Off on my first cruise next month. Anyone else been on one?

[Blues Rock DJ]

If you don't like it, you've got a long swim back to sanity !!

 

[Blues Rock DJ]

Never done a short cruise but done a ship visit on the Victoria ...personally, I think to enjoy the Cunard experience you have to do queens or princess grills- standard of cabin and dining. Which is rediculous pricing.

For the British experience chose P&O..., pubs, fish and chips, British cuisine and pound sterling on board...for the kids, chose Disney, Ncl, carnival, Royal carribean, Costa, msc :for a bit more try celebrity( was our favourite) holland america( now our favourite) and of course if you want to push the boat out to say, regent, Azamara, silver seas.

Oh yes and one other thing...the food in the main dining rooms are extremely good and the specialty restaurants fantastic. Yes the booze can be expensive, but these day's most lines offer free drinks packages again driven by the Brits! btw! Don't worry about feelin seasick...these ships are not like ferries...they have huge stabilisers. We have been in a force 9 gale off Mykonos when all the decks were shut, but felt very little.

Finally, large ships...we have been on three ships ove 5000 people on board and yes, there are times, especially at lunch times in the buffet, but we have found that you can find places that are not manic, especially the bars outside normally on the stern of the ships. ...also when everyone dissapears off to the theatre, head to the bars and casino, the shows are a much of a muchness and to be honest, once you have seen one " star of Las Vegas" you have seen them all.

If anyone wants some hints and tips on booking cruises, please let us know. We are thinking of going into it at some time by starting our own business.

put me off forever after that !!

 

[Dave the OAP]

put me off forever after that !!

Fair enough...horses for courses. Cruising doesn't suit everyone although the industry does try to cater for as many people and tastes as possible. Disney cruises are brilliant for the kids we have been told by friends who have done them. We had a band on one of the celebrity cruises we did who featured two of the original Wailers and two from Black Uhuru....that was a hell of a brilliant two weeks entertainment. The most bizarre was again on a celebrity ship a entertainer girl and her partner who was a mean guitarist were in a lounge and everyone had gone off to the theatre or bed and there were our party of us two, four Americans, two Canadians and bizarrely a family from Syria. Anyway, she asked if anyone had any requests, and my mate asked for shine in you crazy diamond. Thinking she wouldn't have heard of it...the two of them played and sang the full version ...its was quite brilliant.

We have booked an Easter cruise around the Caribbean next year...7 nights, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos and a few other islands. Looking forward immensely.

 

[fleet]

Have booked our first ever cruise to look at Northern Lights. It seemed the only way to do it that wasn't just one or two nights (that may well be cloudy) and not get totally bored of the total dark days with not much to do. Will be interesting to see if we enjoy it (and whether we see northern lights).

 

[timbha]

Granny - have you tried princess? It's our favourite and a bit more classy than some of the bucket n spade brigade Brit cruises

 

[JOLovegrove]

Funny you ask. I have actually been working on a Royal Caribbean ship for about a month now and am loving it at the moment. Any question about crushing, I'm more then welcome to answer. It's intersting to read about people's perceptions of cruise life. You barley feel the sea, unless it is incredibly rough, simply because of the size of the vessel. I don't think it is a holiday that EVERYONE will enjoy, but the fact you are travelling while eating, drinking and enjoying yourself, go to sleep, and your are in a new port of call the next day is something which I can only see as a positive. There isn't many football fans on board, which is a massive shame, but I did get speaking to a Palace fan from Worthing while off the west coast of America, what a small world.

As I said, any questions, please ask! (The wifi is expensive and slow, so may not respond too quickly, but will give it a go.)

 

[Jim Van Winkle]

As a ex Royal Caribbean employee I have to say some of the views on this thread are terribly outdated.

All I am saying is get yourself on a cruise at Spring break with some fine young American ladies. It's a different kind of trip.

 

[dazzer6666]

Never done a short cruise but done a ship visit on the Victoria ...personally, I think to enjoy the Cunard experience you have to do queens or princess grills- standard of cabin and dining. Which is rediculous pricing.

For the British experience chose P&O..., pubs, fish and chips, British cuisine and pound sterling on board...for the kids, chose Disney, Ncl, carnival, Royal carribean, Costa, msc :for a bit more try celebrity( was our favourite) holland america( now our favourite) and of course if you want to push the boat out to say, regent, Azamara, silver seas.

Oh yes and one other thing...the food in the main dining rooms are extremely good and the specialty restaurants fantastic. Yes the booze can be expensive, but these day's most lines offer free drinks packages again driven by the Brits! btw! Don't worry about feelin seasick...these ships are not like ferries...they have huge stabilisers. We have been in a force 9 gale off Mykonos when all the decks were shut, but felt very little.

Finally, large ships...we have been on three ships ove 5000 people on board and yes, there are times, especially at lunch times in the buffet, but we have found that you can find places that are not manic, especially the bars outside normally on the stern of the ships. ...also when everyone dissapears off to the theatre, head to the bars and casino, the shows are a much of a muchness and to be honest, once you have seen one " star of Las Vegas" you have seen them all.

If anyone wants some hints and tips on booking cruises, please let us know. We are thinking of going into it at some time by starting our own business.

Not done it before, but thinking about doing one next year. Any recommendations for first-timers, probably for a week (with some shore time before and after) ? Would want decent weather throughout (happy to fly to a start-point say Miami for example), decent (outside & large-ish) cabin, not overly formal ship, 2-3 interesting shore visits.

 

[JOLovegrove]

As a ex Royal Caribbean employee I have to say some of the views on this thread are terribly outdated.

All I am saying is get yourself on a cruise at Spring break with some fine young American ladies. It's a different kind of trip.

I agree. Many people think cruising is just for thre elderly, and people looking for an expensive care home, but it is far more then that. Which ship and doing what? I'm currently on the Jewel.

 

[JOLovegrove]

Not done it before, but thinking about doing one next year. Any recommendations for first-timers, probably for a week (with some shore time before and after) ? Would want decent weather throughout (happy to fly to a start-point say Miami for example), decent (outside & large-ish) cabin, not overly formal ship, 2-3 interesting shore visits.

You have to think about the size of the ship as that greatly affects the type of holiday you have. The ship I am on is relatively small, but think it has the right balance of a personal experience with a decent sized vessel.

 

[Bozza]

We've done a couple, tacking on Disney cruises of the Bahamas after stays at WDW.

Like some on this thread, I had no massive desire to go on a cruise so we started with the shortest possible - a 3-nighter, and it was absolutely fantastic. So much so, that we did a longer cruise at the end of our next Florida holiday.

From what I have read, which I'll admit isn't a great deal, I'm not sure the Disney experience is very typical...

- The kids clubs are AMAZING. So much so that we had to force our kids out of them for some of the time in order that we saw them, but it was good to have some kid-free time too.
- Disney characters. You can steer clear if you're not into it (or if you're Disney-ed out after some time in the theme parks).
- What is (or maybe was) the only firework display off a ship for their pirate party thing.
- All pretty informal - no dress up nights at all, although there are some more upscale restaurants available, for a supplement, for which you will need to dress up a bit more.
- No casinos.

It's not cheap though. I think we were paying well over £2000 for a 3-night cruise (although we did go for a large outside stateroom with verandah). That is essentially 3 nights full-board (NOT all-inclusive) in a nice hotel, so £700-£800 per night (there's no flights included in that). Drinks extra but, contrary to what others have said, we didn't think the drinks were that expensive at all. Surprisingly reasonable given the 'captive market' thing. I believe similar cruises out of Port Canaveral on the likes of Royal Caribbean and Princess are around 50%-60% of that price.

I'm a massive fan of Disney, their customer service ethos and just how they look after people. I couldn't see us taking a non-Disney cruise as long as the kids are still holidaying with us. The descriptions I've heard of kids areas on many other cruise lines are pretty pitiful - "a soulless room with a broken Playstation" sort of thing. It really is hard to describe just how amazing the kids areas (and there are numerous for the different age groups) truly are.

 

[Jim Van Winkle]

I agree. Many people think cruising is just for thre elderly, and people looking for an expensive care home, but it is far more then that. Which ship and doing what? I'm currently on the Jewel.

I was on the Vision and Explorer about 10 years ago. I worked in the casino - best job on board. Casino right next to the disco, 1 day off work a week, casino was shut in the ports so I got to see all the ports and made a crap ton in tips tax free with no overheads. Glorious days.

What are you doing on board?

 

[JOLovegrove]

I was on the Vision and Explorer about 10 years ago. I worked in the casino - best job on board. Casino right next to disco, 1 day off work a week, casino was shut in the ports so I got to see all the ports and made a crap ton in tips tax free with no overheads. Glorious days.

Nice. I'm back stage in the theatre which is a lot of fun. As I said, only been on for a month, so come March, when I leave, the novelty may wear off, but it's great at the moment.

 

[gregbrighton]

I was on the Vision and Explorer about 10 years ago. I worked in the casino - best job on board. Casino right next to the disco, 1 day off work a week, casino was shut in the ports so I got to see all the ports and made a crap ton in tips tax free with no overheads. Glorious days.

What are you doing on board?

I know a friend who worked in casinos for Royal Caribbean...

 

[LlcoolJ]

We've done a couple, tacking on Disney cruises of the Bahamas after stays at WDW.

Like some on this thread, I had massive desire to go on a cruise so we started with the shortest possible - a 3-nighter, and it was absolutely fantastic. So much so, that we did a longer cruise at the end of our next Florida holiday.

From what I have read, which I'll admit isn't a great deal, I'm not sure the Disney experience is very typical...

- The kids clubs are AMAZING. So much so that we had to force our kids out of them for some of the time in order that we saw them, but it was good to have some kid-free time too.
- Disney characters. You can steer clear if you're not into it (or if you're Disney-ed out after some time in the theme parks).
- What is (or maybe was) the only firework display off a ship for their pirate party thing.
- All pretty informal - no dress up nights at all, although there are some more upscale restaurants available, for a supplement, for which you will need to dress up a bit more.
- No casinos.

It's not cheap though. I think we were paying well over £2000 for a 3-night cruise (although we did got for a large outside stateroom with verandah). That is essentially 3 nights full-board (NOT all-inclusive) in a nice hotel, so £700-£800 per night (there's no flights included in that. Drinks extra but, contrary to what others have said, we didn't think the drinks were that expensive at all. Surprisingly reasonable given the 'captive market' thing. I believe similar cruises out of Port Canaveral on the likes of Royal Caribbean and Princess are around 50%-60% of that price.

I'm a massive fan of Disney, their customer service ethos and just how they look after people. I couldn't see us taking a non-Disney cruise as long as the kids are with us. The descriptions I've heard of kids areas on many other cruise lines are pretty pitiful - "a soulless room with a broken Playstation" sort of thing. It really is hard to describe just how amazing the kids areas (and there are numerous for the different age groups) truly are.

Apple, Cameron and Disney.

I think I've worked it out Bozza, you're the biggest troll on your own site. [emoji33]

 

[Jim Van Winkle]

Nice. I'm back stage in the theatre which is a lot of fun. As I said, only been on for a month, so come March, when I leave, the novelty may wear off, but it's great at the moment.

You will be ready to get off after 5 1/2 months but longing to go back after 3 weeks back home. Funny how that works.

What is the ships itinerary?

 

[Jim Van Winkle]

I know a friend who worked in casinos for Royal Caribbean...

PM the name I might know him/her.

 

[JOLovegrove]

You will be ready to get off after 5 1/2 months but longing to go back after 3 weeks back home. Funny how that works.

What is the ships itinerary?

I'm on for just over 6 months, so that's not too bad. Started in Alaska and Canada, then did a few weeks in LA and San Francisco (3 over nights there which was great) and now heading towards the Panama Canal through to the Caribbean.

 

[Robot Chicken]

I'm going on my 6th solo cruise to Brazil next month and I've already got number 7 booked for the Canaries next year. I love it.

 

[AlbionPics&SouthCoastTwit]

Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes