Has anyone been on a Cruise?

GhostofChristmasNatt · 30/01/2006 10:55

Have been on a cruise ship across the Atlantic (plane phobia) - love being at sea but it was full of old people eating too much food provided at all hours of the day and night by the beaten down looking phillipino crew. Much better alkthough very no-frills was container ship trip back. I think different cruises differ. Used to be a very good site / agency called Cruise People who probably strill exist and could help you find waht you want...

Easy · 30/01/2006 11:06

Yes, We went on a cruise last year and loved it.

Good cruise ships have lots to do aboard, so you can just relax and watch the sea go by, OR you can join in with one of any number of activities (learn how to play bridge or poker, use the gym, join Salsa classes, sit quietly in the library, join in the pub quiz, etc. etc.)

Yes cruises do tend to attract a percentage of older people (simply because they are convenient for anyone with mobility problems), but wrinklies are by no means the only people aboard. If you are sociable you will find a huge range of people to talk to. At our table at dinner dh and I were the oldest couple.

Honestly I think it's a great holiday. Oh and dh was a bit sceptical when I first booked ours, but is looking at booking again when we can afford it.

codnotmud · 30/01/2006 11:08

its on lm y list fot "Things i will never do"

on it also are:

own a caravan
be flimed dancing
be on reality tv
talk with " speech marks" in mid air

say:
24-7
invite
or"id liek that"

Easy · 30/01/2006 11:11

If you've never tried it, you don't know whether you'd like it tho' do you?

codnotmud · 30/01/2006 11:12

stuck there wiht all those popel s coffing all day and going on organised excursions and patromnnising popel at each stop buy buyin g at trinket and haggling for it
yuk yukyuky

Easy · 30/01/2006 11:22

Oh of course, I forgot they make you go on the organised excursions at gunpoint. We didn't do any excursions, made our own way at ports of call.

And people don't "scoff all day"

Bloody stupid comment.

Okay, so you don't want to go. Mosschops was looking for advice from people who know what they're talking about.

GhostofChristmasNatt · 30/01/2006 11:25

Actually even if not your thing, the organised activities - wrinkly social scene is fascinating from anthropological point of view. Container ships are wonderful - lots of peace and card games with crew also I think you can go on scientific explorer type boats up in the arctic which could be good too.

cod · 30/01/2006 13:01

Message withdrawn

Laura032004 · 30/01/2006 13:17

I went on one with my ds (6m), my MIL and my GMIL. We all really enjoyed it. I would love to go on another one when we can afford it. Ours was round the med, so we stopped at (not in this order though): Majorca, Spain, Italy, Corsica, France and some other places!

I loved the food, the trips, the friendly staff, everything really!

laurawaterford · 31/01/2006 21:18

hope you dont mind me butting in from not so sunny ireland. We went on a cruise a few years ago. It was lovely. Yes there is none stop food - almost. and possibly lots of wrinklies I have to say i didnt really notice but we had children with us so maybe it was a younger lot any way. There was loads of entertainment and we sailed during the night and woke moored off a different island each morning. What holiday can offer you corsica rising out of the early morning mist as you wake up and pull back the curtain. or elba surrounded by a pink early morning sunblush.

Well - we liked it anyway and would definitely go again. sorry if i went on!!

sylvm · 31/01/2006 22:02

Ghost of Christmas - you said you came back across Atlantic in a container ship. Like you I cannot bring myself to fly - would love to visit my cousin in the USA - but price of cruise liner is prohibitive. How do you find out about container ship crossings - to be honest it had never occurred to me as a possibility>

Nbg · 31/01/2006 22:11

lol at Cod

We did a Cruise and Stay in 2001. Started in Montego Bay, Jamaica and went to Cuba, Caymen Islands, Santiago de Cuba, Mexico (can't remember which part, not Cancun though).
It was lovely, a great mix of people on the ship and the excursions they did put on were very good although if you didn't want to do them you had plenty of opportunities to go off on your own.
The only bad thing I could say about it was the fact that we had to eat with other people. I would have liked a table to just dh and myself but having said that the people were lovely.

biglips · 31/01/2006 22:18

me and dp went 1st time nearly 2 yrs ago on the P&O cruise (Oceana) to canary islands for 2 weeks, and the people were lovely.. very mixed ages too... we only met one odd people that came over to sit on our breakkie table and dp was trying to 'break the ice' but the couple wouldnt speak and moved onto another table (that was our first brekkie morning too!!)

we both wanna go on a Carribean one next

alibo · 02/02/2006 14:05

hey there nbg, me and dh did a cruise and stay in may 2001, included jamaica, cayman islands!!! it was on the carnival triumph. mosschops- if it is just the two of you- definatly give it a try, we loved every minute. Carnival cruises were excellent, couldn't fault anything at all. less formal than say royal carribean, p and o and more reasonable prices. there were loads of other couples we made friends with, real mix of people/ages. its a great way to see a few places all at once, food is always fantastic, entertainment great. days at sea are great for sitting round the pools, and excursions you can either join in or do your own thing. we did a week in fort lauderdale florida and then week on cruise. oh dear you've set me off now; i'd LOVE to go again!! if you shop around carnival have some real bargains; sky travel on tv always seem to have great deals if you're flexible about when you go. let us know if you book one!!

alibo · 02/02/2006 15:05

oh, forgot to mention mosschops,with most cruise ships the cheapest fare is for a basic cabin, ie bunk beds which you probably don't want. then the price goes up as you upgrade to better cabins. we just upgraded one level to an inside cabin with double bed, and it was great, just like a hotel room really but smaller, nice bathromm etc. it had no window, so pitch black in morning- we nearly overslept and missed trips twice!!

Easy · 02/02/2006 15:31

In answer to Nbg about eating with other people.

When we booked P&O (we were Oceana to the Canary Islands too) I was asked if we wanted a table for 2, 4, 6 or 8.

I opted for 8. I figured that just eating alone for the whole fortnight might get a bit 'samey', as we eat alone together every night at home (or did until dh started to work 150 miles away). Didn't opt for 4 in case we didn't like the other couple.

As it was we got a table for 9, three couples each with a child, but the children didn't come to dinner most nights.

And anyway, the ship had a bistro we could go to instead to eat alone, and 2 other specialised restaurants where we could book a table for 2 (small cover charge) if we were desperate to eat alone.

A cruise holiday is what you make of it. Everyone I know who has been has loved the experience, only some people who have never tried it seem to have this view of a ship full of wrinklies permanently stuffing their faces.

alibo · 03/02/2006 10:38

i agree easy, only problem is once you've been on a cruise, you want to go on another, i know who a few people who are seriously addicted!!! we ate with 3 other couples who were all americans; but they were lovely people and were all extremly interested in life in england, very easy to talk to. i cannot wait till ds is old enough to enjoy his first cruise; not sure what age would be best to take him really, he's just 2, any thoughts?

Firefox · 03/02/2006 13:19

A couple of years ago I would have baulked at the thought of going on a cruise. However, my parents are serious cruise addicts and have gone on several so far. They have been so impressed with them for enjoyment, entertainment and value for money that we ourselves have decided to go during the Easter break.

My parents say that the type of people that go on cruises really does depend on the the cruise line you choose, and this can make all the difference, so check this carefully. There are people of all ages, and families too. The best thing is that my parents have managed to find some fantastic bargains - especially if you can go during school term times where it would work out to be approx £50 pn - not bad considering it includes flights, accomodation, entertainment and all your food. And this price is not just restricted to the med - but also has included places like the carribbean and New York. Also for not much more money, it is worth asking if you can stay at the beginning or end of the cruise as the companies usually have special deals with the 4 star hotels. Eg My parents stopped over in Miami at a central 4 * hotel for a mere £90 each for 3 nights !

My parents love the cruise lines Princess and Royal Carribean which are fantastic for food, and childcare. Thompson was also rated highly especially for their entertainment. Thompson also do free kids clubs too. They were disappointed with the QE2 and Queen Mary. They thought P&O were good too, but didn't think much of Easy and Oceana.

One thing I would check when booking cruises though is accomodating children. This can be very difficult as often the only suitable cabins are 2 bunk beds for the family !! Some don't allow travel cots unless you book the highly expensive suites. Some cruise lines don't actually even encourage children.

Other downsides are times spent at each different ports. These can be as little as half a day so do check the itinery. Also my parents advise checking the seas at the time of year you want to go, as some seas can be quite choppy and potentially ruin your holiday.

Hope you have a fab time

krabbiepatty · 03/02/2006 13:29

Silvm, sorry didn't see your message (I am GOCN by a different name). Container ship crossing of Atlantic about 6 years ago cost £500 per oerson but some may be cheaper. Cruise People if they still exist have loads of information and are very helpful, will try find a link...

fairyjay · 03/02/2006 14:07

We cruised a number of years ago with my parents, but without my children, on Oriana. There were quite a lot of older people, but we quite enjoyed it.

This summer we're going for two weeks on Oceana, because ds (will be 14) and dd (will be 13) are desperate to try a cruise. Hoping it will be fun!

Nbg · 03/02/2006 14:20

Alibo, I didn't know!

I can't remember what cruise ship we were on It was through going places and I think it was one of their ships but I could be wrong.

Also with the cabins, we swapped ours when we got their as it wasn't great but they were very good about it and gave us a newly decorated cabin with a slightly bigger bathroom and a window.

alibo · 04/02/2006 11:12

hey mosschops are you out there?!!!! sure we must have convinced you by now!

Original poster

Mosschops30 · 04/02/2006 11:49

Message withdrawn

OP posts:

hellsbellsdownunder · 04/02/2006 12:25

We've done three cruises and LOVED them all. Our fave cruise line is Norwegian - they don't have set dining times, just loads of nice restaurants to choose from. We mostly chose to eat on our own not sharing with other people.
We could only afford a 4 berth bunk room (ds was 17 and dd 12 last time we went) but as Dh and I have a pretty low level sex life anyway we managed fine. Dd loved ship-life ie loads of friends and activities. Ds loved the ports of call (esp the when we did the Baltic capitals). All in all great holidays for all the family!!

alibo · 04/02/2006 14:36

how long can you go for mosschops? if you go for 2 weeks you do a cruise and stay, meditteranean or carribean. best of both worlds- hotel for a week and cruise for a week. but for a shorter holiday, a minicruise would be a good idea if dh not so sure!