Cruises: Beats any package holiday...

pingu

Hi
i have been thinking about cruise for a while but had that thing about its not for kids

my son is 10

the reason i want to try cruise is my wife is terrified of flying!

she gets very nervous before we go and on the way back she is nervous on last day which really spoils it for her

sho loves the sun and everything else but not the flying bit

doesn't bother me or our son


was thinking about one of those european short cruises


in three years it will be my wife's special birthday and would love to treat her to somewhere really nice on cruise

any suggestion Please!

ps do cruises hump(don't know if its the right word)up and down like boats do when you take trips while on holiday

thanks

lisyloo

Hi pingu,

You might like to try a "mini-cruise".
A lot of companies do these.
They are cruises of 3 or 4 nights and for people like yourself to get a taste of it without being commited for a long holiday.
They are usually competitively priced because they want people to try them.

Fred Olsen and P&O are 2 companies that typically go from UK ports but check out their suitability for kids because I think they are aimed at older people.
The problem is that may cruises do in fact involve flying.

Perhaps you wife would like the QE2.
It not in fact a fantastic ship compared with more modern ones, but obviously there is the status attached.
The company that do QE2 are "Cunard" and again you can get short cruises.

Boats do move around, but the bigger they are the smoother it is.
Some people experience some discomfort the first day, but they are all equipped with tablets and I think some of it is down to eating correctly.
(The times I have felt bad are on an empty stomach).
In general the movement is quite relaxing.

If you are prone to sea sickness then the best place is in the middle of the ship lower down, so choose your cabin accordingly.

I think a mini-cruise would be ideal for you but don'r confuse these with the "ferry" mini-cruises that P&O do to Bilbao.
A ferry is not the saem as a cruise ship.

Neoshoegal

Pingu, Royal Caribbean (https://www.rccl.com) also do short cruises and they have one of the best kids clubs on the high seas. I can highly recommend them, they have so much to do onboard. The Voyager class ships and Radiance class are the ones to go for.

The ships can sway a bit, but it's quite alright. When we were on our first cruise we came pretty closed to a hurricane. There was an anounced that due to the rough seas the pools were closed. We were inside at that time and couldn't figure out what they meant by rough seas (until we got to the pool deck and saw the water gushing from one side to the other!). So you don't really feel a lot. Quite often when leaving port we didn't realise we had started moving yet!

hansi

We've cruised a lot and at first liked the smaller ships. But it's right. you do get more facilities on a bigger ship and you do get used to the movement, you have to go with the ship, and believe it or not, if you feel ill, the best thing is have something to eat! I was told this by the Captain once. We are going on The Voyager of the Seas" on 11 November for a 3 night cruise from Barcelona. Maybe you should try this too?

[Deleted User]

I'm just back from my first cruise. 2 weeks around the Med on the Sea Princess (Princess cruises). It was brilliant, most relaxing holiday ever.

We got inside cabins and I haggled with Thomas Cook to drop our price quite a lot, down to 1079 for the highestinside cabins we could get. This put us in a quieter corridor and nearer the outside decks.

My parents are going on their first cruise as well next month, I think it's a great way to have a holiday and I plan to have many more in the future.

Neoshoegal

Hansi, Voyager of the Seas was the first cruise ship we went on! It was wonderful and got us hooked.


If anyone wants to see a video of what it's like to cruise, go to https://www.sylviabroeckx.is.dreaming.org and go the video section (it's next to the photos section, but website needs updating...). This might give you an idea of what you can expect.

ckerrd

If you get seasick or unwell an inside cabin can feel a pretty lonely and depressing place.
Having done a cruise at various ages I personally would not go on a "big boat" cruise again. I would like to try one of the barefoot style ones on a wooden clipper perhaps.

The original concept of this thread was about cost effectiveness of a cruise and having compared the prices I can honestly say that a cruise was more expensive that my standard holiday. And I dont mean I like to scrimp and save - I enjoy my comforts, but I do like to sample the local cuisine, eat in different places, visit sights in my own time where possible. One of the worst aspects of a Caribbean cruise for example is the hundreds, and I do mean hundreds, of cruise ship passengers all arriving at a tourist destination. Dunns River Falls in Jamacia was a nadir for me. It was like Oxford Circus at Xmas time, but slightly wetter, but no less busy.

hansi

I totaly disagree with your comments about the cost effectiveness of a cruise. Sure, if you want to eat out and visit various resorts, that's fine but they cost a lot of extra cash. I'm going on a 31 day cruise to South America next year and have included extra nights a the start and end of the tour to do exactly that. But there is no way I could afford to travel and visit the places en-route if I was on a land based holiday, and apart from that, the ship gives me the opportunity to eat well, be pampered and enjoy excellent entertainment. As to seasickness, you are far less likely to encounter this on a large ship, in fact the type of ship you suggest would be very uncomfortable in bad weatherr conditions.

ckerrd

I have been on some pretty big ships and have seen some terribly sick people.
I spent a day being fairly unwell (it takes me a while to get my sea legs) in an inside cabin on the Sea Princess and it was not good.
You can get pampered and you can enjoy lots of entertainment on the way, no doubt about that, however if you want to experience local things cruising is not the way to do it. As a means of travel though - hard to beat.
To go back to prices you should always be able to find a discount with all the sites listed in previous posts. Never ever pay full price. And enjoy whatever holiday you take.:D

Ticklemouse

Hi

I'm thinking about booking a 7 night cruise on the Island Star mid August, with 2 kids aged 4 and 7. The cheapest room is on the Bronze Deck, with a £30 pp supplement for being 1 deck higher.

Whilst I take on board what you say about sea-sickness being easier to control the lower in the boat you are, do you hear the engines? I'm a really light sleeper and if that 1 deck would make a difference, I'd pay the extra £30 pp.

Also, does anyone know if these cruises do actually sell out? Or will there be some availability somewhere during the school holidays? I've never even been on a package holiday with my family, let alone a cruise.

ps The bronze deck is in the bowels of the boat,which is why I'm asking