Any advice please about booking a cruise, i have a 18 year old son and a 15 year old daughter, what are the cabin lay out as regards to familys? Also which cruise would you recommend for first time? i want it to be really special as possibly last time our son will travel with us as he will probably want to go away with his friends soon! What about all inclusive option for drinks? Are the day trips expensive? We want to go in July if we possible as this is when he will be 18.Im undecided between a cruise or a 3 centre holiday in the states, thanx in advance.

as my wife and myself have never been on a cruise before , can anyone reccomend a good cruise that sails in september {late september}
to hot resorts! thank you in advance
griff

If you tell us a little more about what you are looking for people on this board may be better able to help you. What type of cruise are you after? things to consider are; formal/informal, fly-cruise/sail from UK, premium/mass market, small ship/large ship, length of cruise, foreign cruise line or UK ship, balcony/ocean view/inside etc. There really is a lot of choice!

Sorry about that, i would like a carribean cruise if poss for a week and maybe a week on land, also definatly balcony, good restraunts and plenty of shows etc. Dont really have an idea of prices, would anybody know how much it would be approx for 3ad 1ch? Are the day trips expensive? Where would you recommend?

How about a Florida two-centre? You should find offers with Carnival through places such as Travelcity Direct. As you want a balcony that rules out Ocean Village. But you should be able to find some balcony deals on the new Royal Caribbean ships out of Miami. If you are travelling later in the autumn you may find some really good deals, but it'll be hurricane season, so theres a risk of disruption. In winter the Med ships cross the Atlantic so there'll be good deals on lines such as Costa and MSC.

Day trip costs can mount up but as there will be 4 of you it could be a lot cheaper to do your own thing, hiring a taxi at the port for example.

Thanks Craig, i thought Ocean Village has balconys? The summer 2007 brochures are out on 1st April do you think that it may be better to book early or wait for a deal? Im not bothered now where i go, cruising the Greek Isles would be nice. Do you think a week at sea and a week on land would be better for the kids? I am just hoping there are some real bargains out there!! Where have you been on a cruise?

I've only been the one cruise so there will be people better placed to advise you. I cruised on MSC (an Italian line) - but it was enough to get me hooked. I wasn't even on dry land before I was planning my next one! I sailed from Venice all the way to Istanbul and it was magical. There were some very different ports of call.

I am not sure about the idea of cruise and stay - I'd much rather cruise the whole two weeks! Maybe the stay would be better first - build up to the cruise rather than risk an anti-climax. Having said that a heavy-on-sightseeing cruise can be tiring, so a week to relax afterwards...?

I think it may be best to book (or at least start looking) well ahead if you know what you want. Early booking deals can be as good as late deals. Balcony and family cabins also tend to sell out first. If you are happy taking what's left then there may be some good deals on the likes of MSC, Costa, Ocean Village, Thompson and Island cruises.

Ocean Village is an older ship so doesn't have many balconies. If you go for the new ships there are plenty of balconies so the premiums are lower.

Have you looked at Royal Caribbean? I've just booked my parents into a balcony cabin in September but it looks ideal for families. As well as sailing from the UK they sail two huge ships from Barcelona. Order up the brochure and DVD from their website to give you an idea of what to expect.

Hopefully you'll get a bit of feedback from families who have cruised.

There's a good article about family cruising in today's (sat 18th March) Daily Telegraph. If you don't get it in the paper you can always go online in a week or so and it should be on their cruise page.

Thanks Craig i have had a look on royal carribean and it looks really good, its itinery is only until march 07 so will have to wait and see when brochures come out in April.

Hi, never been on a cruise. Myself and my partner are looking to go summer 07 on a mediteranean cruise for 7 nights.

Any advice on when the best time is to book? any sites or operator we should look at or avoid?

Many thanks.

Hi Matt and welcome to HT!

I have merged your post with a similar topic. You may find some information in earlier posts.

luci

Ive gone and booked my first cruise and am soooo exited!!! Im booked for a stay then cruise in aug 07 on the island escape all inclusive with my family. Any advice about this ship would be a big help to me.
Thanks for all your helpful advice ive picked up lots of tips (i think) and good advice over the past few weeks. Liz x

Congratulations on booking the cruise Liz. I think you have done the right thing by booking the stay before the cruise and we have always found the stay to be a let down after the cruise.

I take it you have read all the posts in the Island Escape and this topic? If you have the stamina, I would suggest reading the Thomson Spirit topic too as that has loads of questions and answers from first time cruisers.

luci

Thanks Lucie
I think ive read every inch of every review over the last couple of weeks and my first choice would have been Princess cruises then the thompson spirit then island, but bearing in mind both my children are classed as adults i had to keep within a budjet that the other 2 companys did not fit.I am a first time cruiser so have nothing to compare with so think that if i aim for island now then maybe next time try the spirit, and if family dont want to come by then(they would be 19&16 then its PRINCESS for us. Roll on Aug 2007!!!!!

hi

has anyone been on a caribbean cruise with ocean village at xmas / new yr?

also when is the best time to book?

Thanks

Hi Rachie and welcome to the Cruise forum!

For Xmas and New Year I would suggest booking as soon as the brochures come out as these are popular times to go and it's also more expensive at that time of year.

luci

thanks luci

we arent planning on going for another 2 yrs ( doing florida next year ) but nothing like planning ahead eh

first time cruising

we're also going on our first cruise on the Oceana on august 11th. Anybody any good tips or info. Looking forward to it but a bit uncertain as it's totally new to us.[/b]