Share your top tips for taking a cruise with Royal Caribbean - you could win a £200 Love2Shop voucher NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

Following the event day we ran last year on Oasis of the Seas, We have been asked by the team at Royal Caribbean to find out your top tips for cruising - whether this is with the family or without.

So whether you have been on one cruise, or a seasoned cruise lovers - please share your top tips for any MNer who may be contemplating their first family cruise this year.

For example:
~ What appeals to you and your family about a cruise holiday?
~ When's the best time to book?
~ Do you always book the same kind of State Room? What's best for you?
~ What about food and drink? What do you make a beeline for once on board?
~ And entertainment - what's the plan for you and for the DC on a typical day on board?
~ Excursions - do you do your own or go with the ones arranged by the cruise ship? What's the best place you have visited?
~ What is your top tip for cruising?

Please share your tips and thoughts on this thread and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one lucky MNer will win a £200 Love2Shop voucher. Please add your comment by 06-02-2015. Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

We have only been on a short Uk cruise as a taster and I don't think cruising was for me.

I liked the idea of the DC having a bit of freedom as everything is contained, but in reality was quite busy and so not as relaxing as I'd hoped.

So long as rooms are clean and comfortable I don't mind what they look like as I don't intend to spend much time in them. I'd rather be out using the facilities.

Facilities on board are nice. Previously we have enjoyed cinema screens, pools and spas. Really we are all about the excursions. That's what makes the holiday for us.

So many places that I wish we could have stayed in for longer!

My top tip would be to make sure you are very rich indeed first, and take a top of the range cruise around the Caribbean, in a cabin with sea views. Last time I looked - around £5500 for 34 days.

Needless to say that this is out of my range until winning the lottery Possibly once the kids have left home, I would like to do a cruise through the Fjords or even a river cruise on the Danube looks appealing.

We are going on our first ever cruise this year so reading with interest.

My top tip so far is to already be in Florida so you can pick up a Caribbean cruise for just a few hundred pounds for a family of 4. We have 2 rooms with an interconnecting door. Tips are prepaid and we'll do our own off shore activities. Also, Google the dress code- they vary hugely. Ours is Country Club Casual, so quite relaxed. No tie necessary for DH, jeans allowed in restaurants, chinos and open neck shirt acceptable on dressy nights, dresses and sandals for us just like any land hotel really.

I'd love to go on a cruise, but haven't been yet. What appeals is that I hear that Royal Caribbean are brilliant for providing special diet food (I'm gluten free), and it would be wonderful to not have to worry about what I'll get to eat.

My ideal would be the med, or the fjords

My top tip and this will rule me out of the running for the voucher, is to make sure you research your cruise line carefully and add up everything you will actually have to pay for.

Certain lines "nickel and dime" at every opportunity. American based mass market lines are the worst for this.

Research your dress code. There are cruises for all, some like me prefer formal and enjoy dressing up, others are more relaxed.

We prefer balcony cabins and a good location to the kids activities.

Try and avoid cabins under the promenade deck because they can be very noisy.

Dollar currency ships can work out cheaper, than sterling.

Join a really good cruise lovers group, I recommend cruise lovers on facebook over the established cruise critic. You'll get a wider variety of tips on the facebook groups.

Take travel sickness tablets with you as they cost a fortune when on the ship.

The food and the excursions are the highlights for me. I have now idea how they make such good food when catering for so many people. I want to book a cruise with a surfing wave next time!

Book your excursions as soon as they are released, to avoid disappointment.
The same goes for dining

Top tips= be hungry! A cruise is def not the time for a diet, royal Caribbean food is amazing, and the service is wonderful too. If you have dc, try to loosely plan And book activities for each day so that you don't miss anything- read the programme carefully otherwise you'll miss some of the things on offer. Also, if you can afford book a cabin with a balcony. Having wine on balcony and watching the world is lovely!

Top tips:
Take a sling rather than a pushchair if you have a small child. The lifts are constantly in use and people will jump in ahead of you even when you've waited for 5 lifts.
Tip 2: Expect to pay way more than anticipated if going with Royal Caribbean. They will literally bleed you dry.
Top tip 3: Don't go with Royal Caribbean. The tipping system is anaabsolute joke.We got an automatic charge of something ridiculous like $12 dollars per day per person INCLUDING OUR 6 MONTH OLD BABY. Not sure what 'service' she was provided for that, I was the one doing all the donkey work. Absolute joke of a company in my opinion. Never again.

Do your research on the ports you are visiting well in advance, once you are on board the ship there is limited information available which is all geared towards the cruise lines own excursions (of course). And wifi is very expensive. The inhouse excursions are obviously the easy option, but if you want to be more adventurous and do your own thing in port you need to do your homework, you have a very limited time in port and to make the most of it you need to plan ahead, not just bank on getting off and winging it. So, find out how far from the city centre you will be, transport options, whether you need to book for major attractions, what the major attractions are etc etc.

You might find all this out and then decide to just get off and wander to the nearest beach or round the port, but if you don't plan ahead you could be missing out.

I always pay extra and book an outside cabin room ... It's worth it for the views

When we went on a short girlie cruise we took a wine box with us - and paid the same corkage as a bottle. This accompanied us to all meals (excluding breakfast) and saved us a fortune!

Cruising is a great family holiday, but an expensive one. Tip take twice the money and half the clothes, choose the biggest stateroom you can afford and share.

Make use of all the freebies, i.e free drink at the captains party, food is plentiful and all free take plenty of elasticated waistbands if you want to indulge.

I went on a cruise 15 years ago and would highly recommend taking sea sickness tablets with you if you have never been cruising before! I didnt take any and really wish i had!

Make sure you have a first aid kit with sea sickness tablets in - they cost so much if you end up buying on board as does any medical supplies so go well equipped. Also make sure you look into the dress code as some cruises have certain nights set out during the cruise that are black tie or smart/formal so you wont be allowed into dinner without appropriate attire - although some cruises are not so strict.

Take your own booze! So expensive on board when it's not included in the package

After the first of four family cruises we always have an inside cabin now, it's just somewhere to sleep really, once you're at sea the view makes no difference and it's exciting to go up top and see the port first thing in the morning. We use the money we save to enjoy speciality restaurants and extra treats ashore. Do your research before booking excursions. Ports can often easily be explored on foot using or local transport. However the best companies like RC employ superb local guides for specialist trips, book early. Check websites like Cruise Critic for insider info. Encourage kids to make use of on board clubs, great places to make new international friends. For a value for money, luxurious, relaxing way to visit an amazing variety of countries we think cruising can't be beaten.

A mini cruise of 5 nights is just right for my family and I. We like to combine it with 1-2 nights at the start and end of the holiday. A Mediterranean cruise is very interesting and varied and I can't recommend a balcony stateroom enough - the upgrade is worth every penny. I would not stay in an inside room.

make sure you take slightly bigger for the way home. unfortunately i always come back heavier due to all the lovely food

i was lucky enough to win a cruise last year a P&O one round the canaries, it was amazing! the food and service was WOW we took our own boxes of wine and cans of coke, 5 suitcases between us as you can take as much as you want leaving the uk as long as you can fit them in your room as thats where they stay, so use suitcases that fit in each other. fly cruises have different allowances for cases unfortunately. take a mini first aid kit with your sea sickness pills - i get very seasick but only got sea sick once when it was very rough. remember the dress code, we had formal nights which means very dressy for woman and a dinner suit for men, semi formal which was dressy for us and a suit / jacket trousers, for men, then casual which was anything goes really and that was on port nights. we didnt get time to research ports so just popped into the local towns and wondered around exploring etc we had fun anyway. there are laundrettes onboard so you can wash/iron your clothes, remember to bring washing powder etc as these are expensive to buy onboard.
there are other places to eat if you dont fancy the dress code but the silver service meals was just the bomb for me, i had breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and evening meal in the main dining room and i just loved it, only put on 3 pounds the whole 2 weeks must have been all the walking round the boat lol happy cruising everyone x

You can save a fortune by researching and pre-booking your own excursions before you go. Often, in places like Jamaica, you can hire a taxi for the day to take you around the island for less than 1/3 of the cruise lines prices. Not only is it cheaper, but you get a personal service and real local flavour.

Plan what you want to see on the trip and go wild using the facilities on board as you have paid a lot for it make the most of it.

I wouldn't pay for a balcony, the cabin is only for sleeping and changing in, for sitting out I prefer being on deck.

Best time to book in after Christmas in the sales, Get lots of deals x