Tuppence, whilst you are awiating some input from members, check out our cruise review section HERE

Kath HT Admin

Hi
Congrats on deciding to book a cruise. I believe you are looking at the Caribbean. I have cruised with a lot of Companies and I see you are thinking about Princess Royal Caribbean or Norwegian. It depends what you want I cruise most of the time now with Celebrity Cruise because I like that standards of service and the little extras that they provide. Welcome glass of champagne on boarding. Escorted to your room. Cold towels on returning to ship after excursions. Sorbet in the afternoon whilst on deck. The ratio of crew to passenger 1-2. just a few of the things I enjoy.

RCI are very good and is a lively type of enviroment with games at the pool and a lot of other activities. There are a lot of announcements. The ships particularly are very beautiful. I have not sailed on their Voyager class ships as the activities would not appeal to me. Rock climbing skating etc.
A lot depends on your age if you want a fun filled cruise then this would suit you. If on the other hand you are looking for a more upscale cruise then I would suggest either Princess or my own favourite Celebrity.

Princess has got mid sized ships and also now much larger ones. They have the added benefit of any time dining if this would appeal to you. Their ships again are beautiful but they don't have the finess of Celebrity. They have very good itinaries and this is also something to think about when you make your decision.

Norwegian I have no experience of but I don't think it would appeal to me.
I have cruised with P&O in years past and also Cunard but nowadays give them a miss.
I hope that this info is helpfull and I fill answer any other questions you wish to ask.

Sue

Bizarrely, after ruling them out, we have decided to go with ocean village. i had a shocking reputation for them embedded into my head and i couldn't figure out why. having read many reviews, combined with the itinerary, price, dates, we heve decided that this is the best one.
Have you been with OV?

Hi tuppence, agree with everything keelaleva2 has to say. We have sailed at various standards including Cunard (QM2), Thomson, Island, Holland America and thoroughly enjoyed each one. We have booked 2 cruises this year, one with Celebrity and the other RCI.

It is a question of balancing the things most important for you. We always go for the lead-in (inside) cabin on the basis that we can go 3 such cruises for the price of 2 with outside or balcony. Others feel inside not for them, which is fine. Ocean Village competes directly with thomson and island cruises, but are rarely available at the bargain prices I have seen thomson and island go to.

We have discovered that, if you have date flexibility, a better quality of cruise is available at sensible prices on the "premium" lines like celebrity, holland america and princess. We sailed on the HA Noordam last year, which was fantastic.

As far as tipping is concerned, with HA and Celebrity you can adjust the recommended $10 per day up or down as you see fit. For OV your tips will be included.

Absolutely! Well said. People have a misconception of cruising and that X or Princess may be totally out of their league. Not so. I have sailed in all sorts of rooms from inside to suite. Nowadays I am cruising either alone or with a friend but we always have our own room.
The single supplements are tough but a cruise for me is ideal as it is a safe or as safe as you can expect anywhere.

Yes also their tips to pay but think of it like this if you went into a hotel or restaurant and has good service then you would tip or at least I would. On a cruise it is no different and the suggested amount are there but you can adjust this up or down as you see fit.

Sue

Thanks Sue. Are you aware that Fred Olsen sometimes offer singles at amazing prices, close to cruise date. Certainly, from what I have read, the ships are relatively small and not a lot by way of entertainment. Thought it worth mentioning.

I have a copy of the 2007 Berlitz Guide, it is as you say pure GOLD!!

Incidentally we live in Scotland too, but I discovered a TA in N E England through teletext. They are on web at http://www.cruise365.com and trade as "check-in cruise club". They have some excellent prices at the moment, and are better than CruiseKings whom we have also used.

Thanks for your post. I do know that Fred Olsen do have special deals for single and also Marco Polo Orient Lines. I have never considered them but I did get a very good deal with Cunard on Caronia a few years ago.
I live in Harrogate now but moved here from Fife in 1998. My daughter and her family live here and I love living here. Harrogate is a very desirable place to live.
I continue to book with my TA in Scotland as I have great service from her.

Awaiting the snow here!

Sue

Hi Ian, I'd probably go for Royal Caribbean - I've cruised with them 4 times now, and each time it's been without fail mindblowing Definitely the best line I've ever cruised with, and I've sailed with a few...! Their ships are amazing, and the service has always been spot-on for us. Plus their cruises are quite "action and adventure" orientated, so if you're after stuff like swimming with dolphins , you're on a winner.. last time I tried scuba diving for the first time ever
have a wonderful time whichever you choose

Agreed! You will have a very good time on a Royal Caribbean cruise. They have several ships in the med this year as well as 1 out of Southampton.
Splendour of the Seas

Legend of the Seas

Navigator of the Seas

Voyager of the Seas

Brilliance of the Seas
Of these I would say that Brilliance is the one which appeals to me although for years Splendour was MY ship.

All cruises booked before the 28th February have got an offer of £200 per room or £100 per person.
Cruising is GREAT no matter which ship or line you choose.

Sue

cheers to you all for your help.

we have opted for OV2 in the caribbean in january.

Tuppence- do some research re the Dolphin excursions in the Caribbean- some are excellent and some keep the animals in pretty poor conditions. If you are going to Cozumel I can recommend dolphindiscovery.com we did their 'Royal Swim with Dolphins' at Chankanaab Park,it was a thrilling day,expensive but worth it. We booked direct with them,it was cheaper than going through the cruiseline. I can give lots more detail if interested.
They make a DVD and of course lots of photos of your day

cheers.

have looked at the DD site.

all added info would be gratefully received.
i take it you are not allowed to photograph it yourself? is that where they make even more money? how much do they cost.
not going to cozumel but they do the dolphin thing in a lot of the ports we are going to.

cheers
ian

Yes a member of your party can photograph you as you go through the routine. DolphinDiscovery has several programs throughout the Caribbean- they were excellent and the animals were in a large lagoon,the trainers seemed to love them and love their jobs. Which islands are you going to?
In Cozumel we booked direct via dd dot com- it cost $139 each for the Royal Swim which is by far the most thrilling- it involves a foot push,dorsal fin pull,small groups of 8-10 and lots of time to play and interact with the dolphins. It was great. From the Pier to the Chankanaab Park it was $15 taxi then you pay to enter the park $16 each -cash only at the gate- then you need to allow a couple of hours to do your tour.
The DVD was good,expensive,I think I spent another $120 on DVD and photos- they want to sell you $200 worth (LOL) but anyway we left them all in the back of the taxi on the way back to the pier...........arrrrgh
Fortunately we had some photos of our own.

Well DUH - I just noticed the bit where you said you're not going to Cozumel...

One thing to think about is moving your dates to late Nov early Dec prices are often lower.

This winter they were <£900 for two weeks in the caribbean, Jan/Feb were/are >£1k.

If booking OV then early Dec seems to be the low price point for Jan/Feb.