Cruise ships - a captive clientele?

shoppaholic_returns

stoneman wrote: »

We went on a Thomson cruise around the Caribbean as part of a 2 week cruise and stay. The ship was smaller than most ferries I have been on. It rained almost every day. When we were at sea and it wasn't raining there were only enough sun beds for about 1/2 of the passengers. the average age must have been 60. they would not organise any aerobics or anything for the ones who wanted to keep fit because they said it was too dangerous, even though they had a bowling alley. Our evening dinner sitting was the later of the 2, so by the time we finished all of the seats in the cabaret room were already taken by the early dinners, so we couldn't watch any of the entertainment. I got mugged in Bridgetown in broad daylight in the main street. Our ship docked in St. Kitts on the day of the week that the whole place shuts, and we nearly missed the ship leaving because our taxi never returned to pick us up from the beach, we had to get the local police to rush us back. The food was repetitive, the drinks were expensive, the "suite" that we booked measured 6'x9' including the bathroom, and all of this set me back better part of £6,000 for 2 adults and 2 children 12 years ago. Never again.

Funny you should say that, as some of the Thomson boats are old car ferries! Another of my cruise from hell companies, they should stick to package holidays on land what they know best,and let the specialists do the cruise thing!

mobby-2554

I'd always wanted to try a cruise, so we did a cruise & stay a couple of years ago. It was amazing!

Las Vegas and a Caribbean Cruise.

Las Vegas
Houston
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Grand Cayman
Cozumel, Mexico

Our cruise was with Carnival Cruise Lines.

Great selection of food & it was amazing!
Food had to be good as there was a lot of Americans on board & they wouldn't accept anything less.

http://www.carnival.com/Itinerary.aspx?embkCode=GAL&itinCode=WCL&durDays=7&shipCode=CQ&subRegionCode=CW&sailDate=1/9/2011&sailingID=53416

We booked our package through Travelsphere who were also very good!
We had a tour rep with us from when we arrived in USA until we returned to the UK!

http://www.travelsphere.co.uk/north_america/united_states/las_vegas_and_a_caribbean_cruise.aspx

Would definately use them again!

hansi

hothothot wrote: »

Certainly not cheap, described as luxurious and relaxing. Yet, once aboard what isnt really made clear is that in order to cope with the immense boredom of staring at water all day, one must pay for all these extra add ons like yoga or massage sessions. If you dont feel like paying more, you are of course, perfectly entitled to meander around shops and have the joys of window shopping - except you could have done this all in your town centre.

I cant get the attraction of why people pay so much for what seems really boring and money draining choice of holiday.

What a load of tosh! Why do you think that cruising is the fastest growing sector of the travel market? Where else would you get all that super food, be waited on hand and foot, get spectacular entertainment only unpack once, and see all those beautiful ports of call without having to lift a finger. Ok, yes, you do have to pay for extras like yoga and massage but you would pay for these on a land based holiday too. I speak as a committed cruiser. I try to do as many as I can.

Mands

shoppaholic_returns wrote: »

Azamara have a very good reputation and are cheaper, but obviously you don't get as much in terms of food quality/service, but they are pretty good.

Azamara have changed their business model and pricing structure within the last month. Prices now include gratuities, wine with lunch and dinner and a few other additions ... but prices have increased significantly. There has been anecdotal evidence on Cruise Critic of 200%+ uplifts on some cruises; someone has quoted a price of $1800 per person for 12 days becoming $5000 for the same cruise.

No doubt the pricing will settle down in time, at which point they'll be back on our list of possible cruise lines, but it might be worth giving them a miss for the next six months or so.

Mands

moonrakerz

hothothot wrote: »

Certainly not cheap, described as luxurious and relaxing. Yet, once aboard what isnt really made clear is that in order to cope with the immense boredom of staring at water all day, one must pay for all these extra add ons like yoga or massage sessions. If you dont feel like paying more, you are of course, perfectly entitled to meander around shops and have the joys of window shopping - except you could have done this all in your town centre.

I cant get the attraction of why people pay so much for what seems really boring and money draining choice of holiday.

Have you ever tried "staring at water all day" - amazingly relaxing !

I can't see why people would spend thousands of pounds to fly to somewhere hot then lay on a piece of sand all day and get burnt - how very boring and money draining !

My wife and I have been cruising several times - our best trip was just a simple Atlantic crossing from Southampton to Florida on QM2. 9 hours in a 747 or 8 days of luxury - no argument !

Try it, but do your homework first. As has been said already, try CruiseCritic but try and ready between the lines - one American said the QM2 was awful and he would never travel with Cunard again - because he was asked to remove his baseball cap in the restaurant - good !!

shoppaholic_returns

Mands wrote: »

Azamara have changed their business model and pricing structure within the last month. Prices now include gratuities, wine with lunch and dinner and a few other additions ... but prices have increased significantly. There has been anecdotal evidence on Cruise Critic of 200%+ uplifts on some cruises; someone has quoted a price of $1800 per person for 12 days becoming $5000 for the same cruise.

No doubt the pricing will settle down in time, at which point they'll be back on our list of possible cruise lines, but it might be worth giving them a miss for the next six months or so.

Mands

Yes, I know they are undergoing changes, but they aren't, and I doubt will ever be as good as the five and a half and six star lines, and arent as pricey either, $5000 dollars per person would not get you much of a cruise on the lines mentioned.

Food and wine wise, these boats are part of the Relais and Chateau group for gourmet food and luxury resorts, Azamara isn't at that level, although it is good.

Berlitz cruise guide places Azamara where it should be, in a very good category, but not at the super deluxe level.

Mands

shoppaholic_returns wrote: »

Yes, I know they are undergoing changes, but they aren't, and I doubt will ever be as good as the five and a half and six star lines, and arent as pricey either, $5000 dollars per person would not get you much of a cruise on the lines mentioned.

Food and wine wise, these boats are part of the Relais and Chateau group for gourmet food and luxury resorts, Azamara isn't at that level, although it is good.

Berlitz cruise guide places Azamara where it should be, in a very good category, but not at the super deluxe level.

Agreed, and I don't think anyone was suggesting they were as good as the 6 star lines. We found the food to be good, not fantastic. But, we didn't pay close to the old price, let alone the new. Such are the advantages of being able to travel off season.

My initial point, perhaps not made clearly enough, was that for the coming months Azamara need to be in a category all of their own; approach with caution until their new pricing model settles down some.

Mands

GregH

Try it, but do your homework first. As has been said already, try CruiseCritic but try and ready between the lines - one American said the QM2 was awful and he would never travel with Cunard again - because he was asked to remove his baseball cap in the restaurant - good !![/QUOTE]

Cunard is extremely formal and it is one of the things that i really like about them, it is a real sense of Britishness!

mobby-2554

Definitely try one cruise!

I could not find a fault with,

http://www.carnival.com/Itinerary.as...ailingID=53416

You have your own personal maid to see to your room daily!

You have the choice of eating formally or informal every night!

To be honest I've never really met or talked to an American before.
I never knew how friendly & funny they could be?

My OH was asleep one morning!
I'm not a good mixer with strangers but I went for breakfast by myself.
I knew I'd have to share a table but the one I was put on, I was the only person from the UK.
They were so friendly & funny, I could of eaten with them every day!
I knew from hearing them talking in the lifts I wouldn't feel out of place & I didn't!

Of course it's not the five and a half and six star lines but I wouldn't want that after hearing some comments on here!

jezmyers

I can, of course, only go on my experience of cruising but it's interesting to see that the majority of people have enjoyed it.

Myself (aged 32) and younger partner went on a carribean cruise with Carnival last September and it was fantastic. The average age was slightly higher than us, by that I mean 35, not 65.

The service was impeccable, the standard of the food was excellent, the room was spacious enough for the very short amount of time we spent in there (we had an inside cabin high up) and, most of all, we felt it represented fantastic value for money.

Now, whilst I'm sure that Carnival certainly aren't on the same class/luxury level as P&O, we found it was a relaxing and, more importantly, fun experience. Yes, some of the items on board were "expensive" but when it was 95 feeling like 105, the last thing on my mind was alcohol (£3 a bottle).However, the 24 hour ice cream that was included certainly took my fancy (as did very good quality steak every night).

On the cruise itself, we had 3 days in port and 3/4 days at sea. This seemed to be a very good balance and there was more than enough activities, included in the price, to keep us both entertained. Of course, like any holiday, you can do as little or as much as you like.

Without wanting to do a huge review or come across as some sort of cruise salesman and taking into account this is a costing exercise. Here were my costs;

Flights x2 LHR to MIA with virgin £650
2 nights in 3* hotel prior to cruise incl brekkie £120
Cruise for both of us £550
Tips on cruise £90
excursions x3 (booked ourselves NOT through Carnival) £150
other money spent on board (drinks, underwater camera, batteries, things we'll know to take extra of next time) £70
airport/port transfers £60
5* hotel in Miami on final night £90
food in miami £50

TOTAL £1830

I've missed a few minor things off here but we definitely pulled it in (until my partner went to an outlet mall on the final day) under £2000.

For what we did and what we got, I'd say that a 10/11 day holiday to America and a Caribbean cruise coming in at that price represents phenomenal value for money.

Any questions on this I'll be happy to answer.