Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Cruises - which company

57 replies

FlyingHighandDry · 04/04/2023 09:40

Hi.
I'm looking to book a European cruise for my mum as a treat but have fallen at the first hurdle!
Which company do I book with?

She has been on a few cruises previously but all with Tui (Morella?) and always all-inclusive.
Would any wise cruisers be able to rank companies for me in order of 'niceness'?
I'm thinking that Tui probably aren't that high up?
Thank you!

OP posts:
Stravawindow · 04/04/2023 12:26

we did a TUI/marella cruise and I vowed never again. Benidorm at sea. It was awful.

That said, we tend to book based on ports of call rather than cruise line. Most of our cruises have been royal Caribbean though and we really enjoy them. Our last cruise we wanted to see Portofino and that’s how we built our trip around that port.

Is this just for you and your mum? Where would you like to go and what would you like to see? Do you want port intensive cruises or mostly sea days? Would you prefer a smaller boat or a Megaship? What budget?

BruceAndNosh · 04/04/2023 12:38

I'm assuming you mean a sea cruise rather than a river cruise?

123InTheSky · 04/04/2023 12:43

Marella and P&O are imo at the bottom.

I like princess, azamara and going with celebrity for the first time this year.

What’s important to you both? Food/entertainment/itinerary

I would always prioritise the itinerary, then consider available options.
Most cruise lines will add gratuities, drinks and tax on top, so can work out much more pricey than Marella.

MrsPatrickDempsey · 04/04/2023 13:05

My favourites are Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Royal is more family focussed: Celebrity a little more laid back.

Jellifer · 04/04/2023 14:07

Depends on your budget and where/when you want to go and also what kind of atmosphere you’re looking for. My favourite lines are Azamara & Holland America which may be seen as quite old fashioned but I love it. Celebrity is also very good but a bit glitzier. For families, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian would be good. Marella are ok and very reasonable but definitely lower end to me.

Georgyporky · 04/04/2023 17:25

I'd never go with Tui/Marella again.
However, if Mum likes them, she might be more comfortable staying with them rather than an upmarket cruise line.

DustyLee123 · 04/04/2023 17:29

I have a friend who’s done a lot of cruises. She only ever goes P&O or Royal Caribbean

CoolShoeshine · 04/04/2023 18:04

its horses for courses but Princess are a great all rounder and not too £££. Service and food are top quality and the ships are well maintained. Great value drinks package too.

Blueberrycreampie · 04/04/2023 18:10

I did a Europe based cruise with Cunard, in the Victoria. It's a lovely ship in my opinion and not too big. Great food, ambience and the ports were wonderful.

dew141 · 04/04/2023 18:17

We've done Disney and Celebrity. Food on Celebrity was fantastic, liked the relaxed vibe (and no dressing up) and we didn't see much of our teens.

ginislife · 04/04/2023 18:18

Holland America was a lovely ship (best bathroom & products were Elemis) but a teeny bit boring entertainment wise - the food was lovely though.
P&O is great - and very British
I wasn't keen on RC. Very family oriented so too many kids for me - but it was May half term as well
Celebrity was lovely
Princess was nice but was over 20 years ago so not sure now
I'm going on MSC Virtuosa in a couple of weeks so that's new to me

Veryfishy · 04/04/2023 18:19

We’ve only been on Celebrity , going on our 4th cruise this summer
no flights is a big ✅in our opinion ,
drive down to Southampton, park car , a potter collects suitcases ( you’ll find them later outside your cabin door ) and just across the road, you’ll see the cruise ship 🛳 get on the ship and the holiday begins
I can’t compare to other lines as we liked Celebrity so haven’t bothered to look
You can add drinks package , wifi and gratuities when you book which makes it every bit as good as all inclusive

dew141 · 04/04/2023 18:21

You can add drinks package , wifi and gratuities when you book which makes it every bit as good as all inclusive

Yes, I think ours was included on a promotion when we booked. Covered nearly all the drinks.

Walkacrossthesand · 05/04/2023 07:13

Size of ship and location of cabin are important. On some of these 3000 + people giants, it takes a good while to walk from one end of the ship to the other! Personally I dislike huge crowds so I avoid the mega-ships.
American lines like RC are very focussed on getting you to pay more once on board - eg their blurb waxes lyrical about getting Ben & jerrys ice cream, but it turns out it's not actually included - it's in a sale booth. Standard coffee was undrinkable (and I'm no connoisseur) to push you towards the pay-extra Seattle coffee Co stall . Etc.
I've just been with Fred Olsen, that was nice - not too posh (and no casino!) but excellent food and service.

Agree with PP - choose which ports you want to visit, and find which companies go there.

Walkacrossthesand · 05/04/2023 07:16

PS meant to say - the restaurants all tend to be at one end of the ship, so make sure you choose a cabin near that end! We didn't think of this on Celebrity one time, and my friend couldn't walk brilliantly well - she found the trek to and from meals quite arduous!

Xrays · 05/04/2023 07:17

“Cruise with Ben and David” on you tube (that’s the name of the channel) was really helpful when we were thinking about cruising. They’ve got detailed videos on just about any cruise line / itinerary you can think of, showing you all the different rooms / food / stuff to do etc, very honest reviews, if they don’t like something they don’t hold back.

yumscrummy · 05/04/2023 07:22

I went on MSC for the Northern Europe cruise and they were great. Food really good - although after a couple of days we avoided the restaurant dining and just went to the buffet - didn't want a sit down meal with kids and varied choice. The ship was immaculate and service was excellent.

Not my kind of holiday usually as we went under unique circumstances but really enjoyed it.

gogohmm · 05/04/2023 07:34

I quite like Marella, excellent food and great musicians on board, really friendly entertainment staff, chatty. Yes they did silly pool games but they aren't compulsory.

Mostly we sail Cunard but they are more expensive and you need to like classical music and academic style lectures to really get your moneys worth because they specialise in that (great band though playing nightly in the night club).

Looking at princess for next trip as prefer the itinerary. My parents are sailing p&o

gogohmm · 05/04/2023 07:36

Look at the itineraries first, see which she prefers - no point going on a trip you don't like

lightisnotwhite · 05/04/2023 08:07

MSC Virtuosua is pretty new ( built just before Covid so not used much) and very nice. Even though it holds lots of people it doesn’t feel too massive The kids club/yacht club/ casino etc can all be accessed separately so you don’t see everyone. The lifts are brilliant. Choose your floor and they tell you which one. So you aren’t waiting for them to go up and down for ages.
Looks pretty, food is good and service excellent.

lightisnotwhite · 05/04/2023 08:15

P&O is a bit dull although I liked the cabin on Azura more than MSC even though it’s smaller and more dated. Felt less like a shipping container! P&O guests were lovely one on one but pretty Butlins en masse. Food was excellent.
Going Princess next I think although DH who said he would NEVER go on a tacky cruise now wants to go back on Virtuosua.

Georgiepud · 05/04/2023 08:19

Have you looked at Saga cruises for your mum?

caringcarer · 05/04/2023 08:31

Which ever cruise you choose don't book it for school holidays. They are over run with children.

I decide when we want to go. Then general area and then do a cruise comparison site to see what's available.

We have been on Princess, Royal Carribbean, P&O and Costa we enjoyed them all. Make sure there's a choice between formal and cafeteria style dining. The entertainment on all cruises is outstanding.

We are going on a two days in Rome, Salerno, Sicily then 4 Greek Islands and Athens, cruise at the end of October when dear child is away with a cricket trip to Dubai.

Original poster
FlyingHighandDry · 05/04/2023 08:45

Thank you all for your contributions!
I appreciate you taking the time but I am now more confused than ever! 😁
Lots of research ahead!

OP posts:
Bells3032 · 05/04/2023 08:53

Hi @FlyingHighandDry cruising can be so confusing and there's different lines for everyone. lots of people are suggesting Royal carribean but there are usually tonnes of kids on there so depends if you like that. Same with MSC. there's different cruise lines for different people and you need to figure out what's right for you.

Happy to help you narrow it down (I'm not a travel agent just a very experienced cruiser) if you let us know a few answers

Rough budget:
Legnth of cruise you'd like
Who will be in your party eg ages, numbers of people etc
Any ideas on places you'd like to go? Would you like to fly to pick it up or out of the UK?
What do you like to do on holidays e.g. beaches, historic cities etc?
Sort of entertainment you'd like? e.g. big broadway level shows, small piano bars, big water slides, just sunbathing, talks by historians, casinos etc etc.
Anything you would really like or not like?