alit wrote:

Hi WaWa

Ive yet to sort my insurance - this can be done on the internet but do read the small print to find out whats covered.

Get it sorted pronto Alison!!! If something unexpected should befall you tomorrow, you're not covered!!!

WaWa pm'd me and I told him you were going on the Daily Mail offer and was a first time cruiser too.

Thanks for the reminder Luci I do need to sort this soon, typically I made a note of all the good insurance offers and have now lost it! Will look again asap. Think the holiday company asked me to let them know my insurance details, so must ring them too...

Cant believe Its only 6 weeks away this Thu

Alison

Alison

If you haven't done so already, have a read of the Insurance sticky at the top of the General Enquiries forum. You should find all the info you need there. Have just seen your reply to Smee on the other topic so you know how important it is.

Alit,

A good website / discussion forum you might like to look at is http://www.shiphappens.co.uk

I for one find cruising a great way to see different parts of the world in such a short space of time although I sometimes wish I had longer in each port. I am sure you will enjoy it, especially with it being your first time abroad! Passports are the same as usual, no less than 6 months before date of departure and you will not need to arrange visas.

One tip, with you never cruising before, as a precaution take some sea sickness tablets with you which you can purchase from Boots, it took me a few days to find my sea legs. However when I took my second cruise I found I did not need them at all. Better to be safe than sorry though!

Have a great holiday!!!

SAM

Yes that is a good site. It is one of several listed in the sticky topic Cruise Reviews & Info Sites at the top of this forum.

Hi Luci,

I was actually directed to this site from somebody at Ship Happens. I find the Ship Happens site is really really good for people who are cruising as that is the only topic it covers so usually has extensive info on there.

Obviously this site is very good as a general all rounder!

Hi Sam

Glad you found this site useful too. You can't have too much information!

OK people here's the situation.
Our 25th wedding anniversary in 2 years. Wife wants to go on a cruise...never done it before. Had holidays all over the world and IF we go cruising, it would have to be carribean.
Us.. Late 40's, no kids, (Still 21 in the head). When on holiday, do not like formality, want party...party...party. Both smokers!!!!! Inside cabin or cabin with balcony. Really like to socialise and enjoy late nights, clubs, bars etc. Daytime, well if carribean, then chillin on the beach and taking in the loacl vibe.

So ... which cruise and ship do we go on

There must be other like minded people who have done the same thing...yes?
Many thanks in advance from the wife, (and me)

Hi SpottyCat,

Well I have cruised twice, once with Airtours on the Sundream (some dressing up) with my boyfriend and then last April with Ocean Village - both times around the Caribbean.

With regard to nightlife neither ship really offered much of a nightlife however on both ships we managed to stay in the disco until gone 3.00am (on the odd occassion) and there would usually just be a small group of us, up for a dance and a laugh etc. However what I find with cruising is that personally I want to be up and about as early as possible so as not to miss anything ashore and enjoy as much as the island we are visiting as possible and therefore tire quite easily as well. Anyway heavy drinking and early starts don't mix so well!

Ocean Village is very formal, no dress code whatsoever, you eat when you want and where you want and the ship has a good atmosphere. Entertainment not brill but I don't go on a cruise ship for entertainment, I go to see the Caribbean which I love!

I should imagine the American ships have more of a party atmosphere however I am not sure about how formal / informal they are and all the tipping procedures seems confusing to me. With Ocean Village it is English passengers so that is something else you have to consider.

Cruising is a great way to see the world though - I have visisted Barbados, Aruba, Curaco, Margarita, Grenada, Tobago, Tortola, St Maarten, St Kitts / Nevis, Antigua and Mayreau!

Let us know what you decide!

PS. I am 28 and a smoker also!

Hi Spottycat and Mrs Spottycat

My first thought was the Ocean Village if you don't want any formality at all. Most of the other ships have one or two nights where you can dress up a bit and the rest are smart/casual, what you would wear on a night out in other words.

However the OV is family orientated so you should expect a large number of children onboard.

NCL do Freestyle cruising which is also totally informal http://www.ncl.com
Another member said the Carnival cruises were great for partying, see post Here

You can also read our Cruise Reviews by clicking on the link at the top of the page.

HTH

luci
PS Was going to suggest the St Clair, but think I'm a bit late!

Saying that about kids though on both cruises I have been on and both around the Caribbean (not during school holidays) I have never seen that many. Yes there have been kids there but they seem to be kept so well entertained that you hardly notice them!

I quite like the look of Carnival though !

Why wait 2 years, try a couple of cruises before then, get as cheap as you can on a line that looks like it might fit the bill, then, splash out on the bigone with a bit of inside knowledge you will be sure the money is well spent. RCI,NCL,Carnival,OV, are above budget and all allow the smart casual on the optional formal nights. There are others worth a look but those came to mind first.

As Sam says the days can be a bit tiring so the night life tend to be spread out casino,bars,disco so rather than packed out night club more fun friendly party which we actually prefer.

Am thinking about a cruise next year possibly the Canary islands.Have seen some priced at £600 A/I. Having experienced A/I at a hotel.drinks running out, queues,one drink per visit etc,has anyone got any info to pass on.

Hi
we have booked our first cruise on the Thompson Spirit to go to the Canaries in February, we are not A/I because didn't think we would make full use of it but have read all the posting and looked in the photo gallery it looks great.
I put a message on 2 weeks ago but have not had a reply yet.

Hi I was on the Spirit in July, didnt go AI as i knew id not drink that much but the other 3 people i drank with were AI - the bars never ran out of any drinks and we ordered 4 drinks (1 each) at a time - so i didnt pay for many drinks, there are lots of staff so you dont have to wait long to be served and it seemed a good system. There are lots of bars on board - only night we found a que at the bar was the formal night but only waited 5 mins for a drink. The staff will get to know you and will remember your rounds! There is a listing of Spirit drinks prices somewhere on here and lots of reviews/photos/info. You also get an ice bucket in your cabin so can keep some drinks in there - i stocked up the day i got to Palma!

Hope that helps Alison

We are just back of Carousel and we debated whether to go for AI when we made the booking. However we opted for it and we are so glad we did. It was definitely worth it.

There were never any queues for drinks. In fact you never had to get up and order your drink as the bar staff where constantly coming round to take orders. Nor did we experience drinks running out

We were there as a couple so the only stipulation was you could only buy 2 drinks at a time.

We paid for the AI with our booking which cost us £99 each. Topping up all our pink receipts today showed we spent .........£260 hic hic!!!! Seriously though, there were a few soft drinks in the above and I am not a big drinker. Think we spent so much as we were enjoying ourselves so much we were up every night until the disco finished!!!

As has been said the A/I costs about £100 so the cruise is £500 if you want piece of mind and don't mind a slightly limited choice then go AI.
Drinks are about £2-£2.50 each so it is only 6-8 drinks a day so if you like a glass of wine or 2 with meals and are staying up late(ish) disco/casino you should be ok.

A/I on the Thomson's Spirit isn't limited to ship's brand spirits, but included named brands as well. There is a premium payable for malt whiskies.

luci

how does the AI work with kids, do you have to get drinks for them all the time and then go back and get you own as I believe if you have only paid for 2AI then you can only get 2 drinks or do you have to buy a package for them as well