Cruises

[duncan bulgaria]

Whats everyone's opinion on a cruise for a holiday , never been and always wanted to , but the only people i know who have recommended one are over 50's couples .

Now being the right side of 30 i'd like to know if it appeals to this age group .

 

[fatshrimp]

My parents go often (2 or so times a year), but to me it's my idea of hell.

They reckon there are decent family facilities on most ships these days.

 

[Mad Cyril]

If you are into caberet I would imagine they are great.

 

[Davros]

never been, but i guess if you want to wake up in a differnt place every day, and gamble and relax of a night... as long as you dont mind a bit of confindment, the occasional bit of rough sea, and having to stick to a scheduele for your holiday, it sould be ok?

 

[Crabby Shrimper]

never been, but i guess if you want to wake up in a differnt place every day

Sounds like the social life of some of the girls at work

 

[Mad Cyril]

Personally I'd give it a miss.

Too dangerous.

They don't make disaster movies about Pontins.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Ooof, not for me thanks. When abroad I like to mix with the locals and avoid the Brits abroad..... Bit difficult on a cruise!

 

[Swiss Tony]

Personally I'd give it a miss.

Too dangerous.

They don't make disaster movies about Pontins.

I've had a few disasters in pontins.

 

[Usual_Suspect]

My boss goes on a cruise with these guys every year:

www.atlantisevents.com

Not everyone's cup of tea though.

 

[Hotman]

duncan, it is the best kind of holiday to go on (I'm the younger side of 30), if you get ****ed off with being in one place on holiday all week, or if you like eating decent food abroad. Depends what cruise line you go on, I only go P+O as the ocean village etc are a bit pikey, but I love them, you get to see lots of places on a fortniht, top quality food, and its hard to get bored. You do get some coffin dodgers on there, but you soon get used to it.

ask me if you want any more info about them, I've done far too many in the last 5 years.

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

Steer clear of a well known Norwegian Cruise Line (with offices in Ipswich).
I speak as a former employee!!!

 

[Hotman]

never been, but i guess if you want to wake up in a differnt place every day, and gamble and relax of a night... as long as you dont mind a bit of confindment, the occasional bit of rough sea, and having to stick to a scheduele for your holiday, it sould be ok?

rough sea not a problem, on the bigger ships. On some (like Aurora, Oriana and Artemis) it is a bit dicey

 

[Suomi Shrimper]

The "cruise experience", onboard at least, largely varies depending on which cruise line you go with. From experience, P&O was mainly older passengers and Princess had a much ndbroader demographic (more families, adult couples). Carnival, for whom I worked onboard, was 95% Americans and the decor and entertainment was much gaudier than the, IMO, classier environment onboard Princess and P&O.

Longer cruises also attract an, on average, older clientele. Just make sure to shop around for the kind of onboard atmosphere you want.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Both my parents and my in laws regularly do cruises, and have used a variety of different lines and a variety of different routes. I think the route has a lot to do with the type of person you get on board from what they've said, on the Med you get a lot of families for instance, on the Carribean quite a wide mix and the Nordic ones tend to have older folks. My parents are just off this weekend to Canada to train across then pick up a cruise liner to go up to Alaska.

It all depends what sort of holiday you want - cruises tend to have quite a full on atmosphere with loads of entertainment and activities. Personally, I like a bit of peace and quiet to relax, so they've never appealed to me. Oh, and being a tad claustrophobic, not sure how I'd cope in those cabins!

 

[Hotman]

It all depends what sort of holiday you want - cruises tend to have quite a full on atmosphere with loads of entertainment and activities. Personally, I like a bit of peace and quiet to relax, so they've never appealed to me. Oh, and being a tad claustrophobic, not sure how I'd cope in those cabins!

On the bigger ships you can always find somewhere to relax and you will feel like the only person on the ship (except for the bloke who brings drinks), it's just a case of not grabbing a sun lounger that is with all the others, but looking around - the ships have plenty of hidden away spaces that most people probably don't look for.

As for cabin size, to be honest the small inside cabins are a bit pokey, you really need to go outside at least, preferably a balcony. But having said that, inside cabins are still the same size as a travelodge room so enough space to be comfortable, if not luxurious - your judgement on this is down to £££s and how long you are staying away for, example a 3 night cruise to Amsterdam with a nights stopover there prob doesn't warrant an outside as much as a 2 week cruise.

 

[andrew_sthnd]

I am 21 and I went on a cruise for the first time last October. I was always of the opinion that I would hate these things with a passion but it turned out to be a really good laugh! I went for a mate's 21st as his parents (who go on at least one cruise a year) said that they would pay for six of us lads to go on a cruise to celebrate his birthday . We went with Royal Carribean to the Canary Islands for 10 days on the
Navigator of the Seas.

In general the crowd was a bit older and as a result we quickly made friends with most of the people who were our age after meetng them in the Cruise ships bars and clubs in the evenings. There was enough to do during the day although I would recommend booking up the trips early as if you miss out you can often be stranded in a port when you stop. Must admit, the facilities were top notch - swimming pools, jacuzzi's, mini golf, basketball court, climbing wall. If you have kids then they will love it!

It is definately something I would do again but tbh I wasn't a big fan of only having a single day at each stop- I am one of those who likes to take time exploring a town!

 

[Mrs_Gower]

Im actually off on a P&O cruise next for 2 weeks around the Med. Ive never been on a cruise before but my parents have been quite a few times so going along for a family holiday. Im a bit anxious about the ages to expect onboard (Im 23) but Im looking forward to spending 2 weeks eating and drinking plenty whilst chilling by the pool!

 

[Hotman]

interesting how those with negative comments are all the ones who haven't been, and vice versa :)

Try it Duncan, you may well bve surprised. I was!

 

[Hotman]

Im actually off on a P&O cruise next for 2 weeks around the Med. Ive never been on a cruise before but my parents have been quite a few times so going along for a family holiday. Im a bit anxious about the ages to expect onboard (Im 23) but Im looking forward to spending 2 weeks eating and drinking plenty whilst chilling by the pool!

What ship? and what stops are you going to? If you need any advice about getting from port to city centres let me know, I;ve done most of hte standard med stops.

 

[Forever A Shrimper]

I'm 15, and I went on one about a year ago - and as long as you don't go something I like to refer as "Uber-Budget" then you will be alright. The food on them is generally quite good and there is certainly no lack of entertainment, and in the day there are competitions for the younger ones and relaxation for the :cricko:.

Having been on cruises at the age of 2, 8 and 14 - I can quite helpfully cover the younger perspective, my dad seemed to love getting slated every night and my mum loved being able to show off her voice on karaoke and socialising with younger couples so she feels better about her age. :darkcloud::whistling: