Cruises

swansea_lad

Ive been tempted by going on my first cruise. What should i consider before booking? I know some will avoid cruises due to covid. Im interested in a no fly cruise from Southampton. So many to choose from.  Thanks all

Westin

Search “Emma Cruises” on You Tube.

Sandtree

You're a captive audience so have no choice to pay their food and drink prices so make sure you understand what they are and if any packages are going to be worth while.

Understand the itinerary and consider your room choices accordingly... if you are at sea for several days will you be happy with an inner cabin and no window or worse, if you get egypy tummy and are quarantined in your room? Balconies etc tend not to be as private as some hotels so factor in if one is worth it.

Different cruiselines and cruise routes attract different people... you'll be held captive with these people for most your trip, hopefully you can pick one thats more likely to have "your kind of folks" on it.

NoodleDoodleMan

Food is included in all cruise prices  - and some lines are All Inclusive upfront for a standard range of drinks, and a few offer upgrades to a drinks package at reasonable price.

shykins

We did a no fly cruise a couple months ago.   i was a little nervous but everyone had to be vaccinated and tested before boarding (including crew) and the cleaning regimes were  even more rigorous than i had experienced on previous cruises

as for picking who to go with I would say check out the lines as some offer a more family experience like a hotel on sea whilst others are aimed more for older adults. 

as far as drinks most lines now offer drinks packages but whether they are worth it or not depends on how much you like to drink and whether you prefer the ease of knowing you have paid everything up front.   dont forget to factor tips into your calculation as most packages include those too and some include wifi as well

its a good idea to do a short cruise first so you can see if it is something you would enjoy for a longer holiday.   thats what we did  altho after the first day i said never again by the second we were hooked lol and have done many since

Sandtree

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Food is included in all cruise prices 

Sufficient food certainly is, though some cruises do have enhanced restaurants that have to be paid for or certain snacks can attract extra charges etc

So if you see that the boat has an argentinean steakhouse and are dreaming of having unlimited steak twice a day its worth checking that its actually included in the base package or will be attracting extra fees.

NoodleDoodleMan

Sandtree said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Food is included in all cruise prices 

Sufficient food certainly is, though some cruises do have enhanced restaurants that have to be paid for or certain snacks can attract extra charges etc

So if you see that the boat has an argentinean steakhouse and are dreaming of having unlimited steak twice a day its worth checking that its actually included in the base package or will be attracting extra fees.

Sufficient is a gross understatement in the cruising culinary department.

We've done 16 cruises across Princess, TUI (Thomsons as was) and Fred Olsen and the "ordinary" meals have always been very good. We've done a couple or so of the extra cost speciality restaurants, but would never have felt the selection of meals, either in table service dining rooms or buffet was insufficient had we chosen not to.

Sandtree

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Sandtree said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Food is included in all cruise prices 

Sufficient food certainly is, though some cruises do have enhanced restaurants that have to be paid for or certain snacks can attract extra charges etc

So if you see that the boat has an argentinean steakhouse and are dreaming of having unlimited steak twice a day its worth checking that its actually included in the base package or will be attracting extra fees.

Sufficient is a gross understatement in the cruising culinary department.

We've done 16 cruises across Princess, TUI (Thomsons as was) and Fred Olsen and the "ordinary" meals have always been very good. We've done a couple or so of the extra cost speciality restaurants, but would never have felt the selection of meals, either in table service dining rooms or buffet was insufficient had we chosen not to.

Our experience of TUI meals was certainly in the "ok" category, including the extra cost restaurant, but wouldnt go as far as to say very good. Obviously this comes down to personal preferences, other experiences etc. We didnt repeat the specialty restaurants because they didnt represent good value rather than because of an issue with the other offerings.

Sufficient was meant to indicate you wont go hungry without paying extra but then highlight to check that what you want is included else 2 meals a day in the specialty restaurant will add to the cost -  I wouldnt want that much steak personally but do know those that on an AI bases have the same "treat" each and every day. 

Slightly ironic however that you say sufficient is a gross understatement and then go on to say the included ones werent insufficient - remove the double negative and you get to what I said.

NoodleDoodleMan

Where's the double negative here ?

"We've done a couple or so of the extra cost speciality restaurants, but would never have felt the selection of meals, either in table service dining rooms or buffet was insufficient had we chosen not to."

Brie

I hate hate hate hate being in a room where the windows don't open so won't be doing too much sea cruising.  I will be happy to try a river cruise - Rhine or Moselle perhaps - on the basis that the windows can be open and it's relatively impossible to be tossed about like a cork.  

I like seeing different places and knowing that I don't have to pack up everything to move on to the next location only to unpack again each night.   I love the non insufficient food (ok but I'm greedy).  I didn't mind that most alcohol was extra and even though the prices were high it was doable because there was very little else to pay for.  That said - while I considered the excursions  - (always ££ more) I didn't go on any and instead used my Rough Guide to direct me to the local attractions and off beat little places for a lunch of local cuisine.  

If you are of the right age bracket Saga provided excellent customer service.

Sandtree

Brie said:

I hate hate hate hate being in a room where the windows don't open so won't be doing too much sea cruising.  I will be happy to try a river cruise - Rhine or Moselle perhaps - on the basis that the windows can be open and it's relatively impossible to be tossed about like a cork.  

Given you get rooms with balconys and so sliding window/door to get out on to it I am fairly sure higher deck rooms can have opening windows but will vary by boat etc... unfortunately we've only done the extremes of lower deck rooms and suites and nothing inbetween to say for absolute certain.

Brie said:

That said - while I considered the excursions  - (always ££ more) I didn't go on any and instead used my Rough Guide to direct me to the local attractions and off beat little places for a lunch of local cuisine.  

Certainly its most common that excursions are extra but some do include them for free, Seven Seas (admittedly a different price point) include excursions, all restaurants, drinks, laundry services etc