New to cruising

patgc

OH and myself would like to do a cruise next year. I have been looking at all the brochures but am complete;y confused now. Having never been on a cruise or know anybody that has been, we don't know what we should be looking for. We don't want a formal cruise where you have to dress for dinner,(hubby doesnt have a suit !) so would want informal dining,. Ideally we would like to sail from Dover, or fly from Gatwick to the departure port. We dont want 5* luxury,just reasonably priced, no more than £1500 PP , nice surroundings and a reasonable cabin. 7/10 days, maybe Norway area, Baltic or Greece . Can anyone give me some pointers or suggestions for Operators

Incapuppy

Start here:

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/

loobs40

Loads of operators around. I have sailed with Royal Caribbean, NCL, Ocean Village (now defunct) and P&O and enjoyed them all.

We choose internal cabins because they are cheaper and we spend very little time in them, apart from sleeping and showering. Means we have more money to spend elsewhere e.g Spa, port excursions, alcohol.....

Most cruises have some form of formal evenings, but you can avoid that by eating in the buffet that night.

Our first cruise was around the Med and we enjoyed the experience of visiting a different port every day. Some days we stayed on the ship and relished the fact that there were fewer people around. Had the whole swimming pool/jacuzzi to myself on one occasion.


If you are going to sail the Med, fly to the departure port rather than wasting 4 days sailing to and from Southampton.

£1500 will get you a good cruise, but don't forget spending money. Also worth doing diy flight as the cruise lines flights come at a premium. If you fly, consider arriving the day before the ship sails so you have some time to relax and don't have the panic of a cancelled or delayed flight.

daveyjp

For good value Cruise and Maritime Voyages are worth looking at. They use smaller older ships, so you don't get all the facilities of 100,000 tonne blocks of flats, as a result they are competetively priced.

I wouldn't dismiss formal cruise companies. A suit can be bought cheap enough and the main dining room food on formal nights is better than the other nights. I wouldn't want to eat in the buffet and miss out on the lobster or fillet steak.

patgc

Thanks for these suggestions. The Cruise Critic site looks to have lots of tips and ideas. I need to sit and read it properly to see what they have to say.
I like the idea of a smaller ship (Cruise & Maritime) but just wondering if you would miss out on facilities on the smaller ship.
Does anybody know which lines go from Dover ?

daveyjp

http://www.doverport.co.uk/?page=Cruises

opinions4u

Holland America Line and MSC both sail out of Dover. I think Fred Olsen do too. My experiences are limited to P&O out of Southampton who I'd be happy to recommend to anybody.

Most ships will have formal nights. Check the individual ship code online. For example, with P&O the Oceana has 2 out of 7 formal nights, the rest informal. Azura has 2 formal, 2 jacket no tie and 3 informal. All the formal guff is avoidable though by eating in the buffet, which is surprisingly quiet at night, and having a night in. Personally I think it's worth buying a cheap tux just to eat in the restaurant. Lovely food. I certainly didn't feel that I was travelling with a bunch of stuck up snobs or a ship full of geriatrics. Loved the diverse mix of people on board.

Cost wise I'd expect to pay c£100 a night pp for an indoor cabin, c£150 a night pp outdoor. You would usually get an offer of free car parking or cabin credit to a similar amount for on board spending. A social animal may as well have a cheap indoor cabin. But if you like light and your own space then an outdoor / balcony cabin has value. Risk leaving the booking late and you can probably knock £50 pp per night off - at the expense of free parking or cabin credit. Assuming there are spaces left, which aren't guaranteed.

Most cruises that I've looked at are full board - drinks charged to your cabin account. P&O prices fairly reflective of the prices you'd see in a provincial city bar. Nothing to stop you taking your own drink on board and keeping it in your cabin though - same applies to other consumables like sweets or chocolate that will be cheaper in Tesco than the on board shop, although don't e afraid to use room service if you're feeling unsociable and peckish. Tea, coffee and water available self-serve in the buffet, plus fruit juice at breakfast, with no extra charge.

Research the ports you're visiting before you decide to pay for trips. Formal trips offered by the cruise line won't be cheap but will often be good quality. A bus trip round Bergen won't give you value for money when you could simply walk in to town but a trip to a glacier may!

Tipping rules will vary by cruise line. With P&O they preset the tips for restaurant and cabin steward. You can raise, reduce or remove accordingly. I prefer to remove and tip direct for the cabin steward, but for nights where I've used the main restaurant I let the standard tip stand.

If you're buying duty frees and going via Gibraltar don't buy them on board. Gib is the place.

One thing I did like about the official P&O car parking was pulling up at the terminal, emptying my boot and handing the key over. Job done, no issue. Others will use the coach service. I believe that allows queue jumping too!

I'd kick off with 7 nights of Norway and the fjords - ideally between April and June when the climate is only a degree or two cooler than at home but the waterfalls from frozen ice are at their best. Learn the ropes in a week and then aim for something bigger next time. I'd also look beyond Dover too. But that's just me.

Also worth checking out currency on board. P&O use sterling but US$ is common.

For what it's worth, I had some of the concerns you raise in your post. But now I'd heartily recommend cruising (big ships folks, big ships) to anybody.

Bolsover Cruise Club are one of many specialist travel agents in the sector. Worth googling them and perhaps talking through your inexperience too. Sometimes their prices can be cheaper than going direct, depending on their commission package.

Shimrod

patgc wrote: »

Does anybody know which lines go from Dover ?

Iglu cruise have a search facility where you can see cruises by port of departure. Given you mentioned Gatwick as your preferred airport, is Portsmouth any good as an alternative starting point? You might also want to consider Harwich - Cruise and Maritime use this port.
http://www.iglucruise.com/

C_Mababejive

I have often considered cruising but the exploitation that goes on just puts me off.

opinions4u

C_Mababejive wrote: »

I have often considered cruising but the exploitation that goes on just puts me off.

I was talking to my Indian cabin steward to get his take on things.

He worked 9 months on, 3 months off, albeit 7 days a week when on.

Basic pay around £1.50 an hour, but the tips significantly enhance this.

What it boiled down to was that his family, in his words, live well and employ their own servant as a result of his employment. He earns a lot more than a hotel cleaner in Goa would.

In the end we all allow ourselves to be exploited to some degree in return for improving our lives.

C_Mababejive

opinions4u wrote: »

I was talking to my Indian cabin steward to get his take on things.

He worked 9 months on, 3 months off, albeit 7 days a week when on.

Basic pay around £1.50 an hour, but the tips significantly enhance this.

What it boiled down to was that his family, in his words, live well and employ their own servant as a result of his employment. He earns a lot more than a hotel cleaner in Goa would.

In the end we all allow ourselves to be exploited to some degree in return for improving our lives.

All noted...though im not sure it makes it right,whatever right means in this circumstance. We capture some people who operate in one lower grade economy and get them to operate in a higher grade economy. Its a bit like the poor souls who slave to make apple gear in Chinese factories.

Its part of the human condition. As long as others suffer for our enjoyment,it doesnt matter.

Leaving aside the economics of it i also became aware of this after hearing a program on the radio some time ago...

http://www.internationalcruisevictims.org/index.html

I suspect that some crew just see fresh meat being loaded when their ark docks and i would mind betting that they secretly screen and spot potential prey i.e single women or young teenage daughters of adult passengers.

Not saying its widespread but once your out at sea..well you are more vulnerable and there is no law.




Apologies to the OP for the slight digression