First time cruise recommendations

[holidayhelp456]

Which cruise company would you recommend for a first time cruise?

Would be 2 couples and 2 older teens.

Also on MSC no formality just outfit suggestions (white evening etc)

I’m an experienced cruiser (😏) I would recommend P&O, no queues, where did you hear that?
I always suggest a 7 night spring Norway cruise first, if you’re not sure.

We did the one after you, that went to croatia! It was amazing.

You can wear jeans in the p and o restaurant on non formal nights, just smart (no holes etc) and dark coloured. I wore black jeans every non-formal night.

@Highdales Thank you so much for your post about tipping. We've been advised that we can do this - and are planning to - but I was worrying that it was just something the travel agent had made up. I'm glad it's true, and that the staff responded positively to it.

@Has2sons

Were you on Azura? If so would you recommend ?

We were on Azura. Definitely I would recommend it. The rooms are a little dated compared to the newer ships, but still great. The rest of the ship didn't feel dated, and as its smaller than britannia and iona, it feels much easier to find your way around. I'd not hesitate to go back on.

Thanks! Considering it for next year. Usually loyal to Celebrity or Princess and weren't that keen on Iona.

I have only been on P and O so can only compare their ships. I suppose it depends what you want. For example, Azura has a cinema screen but its outdoors, whereas britannia and iona have proper cinemas. It also feels smaller than those two as well, but its still big IYSWIM.

I wouldn’t do a spring Norway cruise for my first, we just did one after many others I did enjoy it but weather variable to say the least I’m glad it wasn’t my first cruise.
I think for teens much better to do the Med sunny weather and fun ports. I’ve heard mixed reports about MSC I’ve not done that line yet. Think they are a bit marmite?

We’ve only done P&O so far, 3rd time on Azura coming up soon and we have loved it every time.

I like the fact it isn’t a huge ship and it is very classic, not modern, but still stylish and it is such a lovely way to holiday.

We are doing P&O Aurora from Southampton in July which will be our first time sailing from home. Looking forward to it but the downside is it will be a bit cool initially.

Cruising is such a lovely way to holiday, I’m a complete convert having never fancied it for years.

P&O is quite traditional and the smaller ships still have 2 formal nights a week. Iona and Arvia only 1.

I don’t think P&O ships are the best if you are looking for the ‘fun’ stuff on a cruise, no water slides, go kart tracks etc that are on some of the really big ships. That suits me fine, I’d be paying for stuff I’d never use but something to be aware of.

I'd recommend Celebrity too or perhaps Royal Caribbean.
Disney is probably too young and very expensive. P&O was a bun fight when we went with them on the Iona back in October - not relaxing at all, everything required queuing as they had awful issues with the app which meant you had to turn up and wait. Never again!

I don't really like P&O, I prefer the mix of nationalities you get on other cruise lines.

We like NCL , and our teens loved it. It's very relaxed, no need to dress up unless you want to - one or two of the restaurants require long trousers and a collared shirt (polo shirt is fine), but that's about it.

You can also eat when you want and with who you want, no need to table share with strangers. You don't need to make restaurant reservations (except the specialities), you can just turn up when you want to eat, you'll be given a buzzer if there's no table immediately available, but we've never waited more than a few minutes, even at busy times.

Depending on the ship, there will be a variety of things for teens to do - sports courts, water slides, bowling alley, arcade, mini-golf, table tennis etc. Can get quite busy, especially in school holidays. All will have a teen club if your teens are under 18, and some have a 'meet up' for 18-25 year olds if they are over 18.

We have never taken the tips off, I heard it’s just not welcomed by staff not sure if that’s true or not but it’s not generally done and I wouldn’t do it, The staff work extremely hard and most people just tip good service over and above the official tip price of the cruise . I know they should be paid more so they don’t rely on tips but that’s another story.

This was one of the things we considered before doing it but I spoke to a few people who work on ships and they told me to remove them and tip individually as they don’t see much of them if paid by the ship and the captain and his crew receive the majority of it. We personally just took cash and tipped the staff who dealt with us. We also made sure to tip the ‘back staff’ too. I know this will come down to individual opinions but that was just what we preferred to do. The staff do work extremely hard and we did tip generously but again that’s a personal choice for each family to make 😊

@Highdales Which currency did you tip in?

Can I ask about princess as we just found one that looks great. My DD isnt a huge fan of typical teen stuff (she will also be 18 when we go so can do the adult stuff), she loves the idea of the fitness classes and the spa and relaxing.

What are princess cruises like? Are they going to be more formal? Are the packages (plus and premium) worth it?

Was just some comments and reviews online whilst looking for cruises.

Front runners at the moment seem to be p&o and princess for us so just trying to look up options and see what is best. We have no idea about cruising so trying to learn and definitely appreciate opinions of experienced cruisers.

We have found a princess cruise we love the look of, what are their cruises like for being formal etc? Also they have plus and premium packages, have you used these and are they worth it?

I loved Iona, great for teens too. I’ve heard good things about Princess but never tried them.

, she loves the idea of the fitness classes and the spa and relaxing

Its worth checking if access to the spa (if there is one) is included with the stateroom you book.

We really enjoyed Princess. We were on Sky Princess. The plus package was a great deal, all tips, WiFi, drinks etc.... included it works out great value. A family member doesn't drink alcohol and she still came out ahead with the plus package.

If your teen isn't looking for all the slides and ice skating etc.... then Princess will be a great shout.

We have sailed with 3 different companies with a 13 & 17 year olds.

Their preference was

1. Royal Caribbean
2. Disney Cruise Line
3. MSC

Tbh we wouldn't go with MSC again. RC and Disney were far superior.

@holidayhelp456
Princess are quite relaxed and even the formal nights weren't too posh. They are generally quite chilled. I love the outdoor screen they have on the pool deck. In our last cruise at 4 pm they showed a pop concert (Katy Perry, Adam Lambert, Taylor Swift etc).
We usually take the plus package which is fine for us - haven't taken the premium one.
Which ship are you looking at??

The cruise we are looking at is sky princess.

This thread has been so helpful and this sounds like a great option for what we are looking at and knowing the plus package is worthwhile we may do this too.