. Ideally we’d like to go for 10 days or so (but happy with anything 7+).

I’d love to receive some recommendations from seasoned cruisers please based on our requirements below;

• we don’t drink so no need for drinks package
• ports which aren’t too far away from the resort
• decent entertainment
• not too formal
• budget of up to £1900 per person

The website Tom’s port guides has such most useful information (if he’s been to your port of call) - he answers all those sorts of questions about transfers, public transport etc.

@mincepiepie alaska is the best. We booked our excursions through viator and they were much cheaper.

The med is a great place to cruise. Your budget will allow a no fly cruise leaving from the U.K. or you fly to the med (often Naples, Rome or Barcelona) to start.

The British brands (Cunard, p&o) still aim for a more formal atmosphere in the evenings at dinner whereas the American lines are very casual.

There's cheaper options too like Marella which are all inclusive (and food was very good).

As far as ports, there's excellent websites that list each port of call on the med and your options for transport and excursions - I do not do the cruise company trips (they are £££) instead I use public transport or in many cases walk because it dicks in an interesting place. The ports are where they are though, you'll find it's a mix

All the ships have entertainment, the glitzy branded shows are on the big American ships whereas I prefer live music and I found that excellent on most lines (I've been on 6). Best band I've ever seen at sea was on Cunard!

@mincepiepie

We liked Marella- its significantly cheaper so not as fancy but staff were so friendly, food amazing and it's very British in style (that's a matter of preference)

@Bearblue26

At ports you have 3 options, take a tour organised by the cruise company, make private arrangements or stay on board/walk around locally.

For Rome you can take the train (an hour) the station is a 20 min walk from where the port bus drops. Tickets available on the Trainline app, very cheap. Always book your return train with a good margin of error because the ship will not wait for you!!!

We've only ever sailed with P&O as they suit us. We like the formal nights and the fact that everything is in sterling. Agree with previous posters that with places like Lisbon, Cadiz and Vigo for instance the ship docks practically alongside the town so it is easily accessible. If not there is usually a shuttle bus from the ship to a central drop off point.

Be aware that if you do your own independent excursion rather than one booked with ship and are delayed or late back the ship will not wait for you whereas they will if you are on an organised tour. This is particularly important if you want to go to Rome from Civitiveccia for example. Even if we're docked in close by and get off and wander on our own we always make sure we are either back on board or having a drink within sight of the ship at least an hour before the last boarding time. I'm haunted by the memory of two passengers who were on a ship moored next to ours once who had cut it very fine and were running down the concourse towards their ship screaming as the crew were taking up the gangway. Thankfully they made it but it was a lesson learned!

Yes that last incident actually happened to us at Gran Canaria. I was running to the gangplank as my husband paid the taxi that had Kindly spotted us panicking and driven us up ! The crew said it's OK don't run its ok the captain is watching! So I looked up and sure enough he was ! I'd recommend a Greek cruise for walking straight off the ship . Or Barcelona, Cadiz, Toilon StRaphael itinerary. Whatsinport website is very informative.

@gogohmm it's really interesting this thread to compare we all like different things.

Marella was like a rusty Butlins at sea when I went in October if it had been my first cruise I wouldn't have gone back in any cruise. I was told the food had gone down hill as the people we were with had cruised previously with them.

I personally loved NCL but other slate it on this thread.

I also don't think Emma cruises is impartial. Good advice but not impartial.

Generally I’d always ‘do my own thing’ in ports, especially in Europe where it is so familiar, easy to get around and I’m able to speak good French/Spanish. Lots of the port towns which the ship docks at have turned out to be quite nice to visit for themselves if I do t have particular sightseeing in mind. When the ships dock away from the towns there is often a bus laid on for free to drop off at the town - e.g in Porto you dock in Leixos but get taken to porto (45mins) for free by the port authority bus.

The only exception to this would be places like ‘Rome from Civitaveccia’ or ‘Paris from Le Havre’ which are just too far from the port to be comfortable for me. I’d spent the who day looking at my watch and checking train times to be sure I wasn’t going to miss the boat! If I want to do those cities from a ship I would swallow the cost and book the cruise line excursion to be sure that I’d be back at the ship in time.

Lots of great info on this thread - got our first cruise booked for Aug 23 on Odyssey so this has been v helpful!

@mincepiepie

I last went with them in 2019, the food was better than Cunard on that trip (French chef, I love French food!) the food on Cunard wasn't as good this year as 2018 (the time I went beforehand) perhaps it's a pandemic thing!

Take a look on youtube. There are many people who do videos about cruises. Some are excellent particularly for first time cruisers. A life well cruised is one I can think of off the top of my head.

Rome I would definitely do a ships tour. Too much risk of trains striking and you not getting back to ship.

Most other places I walk around myself or do an i independent tour, like in Russia or Alaska

I agree about ships tour for Rome. Also for Pisa & Florence. Too risky for me. Otherwise we always do independent tours. Saves a shedload of cash.

Pisa is easy by train if only doing Pisa, very close. Florence you need to book the tour

That’s why I said Pisa & Florence as lots of yours combine the two. Thank god I’ve got a cruise in May booked as I’d be having serious cruise envy!

We've been on loads of cruises. We find Marella really good - lots of port stops and all inclusive, so drinks are free.
We've also been on P and O, Cunard, Ocean village, Royal Caribbean and Princess. Had amazing holidays on each one which is why we keep going back for more. We always do a tour with the ship if we're at a port far from the place we're visiting like Rome. Other places are easy to do yourself or get a taxi. Always leave plenty of time to get back to the ship because they do leave people behind. I also find the air con chilly in the evening so I always take jackets, long sleeve dresses etc for then.

It's a good idea also to see how many shops will be in port too. 5 large ships in port could be 20,000 people in port on one day.

Book a balcony cabin.

Even more great advice - so glad I asked!

We are hoping to book a balcony cabin. I’ve heard that if you book an inside cabin with some companies you will receive emails closer to the time encouraging you to upgrade at a reduced price. Is this the case?

Yes I have either bid for upgrades or auto upgraded for free (so they can offer more lower priced rooms to people yet to book)

Marella /tui is more the butlins end of cruising. They did an amazing itinerary including Croatia and Albania which very few others do.

Who do you all book via? Online or in a travel agent, or direct? And which sites please? Thanks

I’ve done a few cruises, and enjoyed them all.

Royal Caribbean is good, but expensive, and drinks pricey too. Food was quite American, but buffet choices were superb. Fantastic shows, eg We will Rock You, Grease, plus very impressive ice skating shows.

Virgin was great for the food options, but the ship I was on, only had one small outdoor pool, and I like a few pools to choose from. It made the hot tubs very busy, and some people hog them unfortunately.

P&O is very British, but I quite like that, eg, roast dinners, sponge and custard etc. Drinks a reasonable price. Great entertainment too. I’m going on Britannia in 2023, and can’t wait.

My DD has been on MSC, and enjoyed it, but didn’t rate the entertainment, unless opera is your thing. My Dsis loves MSC, but they do Yacht Club, where you get a butler and your own restaurant, pool etc (mega bucks for that luxury though).

My next cruise will be on Celebrity, because everyone raves about them! They have a new ship sailing out of Southampton next summer I think.

Personally I love sailing from Southampton, because I live fairly close, and getting guaranteed good weather doesn’t interest me particularly. Plus none of the dreaded airport waiting around stuff.

You’ll have a ball no matter which cruise line you choose.

Which cruise lines allow you to bid for an upgrade? What does this entail?

We are in Scotland so Southampton is a bit too far. We will either book a fly cruise or book a 7-9 night cruise and arrange our own flights. If we do the latter we will fly 1-2 days before the cruise and fly 1 day post cruise

If you’re doing a fly cruise you can always ask the cruise line to port your flights to a different day (or even city) if that suits you better. I always ask to fly 3-4 days early if I’m doing a cruise in or out of NYC, and stay on a few days if I’m finishing a cruise at a city I’ve not visited before.

I combined a trip to friends in San Francisco with a cruise from LA. The cruise line were happy to fly me to SanFran instead of LA and a week earlier, and didn’t charge extra for the change. The only thing you lose if you do that is the free transfer/overnight hotel (if you fly cruise a long haul trip they fly you the day before and put you up in a hotel to avoid having to hold the ship for delayed flights).