Not sure what you mean by cladding. There are different alternatives to tiles. I have used acrylic panels in one bathroom, and perspex (in moonlight white) in another. I like the perspex more. (Perspex is just a brand of acrylic. I like that "moonlight white" is a matt white, and the colour is all the way through, rather than being painted on the back of clear sheet. Also, the supplier was able to supply custom-sizes for next day delivery.)
Only downside so far is that you're not supposed to let any chemicals get on the walls, which is an issue if the sealant along the bottom gets mouldy, I'm scared to spray some Dettol on it. (But mould shouldn't happen. After a year and a half I have one spot where I need to reseal because sealant allowed some water behind and so there's few millimeters of black mould.)
My bathroom fitter had never worked with acrylic panels before, but managed to cope. The idea that you can just use ordinary wood-working tools turned out to be an oversimplification, he ended up buying special blades for cutting it. (The problem is not that it is to hard for ordinary blades, but that it more likely than wood to fracture.)
Having had many problems over the years with grout between tiles, I never want it my my bathrooms again. Both my bathrooms are completely grout-free.