First time cruise - help please!!

ellay864

I'm looking to book our first cruise and drowning in all the information out there! I have looked at cruise critic but struggled to wade through it all so hoping the nice folk on here may be able to help me.
Dress code:
I know that main dining roms have formal and less formal nights, but is it possible to use the other dining facilities to go casual every night?
And is there actually a dress code on the ship? I'd plan to just chill in t shirt and shorts when on our balcony, or meandering round the shipboard facilities, and probably the same when going off the ship, but on Celebrity's site it seems to suggest smarter clothes generally(that's the line we're mostly looking at due to cost/availability and ability to get some discounts)
Ports:
How can I find out easily if the ship berths in the port itself or there's tender to get to the port in question?
And how can I find out if we'd be able to get ourselves easily to main town or whether it's a distance away eg I know that in Valetta the boats come right in but not sure how common that is
Itineraries:
I know the sites say they may be subject to change and I've already found that the 'same cruise' on 2 different dates has different ports of call. How much can they change once booked? The ones we have as our favourites are due to the particular places we'd stop at; if they changed all the Greek destinations to Italy for example we'd be less inclined to book that one

[Deleted User]

ellay864 wrote: »

I'm looking to book our first cruise and drowning in all the information out there! I have looked at cruise critic but struggled to wade through it all so hoping the nice folk on here may be able to help me.
Dress code:
I know that main dining roms have formal and less formal nights, but is it possible to use the other dining facilities to go casual every night?
And is there actually a dress code on the ship? I'd plan to just chill in t shirt and shorts when on our balcony, or meandering round the shipboard facilities, and probably the same when going off the ship, but on Celebrity's site it seems to suggest smarter clothes generally(that's the line we're mostly looking at due to cost/availability and ability to get some discounts)
Ports:
How can I find out easily if the ship berths in the port itself or there's tender to get to the port in question?
And how can I find out if we'd be able to get ourselves easily to main town or whether it's a distance away eg I know that in Valetta the boats come right in but not sure how common that is
Itineraries:
I know the sites say they may be subject to change and I've already found that the 'same cruise' on 2 different dates has different ports of call. How much can they change once booked? The ones we have as our favourites are due to the particular places we'd stop at; if they changed all the Greek destinations to Italy for example we'd be less inclined to book that one

The dress code is really only for the dining room - if you choose not to get glammed up you can eat in the buffet area or there should be other places depending on the ship your going to be on.

Shorts & t shirts are fine for during the day anyway.

Cruise critic is great for finding out more info about the ports.

The itinerary can change due to weather etc so although you booked for certain ports then you may not get to these ones however this would be for your own benefit anyway.

Dxxx

cclarke12

Also have a look at https://www.cruises.co.uk website as this can be a it easier to navigate than cruise critic and you can get loads of info via the forum.

bigbill

Been on P&O a few times.

You will stick out like a sore thumb if you dress casual on formal nights, some of the bars will be strictly formal all night as well.

daveyjp

The trip detail will say if it is expected to be tendered or berthed alongside. This can change depending on berth availability at ports. Pre booked tour parties will be tendered first.

ellies_angel

I'm looking to book our first cruise and drowning in all the information out there! I have looked at cruise critic but struggled to wade through it all so hoping the nice folk on here may be able to help me.
Dress code:
I know that main dining roms have formal and less formal nights, but is it possible to use the other dining facilities to go casual every night?
on our ship you dressed smartly when dining in the main dining room except for the Captains night when it was formal wear. Some diners dressed formally every night but that was the minority. to dress casually you could go to the the other eatting areas on the ship
And is there actually a dress code on the ship? I'd plan to just chill in t shirt and shorts when on our balcony, or meandering round the shipboard facilities, and probably the same when going off the ship, but on Celebrity's site it seems to suggest smarter clothes generally(that's the line we're mostly looking at due to cost/availability and ability to get some discounts)
I wore a bikini and a sarong when I was walking around the ship. When going into the eating areas men and women needed to be wearing a top, shirtless was not allowed so my sarong instead of being tied round my waist was moved up. Onshore I tended to wear short/top, summer dress etc.
Ports:
How can I find out easily if the ship berths in the port itself or there's tender to get to the port in question?
you should get that information from your travel agent or the cruise website
And how can I find out if we'd be able to get ourselves easily to main town or whether it's a distance away eg I know that in Valetta the boats come right in but not sure how common that is
on our boat we had a cruise news. it would be available daily and give you information about the port you were in, local tourist attractions etc, how to get there, train, bus, walk, how much to expect to pay, how long to get there etc, local currency, helpful words etc. It made it very easy and aside from 2 days where we took part in organised trips we just went off and did our own thing.
Itineraries:
I know the sites say they may be subject to change and I've already found that the 'same cruise' on 2 different dates has different ports of call. How much can they change once booked? The ones we have as our favourites are due to the particular places we'd stop at; if they changed all the Greek destinations to Italy for example we'd be less inclined to book that one
no idea, I can't see them going to the extreme of changing greek destinations for Italian ones, I would imagine if it was to change it would be to do with the tide, or a problem with the port and all they would do is dock at one nearby, not a different country.

I loved our cruise and can't wait for the next one!

coupleuk

Don't worry too much about getting dressed-up for the formal dining rooms.

Stick to black trousers/skirt and a nice shirt/blouse and you won't have a problem.

There won't be a formal night on the first night so you get to meet your table guests and get a feel for what they're like. In the past, I've simply explained to them that I don't do formal wear and I hope they won't mind on posh nights. Set the scene from the beginning.

IF you get a sense that they're stuck-up old-f**ts, you might decide to eat in the casual dining area on those really formal nights.

It would be a shame to miss the whole dining experience just because of a dinner jacket.

One BIG point to make - if you eat in the posh dining rooms, please do not vanish to the casual one on the last night. That is "tips night" and so many ignorant so-and-so's will be waited on hand and foot all cruise and then shaft the hard-working staff who have looked after them.

Anyway, don't fret too much over all this. The cruise line has accepted your money so do what you are comfortable with (within limits).

Froggitt

Different cruise lines have different levels of formality. NCL have a "dress up or not" night where you can choose to dress up or not to in the MDR. Noone cares what you do. Others are more formal and you may not want to stand out, so yes theres usually a buffet e.g. when we did Celebrity, we ate in the buffet on formal nights.

Some lines have shared tables as standard, and some dont. Some lines levy a daily "service charge" instead of tips and envelopes.

ellay864

Thanks everybody. I've no intention of wanting to stand out like a sore thumb so wouldn't want to dress casual on a formal night, but more likely would choose to avoid formal nights/places - don't have budget to go buy frocks that I don't usually wear! The ones we're looking at so far have packages with tips included and option of table on our own which I know DH would prefer anyway.
Re the ports we'd much rather do our own thing but I know that in ports where you have to tender ashore, it's usually the organised ones that leave first. Wish we'd had more time to book now - there's so much to think about!!

getmore4less

If you are going Celebrity.

Daytime just about anything is fine

People dress predominately smart casual in the evening, Formal night jacket might be enforced in the dining room(I borrowed one)

Jeans, dockers, polos/shirt are fine

Depending on time of year, shorts will still be ok on outside deck area, buffet, indoor pool areas in the evening but inside the ships tend to be air/coned on the cool side so longs tend to be more comfortable anyway.

tender info is on the web site for each port if it says docked it will be at a berth.

Itineraries don't change much once set.

If cost is a criteria supprised Celebrity is coming out good they generaly are not the cheapest.

for real casual NCL is probably worth a look,


what itinerary and dates are you looking at.

travellerboy

If you are set on Celebrity the best prices are via a US Travel Agent ( www.vacationstogo.com ) Best all round Terms and Conditions, significant better than UK counterpart.