First time Cruise - Watched Like Father - Harmony of the Seas?

[lazytownie]

I watched the Netflix film Like Father which is set on Royal Carribbean cruise ship Harmony of the Seas www.imdb.com/title/tt7170950/ . It is one of those MASSIVE 6000 odd passenger ships with water slides and stuff

Before I saw this I had a horror fear of cruises having seen stuff like this https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11218443/Shocking-video-shows-man-brutally-pummel-woman-mass-brawl-Carnival-Cruise-ship.html

I'd always thought cruises were sort of like Butlins on Sea - very down market, over crowded with people who like to read the Sun, get very drunk and brawl.

The film made it all look quite cool and fun - even allowing for the fact it was a film.

Has anyone who has been on cruises give me some pointers?

I am very much a preferrer of elegant and style, I'd rather stay at a classic 5 star grande dame hotel than the newest modernist opening for example. I really don't like crowds which has always put me off big cruise ships.

I imagine it's a real scrum to get on and off for day trips or at bars and stuff.

Are there any cruises of style and elegance? Are there ways to do a big ship in a quiter way - eg. off season?

Help me be in a film style cruise!

All the cruises I have been on look a bit Butlins in the communal areas, fat and tats everywhere. But individually people are lovely and there’s loads of different types on board.
It can be great value relative to normal holidays. If you can get it cheap so can other people though. MSC are really great. Lots of Europeans so it doesn’t feel as Brits abroad as P&O.

Thanks @Popetthetreehugger - good tips and glad you'd a good experience!

Yes we did a 3 month with Fred Olsen and found it rather good.

@PrincessofWellies please could you tell me a bit more about your experience on a 3 months cruise. That sounds an inordintately long time. My mind has been blown by this idea.

Didn't it bother you being on a boat for that long - I mean what if you hate it or the people and want to leave but you are in the middle of the sea?

Was it whoppingly expensive? what about food & drink?

What did you pack? is it easy to get washing done? or do you have to do it yourself because its crazy expensive?

how many other people do 3 months or was it more the whole time others coming/going? did you get to know cruise staff really well?

did you have withdrawal symptoms when you got home/ got off the ship?

any tips about doing something that long please?

@Lollygaggle - the literary cruise sounds really interesting. thanks for sharing your experinece

We loved it, but then we don't spend much time at 'home' anyway.

We made some friends, ate at a table of 8 most nights. The ship had 1300 capacity but only 900 on board so lots of space. 2 pools, we swam most days even in the rain.

There's an option for the drinks package at £20-£30 pp per night but we don't drink much so it was cheaper not to. Lots of activities on board, quite lectures on local flora and fauna by los of different people. Simon Weston was one, he did the Punta Arenas to Buenos Aires leg.

Packing was an issue. With 11 formal nights, i needed a few formal evening gowns, plus we were going into the Antarctic so needed cold weather gear, but also needed hot weather gear as Sth America is pretty warm.

Most people were on board for the duration, and it was like living in a large village, you met up with people, quizzed together, had a chat, played a few games etc, avoided a few others 🤭

There were two pools and we swam most days, and were in the Jacuzzis afterwards.

Laundry wise, I've never been a wash once and bin sort of person, so I did a few handwashes, sent a couple of shirts to the serviced laundry. But there are two laundrette on board although I didn't use them.

Luggage wise, you can send luggage ahead via a service for the start of the cruise or just use the drop off and board service. Ours went from Portsmouth so no Luggage limits.

Fred Olsen do a guarantee if you hate cruising after 5 days you can disembark, they will refund you in full, minus return flights presumably.

We went to the Antarctic and south America via a few other places. It was absolutely amazing. We saw penguins, hundreds of whales, albatrosses, etc, it was fabulous.

Staff were amazing, in fact they were superb.

Food was on the whole good, but I did make use of the on board gym as a result! 😂

The most upmarket cruises IMO are Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn, Silversea then Oceania and Azamara. Small ships are much more boutique/ elegant than big ones. Viking are supposed to be v good but I haven’t tried.

Some larger ships have a ‘posher’ area for a small number of guests which does mean you get the facilities of a big ship without the rabble - MSC Yacht Club, Celebrity Retreat for example.

Avoid the mini / taster cruises. There isn’t really an off season, there are peaks to avoid - Christmas, US ‘spring break’ in the Caribbean for e.g.

We cruise as much as possible! Usually mid market lines with a smattering of top end.

There are lots of good YouTube videos. You can even get tours of the ships. There’s a man under the channel “tips for travellers” who has been on over 100 cruises. He seems similar to you in that he’s into the more upmarket ones and likes dressing up etc.

I don’t have any cruise experience but I my latest thing has been watching lots of videos so I feel pretty clued up on all the different options 😂.

We went on independence of the seas, it was exactly how you feared : I'd always thought cruises were sort of like Butlins on Sea - very down market, over crowded with people who like to read the Sun, get very drunk and brawl.

Maybe not the brawling. But everyone just stuffing their faces morning to night.

The only way it was tolerable was that people were mostly hungover in the mornings so we would just all the facilities then while they were quiet.

We also avoided the "organised tours" and had our own adventures on shore.

Independence of the seas will be very different to Cunard and the six star cruises most of us are recommending to the op.

I've done many, many cruises on several different cruise lines and think Cunard definitely fits your bill. I've been on QE which is a gorgeous ship.

With a cheaper price tag than the boutique lines recommended above you could also enjoy a Princess or Celebrity cruise if you choose a smaller (say, ~2500 pax or less) ship and cruise outside busy holiday periods. They are cheaper than Cunard but still more refined than Royal Caribbean and the like. Better food, less of a booze and party culture, not likely to be teeming with unruly kids. Princess has more traditional ship decor with lots of wood, Celebrity is modern but very elegant.

My bucket list small, boutique cruise ship is the Wind Star which is a giant sailboat.

@StrawHatOnTheParcelShelf my bucket list is the late Paul Allen’s yacht Octopus which you can now charter to Antarctica, South Giorgio and the Falkland Islands. It a very reasonable $2,200,000 per week plus fuel, food, drinks etc and tips. 😂

Georgia not Giorgio,!

I live a cruise. In fact I am going on another today!

I love waking up somewhere different each day

There are lots of different restaurants and entertainment Of which none is compulsory. You can just do your own thing I use the gym and have spa treatments The shows are really good.
It is classier than a hotel with pianists and cocktail lounges etc

Have a look on YouTube there are quite a few people who have been on numerous cruises and can give you an insight into different lines / ships.

Agreed. But op asked about Harmony of the seas.

I am interested in the recommendations for much more refined cruises too, as I love the idea of cruising but absolutely hated the behaviour on board independence

OP, I think you'd like Cunard as other posters have said, but probably not their Carribbean cruises which have a lot of Americans on board who are often less into the formal side of things.

Viking was originally river cruises, but now does ocean cruises as well and their smaller ships might give you what you want without the eye watering cost of Cunard or Regent.

Finally, avoid Ambassador for your taster cruise - they do lots of short cruises from the UK, but are at the budget end of the market and tend to attract an even older crowd than the brands above.

@SweetSakura the difference between Royal Caribbean ships will be much less than between cruise lines. P & O and Royal Caribbean are seen as the entry or budget lines for Carnival and Royal Caribbean Group respectively. They attract similar travellers but British and American/International.

Cunard and Princess are Carnival’s more premium brands with Seabourn being their exclusive brand. Royal Caribbean have Celebrity as their more premium brand and Silversea as their exclusive brand. Carnival also has other cruise lines.

The on board experience is partly about the targeted audience for a particular brand, the cost and ports visited.

The QM2 sounds exactly what you want.

No chavs on board!

Has anyone ever been on a cruise on their own ?

Also interested in a 1st cruise, but sadly at the budget P&O 7 days end! Can I ask experienced people, do you have to pay extra to disembark at port each time, ie could we get off rhe ship for free then take our own tours, or are yiu stuck with the Crise line tour (& is it very expensive - say 2 adults 1 teen for a day in Rome?) We don't drink, but do things like Tips add up?

You are free to do what you want I don't book tours (usually) I use buses and taxis

@medianewbie

To answer your questions:

• there is no charge to get off the ships.
• When you walk off the ship you usually go through or past a terminal building which often has maps of the local area. In some ports there are local operators who have much cheaper tours. In some ports you can walk into the centre of town in others there is a shuttle - usually free or a few £. Note: During COVID you had to do a ships tour but now you don’t.
• Rome is a good example of misleading port names. Rome is inland and you normally berth at Civitavecchia. Personally I would do a tour to Rome, they do some which are lower cost called “on your own” where they drop you in the centre and then take you back to the ship. Rome is one where you could miss the ship if there are any problems getting back, but they will always wait for the ships tours.
• P & O are much better value on board than other lines I’ve been on because they don’t have daily auto gratuities and they don’t add tax to drinks. The buffet restaurant always has tea, coffee and water available and the main restaurants do water and tea/coffee with each meal so you can keep the costs down. Cunard in the other hand charge $11 a day auto gratuities and 18% tax on drinks.

P & O is my go to line because of the cost difference. I have always found a mix of people on Board and with the exception of the pool areas and the buffet I can find somewhere quiet.

A couple of tips:

• at least one of the main dining rooms does breakfast and lunch as well as dinner each day. It’s much better than the buffet which I avoid.
• you don’t have to get off the ship in each port, it’s a holiday. I enjoy the empty pool in the morning whilst everyone else is a shore.
• there are laundries on board, take your own pods, and a small washing line in the bathroom for items you hand wash.
• you can take soft drinks on board at each port to have in your cabin
• if you are able to choose your cabin choose a deck with cabins above and below as it’s quieter.
• you can ask for fancy coffee in the restaurant e.g. cappuccino, and it’s free.
• the ports with hop on hop off buses usually have a stop by the cruise terminal or where the shuttle buses drop passengers.

@kittyk66 that would be me. Of all the solo holidays I have done, cruises are by far the easiest safest way to travel solo. There are always solo’s on board, quite a lot of widows/widowers who cruise as a couple and carried on.

There are often daily solo meet ups where you can have coffee and a chat and sometimes people pair up and do trips together. I once came across a group of nine solo passengers who had decided to do a day trip together. Personally I have never been to one as I am comfortable travelling on my own but know others really like them. Not sure if I am permitted to provide a link but there is a Facebook group called passion for cruises that lists good deals, low single supplement, and they will often have a ‘singles table pre booked for dinner - a bit to organised for me but again others like it.

At meal times in the main restaurant ask for a sharing table and you get to chat and meet other passengers.

You don’t have to pay to get off - research the ports before you book. Some are walking distance from somewhere interesting and others are miles from anywhere but you can also use local taxis/public transport or tour companies which are cheaper than the cruise line’s tours. I have just been looking at Florence for my upcoming cruise and it is £100 each through the cruise line. Tips can be prepaid before you go and then you know where you are. They show on my booking invoice.

You can get away with spending nothing onboard apart from tips as there are plenty of included drinks (water/squash/tea/coffee etc).