Thinking about cruise. Which company?

[DesolateWaist]

I quite fancy a cruise and I'm looking to see what the options are.
My thoughts are either Baltic or Norwegian fjords.

Which company should I go with? Any experiences or recommendations?
We don't have dc but we both work in education so it would have to be over the school holidays. I'm going to say this quietly, we'd rather a child free or low child number

We did the Baltic's with Celebrity Cruises in the summer holidays a couple of years ago. There were some children on there including our dd but not many. Definitely less than some cruise lines.
We sailed from Southampton which was great as we could take however much stuff we wanted with us. We had a great time and enjoyed it a lot more than we thought we would. Sailed again with them last year as a result.
One suggestion - when you decide which cruise you are going on join the Cruise Critic forum. Go to the community page and find the roll call for your cruise. There you will be able to get a group together to do tours a lot cheaper than through the cruise line. We had a 2 day tour in St Petersburg for a lot less than the cruise line wanted and only 10 in our group so we saw a lot more than in a big group. Visas were included in the tour price.
You will also be able to get ideas of places to see and different excursions i.e. We did kayaking in Helsinki.

(Pretty much) all lines go to the Baltics so that alone doesn't narrow your choice down!

What sort of trip are you looking for? Lively? Nightlife? Or just dinner & a show/bar after a day sightseeing?
Do you like big hotels with lots of facilities? Or small boutique ones where not much is going on?
Are you a bit of a foodie, or more traditional?
What, roughly, is your budget?

Budget is currently imaginary. I've not got loads, but I could splash out about £3k I guess.

I want quiet. I want to sit on the balcony with DH watching the scenery and drink coffee. I want to see interesting places.

Thanks for the heads up about Cruise Critics there Sushi

I'll look into Celebrity Cruises.

Right now this is all in my mind, it'll take me a year or so to talk DH round.

Over budget but a trip on a line like Oceania might suit you better, smaller ships, more serene.

Note that prices for this Oceania trip include airfare, drinks, gratuities and some other bits and bobs, all of which are generally excluded on the bigger ships so make sure you compare like with like and take all these things into account.

Also, cruisers seem to book long in advance so it is not unusual to see 2018 cruises fairly full already. Prices do drop, but only usually in the very last few weeks before the cruise departs. We like to track prices and know the fare of the cruises we are considering so when a special offer arises, we're ready to jump.

Fred Olsen for Norway

My parents like Viking and Celebrity.
Sometimes Cunard.

I do the Yacht Club on MSC, usually the Davina, but if they are not going where I want to go Ive travelled with Norwegian instead. I always have a balcony even though I travel alone and pay for the cabin. I also always do the equivalent of a yacht club.

I also went on a cruise last year with a friend and we went with Carnival because it was her birthday trip - never ever ever again!.

There are a few other lines Im trying over the next two years - Holland America, Crystal and Oceania. Now that Ive found my cruising feet Im much more interested in older ships and smaller lines.

P&O have three adult only ships: Arcadia, Oriana and Adonia. Have a look and see - I am pretty sure Arcadia is doing Baltic cruises this summer. I have been to the Baltic on Celebrity which I loved - children on board but not excessively so. In the summer families tend to be more in evidence on the Mediterranean itineraries.

My inlaws go with Silver Seas which is quite pricey but sounds great.

We did the Baltic Cruise with Fred Olsen. The itinerary was fab, we really enjoyed all of the stops, never using their trips, we arrnged our own.

The problem we, personally, found was that on board there were a lot of older people. Very nice and great fun, but we felt like teenagers in comparison. The entertainment was aimed at an older demographic too.

Tbh, i woupd not use FO again, for that very reason. Princess and Celebrity are great. Quite fancy Viking, but never used them.

Good luck!

Is that 3 k each OP? I say this because some of the companies mentioned on here 3k wouldnt get you a cruise for 1person for a week.

Budget wise for 3k you should be looking at celebrity, p and o and Princess.

Go for P and O Adult cruises or Princess. Fred olsen is certainly for a slightly older clientele. I am a young 55 and have been going on p and o, Princess and Royal Carribbean. Royal carribbean are very heavily advertised for families now, so are generally heaving in school holidays (they are very much a party ship, and whilst I love them they are full of kids!)
Princess would probably be my first recommendation followed by P and O. Certainly one of them does a Norway trip in July/ August. Do not book directly with them as a travel agent will be cheaper. We use Cumbria cruises but you can check prices easily on Iglu. They are truly wonderful holidays. If you fancy a bargain at Easter next year, go for P and O Azura, 7 days 2018. Booking has just become available and is a very good deal x.

Holland America do Rotterdam to Rotterdam cruises to the Baltics and to the Fjords. I loved my cruise to the Fjords with them a few years ago and am currently looking at Baltics for 2018. The atmosphere is grown up and serene. Some people claim the cruise line is for older people, but I first cruised with them for my 30th and never felt too young. The thought of a party ship horrifies me.

We went on a baltics cruise with celebrity and our experience was very similar to that of sushiqueen down to finding a tour in st Petersburg with people on the cruise critic roll call! It was our first and only cruise (so far) so nothing else to compare it to but it was great - we all really enjoyed it. On the last day, the captain mentioned that there were over 300 children on board -out of a total of about 2000 passengers - but they were so well entertained that we hardly saw any and the ones who we did see were very well behaved. I didn't really rate the evening shows much but apart from that, everything was just amazing and I would love to do it all again.

I like Celebrity when travelling without children. Mid price, and the ships are lovely.

Re the budget - if you go via a travel agent ask about when that particular cruise line has the best deals.