Anyone an experienced cruiser?

[CaptainCrazyPants]

I’m looking at booking a cruise for next year and after some advice as I’ve never cruised before. Single parent and two kids (needs to be a family friendly cruise!). I’ve looked at the Disney cruises and they look amazing, but obviously very expensive. Has anyone done a Disney cruise and/or cruised with another cruise line? Is it worth the extra for Disney? Do other cruise ships have the same entertainment and childcare facilities? I literally don’t know where to start looking! I’m thinking of either Norwegian fjords or Spain/France, any opinions?

Ive done loads of cruises

Mostly P and O but have done NCL once too.

P and O are fantastic IMO

Very family friendly, so much to do (you cant actually do it all) amazing food options, and great for kids too. Highly recommend cruises and I much prefer P&O to NCL.

I have cruised with my children from toddlers - currently 11 years old but expect to do many more too, as the whole family love them.

P&O do some great offers, especially if booked well in advance... our July school holiday summer cruise I have got BOTH my children free :)

@nannyl that sounds amazing! Did you do European crusies or further afar?

It depends a bit on how old your children are, and what they like to do.

We love NCL, very laid back vibe, no need for getting very dressed up for dinner (although you can if you want), no set dinner times, can eat and drink when you want, lots to do, especially on larger ships.

We've been twice with our kids (and several times without!), and cruises have been our kids favourite holidays, even beating Disneyworld!. The kids were aged 10 - young teens when we went. Larger ships have lots to do - mini golf, ropes courses, sports courts, water slides etc, as well as kids clubs. Some have laser tag and go karts. Smaller ships tend to have less whistle and bells, but will still have kids clubs.

I think it's also worth looking at Royal Caribbean, they have some amazing ships, some even have ice-rinks and carousels.

Thanks @budgiegirl theyre both primary school aged so not as old as yours are/were. I’ll have a look at royal Caribbean as well!

We’re first time cruisers and going with RC this summer. In our party, the kids will be 9-16 and there seems lots for them to do!

Ive done all sorts,

arctic / baltic / carribean / nothern europe / western europe and around Italy in the med.
We are doing Spain & Portugal this summer

One tip, when comparing the prices on cruises, check what is included. Prices can seem very good sometimes, but check whether gratuities are included, what drinks are included, can you get (and do you want) wi-fi etc.

What extras might you have to pay for? On some cruise lines drinks are included, on others you may choose to buy a drinks package, or just pay as you go for drinks. Most lines will include squash style drinks/water in the buffet, but you may have to pay extra for sodas, alcohol etc. If gratuities are not included, these can really add up.

I've done a Disney cruise round Europe with my kids (about 10 and 13). Booked it, spent the next nine months wondering why but really enjoyed it.

Cruised with Celebrity this summer. Not that different price-wise but the food was in a difficult league. The entertainment was good on Disney but the food in the 'fancy' restaurants was pretty average (and very Americanised). Celebrity was much nicer but perhaps more focused on teenagers.

On both occasions, we organised our own excursions which I'd definitely recommend.

I wouldn't book with P&O on account of how abysmally they treat their staff.

If you are referring the way P&O Ferries sacked their staff last year, they are completely different company from P&O Cruises, and the two companies are in no way affiliated. P&O Cruises is owned by Carnival, the US cruise company.

Thanks for the advice, I’ll have a look at what’s included

@SugarPlumpFairy3
You and the kids will adore it, you probably won’t see them a lot. So much to do you can hardly fit it all in.

Thanks, that’s (partly!) the plan! I’m RIDICULOUSLY excited 😄.

We like royal Caribbean as a cruise line. We don’t really see much of the DC there is so much for them to do. Food is good, entertainment is good and you can do as much or as little as you want onboard. We do like port intensive cruises rather than lots of days at sea.

Id love to do a Disney cruise but it’s outwith budget.

I recommend Cruise Critic as a good source of info. The forums are brilliant.

DS is still friends fifteen years on with the kids he met on P&O cruises when he was 14/15/16. Honestly we barely saw him the whole holiday, they were his best ever holidays.

Hi, not an experienced cruiser, but we have booked our first one this summer! Me, DH and 2 DD’s (16 and 10). We’ve gone for a Celebrity cruise to the Eastern Mediterranean. We considered P & O and Royal Caribbean but didn’t like their itineraries as much. Glad to hear you had. good experience with Celebrity @dew141 !

From what I’ve researched, Celebrity don’t have as much family-friendly activities as some of the other cruise lines, but they do have kids clubs that get really good reviews. It’s supposed to be a more relaxed atmosphere than some of the other lines. As our cruise is quite port-intensive I figured relaxing while on ship was going to be important! Plus, the ship looks amazing (Celebrity Beyond).

There are some really good facebook groups specifically for cruising.

Good luck…!

Ours was eastern Europe too (Greece, Croatia etc). We didn't pay for the speciality restaurants (as the main buffet and dining room were great) but we did go to the French restaurant on a special first night deal. One of the best meals I've ever had.

Our Celebrity package included alcoholic drinks and free Wi-Fi. Disney is fun for younger kids but I liked the relaxed atmosphere on Celebrity and the evening shows were excellent. Also no dressing up which I can't be bothered with on holiday.

I've done lots of cruises but not done a Disney one. The only one I would NEVER do again is Marella.

P&O L, Royal Caribbean, NCL, MSC, and Princess have all been amazing for all different reasons.

Last year, I did NCL on the escape in the western Mediterranean for 10 days and it was my favourite cruise. The benefit of going with NCL is that they do a package called free at sea. You pay £140 ish and get all inclusive drinks, Wi-Fi and tips, and a few other benefits. P and O are good because they go from Southampton princess are good because the food is amazing. Royal Caribbean was good because we did the east coast of the USA. MSC was good because we got a free upgrade to yacht club!

Have fun picking your cruise!