First time cruise

phoenix5

Hi, looking for some advice on booking a first cruise with the family (19,17,14) for 50th birthday - fancy the med...Italy, Croatia, Spain, France. We live in Scotland and wondering about departure venues - is it best to leave from uk or say, italy?
Are there any recommended cruiselines/agents?
Any advice gratefully received We aren't looking to spend a fortune but was thinking £2k each as a rough estimate?
Many thanks

Caz3121

have a look at cruisecritic.co.uk....if you have never cruised before I would spend a fair bit of time researching to find a cruiseline/ship that meets your needs...do you want a 'Brit ship', do you want fine dining and formal or more relaxed, do you want ice rinks, climbing walls and flumes, all inclusive booze or not...
there is a useful article here https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles.cfm?ID=129

RADDERS

With young adults of that age I would recommend Royal Caribbean on one of the larger ships. We have been on Independence of the Seas and also Adventure of the Seas and there seems to be loads to do for those ages.
We always do freedom dining where you can go down when ready and also can sit with different people or just as a table on your own.

As recommended look at cruise critic also there are Facebook groups for different ships and cruise companies.

Neil49

Although Royal Caribbean (and many other cruise lines) initially show comparatively reasonable prices their daily charges and other hidden fees can make the final cost of your cruise astronomical!

Here's a link to an article to give you some idea of what to expect.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/articles/cruise-lines-service-charges-tipping/

Costs for beer, wine and cocktails can be high and can also incur an additional tip of around 15%.

In many ports of call the mega ships have to dock some way out of the centre and you are charged extra for being transported to the dock gates. Tours organised by the ship are of course very expensive and you should try to organise your own separately.

Personally, for a first time cruise going to the Mediterranean I would recommend a fly cruise for 2 reasons. To get from Scotland to the usual UK ports down south is quite a journey and once on the ship you will spend at least 2 days each way getting to the sunshine. Cruise lines such as P&O and Thomson (Marella cruises) operate their own flights from multiple airports including from Scotland.

If I haven't already put you off the idea of a cruise then don't worry. If you like the look of Marella cruises (which include tips and many being inclusive of drinks) you should look at their larger ships as they will have more to interest young adults. Similarly, the larger P&O ships would be more suitable.

Hope this helps.

loobs40

I agree, fly cruise is the way to go. You can board a cruise ship in loads of places in the Med. Barcelona, Palma Majorca, Malaga, Rome etc.

As far as my own personal preferences go, we like British profiled ships such as P&O. We have sailed in Med on P&O, Ocean Village (no longer) Norwegian and Royal Caribbean

The Norwegian was an interesting experience . It started in Rome and was therefore predominantly Italian passengers. Generally Brits are born to be polite, don't queue jump, are respectfully quiet etc etc. The Italians are not Just saying.

Royal Caribbean was great for the kids and they had a ball.

Backbiter

Agree that a fly cruise is the best option if you want to go as far as Croatia or Venice. We always book the cruise and flights separately, which allows you to add a few nights before or after the cruise in a city like Barcelona.

PompeyPete

Neil49 wrote: »

Although Royal Caribbean (and many other cruise lines) initially show comparatively reasonable prices their daily charges and other hidden fees can make the final cost of your cruise astronomical!

Here's a link to an article to give you some idea of what to expect.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/articles/cruise-lines-service-charges-tipping/

Costs for beer, wine and cocktails can be high and can also incur an additional tip of around 15%.

In many ports of call the mega ships have to dock some way out of the centre and you are charged extra for being transported to the dock gates. Tours organised by the ship are of course very expensive and you should try to organise your own separately.

Personally, for a first time cruise going to the Mediterranean I would recommend a fly cruise for 2 reasons. To get from Scotland to the usual UK ports down south is quite a journey and once on the ship you will spend at least 2 days each way getting to the sunshine. Cruise lines such as P&O and Thomson (Marella cruises) operate their own flights from multiple airports including from Scotland.

If I haven't already put you off the idea of a cruise then don't worry. If you like the look of Marella cruises (which include tips and many being inclusive of drinks) you should look at their larger ships as they will have more to interest young adults. Similarly, the larger P&O ships would be more suitable.

Hope this helps.

We're big fans of Thomson, now Marella too. Been of CELEBRATION 3 times and DREAM. We going on one of their recent 'signings', MARELLA EXPLORER at the end of October across 'The Pond' to the Eastern Caribbean. Fly from LGW to Palma to join the ship, and fly back from BARBADOS at the end.

Great value, and like you say no nasty surprises with any hidden extras.

Marine_life

phoenix5 wrote: »

Hi, looking for some advice on booking a first cruise with the family (19,17,14) for 50th birthday - fancy the med...Italy, Croatia, Spain, France. We live in Scotland and wondering about departure venues - is it best to leave from uk or say, italy?
Are there any recommended cruiselines/agents?
Any advice gratefully received We aren't looking to spend a fortune but was thinking £2k each as a rough estimate?
Many thanks

We have cruised a few times now and you definitely get what you pay for. I think for the people in your party one of the larger Norwegian ships would be great - they are less formal that some of the others and lots of entertainment.

I would not recommend either Costa or MSC - definitely low rent.

A couple of tips:

- Often you can get things like drinks packages and tips thrown in - its worthwhile checking as those things can certainly add up.
- Don't book any off-ship excursions with the cruise company, you will usually pay double the cost. However, just beware that if you book independently and for some reason your ship cannot dock then you will lose your money.

I have booked my last few cruises these people:

https://www.vacationstogo.com/

Everything is priced in US$ but its easy enough to pay with a credit card and they are generally a lot cheaper than booking with a UK agent.

gettingtheresometime

Marine_life wrote: »

- Don't book any off-ship excursions with the cruise company, you will usually pay double the cost. However, just beware that if you book independently and for some reason your ship cannot dock then you will lose your money.
.

More importantly, I would have said, if you're late back from an independently booked excursion, you'll probably find the boat gone

travellerboy

For the age profile of your family the best option is definitely ROYAL CARIBBEAN. Choose a fly/cruise from either Rome or Barcelona and make sure you have a Non EU port on your itinerary otherwise you will pay VAT on all your onboard spend. Another vote for Cruisecritic forum as you will gain a lot of advice from experienced cruisers.
Avoid P&O they are the bottom of the pile more like an old Butlins holiday than a cruise. Enjoy RCL.

phoenix5

To everyone who has responded....many thanks, very helpful info and insight which has given me a much better idea of how to go about it
All the best lee x