First Cruise as a couple late fifties - cruise passengers

[Fridayfeeling77]

We quite fancied a fly cruise early autumn thinking possibly med or Adriatic, Portugal/Azores. Thinking no more than 10 to 14 days as its our first time.

Unsure about what type of cabin to choose we are both tall and have a KS bed at home. I fancied the idea of a balcony, is the food always buffet/cafeteria style where everything tastes the same or do you have to pay extra to avoid buffet style. Not necessarily bothered about dressing up in full evening dress every night I prefer a dress or nice top and trousers that you could wear to go out in at home rather than buying full on dressing up clothes we may never wear again. We like to choose a meal and be served what we have ordered at the table.Also not sure about forced entertainment having to sit through a show often just prefer to chat, people watch and enjoy a couple of drinks.

DH has spoken to a man from work who is a seasoned cruiser he recommended Fred Olsen and choosing the cheapest cabin as you only sleep in it. This man is two years older than DH and whilst he sounds like a nice man they don’t sound much fun as a couple.

Just wondering has anyone cruised with Fred Olsen and any advice re FO or cruising. Will we be the youngest on board any other companies that might be better.

We’ve done one cruise, which was FO fjords. We’re early 60s - there were younger people though most were older, but no problem with that at all.
They have dining rooms with full service and also a buffet, it’s entirely up to you which to use. Our dining table was with a group of a similar age to us. I think you could choose whether to have a table for two or shared when you booked. I think they had 3 ‘formal nights’ during the week, some people dressed up (sailed from Rosyth so lots of kilts!) but others less so, jacket and tie/niceish dress or trousers sort of thing - just the sort of thing you’d wear to a restaurant anyway.
The buffet was varied, we opted to use it most of the time as we wanted to be out on deck looking at the scenery rather than inside. We’d probably have used the restaurant more if we’d been in open sea in the evening.

Entertainment is entirely optional! We went to a couple of lectures on sea days, that’s all.

We had a balcony, DH would have have hated an inside room. The beds were twins - I don’t know if they have any doubles or Queen/king sized.

We enjoyed it but I’m not sure we’d do a cruise to anywhere that the scenery from the ship wasn’t fabulous.

You can opt to have the beds joined or not, usually. Choose when you book.

I’d deffo have a balcony if you’re going somewhere warm or somewhere scenic. You can opt to use the buffet, or the main dining room (waiter service) but there may also be ‘speciality’ restaurants on board which you can use for a reasonably low supplement. Cunard and Princess are dressy, Fred Olsen and P&O less so. Norwegian and Royal Caribbean have much more on board for kids to do

Marella cruises might suit what you're looking for.

There's lots of cruise vloggers but I personally like 'Travel Blog Jamie'. This is his vlog of his recent Marella cruise in the Med but he has also travelled on lots of other cruise lines.

I’ve cruised a few times - marella, msc, Disney, celebrity. Celebrity were my favourite for food but Marella is great for food, drinks (all inclusive) and entertainment. Most have buffets but also a main dining room included for free (and speciality restaurants at a charge). Marella (as an example) had 2 shows per evening but also entertainment (singer/band) in the bars. There also quieter bars available too

We have been on 7 or 8 cruises. Agree with getting the cheapest cabin, although when we got a free upgrade with a balcony it was nice for sea days (when you don't stop at a port) — but it really racks up the price of the holiday.

There is always a choice between buffet and sit-down. How posh the sit-down restaurant is varies by cruise line. Some have nights that are more dress-up than others and if you don't feel like trying to meet the standard you can go to the buffet that day.

When looking at prices, make sure you are comparing apples with apples. Some lines are literally one price is all you pay, others add on "gratuities" and booking fees and then try to get you to buy a drinks package that may or may not be good value because they don't give you a look at the bar menu and prices (which are roughly somewhere between pub and nice hotel prices). Our rule of thumb is that we will buy the drinks package if it's discounted at the time of booking, but not full price. But it depends on how much you like to drink. Even the soft drink packages can be expensive if you just enjoy the odd Coke or coffee, and you can find yourself drinking more just to be able to say that you saved money with the package.

Our favourite line is Azamara, which I would call "low-end luxury" or "high-end premium", if that makes sense. Half the price of the real luxury lines like Regent or Silversea, but with great bedding, amazing food, drinks included (not 20yo single malts, but a decent selection of spirit brands and wine), 700 people maximum, a high staff-to-pax ratio, no dress code other than "not shorts at dinner", non-intrusive entertainment, no climbing wall or kids club. The only downside for us is the ridiculously small showers (they use former Princess Cruises ships, and the cruise director will often make jokes about the showers on his daily video) — but we usually go to the spa area for a steam every day and then shower there. Because the Azamara ships are small they can get into some really interesting destinations. For example, at Gdansk we berthed right by the Westerplatte war memorial (it looks like a totem pole) from where we could walk into town, whereas the larger MSC ship that was following us round the Baltic had to park up at the Gdynia container port and bus people in.

I’d go for a balcony if you can afford it.
I’ve been on Celebrity Cruise to the fjords and Amsterdam/Bruge. P&O to Amsterdam/Fluer. Would never go on P&O again - the ship was dirty and food awful.
Enjoyed Celebrity. Breakfast and lunch was buffet style but dinner was sit down. You didn’t have to dress up but ‘smart casual’ for evening. Have to say the ‘entertainment’ was not that good and we only went once as couldn’t really work the meal times with it, and we never ventured in to the pool but my son did use the gym. I also sat next to a cruise worker during a day excursion and he said Celebrity treats its staff well.
I’d definitely book an excursion every day you can, don’t bother with a drinks package unless you drink ALOT. We chose one specialty restaurant (that you pay extra for) for the last night.
Pick wisely- I wouldn’t go on a Med cruise in summer as full of yobs intent on getting drunk. If the ads are full of burnt people crowded around the pool with music blasting it’s not the cruise for me.
I went with my kids and learned so much and saw more of the countries we visited. I really feel I got to know Norway. Loved Bergen. But if you do fjords go late Spring/early summer. We went in August and it’s Autumn weather then with lots of fog.

I’ve taken my elderly parents on a Fred Olsen cruise. I’m mid 50s and I was one of the youngest although there were a couple of people younger than me. Most people on FO are late 60s+.
The buffet was very good, you can see the chefs cooking and constantly topping it up, so it was fresh and hot. We did 8 nights and had 2 formal nights.
The evening entertainment was very good and I also went to a couple of interesting talks. A lot of the other things going on were aimed at their target market though so things like art classes, bridge lessons, ballroom dancing etc so not for me.
I couldn’t fault the staff, they were very polite and friendly and the whole place was spotless. I had an ocean view room but just slept in the bed as a single and kept the other bed to put my stuff on.
It’s not a holiday I would choose with my parter as I think I’m a bit young for FO cruises but have agreed to go on another one with my parents as it’s ideal for them and they would prefer to have someone with them.

Thanks @ItWasntMyFault you have confirmed my suspicions.

Any other suggestions.

DH and I cruised the Adriatic with MSC I am early 50s and he is 60 we were right in the middle of the guests age range. If you cruise with MSC out of a European port Brit’s will be in the minority. There are a lot of multi generational European family holidays going on. The theatre shows were in English, the staff spoke Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch and English.
We were on a smaller ship so we could visit Kotor which was the main purpose of our trip. MSC is not very dressy which suits DH.
We are doing the fijords with P&O next year which we know will be dressier which I will enjoy.

What was the food like on a typical
night please, how big were the beds, what sort of cabin did you have, did you have a drinks package (if so was it worth it) and were there any other hidden charges, any other top tips? Thanks

Always book through a travel agent. It’s the one holiday where it’s not cheaper to book direct yourself. End of the month is good as sales want to reach monthly targets.
If you have any issues the TA sorts it. You do not want to argue with a multinational cruise line about money once you are off The TA will have more clout booking thousands on ships every month.

We’ve booked our first cruise with Marella this August. We’re doing 7 days around the Adriatic on their adult only ship Explorer 2.

It appealed to us because we wanted a less stuffy feel with a wide range of age groups. It is all inclusive although there are some paid restaurants too. Reviews of the food look good.

We’ve booked a balcony cabin although a lot of reviews say that all the rooms on the ship are more spacious than your average cabin.

Ive become obsessed with watching YouTube videos, so I recommend watching a few to get an idea of each cruise company and ship you’re considering.

I’m 54 and I’ve been Cruising for about 10 years. I absolutely love it. I tend to go for an inside cabin, because I’m tight careful with my money.
Have a look at NCL. A much younger demographic. I went to Alaska with them last year, it was amazing.

And the food on Princess Sky food was shocking whereas MSC Virtuosia was really nice. Contrary to lots of reviews. So you may or may not get lucky.

With balconies these are also not all equal. Check out the ships plans before booking ( and if you’re paying more I’d research the balcony). Some are pointlessly tiny and some under the overhang are always in shadow ( factor in breeze too if going to cooler climes). Often your neighbours are too close.
A decent balcony however is a godsend for drying towels or getting rid of bathroom smells. Much nicer than a static hotel if you get a well positioned one.

i would opt for perhaps p&o which are a solid middle priced option and have a mixed age profile. You get, included in the price, the main dining room (waiter service) or buffet plus there are snacks and such like elsewhere at certain times.

meals are smart casual most nights and dress up once or twice typically. Lots of entertainment options, we usually opt for music not a show.

beds are a choice of two singles or basically two singles pushed together and properly attached. A balcony is definitely nice!

fred Olsen is a bit older I think. We usually pick Marella which is owned by TUI and all inclusive, more like a hotel in the med, more fun I think

Mid 50s, been with Royal Caribbean (too brash, but perfect for families), P&O Ventura, Azura, Arcadia, Britannia & Iona (I would only go on Britannia or Arcadia again) and Cunard's Queen Victoria (lovely).

Check out Emma Cruises on You Tube. Travel Blog Jamie always used to favour P&O, but that might have changed since he gave up his teaching career to vlog full time.

One of the best things you can do is go on to You Tube and type in the name of the cruise line and / or ship you’re thinking of going on. For some reason making cruise blogs is a really big thing and people make hundreds of them - some better than others obviously (I particularly enjoy Cruise with Ben and David, cruise monkeys and Travel blog Jamie). You can find out everything you want to know re food / cabins etc etc.

As for drinks packages it’s definitely worth it if you plan on drinking more than 5 or 6 alcoholic drinks a day. We had a couple of glasses of wine with lunch ( to be fair on MSC they just kept filling us up on the package) lots of soft cocktails in the afternoon and a wine or two with dinner plus a bar afterwards. we got speciality dining which is a step up and Wi-Fi : tips in the package.
But cost it out. Celebrity charges £60 pp a day which is a lot more than MSC. NCL will charge you service charges on a drink without a package but P&O doesn’t.

Here’s my opinion:

Get a balcony cabin. You’ll appreciate the fresh air after a few days, plus the opportunity to escape for quiet time on your balcony is good. And waking up to the views as you come into a new port is, IMO, one of the best things about cruising.

Don’t go with Fred Olsen (too old, too fogeyish, too formal for how you’ve described yourself).

I think you’ll like Celebrity: dress code sounds right for you; entertainment options sound right for you, big beds.

Don’t dismiss the buffet - they can be excellent - but there will always be a restaurant-style main dining room as well.

We’ve done a few Celebrity cruises, ( first was for my 50th, when we took our teenagers with us to the Spanish Med )

We've also been to the Norwegian Fjords , Iceland , as well as the Canaries , all from Southampton

I’d recommend a balcony cabin , just looking at the sea and the landscape as you approach land is wonderful

I think it’s a king size bed ( we have a double at home and it seems more spacious ! )

The food in the main dining room is ok , not amazing , the service is top notch , and the buffet while very busy is always superb ( walk round first , make a choice then go in , there’s so much to choose from )

The extras …
Get the drinks package if you like a glass of wine or a cocktail or two , it also covers the nice coffees in Cafe al Bacio ( with the delicious pastries
Gratuities are extra , we always prepay , then you don’t have to worry about it
WiFi is extra

We've never considered Fred Olsen , there was a recent cruise programme ( I think Susan Calman ) on Fred Olsen and all the other guests looked ….. ummm ….. older

I've been on quite a few cruises, we've only been on Royal Caribbean and NCL.

NCL is our favourite of the two, we like the demographic (there's a good range of ages and nationalities if sailing in the Mediterranean), the relaxed atmosphere, the dining at any time, good choice of included main restaurants, pub/diner style restaurants, and buffets, no formal nights but most people dress smart casual for dinner.
If you include the More at Sea package, which is about £200pp for a week, you get a great drinks package, some speciality dining included, some limited wi-fi, and shore excursion credits. The only thing to watch for is that they add 20 dollars per day per person for service charges (tips) but you can have these removed at guest services and tip in cash here and there if you prefer.

I agree that a balcony is sometimes worth the upgrade, but inside cabins are generally much cheaper, and if it's a very port intensive cruise then the insides/oceanviews are fine as you are hardly ever in the cabin.

Thank you all we are quite restricted with dates which is the best site or sites to look at which cruises are available on which dates which also shows reviews please? I tried Cruise Critic but don’t know of any others.

Did our first cruise last year in our 60’s. We went to the Med with Silverseas. It was exceptional. This year we have booked a Crystal cruise.
Both are expensive, imo, but worth it to us.
We had amazing fun, food and everything is all inclusive, even tips.

I know I enjoy watching the cruise programmes on tv there was one that looked awful being a bit snobbish loud blaring music rather like Butlins on sea but can’t remember the name of it

Cruise nation - makes fantastic packages. Hotel and flights which means picking the cruise ship up earlier than if you booked directly saves loads.
Iglu has all the cruises at good prices
Cruise Ist has amazing deals.. All-of these are online and searchable by date and where you want to go,
If you want something specific it’s worth contacting an individual TA. Tons specialise in cruises and will taylor it to you. It’s not any more expensive ( they take their cut from the cruise company not you) and will sort out any issues much better than you can individually.