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[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

I have always hated the idea personally.
Did a mini cruise in 1999. Cyprus overnight to Israel (jerusalem, wailing wall, Bethlehem etc.), Israel overnight to Egypt (did the Pyramids, Sphinx, Cairo museum with Tuts treasures), then overnight back to Cyprus.
It cost £100 for a familt of four  !
It was unforgettable, but having said that, one more night on a boat I would probably have jumped overboard.

[Doctor Gollum]

Bro and SIL tend to go with Cunard having switched from P&O. This switch was reinforced by the discounts offered on subsequent cruises if booked whilst on board... Much like an early bird exclusive member discount. They've five booked over the next 18 months

I have never been on a cruise but would probably avoid anything likely to be over run with children, and the only one on my to-do list is Southampton to New York, and that's more about the symbolism of the journey than the cruise itself.

As for taster cruises, Southampton to Hamburg or Cherbourg/Guernsey is a pretty cost effective way of getting a feel for the concept. P&O and Cunard both regularly run 2-4 night mini cruises as fillers between the longer routes.

[Doctor Gollum]

I won't say who with because the slagging off will start by certain members who  assume they know better. We will be visiting, Barbados Curacao Bonaire St.Vincent Grenada St.Lucia St.Kitts Antigua St.Maarten. I always didn't fancy cruising but we were asked to go by some friends who go most years & it was absolutely brilliant we couldn't fault anything, they have used many different companies but now wouldn't use any other than the one recommended to us. Please feel free to message me for any more information if required.
Mick.

I presume you mean me. In which case I could offer some guidance for your flight, but I doubt you'll be interested, so I won't

[TheBoy]

The Embarkation and Disembarkation (sail only) is so much easier when compared to flying as once you are on board your holiday has started.

I guess if I jumped on a boat at Southampton or similar, it would be a couple of days before its got to the Med?  Probably makes a week's break less feasible?  I don't think I want to go for more than a week first time, in case I really don't get on with it...

[YZ250]

The Embarkation and Disembarkation (sail only) is so much easier when compared to flying as once you are on board your holiday has started.

I guess if I jumped on a boat at Southampton or similar, it would be a couple of days before its got to the Med?  Probably makes a week's break less feasible?  I don't think I want to go for more than a week first time, in case I really don't get on with it...

The point is that your holiday starts as soon as you are on the ship. Within thirty minutes of boarding you could be supping beer sat by the pool, sunbathing on the loungers or scoffing your face with the buffet food. The whole cruise is your holiday, not just the ports. 

[Sir Tigger KC]

I have never been on a cruise but would probably avoid anything likely to be over run with children, and the only one on my to-do list is Southampton to New York, and that's more about the symbolism of the journey than the cruise itself.

Yep that's on my bucket list too! 

When I was younger I wanted to sail across the Atlantic, crewing on a yacht, but I'm too decrepit for that kind of thing now, so I'll have to pack a tux and do it in style! 

[Viral_Jim]

TB: I've done about 5 or 6 so far, either on Royal Carribbean or MSC. I was similar to you, in that I thought it would be a terrible idea but my partner and family have always done it so persuaded me to try it. A few observations:

The boats never feel as busy as the numbers on board would make you think they might be. The only exception to this is Round the swimming pool(s). For engineering reasons these have to be small and inevitably get crowded.

Don't sail out of the UK for anything less than 7 days. If you do you're likely to get a lot of stag and hen parties, with all the bullsh!t that entails.

Having a balcony cabin is a big bonus as it means you can always just sit and watch the world go by with no one around.

I would always book through an agent - I've personally used vacations2go (denominated in USD but have thousands of cruises listed in a very no nonsense website) and cruise.co.uk. it's usually worth using these as you can typically get a good chunk of discount.

Finally, all cruise lines have a different ethos and target market they cater to. So think hard about what type of holiday you want as picking the wrong line will likely lead to you having a poor experience. We've booked the Carribbean for Easter 2025 with MSC, 2 adults and 2 children for 10 days and it's £3,500 'all inclusive' which for the Easter holidays is cheaper than center parks. That said, we picked MSC because it's family focused, tons for the kids to do and lots of shows. But it will be busy and it will be full of kids. Although Rangie hasn't said, unless he's going with grand children I'd be surprised if he's booked the same cruise line as (in his position) I wouldn't want to be surrounded by children on my relaxing beach holiday.

Lastly, on your sailing from the UK point, I found out this week that my partner has booked a 7night cruise from Southampton in may for my 40th. That route is Southampton -> at sea -> Bordeaux -> Bilbao -> la coruna -> at sea -> le harve -> Southampton. We will probably stay on board at le harve, but the other stops will doubtless have something interesting to offer.

[Doctor Gollum]

Le Havre is a coach ride from Paris.

Cruises are a good way to get a taste of a variety of places in one hit without changing hotels. However you potentially end up with a skewed view of those places due to the limited time available and the number of other ships in port. Nassau being a particular case in point... Almost constantly three ships in at any one time as it's the first/last stop between Ft Lauderdale and the Caribbean proper.

The Caribbean islands are all different so it's any easy way to experience them and it would be a good way to tick off south east Asia without doing the whole back packing thing. If you can afford the time and additional cost, then I would say it's probably worth spending a couple of days either side having a bit of an explore around, especially if it's somewhere you have to travel to get to... If nothing else it's a chance.to.acclimatise yourself after the flight.

[Andy B]

I did quite a few Grey Funnel Liner cruises in the 80s 

[Rangie]

TB: I've done about 5 or 6 so far, either on Royal Carribbean or MSC. I was similar to you, in that I thought it would be a terrible idea but my partner and family have always done it so persuaded me to try it. A few observations:

The boats never feel as busy as the numbers on board would make you think they might be. The only exception to this is Round the swimming pool(s). For engineering reasons these have to be small and inevitably get crowded.

Don't sail out of the UK for anything less than 7 days. If you do you're likely to get a lot of stag and hen parties, with all the bullsh!t that entails.

Having a balcony cabin is a big bonus as it means you can always just sit and watch the world go by with no one around.

I would always book through an agent - I've personally used vacations2go (denominated in USD but have thousands of cruises listed in a very no nonsense website) and cruise.co.uk. it's usually worth using these as you can typically get a good chunk of discount.

Finally, all cruise lines have a different ethos and target market they cater to. So think hard about what type of holiday you want as picking the wrong line will likely lead to you having a poor experience. We've booked the Carribbean for Easter 2025 with MSC, 2 adults and 2 children for 10 days and it's £3,500 'all inclusive' which for the Easter holidays is cheaper than center parks. That said, we picked MSC because it's family focused, tons for the kids to do and lots of shows. But it will be busy and it will be full of kids. Although Rangie hasn't said, unless he's going with grand children I'd be surprised if he's booked the same cruise line as (in his position) I wouldn't want to be surrounded by children on my relaxing beach holiday.

Lastly, on your sailing from the UK point, I found out this week that my partner has booked a 7night cruise from Southampton in may for my 40th. That route is Southampton -> at sea -> Bordeaux -> Bilbao -> la coruna -> at sea -> le harve -> Southampton. We will probably stay on board at le harve, but the other stops will doubtless have something interesting to offer.

.

We're both hooked on them , we plan to do 1 maybe 2 a year over the next few years , providing we are both able & healthy of course.

[Viral_Jim]

I would love to have the time to do a couple a year, living the retirement dream!

Have you ever been up to Alaska? We went in May last year and it's honestly the best holiday I've ever done.

[Rangie]

I would love to have the time to do a couple a year, living the retirement dream!

Have you ever been up to Alaska? We went in May last year and it's honestly the best holiday I've ever done.

.

Funny you mention that , my eldest Grandson was talking about going there next year, had never crossed my mind at all.

[Doctor Gollum]

Long Beach to Anchorage is practically a bus service.

A more interesting journey if you've the time is the regular ferry from Bellingham to Juneau and Anchorage. Not dissimilar to the ferry that serves the Norwegian coast

[Doctor Gollum]

Long Beach to Anchorage is practically a bus service.

A more interesting journey if you've the time is the regular ferry from Bellingham to Juneau and Anchorage. Not dissimilar to the ferry that serves the Norwegian coast

You could hire a car from California (the more time the further south) and do the entire coast before taking the car on the ferry and exploring each port properly.

[Viral_Jim]

Funny you mention that , my eldest Grandson was talking about going there next year, had never crossed my mind at all.

If you can afford it then I could say go for it. Just make sure you get a balcony cabin so you can see the scenery. I can heartily recommend the wildlife tours too. This was from our whale watching excursion...

https://imgur.com/gallery/84O6k1Z