Romeo Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 No not that kind of cruising. After years of telling the wife I did not fancy going on a cruise I am now considering it, partly to shut her up and It might not be as bad as I imagine it. This is probably because I am now and old(ish) fart and just want to relax. What are the P&B ers thoughts on cruising, is it shite? will I catch a deadly diarrhea bug and have to be airlifted to hospital? Will I go mental being stuck on a boat? Over to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throbber Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I personally think it would be great but would need a long time on board to enjoy it properly and see enough places to make it worth my while! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerrdavidson95 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 It all really depends on what you're looking for. I work on a smaller cruise ship catering for 1,400 people at a maximum and its much of a muchness really. For the first time I'd probably say try the usual suspects: Royal Caribbean, MSC, NCL, Carnival - the "fun" ships with everything under the sun on board. The likes of P&O, Cunard, Fred. Olsen (my lot), Saga all cater for the UK market but mostly for the over 50 market. The aforementioned big ships cater for just about everything. Thomson are one to try also, they are older ships and a bit smaller too, but the entertainment and the food, from what I'm told (family who go on Thomson) is very good. Then there are the "niche" ships, for less than 1,000 passengers, and that is your Seabourn, Crystal, Regent Seven Seas, Silver Seas. Additionally there is the expedition ships - Hapag-Lloyd, Voyages of Discovery. Itinerary wise, the smaller ships always offer the best, for example I'm on a World Cruise just now having just done Egypt & Jordan and on our way to Oman, UAE and the Far East, and we're doing the smaller ports that are close to the city. The mammoth ships are stuck to the mainline ports, I think I read that there are only eight ports in the Mediterranean that the big ships can go to - Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples, Palma, Livorno, Palermo, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga or something like that. You'll also probably find itineraries are pretty seasonal, for example we do Northern Europe through the summer and Caribbean/Med/Canaries/World through the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Joseph Stalin Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 It all really depends on what you're looking for. I work on a smaller cruise ship catering for 1,400 people at a maximum and its much of a muchness really. For the first time I'd probably say try the usual suspects: Royal Caribbean, MSC, NCL, Carnival - the "fun" ships with everything under the sun on board. The likes of P&O, Cunard, Fred. Olsen (my lot), Saga all cater for the UK market but mostly for the over 50 market. The aforementioned big ships cater for just about everything. Thomson are one to try also, they are older ships and a bit smaller too, but the entertainment and the food, from what I'm told (family who go on Thomson) is very good. Then there are the "niche" ships, for less than 1,000 passengers, and that is your Seabourn, Crystal, Regent Seven Seas, Silver Seas. Additionally there is the expedition ships - Hapag-Lloyd, Voyages of Discovery. Itinerary wise, the smaller ships always offer the best, for example I'm on a World Cruise just now having just done Egypt & Jordan and on our way to Oman, UAE and the Far East, and we're doing the smaller ports that are close to the city. The mammoth ships are stuck to the mainline ports, I think I read that there are only eight ports in the Mediterranean that the big ships can go to - Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples, Palma, Livorno, Palermo, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga or something like that. You'll also probably find itineraries are pretty seasonal, for example we do Northern Europe through the summer and Caribbean/Med/Canaries/World through the winter. What is it you do on the ship? I work for Thomsons as an engineer (cadet). Was away for 4 months in the summer there in the Med. To the OP, I've heard Thomsons cruise ships are amazing, defo book on one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 My Dad used to loathe the idea of cruises and a few years ago my mum finally persuaded him to go on one. He absolutely loved it, and they've been every year since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 It all really depends on what you're looking for. I work on a smaller cruise ship catering for 1,400 people at a maximum and its much of a muchness really. For the first time I'd probably say try the usual suspects: Royal Caribbean, MSC, NCL, Carnival - the "fun" ships with everything under the sun on board. The likes of P&O, Cunard, Fred. Olsen (my lot), Saga all cater for the UK market but mostly for the over 50 market. The aforementioned big ships cater for just about everything. Thomson are one to try also, they are older ships and a bit smaller too, but the entertainment and the food, from what I'm told (family who go on Thomson) is very good. Then there are the "niche" ships, for less than 1,000 passengers, and that is your Seabourn, Crystal, Regent Seven Seas, Silver Seas. Additionally there is the expedition ships - Hapag-Lloyd, Voyages of Discovery. Itinerary wise, the smaller ships always offer the best, for example I'm on a World Cruise just now having just done Egypt & Jordan and on our way to Oman, UAE and the Far East, and we're doing the smaller ports that are close to the city. The mammoth ships are stuck to the mainline ports, I think I read that there are only eight ports in the Mediterranean that the big ships can go to - Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples, Palma, Livorno, Palermo, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga or something like that. You'll also probably find itineraries are pretty seasonal, for example we do Northern Europe through the summer and Caribbean/Med/Canaries/World through the winter. Cracking reply mate. I am not really sure what I want to be honest. I think for me one of the smaller ships that's not like a floating carnival, although the wife would probably love it. Might do a shorter cruise in the med? to see how things go. So if I were looking for a 7 day med type thing, based on what you have said, who would you recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 What is it you do on the ship? I work for Thomsons as an engineer (cadet). Was away for 4 months in the summer there in the Med. To the OP, I've heard Thomsons cruise ships are amazing, defo book on one of them. Will deffo have a look at that, I did mention a cruise to Scandinavia but was told in no uncertain terms to "do one" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Phoenix Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 sjc's Boat Thread for this pish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Joseph Stalin Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Will deffo have a look at that, I did mention a cruise to Scandinavia but was told in no uncertain terms to "do one" All the Thomson ships are quite small, I was on the biggest and we were dwarfed by some of the Royal Caribbean etc ones in some ports. But it was really nice and quite 'relaxed' compared to others according to a lot of the crew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyerTon Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 The first ever direct cruise ship sailing from Scotland (Greenock) to the Caribbean is later this year with Fred Olsen. http://www.inverclydenow.com/news/features/13748-cruise-terminal-on-the-crest-of-a-wave-in-2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyerTon Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 The Greenock (Glasgow) cruise to the Caribbean is in November and for 32 nights, on a ship called the 'Black Watch' http://www.fredolsencruises.com/find-your-holiday/cruises-from-glasgow--greenock-/cruises-from-glasgow--greenock- http://www.fredolsencruises.com/places-we-visit/cruise-holiday/caribbean-from-scotland-W1521?referrer=7&isback=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerrdavidson95 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 What is it you do on the ship? I work for Thomsons as an engineer (cadet). Was away for 4 months in the summer there in the Med. To the OP, I've heard Thomsons cruise ships are amazing, defo book on one of them. I'm a deck cadet. I was on Boudicca all summer there too, we were across in Greenland, Iceland, Norway, then down to Gibraltar, Tangier, Vigo and Cadiz. Got my orals in the summer. Bricking it would be an accurate description. I'm down at Warsash. Cracking reply mate. I am not really sure what I want to be honest. I think for me one of the smaller ships that's not like a floating carnival, although the wife would probably love it. Might do a shorter cruise in the med? to see how things go. So if I were looking for a 7 day med type thing, based on what you have said, who would you recommend? Most probably look at Thomsons. P&O on Oriana or smaller. Ultra luxury, definitely Seabourn or Azamara. The first direct cruise ship sailing from Scotland (Greenock) this year to the Caribbean (Fred Olsen). http://www.inverclydenow.com/news/features/13748-cruise-terminal-on-the-crest-of-a-wave-in-2015 Yeah I was out of Greenock through the summer. I disembarked in Greenock, so I just hopped in the car and was home 45 mins later. Sure beats flying home from Malaysia with 40Kg luggage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Nederlander Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 What are the P&B ers thoughts on cruising, is it shite? You should ask Addie - I had to work for a living but being General Service he's been on quite a few 'cruises' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Joseph Stalin Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I'm a deck cadet. Scumbag good luck in your orals though, heard Warsash is meant to be amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 The Greenock one sounds shit. Short hop, different resort every day is the way to go. If it's Thomson, upgrade to all inclusive for drink, it's well worth it, even allowing for being of the boat during the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerrdavidson95 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Scumbag good luck in your orals though, heard Warsash is meant to be amazing. Yeah its not bad. Accommodation is pretty dire as is the social side with it being so far out of Southampton, but I'm enjoying it. I sign off in Malaysia in a months time then I've got a month and a bit off to finish my dissertation etc before going back down for orals prep. The Greenock one sounds shit. Short hop, different resort every day is the way to go. If it's Thomson, upgrade to all inclusive for drink, it's well worth it, even allowing for being of the boat during the day. The issue for us is that all of our cruises are from the UK, so it means at least twelve sea days to get there and back. I was in Barbados, St Lucia, Grenada, Antigua, Grand Turk, Havana, Nassau and Bermuda on a 32 day itinerary and it was perfect. Albeit I was working eight to ten hours a day for the whole thing, but it was pretty much ideal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Been in the Caribbean twice with Royal. Ships were big but not as big as now. I loved it. I love heat drink and food. You can do as little or as much as you want. I crammed loads into my day. Up at five bed at One am. I guess my grumble would be you dont get a lot of time in port. Go for it It may not be for everyone but I am a huge fan. Fancy the Med next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 , upgrade to all inclusive for drink, Really, but you don't drink....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Anyone been on one of these Easyboat cruises off the telly? Like the idea, cruise over night and different port every day and evening. You'd probably have to be quite young or old to cope with all the vomit though. P.S. I've seen posh cuise ships parking in Invergordon with passengers wandering the downbeaten streets looking for men in kilts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Really, but you don't drink....... It's medicinal don't you know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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