How to choose the holiday that floats your boat.
Does the idea of cruising excite you? Or fill you with dread?
Cruising is one of the hot topics in the travel (and sustainability) industry right now. Fourteen new ships have launched this year alone, and at least another 44 are on the order books for 2024 through 2028.
But – and it’s a big but – it’s very easy to arrive in holiday hell if you are not careful. Tales of swinging (not from a tree!) parties, ships rammed with boisterous children, or more Zimmer frames and mobility scooters than a church fete on a bank holiday weekend can put many people off.
Cruising can be fabulous, however. So how do you get it right?
The best place to start is to work out what you don’t want. Why? Most birds of a feather truly do flock together, and certain cruise lines tend to have a style. Carnival is well known for its party atmosphere: fabulous if you are in your mid 20’s or with the family and want to dance the night away, but not great if you want a quiet romantic cruise or it’s for your mum’s 70th birthday celebration.
Virgin is an adults-only line. Richard Branson sticks to his guns with his cool, hedonistic, on-trend version of cruising; probably best not to take your granny on this one. Celebrity offers elegance and the new Edge series of ships are stunningly grown-up, but some other ships can feel dated albeit very comfortable. Then you hit boutique lines like Regent Seven Seas that offer unparalleled luxury with a price- point to match. It’s really all about choice. And it’s why I do believe there is a ship for everyone.
So how do you decide?
Take a glance through these five questions and work out a list of what you want. And then? My advice is to talk to a professional. Booking direct online may seem like a great deal, but in fairness, an experienced travel consultant should be able to match the price (not 100% of the time, as sometimes the massive online agencies buy cabins in bulk and discount to zero margin). They’ll certainly be there to help you navigate through the often-confusing array of cruise lines, ships, cabin selections, packages and possible deals, and to support you all the way.
Your budget?
This will 100% impact whether cruising is for you. Really tight budget? Happy on a land-based holiday in an all-inclusive, fight-for-the-buffet hotel? Yes, there will be a ship that matches your needs and budget, but just like on land, it will be low on staff, the pool will be packed, and there will be more people per square inch than you might enjoy. Being price-dependent at the budget level will always minimise options. However, many cruise lines run deals, and sometimes you can pick up a gem on a great ship that surpasses everything you have experienced before. Your cabin might be just above the engine room, but if you literally just sleep there, and spend the rest of your time elsewhere on board, you can often enjoy the luxury of a 5* ship for 3* prices.
If you sit at the other end of the scale with a great budget, then you start to experience the difference between 5* and moving into ultra-luxury, bringing down the number of guests and increasing the ratio of staff-to-guest. And in between? There is a plethora of great ships that offer the aquatic equivalent of high-end all-inclusive resorts, such as those offered by the giants such as Marriott and Intercontinental, or the new(er) kids on the block like Sani, Ikos and Dreams. So ask yourself what your normal holiday style is, and then match it to a cruise style.
How long?
If you haven’t been cruising before, do not go for two weeks:
you can hardly throw yourself overboard if you don’t like it after a couple of days. And it can take a couple of days to find your rhythm. If you genuinely hate it (and let’s face it, we have all had a land holiday we have despised) you can jump ship at the next port, but it’s not easy. Otherwise, you’ll just have to grin and bear it, and vow never to cruise again.
Where?
The Caribbean is always a great choice: the islands are small, most have purpose-built cruise ports which literally dock alongside the small towns, and you are straight into full-on Caribbean life. Go to Europe and some places will say ‘Rome’ when what they mean is the closest port to Rome: then you need to travel 1.5 hours to actually get to Rome!
I cruised Asia for one year on a large ship; everything was at least a 4-hour drive from the container ports we gloriously ended up in. Never again. Smaller ships however do sail up the rivers to the main cities.
Looking at your ports of call is critical. So too are the excursions you can or want to do, as well as activities you can do by yourself. It’s part of the fun, but also part of the success of your cruise. One of the reasons I love cruising is I get easily bored: I don’t want to be in one place for 7 or 14 days. With cruising, I get to see a new place almost every day, with the odd day at sea for some well-deserved R&R. Cruising can be hard work!
You can literally cruise anywhere in the world these days. There are exploration cruises in the Antarctic. You can sail the Mekong or the Nile in a traditional hand-built wooden boat. You can bob around Greek islands on a small 20-cabin ship, or arrive in Hong Kong or Miami in a vessel built for 7000 passengers (yes, the new Icon of the Seas from Royal Caribbean is coming this year and is the largest ship in the world).
The choice is global and huge. So a shortlist is a good starting point. You can now even cruise with no-fly from Southampton; this brings down the cost and allows you to go a cabin or two grade higher, and splurge on a little luxury. The shorter cruises, often booked by newbies to work out if they like cruising or not (or sometimes to persuade a reluctant partner) are fine, if not dissimilar from the old ‘booze cruises’ for those old enough to remember. You have been warned.
When to cruise?
You will see some amazing deals out in the market. But always ask the question: why? End of season? Start of season? I can tell you what that usually means: rain and cold. You might decide that all you want is a holiday on a ship, and are happy to chill out, read, eat, sleep and be pampered. Does it matter if it’s swirling a gale outside? It does if you get seasick.
Transatlantic deals in October might sound great. What they don’t tell you is that you are hitting the end of the hurricane season. True, they are amazing value, but they need to be.
High-season meanwhile, almost anywhere, will be a kid-fest. Cruising can be very cost-effective for families, especially if you don’t mind all sharing a small cabin. All your food is included; kids can eat as much ice cream as they want, and you can explain it away by saying it’s educational, with trips to ancient ruins all over Europe. But unless you are on an adult-only ship, and you sail in the main European/North American school holidays, it will be full of under 16’s.
If that’s what you want, then perfect. You won’t see your children however! These ships have tons of children’s activities, the teens get their own coffee and mocktail bars, and even the teenies are taken care of with qualified childcare, story times and educational play. Everything in fact to make sure that once you cruise, you don’t do a land holiday ever again.
Who to cruise with?
Your guests are your choice, but do establish the ground rules.
If you’re going with family or friends, are you going to meet for every meal? Are you going to have some freedom? Most ships have plenty of choice. Celebrity Beyond, one of my favourite ships, has 38 bars and restaurants: a challenge for a 7-day holiday without doubt!
Some have additional fees for the speciality restaurants, but many are included. Some can be pre-booked, some are only bookable once on board. Every cruise line is different.
Conclusions
I have focused mainly on sea sailings, but river cruising offers a huge choice as well. Understanding what each company offers and specialises in is part of the fun, but also a massive issue if you guess wrong. I have my favourites, largely because I have sailed with them, and therefore know exactly how they work. I certainly know the ones that I wouldn’t even accept a freebie from.
Travel Counsellors is one of the leading sellers of cruising to the UK market. Many of us do a lot of ship visits, as well as full cruises (both free on fam trips and on our own paid-for holidays). Either way, we’re researching, and continually adding to our knowledge. I honestly don’t think you can advise on cruise holidays unless you love them. And to love them (like most things and people we love), you have to know the pros and cons, so you can do everything within your power to make the perfect match to the perfect ship.
And don’t even get me started on fixed meals/seating plans/ space by the pool/paying for extra packages/excursion trips/ missing the boat/arriving a day early/special insurance.
That’s the next article no doubt! But I’m happy to talk cruise at any time.
• Kate Rouse is a Travel Counsellor. She runs her own travel business under the financial protection of the UK’s leading award-winning travel company. She is based in Henley-in- Arden. Contact her at kate.rouse@travelcounsellors.com