Where would you like to cruise to ?

lulu1

Was chatting to my brother tonight about holidays and he said he would love to go on a cruise. He says he wouldn't go on his own but might go with friends from work. Say's he wouldn't take myself or my two sisters because he would throw us overboard before we came home such a loving family we are.

The question is where should he cruise to and how much would it cost him. Foolish man that he is he reckons 5 or 6 hundred euro should do it

AndyBoBandy

Like everything you get what you pay for, that money might get 2-3 days around Northern Europe,

For a Med or Caribbean cruise, you'd be talking a grand minimum,
I'd also pay the extra to get a berth with a balcony.

Check the websites, they'd give you a fair idea of prices.

harry Bailey esq

The Alaskan cruise looks amazing,600 quid wouldn't even put a dent in that though

whatismyname

Somewhat freaked out seeing this as I spent half the day researching cruises, and likely going solo.

I'd go anywhere but keeping costs low would be easier not to have to depart from the other side of the world, and I'd probably want to go for one of the ones of at least 5 - 7 days to make it worth my while. Ideally all inclusive also.

http://www.iglucruise.com/single-cabin-cruises seems to be a good site as it covers many different operators, but also allows you to select that you want single passenger fares.

joollyparo

Just to be on the safe side it better to buuget above 1k at mininum, that if you really want to enjoy the experience and not just sight seeing.

Miall108

Around by Southern Yemen

lulu1

whatismyname wrote: »

Somewhat freaked out seeing this as I spent half the day researching cruises, and likely going solo.

I'd go anywhere but keeping costs low would be easier not to have to depart from the other side of the world, and I'd probably want to go for one of the ones of at least 5 - 7 days to make it worth my while. Ideally all inclusive also.

http://www.iglucruise.com/single-cabin-cruises seems to be a good site as it covers many different operators, but also allows you to select that you want single passenger fares.

Are you my brother?

No chance of that he wouldn't know how to switch on a computer.

whatismyname

lulu1 wrote: »

Are you my brother?

No chance of that he wouldn't know how to switch on a computer.

haha no - how weird would that be though

I like going on holidays alone, and on my last holiday I went on a day's cruise during it, and thinking where I want to go next, I remembered how I've always wanted to go on a cruise.

I've always thought it would be something too expensive, but today I thought to actually research it and see where I stand.

I'm now thinking that I may not be able to afford it this year, but maybe book for this year.

There's also some operators that have a single studio where there's a lounge for single people so great to get to know others, and I think I remember one mentioning a 'happy hour' each day for meeting other singles.

I think I remember that it may have been Norwegian Epic but either way that was one that seemed good for singles I think.

Shenshen

I've been wanting to go on a cruise to Iceland for a long while now - if possible even over to Greenland. But the prices are indeed prohibitive.

It's not that we couldn't afford it at all, I'm just balking at the thought of spending so much money on one holiday.

whatismyname

Shenshen wrote: »

I'm just balking at the thought of spending so much money on one holiday.

Same here. I usually get very cheap deals for my holidays, but difficult to do with a cruise, it would be a real indulgence that's for sure.

whatismyname

Looks like this could be useful OP: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056848146&page=19

jimgoose

There's fierce dales bass to be had by flying out to JFK to take a berth on a huge liner that's being shunted back to Blighty direction for the start of the next season. Check it out.

Charlie19

Cruise holidays just wouldn't be my type of vacation.

eternal

A bruising.

Thoie

whatismyname wrote: »

Somewhat freaked out seeing this as I spent half the day researching cruises, and likely going solo.

I'd go anywhere but keeping costs low would be easier not to have to depart from the other side of the world, and I'd probably want to go for one of the ones of at least 5 - 7 days to make it worth my while. Ideally all inclusive also.

http://www.iglucruise.com/single-cabin-cruises seems to be a good site as it covers many different operators, but also allows you to select that you want single passenger fares.

That site really only covers cruises from the UK, and is missing a lot of the bigger cruise lines that may have a lot better deals at times.

www.seascanner.com is a good site for getting an idea of prices/itineraries. In general you'll find the Mediterranean cruises are more expensive than an equivalent duration Caribbean cruise. So you have to weigh up the cost of flights into the equation as well. Sometimes it can be cheaper to fly to the States and take a 7 day cruise from there than fly to somewhere like Rome/Barcelona and cruise from there.

Tony Beetroot

My new neighbours panties.

TheLastMohican

Tony Beetroot wrote: »

My new neighbours panties.

Bliss?

lulu1

Tony Beetroot wrote: »

My new neighbours panties.

I wondered how long it would take before I got a smart answer.

whatismyname

Thoie wrote: »

That site really only covers cruises from the UK, and is missing a lot of the bigger cruise lines that may have a lot better deals at times.

Yep I should've mentioned that it was only UK departures, but depends what one's looking for really.

Looking at the OP, it's unlikely that they'll go by themselves, so finding a single cabin cruise less of an issue, but for anyone who does want that it's a great site, as well as looking for lower cost, so departing closer to home.

Seascanner is good, but so annoying not to be able to enter that there's just one passenger if needed, and get actual prices, a shame more don't do this even if the actual price they then end up showing is twice the price of the per person rate, as it often will be.

I've yet to find any cruise departing from the US / equivalant far away areas, that work out a better deal after adding on flights than the Mediterranean ones, but I'll be continually keeping an eye out to see what comes up.... especially with cheap flights as much as the prices of the cruises themselves obviously.

The time of year I'm looking is particularly high prices on both cruises and flights which won't help either.

harry Bailey esq

Miall108 wrote: »

Around by Southern Yemen

Bootleg drink to the locals for a massive profit,alcohol is illegal in Yemen I hear.A busmans holiday of sorts.

Lia_lia

I don't see the appeal of cruises at all.

silverfeather

Lia_lia wrote: »

I don't see the appeal of cruises at all.

I don't do boats well.

Steve_Carella

Having worked a LOT on cruise ships, allow me to offer you some tips:

- research as much as possible on the hidden costs. Does your cruise price include meals (most do)? If it does, there's usually restaurants onboard that offer more high end meals for a supplement - the supplement is usually pretty low, around €10-20 for a meal that would cost you five times as much onshore, but that can add up over the course of the voyage

- drinks on board can be horrendously expensive, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic so check the drinks packages. One of the cruises I worked on offered a drinks package of €50 for the day, where you could drink as much as you wanted of whatever you wanted for the day - hot drinks, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks - which might sound expensive but at €4 for a bottle of water, € for a beer, that's a pretty decent saving in relative terms.

- go basic on your cabin. You won't be spending a lot of time in it. There will be loads to do on the ship, even on days when you're not onshore.

- speaking of hidden costs, try to get an idea of how much shore excursions cost. You can of course go onshore and just walk around the various cities you get to but there will also be shore excursions of various types - and costs.

- oh and one thing that might seem obvious but have a basic knowledge of geography. One of the ships I was on offered Berlin as one of its destinations. Well of course, Berlin is not a port city. So we docked somewhere and to get to Berlin you had to pay for the only shore excursion available, which was (of course) to Berlin; three hours there and three hours back by bus.

I'm sure I'll think of other things but PM me if you have any questions.

silverfeather

Steve_Carella wrote: »

Having worked a LOT on cruise ships, allow me to offer you some tips:

- research as much as possible on the hidden costs. Does your cruise price include meals (most do)? If it does, there's usually restaurants onboard that offer more high end meals for a supplement - the supplement is usually pretty low, around €10-20 for a meal that would cost you five times as much onshore, but that can add up over the course of the voyage

- drinks on board can be horrendously expensive, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic so check the drinks packages. One of the cruises I worked on offered a drinks package of €50 for the day, where you could drink as much as you wanted of whatever you wanted for the day - hot drinks, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks - which might sound expensive but at €4 for a bottle of water, € for a beer, that's a pretty decent saving in relative terms.

- go basic on your cabin. You won't be spending a lot of time in it. There will be loads to do on the ship, even on days when you're not onshore.

- speaking of hidden costs, try to get an idea of how much shore excursions cost. You can of course go onshore and just walk around the various cities you get to but there will also be shore excursions of various types - and costs.

- oh and one thing that might seem obvious but have a basic knowledge of geography. One of the ships I was on offered Berlin as one of its destinations. Well of course, Berlin is not a port city. So we docked somewhere and to get to Berlin you had to pay for the only shore excursion available, which was (of course) to Berlin; three hours there and three hours back by bus.

I'm sure I'll think of other things but PM me if you have any questions.

What can you tell me for horrendous sea sickness???

Steve_Carella

silverfeather wrote: »

What can you tell me for horrendous sea sickness???

Stay at home.

mikeym

Anywere but the Irish coast.

Thoie

silverfeather wrote: »

What can you tell me for horrendous sea sickness???

Or the other alternative is to eat rice.

It's cleaner on deck.

Whatismyname - seascanner has a "solo specials" area, but you can also just select 1 pax, and it shows you the per cabin cost, with the solo supplement percentage as well. http://www.seascanner.com/reisen.php?erw=1&special=1

Lia_lia

silverfeather wrote: »

I don't do boats well.

Fine with sea sickness, I actually like boats! It's more the timetabled holiday/being stuck on a boat for periods of time/only spending a couple of days to explore an area. I can understand why some people like the idea, but not for me!

o1s1n

Lia_lia wrote: »

Fine with sea sickness, I actually like boats! It's more the timetabled holiday/being stuck on a boat for periods of time/only spending a couple of days to explore an area. I can understand why some people like the idea, but not for me!

I thought the same, until I went on one, and now I've been on three :pac:

You basically wake up in the morning and your hotel is in a different city/location.

Get off the ship, explore for the day, then back on in the evening to eat/drink/enjoy being at sea.

Go to bed, wake up and repeat. You're rarely, if ever stuck on the boat for a day.

wijam

Heading on a cruise myself tomorrow for 7 nights round the south coast of Spain starting in Palma.

Doing it myself so have to pay extra, costing me €1200 all inclusive, first cruise, so can't wait, going with Thomson Cruises.

lulu1

wijam wrote: »

Heading on a cruise myself tomorrow for 7 nights round the south coast of Spain starting in Palma.

Doing it myself so have to pay extra, costing me €1200 all inclusive, first cruise, so can't wait, going with Thomson Cruises.

please let us know how you get on

Thoie

Lia_lia wrote: »

Fine with sea sickness, I actually like boats! It's more the timetabled holiday/being stuck on a boat for periods of time/only spending a couple of days to explore an area. I can understand why some people like the idea, but not for me!

I love them, and like the "quick bites" of new places, but I know some friends who went on one based on my stories. They had no problem with the ship itself or being bored at sea,but they, like you, felt they'd prefer to have more time to explore each location, and that 8 hours (or whatever) wasn't sufficient to get a feel for the place.

I'm happy enough to see enough of a place to decide if I'd want to go back there or not..

Chain Smoker

In a hostel right now where I hate all the people, but at least I can wander around the town all day and night. Can't imagine the awfulness of being trapped on a boat with a bunch of leisurely c*nts.

Thoie

The hostel is probably about 200 square meters, with maybe 50-100 other guests.

A cruise ship is more like 160,000 square meters, with over 7,000 people there. If you can't find at least one person you like out of 7,000, the problem probably isn't with them.

lulu1

Thoie wrote: »

The hostel is probably about 200 square meters, with maybe 50-100 other guests.

A cruise ship is more like 160,000 square meters, with over 7,000 people there. If you can't find at least one person you like out of 7,000, the problem probably isn't with them.

A girl was telling me today her and her partner went on a cruise for 5 days.

She said the ship was that big they didn't get around the half of it

Thoie

lulu1 wrote: »

A girl was telling me today her and her partner went on a cruise for 5 days.

She said the ship was that big they didn't get around the half of it

I was on the Allure of the Seas for 2 weeks in April, and there were parts of the ship I never saw. No matter how many pictures you see, or what they look like "over there", until you're walking onto them you can't fathom how ginormous they really are. The Allure has 7 different "neighbourhoods". One of them, the boardwalk, contains an Aqua theatre for something like 2,000 people, a hot dog stand, two restaurants, a coffee/donought place, a bar, a big carousel plus general strolling/lounging areas. That just one small part of the ship.

jimgoose

Chain Smoker wrote: »

In a hostel right now where I hate all the people, but at least I can wander around the town all day and night. Can't imagine the awfulness of being trapped on a boat with a bunch of leisurely c*nts.

Most people on cruise liners are nice, normal, fairly affluent ratepayers, as opposed to smelly, "hostel" types.

Fagashlil

harry Bailey esq wrote: »

The Alaskan cruise looks amazing,600 quid wouldn't even put a dent in that though

It is one of the most amazing places on earth. Sailing through the national park, walking on a glacier, going on the original gold rush route, sitting on the open deck at 3 am with a bottle of baileys and a blanket watching the northern lights all around you, one of my absolute favourite cruises I've done and one of the few I'd love to repeat.

Strumms

Went on a cruise last year for the first time, around the Med. it had its good points and bad but on the whole a pleasant experience although it wouldn't be my first choice when it comes to a type of holiday.

Downsides for me was that we never got enough time in any one city to really explore properly and get a feel of it. From that point of view it was annoying really and we just spent too much time at sea. It was just me and the other half and by the end we were a bit bored on the ship as a lot of it is catered towards older people and young families. The entertainment by way of shows and the music in the bars was crappy to the point of embarrassing...

The ship was impressive.. MSC Preziosa a brand new ship.. 18 bars or something and a pretty decent casino. The drinks packing we got we made an absolute fortune on as we tended to get bored after a while and go bar hopping.

Some of the views as we sailed up the Dardenelles into Istanbul were out of this world.... Passing the Greek Islands, leaving Venice and Dubrovnik were quite something to behold as were the cities themselves but again not enough time to get a feel for the places properly.

AndyBoBandy

Chain Smoker wrote: »

In a hostel right now where I hate all the people, but at least I can wander around the town all day and night. Can't imagine the awfulness of being trapped on a boat with a bunch of leisurely c*nts.

jimgoose wrote: »

Most people on cruise liners are nice, normal, fairly affluent ratepayers, as opposed to smelly, "hostel" types.

http://www.stjames.ie/Departments/WardsA-Z/B/BurnsUnit/

Egginacup

Shenshen wrote: »

I've been wanting to go on a cruise to Iceland for a long while now - if possible even over to Greenland. But the prices are indeed prohibitive.

It's not that we couldn't afford it at all, I'm just balking at the thought of spending so much money on one holiday.

Haggle, haggle, haggle. Most cruises depart with MANY empty berths/cabins. It's in the interests of the cruise company to fill as many cabins as possible even if it means offering drastic reductions. With 60 or 70% capacity and all paid up they will not turn their nose up at offering you a place for a 1/4 of the price. A sale is a sale (sail...gets coat) and you can make them an offer and then leave your phone number for when they change their mind and cave into your embarrassing offer.