Cruise holiday options - NOT TUI! 9 January 2020 at 4:27PM edited 30 November -1 at 12:00AM in Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning 22 replies 1.2K views

getmore4less

You could look at Celestyal cruises.

Small ships, med based AI, good reputation.

Been on cruising with Jane.

https://www.celestyalcruises.uk/en-uk/celestyal-cruises-on-cruising-with-jane-mcdonald.

NCL Spirit great small ship but in the far East this year.
Their other ships are bigger.

RCI Rhapsody of the seas is a decent size.

badger09

st999 wrote: »

especially cruises.

You could try Fred Olsen and leave from a British port.
Not luxurious but it suits us.

We're going to Iceland in May for 9 days sailing from Newcastle.

We went on a cruise for our Golden anniversary and got a bottle of champagne and flowers in our cabin and the crew sung happy anniversary at our table at dinner:j

Another vote for Fred.Olsen. We've done 8 with them since 2012 and have another 2 booked this year. They don't offer the height of luxury but cabins are comfortable, food is very good and the staff are amazing. Small ships makes for a friendly, sociable atmosphere.

They appeal to the 'more mature':p end of the market and many sailings are adult only, but to be honest, they don't offer facilities suitable for children, which suits us fine.

Drinks package @ £19 pp pn is very reasonable compared to many. We're booked on our 1st Princess cruise in February, from Sydney around NZ. Their drinks package comes out @ approx £50 pp pn. We won't be buying that!

Saga got very good comments in a recent Which? review.

Effervescent

Fred Olsen, Cruise & Maritime both have small ships. Also look at P&O. Princess also have some smaller ships.

getmore4less

Depending on dates there may be other options like Azamara.

ibizafan_2

Another vote for Fred Olsen. We sailed across the Pacific Ocean on one of their ships and loved every minute. Food, service and ambience is great. Fred Olsen senior was on our cruise and is a lovely man. They do have some of the most interesting itineraries as well. Unless you are into glitz and posh cabins, FO is definitely one to look into. Saga is our absolute favourite cruise line, but FO is a close second.

NoodleDoodleMan

Yes, Fred Olsen are a good shout.

At the moment they have sale offers which include "free drinks" packages on selected cruises.

Katiehound

Yet another vote for Fred!
The guests are certainly of the more mature variety, especially if you sail from UK rather than fly-cruise. Saying that everyone is very friendly

For your silver wedding anniversary you will be given a complimentary package if you celebrate within 3 months either side of your cruise departure date. (Provide copy of marriage certificate in advance.) Looks like the package is: flowers or chocs, bottle of cava, a cake plus a gift.

Sale on at present- think it ends in Feb. Not sure if that is beginning or end of month. Some 100 cruises have both drinks package & gratuities free.
Check with your favourite cruise specialist agent for deals (they will be cheaper than Fred direct)
If the ships are full 3 are approx 800 capacity, Balmoral is 1200.

happyandcontented

We like Celebrity and currently, they have a sale on.

badger09

Katiehound wrote: »

Yet another vote for Fred!
The guests are certainly of the more mature variety, especially if you sail from UK rather than fly-cruise. Saying that everyone is very friendly

For your silver wedding anniversary you will be given a complimentary package if you celebrate within 3 months either side of your cruise departure date. (Provide copy of marriage certificate in advance.) Looks like the package is: flowers or chocs, bottle of cava, a cake plus a gift.

Sale on at present- think it ends in Feb. Not sure if that is beginning or end of month. Some 100 cruises have both drinks package & gratuities free.
Check with your favourite cruise specialist agent for deals (they will be cheaper than Fred direct)
If the ships are full 3 are approx 800 capacity, Balmoral is 1200.

@Katiehound

Care to elaborate? I've always booked direct.

Katiehound

badger09 wrote: »

@Katiehound

Care to elaborate? I've always booked direct.

Yes, a specialist cruise agent will give you exactly the same offers as Fred & C&M for sure ( and I guess pretty much any other cruise line that sells in UK ) plus a small discount.

For example ROL have a 'cruise miles' scheme where you earn 1 point (penny) for every £ spent to be used off a future booking. They may also have a gift card etc promo./ small onboard spend.

I have used Ocean World Travel for some years. They give you discount up front and will probably be able to match any offers you find. Added to that when Voyager went to the wall a couple of years ago they did all the claims paperwork. They also print out my tickets, ATOL cert. as I don't have a printer.

I would check to see if the agent is a member of the CLIA- a cruise trade association

If you see the cruise you want with any cruise line it would be worth your while to phone a few agents to ask their price. yes, you could do it online but I actually like to speak to a real person to check what is included. I haven't worked out how to 'chat' online!! Sorry this is dinosaur productions here