Cruise Advice.

Nick_Sellick

We are thinking about a cruise in 2016. Two adults, two under 14's. No flights please. Limited budget.
Any experiences, advice, tips, etc., gratefully received.
Unfortunately it would have to be in the School Holidays.
Thanks
Nick

andycris3107

We've cruised a few times now but never from the UK. Whenever we were looking we used http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/ to get advice and to connect with other cruisers before the holiday. It's a great place for reviews and opinions as to different companies, ships, and itineraries.

PompeyPete

Or the cruising forum on Trip Advisor...

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum-g1-i10703-Cruises.html

I wouldn't recommend cruising from a UK port at any time of year when the weather is likely to be nasty and potentially very rough at sea. Nor, particularly where children are involved would a small ship be a great idea. The big 'shopping trolley' ships with lots going on would be best.

I'd have thought that the majority of cruises that cater properly for children will be those that start their cruise somewhere warm, which obviously involves flights.

daveyjp

We also have to holiday during school holidays which makes choosing a cruise quite easy because there are only so many ships which leave the UK and there are only so many weeks in school holidays. If you want more than a week choice is even more limited.

Decide when you want to go.
See which cruises and ships are available at the time you want to go.
Decide which ports you would like to visit.
Decide on cabin type. Cabins are small, with four it will be crowded if you all try and get ready together!

As you have two children last minute may not be an option, especially on P&O as they are popular with families in school holidays. They don't do last minute deals for families either.

Budget on £100 per adult per night for an inside cabin. (£700 a week) There may be a child and multi occupancy discounts.

Nick_Sellick

Great advice, thank you.

WaywardDriver

Nick_Sellick wrote: »

We are thinking about a cruise in 2016. Two adults, two under 14's. No flights please. Limited budget.
Any experiences, advice, tips, etc., gratefully received.
Unfortunately it would have to be in the School Holidays.
Thanks
Nick

Assuming you'll want a family cabin which might be in short supply in school holidays indicating need to book early. Most UK departures are from Southampton from where there are basically 2 choices for a 12-14 night no-fly cruise. North to the Baltic for a "cultural" cruise to Stockholm, Copenhagen, St Petersburg - or South to the Med as far as Rome and the sun. We've never travelled with children before but from what others say, if they're happy then so are the adults. You know your children best so culture or sun. Regardless there will be on-board children's clubs to keep them happy at sea.

MasterPoo

I'm not sure I should be "recommending" this lot, but I cruised with Thomson years ago, I had never cruised, I failed to do my research so ended up on a very old and tired ship in the caribbean for 7 nights, I was ecstatic to come home!

It was a package deal that I bagged for cruise during Feb mid term break and it was a bargain as it included all on board meals, I bought a drinks package and I'd pre-arranged all the excursions and met up with some families through cruise critic forum.

Would I ever cruise with Thomson ever again, absolutely NOT, I'd rather stay home, but they're still in business and have loyal customers.....I'm just not one of them!

PompeyPete

MasterPoo wrote: »

Would I ever cruise with Thomson ever again, absolutely NOT, I'd rather stay home, but they're still in business and have loyal customers.....I'm just not one of them!

What was wrong with your Thomson experience, apart from the fact that you found ship old and tired? Which ship? Why was it tired? Did it get you to all your programmed destinations during the cruise? What was the food, the entertainment and the crew like? Did you go down with Noro Virus? Was it a relaxed cruise or did you have to dress up?

FBaby

What is it about the cruise that appeals most to you and your children? Is it visiting different places or is it the activities on the cruise? There is a big difference between the latest RC experiences and a P&O cruise. If it is all about visiting different places, than what the ship offers might not matter so much. If you want to experience sky diving, rock climbing, ice skating etc..., then you need to look at RC.

Shimrod

MasterPoo wrote: »

Would I ever cruise with Thomson ever again, absolutely NOT, I'd rather stay home, but they're still in business and have loyal customers.....I'm just not one of them!

We did a cruise last year with Thomson up Norway to Spitsbergen and enjoyed it even though it is not the sort of holiday we normally take and would travel with them again if the itinerary was attractive.

Thomson are no longer cruising out of the UK though - the ships are all based in the Med and the Carribbean.

PompeyPete

Yeah, that's why I was curious.

Me and the Mrs have been on four Thomson cruises, 3 times on Thomson Celebration, and once on Thomson Dream. Two of them were cruise/stay (Paphos (stay)/Eastern Med cruise, and Sharm (stay)/Red Sea cruise), a 14 night cruise (Western Med/Adriatic), and in November 2014 the 14 night repositioning cruise to the Caribbean on Celebration, which included 6 consecutive sea days crossing the Atlantic.

Casting aside the odd moan and groan, mainly about the odd ignorant passengers, we've always had a thoroughly enjoyable time. Thomson practically 'babysit' you from start to finish, the crew have always been excellent, the food very good and ultra plentiful, the entertainment fantastic, the ambiance very relaxing and friendly, and the all inlcusive booze package well worth it especially if you get a good deal before the cruise.

Thousands of people return to Thomson cruises, and as those fall off one end there are always new people to the brand taking over.