Cruises, cheap, good companies?

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Ive always said I wouldnt do a cruise, did a really nice one in my 20s in Egypt but dont really like the all inclusive nature of the idea, we're quite free spirits

But OH has found Seascanner and the prices look quite reasonable and I suppose I am attracted to going somewhere without flights, I think he started to get ads on Saga!!!

So far over the last couple of months Ive had all sorts of options Ive been saving on my airbnb wish lists, Portugual, Spain, France, Pondicherry, havent booked anything for early next year yet

So now he has presented this as an option. Im sure there are other booking sites but this is a world im not au fait with.

Any advice, I want something where it goes to Spain and France I suppose or thereabouts, leaving from perhaps Tilbury or Southampton, a week at a time, not too pricey obviously. We dont need all the bells and whistles of entertainment and slot machines that isnt our bag

Th eother thing which might sound silly is that we cant eat very much, we have very small appetites, so wouldnt be able to take advantage of all the food and drink on offer and I dont want to get ripped off with the costs which might include all that.

The main "value" cruise line from the UK seems to be TUI Marella. I've heard it called Butlins on sea, but that might be people being snobby.

If you don't mind flying to get to the start point, I would suggest Aida. This is a German brand and 90% of the guests will be German speaking, as will the entertainment, but if you don't mind that (it can be nice to not be surrounded by your fellow Brits on holiday) then we found it to be great value for money. The crew all speak English because they come from the same countries as on any other cruise line (Philippines, Indonesia, India, Ukraine) and of course many German people speak enough English to get by. (They also have really good saunas, but you have to be prepared to be naked!)

You get what you pay for - just like any holiday.
Marella is certainly cheap, but there's nothing else good about it.
Unless your idea of entertainment is Bingo & loud Disco into the small hours, & you don't mind badly cooked food that has to be sent back repeatedly, etc

Any cruise - sea or river - is AI for food by the very nature of it, sometimes drinks are included.
If you enjoyed the Nile (I'm with you there !), how about a French or Portuguese river cruise ?

Definitely would love a Portuguese or French river cruise but we have set times of the year for annual leave so the one that has come up so far is the Iona going to Spain and then France. Only 4 days are actually in those towns so that will be very different to our normal holidays of course

Also I want it to generally accord with what we pay in total for flights and an airbnb, I cant be affording a 1k pp, sort of thing. So far that cruise is coming in about 1400 in total for us both. Doesnt include petrol to Southampton or the 100 quid parking there of course.

my favourite company is MSc. Been with a few including marella. MSc is better value for money in my opinion and I like its more international clients

P&O are a nice balance.

P&O cruises.

Yes this one Im looking at for early next year is P+O

What I seem to be reading about, instead of doing the housework, is do you have to book dinners before you go? Cant you just go and eat wher eyou want, when you want?

Also do you have to share tables with people?

Ive been on a lot of cruises and I like Norwegian Lines best. They have the unlimited whippy ice cream in the afternoons. They have the best internet/drinks/and exclusive eateries package by far and includes discounts on excursions. Book excursions early because the best ones sell out fast. They are a bit more expensive than P&O but you get what you pay for. I've noticed it's the P&O ones that are cheaper but also often get the norovirus. The entertainment is generally good on all of them and it's free but book early as soon as you board the ship for your entire cruise because it books put very quickly. MSN have some nice cruises and I've been on several of their cruises and never had a bad one. I have a Costa cruise booked for November but they charge a daily rate for service charge whereas many cruises are free.

With P&O it depends what fare you have booked.

Iirc the saver fare gives you a set dining time of something like 6pm or 8pm. The select fare allows you freedom dining, so any time from 6pm. This fare also lets you choose your own cabin, whereas the saver fare you are allocated it.

Oh and you don't have to share a table with anyone else if you'd rather not.

My family and I have done two P&O European cruises, the second of which was a few months ago!

You choose either an early or late sitting in formal restaurant either table on your own or shared depending on cruise line but you can choose not to eat in a formal restaurant and just pop to the caferteia style restaurant if you prefer. There are also speciality restaurants but you pay extra for those but nice if special occasion as less crowded.

You can opt for anytime dining (maybe called something different on each line) which means you can go to the main dining room when you eant during opening hours for dinner. Lunch and breakfast there is always open dining. You can absolutely ask for a table for 2 and we normally do, although that may mean you are close to another table.

Don't have free spirit fears. We always manage to do our own thing very successfully. The entertainment is not often our thing, although there have been some great moments from Bossa Nova to an excellent rock covers band and the Banshees Hong Kong Garden on strings complete with dancers in the glass lifts.

We have only ever taken one excursion booked independently of the ship, and that was two days in St Petersburg.

As for prices ex-UK, it does depend how flexible you are with dates. Agents sometimes release unsold inventory 3 months before sailing. Flexibility could land you a bargain, or simply no choices that suit you. If you are headed from the UK to Portugal/Spain, be aware that you will probably have a sea day at either end, and therefore fewer port stops.

I have only sailed P&O once (Azura) and that was fine. The reputation is that it is a little more traditional, but I have a very unconventional friend who loves that line.

P&O Iona doesn't have set dining times. The premium restaurants (with extra charges) need to be booked in advance or you join virtual queues in the evening. The main dining rooms allow you to say when you want to eat and they buzz you when your table is free. The buffet, burger places, pizza and fish & chips are all eat whenever in a diner.

The type of room makes a huge difference to the price. Inside cabins are incredibly cheap, whereas a balcony giving you your own private outdoor space is much pricier.

Also look at the older P&O ships like Ventura as they are also cheaper these days.

I think Im inclined to go for an outside cabin but not with a balcony, we have decided it wouldnt be any different to when we book self catering apartments which usually dont have balconies (not that you can actually use) so we would just have our normal coffee and tea first thing then head out to get something to eat

Then whether to get one of these packages where you have some spending money for the cabin but it doesnt look good value to be honest.

We cant be that flexible with dates so I can only go on the cruises that are on the times we can go

No you don’t need to, main dining room and buffet are always available, speciality restaurants you can book before but not necessary. You sometimes have to wait at busier times for main dining room but not long. You can share if you wish but don’t have to, most don’t share.

I was a cruise skeptic but have done 5 on P&O now with three more booked.

Cruising really is a minefield these days in lots of respects, even on the same cruise line there are major differences between ships.

if you ring a cruise specialist agent (we always use Bolsover Cruise Club) they’ll happily talk you through. Booking with them is also a bit cheaper and they answer the phone quickly unlike booking direct.

IMO a huge P&O ship like Iona or Arvia is great as there are so many options for everything. There’s no fixed time dining and although they encourage you to book in the main dining room in reality you can just turn up. If it’s busy you’ll be given a pager to come back later. Same for shows in the main theatre, turn up 5 minutes before and they let everyone in with no booking. You don’t have to eat in the main dining room (free), there’s a fabulous buffet (free) and speciality restaurants (extra charge).

Price wise there are 2 main options, select and saver. It’s worth looking carefully because sometimes with select they give you so much on board credit (spending money) that the difference is negligible. This assumes of course you’d spend the money on drinks, spa, speciality restaurants etc. Also with select you can choose parking or coach travel instead of credit.

Saver is great if the price difference with select is a lot and you’re not fussy about your cabin location. You sign up for the type you want eg ocean view or balcony but they might give you something better. Be aware on a saver there is no flexibility with cabins once allocated. I’m on a few fb forums full of tales of woe from people unhappy with the allocation.

Whatever you choose you’ll have a great time. Cruising is fab and very addictive!

I’d save a bit longer and do celebrity

This is very helpful

What I have gleaned so far is that I dont think the extra packages are useful for us. Its 200 quid for the two of us to buy that package. For that we get free shuttle buses to and from the port to the towns but the towns we're going to are within walking distance so we wouldnt gain there
We get either
100 spending money for the cabin
or free parking at Southampton and parking costs us 100 quid
or coach travel to Southampton which we wouldnt use, be a nuisance to get to the coach drop offs and cost us pretty much the same in parking

So we'll probably just go for the basic fare and its asking me what cabin I want with a choice of 4 anyway and Ive found the ship layout. I wouldnt know what a good choice is or not to be honest

Some people prefer high up, low down, midship etc as it can make a difference to motion and seasickness. We’ve had cabins all over and never noticed! Also some people are fussy about near the lifts or somewhere else.

Let us know how you get on!

For just £200 I would probably do the select fare, the CPS parking at Southampton is excellent plus you get flexibility should you want to change. You also get to choose your cabin.

MSc or Fred Olsen are great. I have been on P&O a few times for a cheaper getaway but found the food & service not great in the main dining restaurants so always booked the speciality dining options but over the years P&O standards have definitely declined.

Well the parking is 100 quid if we book it direct, I wont change the date because its the dates we can do, I dont think Ive ever changed a holiday (probably jinxed it now) and Im not sure Im bothered about choosing my cabin, what would I choose, I have no idea?

So we would lose 100 quid for nothing

@soupyspoon
Re choice of cabin, look at cabins above & below you, as well as either side.

I'd go for cabins surrounding me, you would not want to be near a disco, lift, staff entrance/exit etc

Choos a canon away from the sports course. One time we were directly below and the basketball bouncing was horrendous.

I dont get to choose the cabin Ive discovered anyway on that list so it is what it is. I cant imagine spending a lot of time in there though?

We usually stay in really noisy bustling neighbourhoods when on holiday, noise until the early hours and then the bins being emptied around 3am.

It cant be worse than that (she says)