Cruise tips

[telstarbox]

Unexpectedly I'm going on a cruise soon (out of Southampton). Has anyone here been on one - any tips?

 

[d9009alycidon]

I went on one round the Western Mediterranean from Majorca for a week, the cruise itself was OK, but although all food was included all soft and alcoholic drinks were extra and compared with the cost of a beer on land was a bit expensive - your bags are usually checked going on tho the ship so sneaking on your own supplies is not possible. Being large vessels they only dock in commercial ports and at most places we stopped you had to take the organised tours if you wanted to get off, these were around £35 a head and over the seven days it can add up, we found too late that there was a package you could buy which had a substantial discount, so check for this. Watch for any rules on tips, there was a service charge of £150 per adult and £75 per child that we were not aware of when we booked, this is taken at the end of the cruise. Would do one again but would go for an all inclusive deal

 

[Iskra]

My tip would have been; don’t go from Southampton as you waste x days travelling through mediocre weather and potentially heavy seas off the Atlantic as you pass through the Bay of Biscay getting to the Med. (Unless you’re scared of flying, then it makes sense).

Drinks packages are a good idea too.

Got 2 weeks cruising around the Caribbean in January

I like cruising as you can see many destinations in one trip which allows you to decide if anywhere is worth spending more time at in the future or just chill on the boat.

 

[telstarbox]

This particular one doesn't go south of Bretagne

 

[thejuggler]

We have done about 7 on P&O, Princess and Celebrity, all from Southampton.

Tips depend on which line, which ship, how long you are going for and the ports of call. A 2 night mini cruse is far removed from a 2 week trip to the Baltics.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

We went on the QE2 back in September 2002, from Southampton, no weather issues at all in the Bay of Biscay. One thing we did was not to join any shore excursions:

1) They're expensive and don't give you a lot of time on shore before you're starting to clockwatch - better to visit the specific cities on a city break.

2) While most of the rest of the passengers are ashore, it is usually possible to just "turn up and go" at all the on-board facilities ( spa, etc ) which are normally otherwise booked solid for days in advance while the ship is at sea.