Any cruise experts who could advise?

[Iamwaiting]

Hello,
Growing up with my parents we cruised all the time and I LOVED them. However I haven't been on one for 25 years, so I could do with some advice as my knowledge is seriously out of date!

Next year it's my 40th and I REALLY want to go on a cruise. My husband has never cruised before and hates the idea, but has agreed to try. My daughter will be almost 7.

It would be end July / early august. Ideally a one week cruise with a one week stay after somewhere. Definitely warm, and lots of stops (I never liked the days at sea.) I'm thinking not too big a ship due to grumpy husband 😂

Budget of £10,000 to include everything.

Where would you go and what cruise liners please?

I'm not an expert but I did one last year and booked 2 more when I came home.

What you have to remember is where the ships are positioned at the time of year you want to go and bear in mind how long it actually takes to get to places without a flight.

So, for example I wanted a no-fly cruise last year in August and I wanted to go on Iona but she was doing the Fjords then which I did as a single mum of a 7 and 8 year old and it was amazing.

I can't go on P&O again because now my kids will be in different clubs but I liked Scandinavia and I want to go again so I'm doing Sky Princess as its a better itinerary and I can get them in the same club.

If I wanted warm, in August I'd have to fly to somewhere like Rome, Corfu or go for longer across the bay of Biscay to France, Portugal or down to the canaries but that was pricey so I've put the difference towards going transatlantic on the QM2 the following year.

Hope that helps!

The Cunard QM2 might be what you are looking for re-reading your OP

Do you want formal (dressing up at night, suit for DH) or less formal?
Do you wants kids clubs?
Do you want water slides / wave pools / ice skating etc. or would just a kids club suffice?
Do you drink alcohol / want a drinks package?

Personally I would cruise / stay the Greek islands at that time of year. But which line depends on the answers to the above...

We are retired now (& still sailing!) but sailed a lot with DS, he absolutely loved it.

Get yourself on You Tube and immerse yourself in the channels of Cruise with Ben and David, and TravelblogJamie. Honestly I’ve spent so many hours watching their videos. You can find pretty much any ship, any cruise any company between those two channels and literally find out everything.

It really all depends on the vibe you want. Formal, informal, something in-between?

Will you need lots of activities on board or something more chilled.

https://www.fodors.com/cruises/lines

I would go for Celebrity. You will have plenty of change from £10k. It’s a proper 5* high end cruise with outstanding food and drink plus beautiful cabins. We enjoyed it very much and thought it was excellent for kids. Mine are older. There weren’t millions of primary age kids but plenty to make friends with and very welcoming

Thanks everyone, lots to think about.
In terms of vibe, fairly relaxed to middle. Definitely not formal - DH would hate that.
Kids club would be lovely with a show in the evening. Not bothered about all the flumes etc as I'd prefer us to be off the boat most of the day as much as possible.
And just to be clear the £10k is to include flights, cruise, stay after plus all food etc

Sorry I know no-one asked but 10k for an average summer holidays? Christ!

FWIW @Rafting2022 it's because I have recently lost both parents and my mum asked for me to spend some money on myself before she died. So thanks for that.

The website Cruise critic is a good resource and advice guide for cruising and cruise lines.

Celebrity Cruise is ten times better than P&O for starters. I dud Nowegian Fjords so not exactly what you want (it was great, but should you ever go, go early summer as late summer for us is their Autumn and there's a lot of fog).

Disney cruise

None of your business. Jog on

Depends where you want to go but Marella/TUI do some great deals around Europe in the summer - all inclusive and great value, on your budget you could do one this year and another next year 😊 ships aren’t big, no flumes and very informal.

We’ve done Royal Caribbean but their smaller ships as we too prefer port days rather than days at sea. We like the smaller shops as they get into some smaller ports.

I didn’t rate p&o. I found it a bit dull. Tui/Marella is Butlins at sea. Princess Cruises can be good so is celebrity. I always start with the ports I want to see and then work out what cruise lines go there and the dates.

I did P&O and it was the only one we didn't love... but like I say it was 25 years ago 😂

@Iamwaiting I thought Iona was amazing. You might also like Arvia the new ships are very different from the P&O cruises of old. They just might not be where you want when you want.

You would get near your budget if you are including upgrades on cabins, dining and drinks packages. Those ships are mid range and have no slides but excellent entertainment.

But as PP said choose the destination then the ship. That's another reason we've booked Sky Princess this year.

It really is each to thier own though. I was talking to people in the hotel before we got to the port and 4 ships were leaving that day. There were people there who had done them all and all had different favourites for different reasons. I also looked at the MSC Virtuosa but Sky Princess seemed better value.

Having said all that if you are set on a cruise and stay Marella is a good option.

What is Butlins at sea?

Would definitely take a look at a Marella cruise with Tui, it is really easy to package together a one week cruise then a one week stay flying from the majority of regional airports in the UK. Absolutely at the relaxed end of the spectrum, kids club, fairly small ships and a lot of time at port (very minimal sea days compared to others) so if maximising your days exploring is what you are after it could definitely work. All inclusive as standard as well as tips so won't need to factor that in. For a £10k budget you could get a lovely upgraded cabin and also a nice hotel for your stay. Worth looking at the western med sailings going out of Palma, they go twice a week and you could do a week at a nice hotel in Majorca, maybe something like the Sensatori Biomar?

Have also done Royal Caribbean which I loved but isn't as easy to package together with a week long stay. P&O and Princess have been my least favourite I think. MSC is okay.

My interpretation of Butlins at sea would be perhaps behaviour and calibre of other passengers. Queues at the buffet and half eaten overflowing abandoned plates scattered everywhere ( tbh this bit was grim on Iona and became the only place on the ship we avoided)

Also being dragged off sunbed or anywhere else for that matter to join activities. Also lots of drunk people and big Queues everywhere.

Some people think the Virtuosa is a bit like that.

Royal carribean is less formal than p&o. They do have 'dress to impress' nights but formal is optional and most people just dress up a bit as they are on holiday

I'd also recommend Celebrity in that case. Good kids club but not really child focussed. You can dress up a bit but polo or shirt fine for DH. Decent food and nice atmosphere. They have 3 different classes of ship from older / traditional ones to really v modern.
You could sail from Athens and add on a week in the Pelepponese (SP!)

If your husband is sceptical, stay well away from Marella/Tui and MSC: these are the cheaper mass market lines and will put him off for life.

Celebrity is a good shout: luxury but American so more informal than the faux poshness of Cunard.

I would strongly advise against the Med in July/August. Although I think Med cruises are fab and probably the best for a first-timer, Med cruise ports are hell on earth in peak season (too hot, too busy).

What about flying to Canada or Japan or somewhere out of Europe and picking up a cruise there?

I’ve got skin in the game here. We’ve booked a 7 day Iceland circumnavigation for July 2025, starting and ending in Reykjavik. It won’t be hot, though, so probably not one for you.

I would 100% recommend going to a travel agent as a first step.
They will ask you all the right questions to figure out exactly what will suit your family.
Travel agents can walk you through step by step and after all that you can still walk away.

I find this guy interesting on You Tube.

https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/

He gives lots of advice for different people and different cruise lines. One thing I have learned is to get 'cruise insurance' not just travel insurance.

The med sounds like a good option as there are lots of places within quite a small distance, flight times are shortish.

Costa has a reputation for not very good food and if you don't speak Italian it could be isolating, but children are expected to be up later than on a UK or US cruise line.

If you want a kettle in your room bo for P and O.

Oh and don't put an upside down pineapple on your door.

Personally I would hate being on a cruise, I could not sleep knowing there was deep water under the ship. But I do like watching people's experiences.