Sorry, cruise info essay alert!! >>>
I rather feared what some of the comments would be, when I saw a question re Cruise Ships. Sadly such forums tend to draw a strangely high proportion of ill-informed opinions, or plain straight-out bias from the “Oh, I know I couldn’t go on one” crowd (how did they ever try an éclair, or a macaroon, etc, when first seen in a cake shop?!).
We’ve been on about 15 cruises, mostly in the Med, or northern or western Europe, with one in the West Indies.
The “ships pollute” point is WAY out of date, we’ve all (well, most) got a lot greener in the last 20 years, cruise ships too, they’re far better re waste & recycling now.
“Too much fuel”? Well, take a mid-size ship, say 2500 passengers, that would be how many planes if taking a ‘normal’ holiday to the likes of Spain, Canaries, Greece or Turkey? Something like 8 to 10 airliners going, and the same coming back? Far more planes of course if it’s a modern monster cruise liner! That’s an awful lot of jet fuel burned off, whereas a cruise ship plods about as slowly as possible. If you’ve flown anywhere on holiday in recent years, look in a mirror to see who’s costing the planet?!
Various forums are full of comments like “my partner said for years they’d never go on a cruise, but I finally got them to try, now they love it”. And why not, on a sea day, there’s lots of things to do, IF you want to, but if you just want to sunbathe, that’s fine (& on your own balcony, perhaps?).
Dining is a potential problem for some folk, what if you get stuck on a table with terrible people? Well, a proportion of ships these days commonly have ‘anytime’ dining, or casual dining when you pick your own time. And lots of tables for two. The ones with a more regimented main dining room, well, they invariably have two sittings, you can talk to the Maitre’D about changing table, or your sitting. They ARE quite used to this issue! The really big ships have several extra dining rooms, ‘speciality’ restaurants, so more choice if you like.
Most ships also have a separate ‘Buffet’ dining room, quieter than the MDR, when you really can choose what you want. If you don’t like the look of the MDR menu (available in the morning) then we quite commonly use the buffet. In there, if you like, you could have 3 starters and 4 puddings, nobody will mind! Go in the buffet late, for a tea or late-night snack, you’ll very likely see the entertainers (dance troupe, etc), come in to refuel, as their job makes eating at a ‘normal’ time a bit tricky!
If you LIKE dressing up for dinner, that’s often a big thing for some passengers, some women go to town with the posh frocks, and the boys wheel out a DJ or Tux! Check the brochures if that’s the style of a given ship, maybe 2 or 3 ‘formal’ nights on a 2-week trip? Plenty ships these days just do ‘smart casual’, which we’ve come to prefer. Or on a formal night, find us in the buffet, boring, yes, but rather less luggage!
For those unaware, most ships have a main Theatre, with a production show each evening – in fact often twice, so the first & 2nd sitting diners (if that’s the ship routine) can see a show if they want. There are also several other cabaret rooms, likely a bar with a small stage, perhaps a singer, pianist, guitar, whatever, and if that’s all too much, there are quiet areas where you can read, or perhaps the card game groups can gather.
We’re NOT keen on the biggest style of ships (3K+ passengers), but any potential ‘cruiser’ should check the STYLE of the cruise line, so if you’re not a ‘party animal’, probably avoid the likes of Carnival and NCL. The Fred Olsen line is a pretty sound choice, specialises in the ‘more mature’ British customer, and their ships are all in the smaller ranges – older too, in general, but well enough presented. Certain lines have mostly massive ships, and some will have significant numbers of American passengers, if that bothers you (but Chump won’t be there), lots of other options though.
For those with a bigger budget, there are several lines with smaller ships, ‘6 star’ style, often ‘smart casual’ throughout, as with Seabourn, Oceania, Regent, etc, or check Azamara for great service with perhaps slightly less strain on the wallet?! Smaller ships of course can get into smaller ports, without the need for the wretched tendering to go ashore (using lifeboats as little ferries – a lot of waiting in queues!).
What else, oh yes, Ship’s Tours! Cruise blogs and forums have for years had masses of complaints (on all styles of ship!) as they cost far too much, for what you get, and it’s a coach tour, with attendant possible problems. In 15 cruises, we’ve only had 3 such tours, in places where public transport and going our own way was too difficult.
These days, there is far more info about how to organise your own trip -- maybe with the same firm the ship has contracted?!
We come prepared with info and maps so we can go ashore and see what WE want to. I appreciate that anyone who’s disabled may be a hostage to fortune. I recall on a cruise along the Spanish north coast, we had a great half day, went ashore after the main rush had zoomed off, had a coffee, found the bus stop and correct bus in town to reach the botanic garden, then had lunch and maybe 3 hours taking in the exotic plants and trees, then reversed the trip back to the ship (you DO need to be well aware what time the ship leaves!). Two days later we were on a tram going into Bilbao, heard fellow passengers discussing their Ship’s Tour, essentially what we had done, it had cost them about £50 each, and they thought it was a bit disappointing. We felt obliged to compare our experience, far longer in the garden, and a stroll round the town, it had cost the two of us just under a single one of their fares! But lots of folk are either too timid, or just unaware of the possibilities. And these days there is far more info about ports that can be researched ahead of time (it’s part of the anticipation, for us).
We’re not keen on the really big ships, and we probably wouldn’t go on a cruise over 10 or 12 days, but we’ve had several lovely holidays on cruises. Somebody made a very good point, the routine when you disembark. This can be quite a shock, the need to mostly pack the night before, put your main cases out to be collected (you meet up with them in the terminal). And it’s an early start, that last morning, need to fit in breakfast, then wait to be called off the ship. But then, on a package holiday, you might be leaving in the early hours to get an early flight, and/or coming back on a charter flight at midnight or similar?!
Lots of cruise deals, so many ships these days – for advice on all things ‘cruise’, see www. Cruise.co. uk . . .for a range of deals/offers, many cruise bookers, we like IGLU Cruise, but Bolsover Cruise Club and Paramount are 2 of many others.
