Let’s talk about cruise travel with NCL - £300 voucher to be won

Have been on my first cruise this year to the Norwegian fjords. I was surprised at the informality having the old fashioned view that dressing up was required. Casual dress was the norm and black tie evenings were optional. We enjoyed our cruise very much but felt a week was enough. We will look for another in a year or two. For us it was a completely different holiday but we still like time to explore one place more thoroughly so will continue to take other types of holiday

We couldn't afford cruises until we were older. Our first was a Carribbean cruise for our 25th wedding anniversary and my DH was a little seasick.

Many years later we boarded a Mediterranean cruise with two friends. We had a balcony cabin and it was a larger ship so DH was fine. We loved visiting Italy for the first time.

The next year we did the Med again on our own. This time we took advantage of the entertainment on board which was very good.

We live close to Southampton and are looking to go next year for our 40th. Due to a stroke my DH doesn't want to fly so cruising is perfect for us. It's so easy to drive down, leave the car, board and enjoy the break. Disembarking is stress free and we are home in half an hour.

I have only been on cruises with P and O but have to say the attention to detail was fab!. The staff work so hard to make you feel welcome and will do anything for you. The only criticisms I would have are that you are 'told' how much gratuities and tips are expected of you for each member of staff you come into contact with and this can run into a lot of money. The other thing I was concerned about was that you are issued with a card when boarding and all your payments in shops onboard and in the bars etc are put on here and paid at the end of the cruise in one big bill - if you're not careful this can mount up very quickly.
I still intend to go on cruises though I love it!

My tip for cruising is to research the ports you are going to and find out how long you will be there for in order to plan your visit to suit the timeframe.
Check how long it takes to get back on the ship, some ports can have very long lines and you are better taking a shorter land trip rather than waiting over an hour in a hot queue.

Cruising can be fun but make sure you choose the right ship for your personality and interests.

I absolutely love the idea of a cruise! I've never been although it's something I would love to do - the idea of the relaxation is lovely. However, with the increasing use of mobile phones etc more filming of actual events on board are depicted on TV than ever before - and it's SO off putting - huge ships with inordinate amounts of people! - not to mention everything else we see. I'm absolutely certain that this does not reflect not represent all cruises by any means but its certainly tainted my rose tinted spectacles!!

I’ve never been on a cruise and love the idea though the following puts me off a bit:
- possibility of sickness bugs
- possibility that we’d feel too confined.
I’m also not sure which part of the world we’d enjoy most but am open to the idea of trying one in the future.

We are hoping to cruise the Norwegian fiords for the first time next year but don't want to go on a huge ship. We have done several river cruises in the past and loved them. My biggest recommendation is not to eat everything that is offered - it's very tempting but takes months to lose all that weight. The food is just too good to ignore

I am interested in smoking areas when aboard cruises?

I’ve been lucky enough to do 3 cruises now, Mediterranean, Caribbean and lately the South Sea Islands. They are a truly fantastic way to see the world, meet lots of new people, have new experiences and make the holiday whatever you want it to be. I like a balcony so that you can also have some quiet time when you want to. You can dress up or down, the choice is yours, too many people are put off thinking that there is a dress code. I have seen some amazing places Hawaii, Tahiti, Bora Bora and there is still so much of the world I still want to see. I now know that NCL offer singles holidays so I will definitely try that soon.

A cruise for me would be my worst nightmare ,like being in a massive hotel and not being able to go out.
Having been in Venice, Barcelona ,Palma and other cruise stops when the cruise hoards arrive, they clog everywhere up and spoil the experience!
It’s a lazy way of seeing the world if that’s what you call it!

Like the idea of cruising in small ships but recoil in horror when I see those huge ships with thousands of people on them! Would love to do Norway and the fjords and the Loforten Islands though.

Have never been on a cruise partly beyond my budget and partly never knowing what to expect I think if someone could explain the benefits I would be more inclined to try out and realise an ambition of seeing the Northern Lights.

We have been on a couple of cruises and are about to take a third. We are hooked! I was extremely concerned on our first trip, as I suffer from dreadful sea sickness. I get ill on the IOW ferry! However - I found some good sea sickness tablets and had no problem whatsoever on the first Cruise with Celebrity Cruises, and the second Cruise, with P&O, I only had a slight problem for a couple of hours around the Bay of Biscay. I absolutely adore cruising. My one tip would be to search for one with a drinks package offer - it makes all the difference if you are not worrying about on board spend.

I have enjoyed cruising in the past, including with NCL. It depends if you want to go casual, or dress up every night as to what cruise line you chose. NCL is less formal whereas P&O are more so. On a P&O two week cruise there would be four formal nights. NCL don't have formal nights but expect a reasonable dress code. If you enjoy dancing and are a solo passenger, Fred Olsen has dance hosts. I think there are more attractions for children and teenagers on Royal Caribbean. It's horses for courses!

Thoughts on cruising Competition. I have only been on mini cruises but love the sea, even if it is rough. Never been on a large ship but would love to explore one, go for a swim, sit in the sun and read, enjoy the different cuisines on board and dress up elegantly for the evening entertainment and enjoy dancing the night away. However, most of all to go on top and take in the sun rising and setting. These in themselves are marvels to me even more than visiting other places. Stopping off at destinations would be an adventure though. So enjoy if you are sailing into the sunset.

Never been on a cruise but would love to. Money's the problem what with gratuities and drinks bills. Hopefully I'll do one but don't want to scrimp so I'll have to save save save!!

I love cruise holidays, you see so many different places on one holiday without all the packing and unpacking of a touring holiday, the accomodation is always excellent and there is plenty to do on sea days.

I have been on a wonderful cruise. I would love to go again but on a small ship. Too many people faze me. It would be good to have like minded passengers! My husband is not so keen but I am working on him.

I have been on a one week long river cruise in Europe and it was lovely. I would love to do another similar cruise where we went by Eurostar rather than by air. We visited really nice towns but it didn't seem like the local economy would benefit all that much from all the cruise ships when our accommodation and food was provided on the ship. It also really concerns me about the pollution and use of resources, especially on large ships, and I would really like to hear how the problems we all (and especially our children and grandchildren) are facing with climate change are being addressed by cruise companies.

I'm mostly on the other end of cruises - being so relieved when the ships have left! I guess that means that they go to places I want to see; but I also hate crowds.

I’d love to go but I have 3 young children that love to run around so not sure if it would be for are family .

i have just done my first cruise to the caribbean ,loved it although tiring would certainly do another maybe greek isles

The idea of luxury and lots of different places really appeals to me, but I worry about sickness bugs being passed around the ship. I have considered a mini cruise to see if I like it.

We have been on a few cruises and love them. A couple of things to consider - do you go All inclusive or pay for drinks etc. PAYG can be pricey and worth considering that a G & T on P&O will be £7-£8 - so if you drink more than a couple a day All inc might be the better route. Secondly ask your travel agent who they recommend - there are different levels of cruise line Lastly we take a cable and row of plugs on a european plug then we can charge all of our phones tablets etc from one plug

I’ve never been on a cruise : the nearest thing was on a ferry from Portsmouth to Caen . I’m thinking about stopping off, en route to Sydney, in Vietnam and experiencing a cruise there. As a single traveller (not my choice to be widowed) I find the pricing very disappointing not to mention confusing. Most cruise company websites entice you with the most amazing offers until you insert ‘1 Passenger’ then it all goes pear shaped. Some offer to pair you up with a complete stranger - no thanks! It almost comes down to discrimination. Even cruises specifically for singles are way more expensive and only seem to operate occasionally and out of season