Cruises - never been on one before and I am interested! Advice / experiences welcome!

[Afterfire]

There would be 4 of us. Me, dh, dd aged 19 and Ds aged 11.

I think initially we’d like to try a short one from Southampton. Been looking at Royal Caribbean ones, msc, and P and O… it’s quite overwhelming all the different options and “brands” - is one better than another?

How does it work if you do a longer one and fly to a different country - are transfers included?

Not a clue what I’m doing…!

Has anyone cruised with Ambassador yet? New this year and sails from Tilbury. I have their brochure and like the look of their 30+ day cruises.

Definitely get a balcony room it makes all the difference I think. We don't bother with drinks packages. Soft drinks are usually available for most of the day when the buffet is open.

Love sea days! Love the lectures, quizzes, crafts, spa, trying new things and obviously non-stop eating! The entertainment is always very good.

I'd been looking at a cruise for next spring then watched their video of the ship I was looking at and after seeing their video I booked a cruise going for LA to Vancouver stopping in San Francisco, Astoria in Oregon, Victoria and finally Vancouver where we'll stay for 3 nights before flying home.

I'm planning flying to Vegas then San Diego and include a day trip into Mexico then LA before the cruise. I haven't booked the flights or hotels yet but researching as much as I can.

I’ve been with RC and P & O and J would definitely recommend RC for teenagers.
Huge ships lots to do and they all have the wow factor.

I've just booked my first cruise today - was browsing med holidays for the beginning of September or October, price was a bout £400 for 4/5 nights room only. I'd been thinking about a cruise for Christmas so just thought I'd have a look at what's available and found a P&O one on 1 sep for 7 nights flying to Malta and cruising to France and Italy. £650. It's just me going. Well and the other 3.5k passengers of course 🤣

Am v v excited but a bit worried as it's less than 13 days and I need to organise myself and a wardrobe!!!

I think we're going to book a TUI Marella cruise on their newest ship which is adults only.

@chimichangaz that's very exciting

I'm 40 and single and I'm now inspired to book a solo cruise. Is it worth getting an outside cabin or would that be megabucks as a single person? Has anyone cruised solo?!

@chimichangaz just read your post properly and you are going it alone, please report back!

@Letsgetlostt I am indeed cruising solo! First time for me although did a solo trip to the states in 2020 (literally just before covid hit).

I will definitely report back. I have an inside cabin as I went for the cheapest option and intend to spend as much time as possible enjoying myself outside my cabin. Although I've seen some videos of the ship and have serious balcony envy

For you that have been before -
If you are all inclusive (as they all seem to be), but get off every day at a port, do you then buy lunch in whatever city? I feel like it's paying for food when you already have food paid for?

So excited for you! ❤️

Never cruised at all yet alone solo but sounds fabulous and I am very jealous 😁😁

@chimichangaz brilliant! I've been on loads of solo trips but not a cruise. Hope you have the best time!

I have seen some people on vlogs help themselves to extra rolls / bread / cheese etc at the morning buffet and do themselves a sort of packed lunch if you were really on a budget…!

@NCTDN I always find that you eat so much on the that I can go for say six hours off the ship without eating anything.
Then you get back on the ship mid afternoon and go for afternoon tea followed by dinner later. 😁

Thank you @Letsgetlostt and @Afterfire

Had an afternoon shopping with my bestie yesterday followed by half an hour on the Next website and I think my wardrobe is almost complete!! I might give the second dressy night a miss and book in at one of the special restaurants if I can - I don't really go out enough to justify buying another posh outfit so unless I can get away with wearing the same one twice I'll just do the first one!! Or I might see if I can borrow an outfit from a friend.

Re lunch - I also heard that sometimes you can ask for a packed lunch to take? But you also have the option to return to the ship if you want to and it's close enough.

I felt a bit like that to start but it’s the wrong way to think about cruising. It’s not really as AI as say a hotel or resort. You’ll end up having to factor in other expenses ; tips, drinks, on board extras Wi-Fi etc although it’s still amazing value and there are packages for everything.
Port days are best thought of as an additional expense ( although you can do them as cheaply as you want). Do research on ports. MSC wanted £10 a person for a shuttle bus into Barcelona. Having been many times you just get of the ship and a taxi will take you all right where you want to go for €10 for all of you.
In Lisbon we had a coffee a beer and a tiramisu for €6 behind the big pantheon church near the port. Other cruisers were stung by rip off prices because they went to the bars nearest to the ship.
Emma cruises has some excellent YouTube videos and a good comparison of cruise lines.
You have to expect it to be a bit Butlins at sea because they are the cruisers that stand out but really so many different people cruise you’ll be fine.

They really don’t. Staff work incredibly long hours 12 hour days and many get no days off at all until the end of their 6 or 8 month stint.
The tips are obviously allowed to be counted/taxed differently by the cruise company to their wages. The more guests on board the more they earn.

Research all ports before you cruise and book the local excursions as they're cheaper than the cruise ship excursions.

Ports usually have their own buses to bring passengers into the cities, either much cheaper than the cruise lines or free.

I think the advice to go to a travel agent is sound. They have the experience to ask you all the right questions and then to weed out the ones that won't suit you or your budget. I've made some mistakes when trying to negotiate all the options thrown at you if you book online, but always been happy when using an agent.

And no, I don't work for a travel agent!

I agree about getting advice from an agent - can thoroughly recommend Bolsover Cruise Club.

We've done a few different lines and found that on Princess, the Princess Plus package is fantastic value. This covers tips, wifi, and 15 drinks a day up to $12 each, this includes most alcoholic drinks and speciality hot drinks.

Cruising is fantastic, being at sea is an unrivalled pleasure for me. I think a balcony is well worth it if you can afford it.

If you want to book it yourself Cruise Nation is run by a guy in Wales. He buys unsold cabins cheap and is amazing value. I think it’s helpful to remember cruising isn’t actually * cheap” but it really is a very good value for money holiday.
Also definitely get a balcony. Even if you only look out a few times you can dry all wet swimsuits on it. But nothing beats a morning coffee or a glass of wine with sea as far as the horizon.
Med cruises should still have good weather in October. I go to Barcelona/Nice / Rome in half term and the suns always out. Sea can be unpredictable but ports should be ok.

Note about short cruises - they are not the same as 7 day or longer cruises. Tend to be used as booze cruises fir a younger crowd or as they are cheap very much more aimed at the budget market. We did a 5 day P&O cruise whilst the food was great it was like being in a working man’s club in the evenings.

Just booked 7 night med cruise in October

Well done @NCTDN 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

4 days to go until mine!! Last few bits of shopping today, ironing tonight and then packing on Monday. Don't want to be last minute packing like I usually am....

What are you packing? I've no idea how dressy I need to be in the evenings.