1st time on a cruise - advice please

arthurx1234

To celebrate my wifes 50th birthday next Feb I plan to surprise her and organise a cruise holiday, she loves the sun, so i have been looking at cruises around the Dubai or Red sea area, as we can fly from the UK
Can someone give me some advice about good quality ships/cruiselines/cabin choice etc or even alternate cruises (however i fear the caribean cruises may be too expenses)

thanks
arthur

delwynshd

Hi Authur

It depends on what sort of budget you have in mind as to what you could get to be honest

Celebrity/Royal Caribbean are good ships

Del

MrSmartprice

P&O have some exceptionally good deals at the moment. They are a good option for a first timer because they do Southampton sailings as well as fly-cruise. You will also find that they offer good value on board since drinks prices are UK pub level, while the American ships are much more expensive. Tips on P&O are discretionary, whereas American lines charge 15% on every drink, plus a daily amount on your bill for tipping waiters and stewards.

The advantage of Southampton sailings is that you have no luggage weight restriction, so you can take plenty for formal nights etc. There are 'seasons' for cruising and at the time of year you are going the Caribbean and Canaries are popular. You could consider a repositioning cruise, where a ship starts in, say, the caribbean and returns to Southampton. They are often excellent value, some for this spring are going for as little as £699 for 14 nights.

Shop around for the best price for any cruise. Some of the internet sites offer the best prices, but once you have found them the High Street travel agents will often match those prices if you ask them.

joebob

Went on cruise to caribean in January, with p&o on the ventura. we paid £1100 each and we got £300 onboard spending money, weather was fantastic. food on ship was v.good with 5/6 different dining rooms. drinks £2.80 apint £2.95 for gin &tonic entertainment was tribute acts some good some not so good, theatre with musical and dancing shows, comedians guest speakers, bingo quizes,casino,debating forums, art shows, calypso night,dancing lessons and many other things to do. trips are expensive we did some on our own, with local taxis, already looking for next year..

moonrakerz

If you visit Cruisecritic.com you will find P & O get quite variable reviews !

As you are 50 - try Saga ! At first glance they appear expensive, but when you see what is included in the price, they cannot be be beaten.
The service is second to none, the food is brilliant, the exclusive restaurant is "no extra charge", the booze is cheap, no casino, no "noisy youngsters". Their ships are ships, not impersonal 3000 guest hotels. We will never cruise with anyone else in future.

Mands

arthurx1234 wrote: »

To celebrate my wifes 50th birthday next Feb I plan to surprise her and organise a cruise holiday, she loves the sun, so i have been looking at cruises around the Dubai or Red sea area, as we can fly from the UK
Can someone give me some advice about good quality ships/cruiselines/cabin choice etc or even alternate cruises (however i fear the caribean cruises may be too expenses)

thanks
arthur

Hi Arthur,

There was a thread that ran here for a while late last year where folks posted details of the cruises that they'd taken, along with the price that they'd paid. That might give you some idea of what's available with different cruise lines, different locations and at different times of year.

Whilst there's no guarantee that you could get exactly the same deals it would give you some idea of what you might pay, and whether that Caribbean cruise was an option.

The thread is just here.

Happy researching
Mands

p00pieb0tt0m

Can I just mention dining?

We cruised on P & O Ventura and opted for Freedom Dining. For a couple of the evenings we had a table for two, but on other evenings we spent time with some fantastic strangers. Discussing things we'd seen/done that day and things we were looking forward to.

One of the evenings, on a table for 12, ours was the last table to disband, and not the last to seat, some of our companions that night missed the entertainment because as a table we were having such a great time.

Not all cruises have freedom dining like that, but I highly recommend it.

getmore4less

arthurx1234 wrote: »

To celebrate my wifes 50th birthday next Feb I plan to surprise her and organise a cruise holiday, she loves the sun, so i have been looking at cruises around the Dubai or Red sea area, as we can fly from the UK
Can someone give me some advice about good quality ships/cruiselines/cabin choice etc or even alternate cruises (however i fear the caribean cruises may be too expenses)

thanks
arthur

Whats the budget.

Lucie_2

In terms of cabin choice you have various options:
Inside - cheapest. Great if you're a busy "out & about" person & plan to use the room to sleep only. Very dark - if you like natural daylight then avoid this cabin type.
Oceanview - These cabin have a porthole so you can see out & get natural daylight in.
Balcony - Great for room sevice breakfast & relaxing afternoons, fresh air & sea views. Some newer Royal Caribbean ships have "inside" balconies over looking the interior of the ship rather than the ocean.
Suites - ranging from "just a bit bigger" than a balcony cabin, to royal suites with grand pianos & hot tubs on the balcony. ££££££

All the different cruise lines call their cabins different names, some have "classes" of cabin that allow you to use certain pools & restaurants, so it can be quite confusing.
As a guide, the lower the deck, the cheaper the cabin.
Consult the deck plans to see where your chosen cabin is - generally the closer to the middle of the ship, the less movement you feel. Also check what is above & below you; don't get a room above the pub or night club if you like an early night & watch out for being under the pool deck/running track if you don't want early morning runners thudding above your head.

Look out for special "upgrade" deals - on our first cruise it was only £5 pp more for a balcony cabin than an oceanview as there was a promotion running. Many lines do "free" onboard credit, free gratuities, transfers from home to Southampton & other various offers.

vintner55

We went on Thomson Destiny cruise to Caribbean, 1 week cruise, 1 week All inclusive in 5 star hotel in Dominican Republic in the last week of January, first week of Feb. The cruise was really good, the Destiny is not big or flash but it is very friendly, you feel well-looked after and you don't have to pay extra for gratuities, it's all included. Food was great and the ship has a lot of lounge space. We had an outside cabin on deck 3, perfectly adequate. With East Midlands flights, extra leg room seats and choosing our exact cabin, the total cost for the two weeks was about £2907. The hotel ashore was very nice but I would rather have stayed aboard & cruised for the second week (it's a different itinerary)
The Thomson Red Sea is good as well, great for seeing the Pyramids and Petra if you haven't been there.
We have been on NCL cruise to Alaska and Royal Caribbean round the Baltic but they are always in your face wanting you to spend money on something. It gets very annoying. Plus they are paranoid about you bringing your own alcohol on board. Even if you buy a bottle from their duty free shop they put it into storage until you disembark. On Thomsons you just walk away with it, £6.50 for a bottle of brandy. As long as you don't flaunt it (I kept it in a cupboard in the cabin & we just had a nightcap) it's fine.
Whatever you choose read cruisecritic.com before you book, look at the price of excursions & reviews to see if they are worth it. For the Red Sea big trips like Cairo & Petra you don't have much choice except the ships excursions. In the Caribbean it's very easy to just pick up a tour at the port on each island.
Hope this helps & that you find something & have a great time.

getmore4less

arthurx1234 wrote: »

To celebrate my wifes 50th birthday next Feb I plan to surprise her and organise a cruise holiday, she loves the sun, so i have been looking at cruises around the Dubai or Red sea area, as we can fly from the UK
Can someone give me some advice about good quality ships/cruiselines/cabin choice etc or even alternate cruises (however i fear the caribean cruises may be too expenses)

thanks
arthur

Treat her early, or do a trial run to see if she likes cruising.

Thomson red sea cruise next week £400pp week after even cheaper.