Antonintassie

I see. What did you find different in actuality than you had read about. I find that by reading reviews and around the boards that there are few surprises to cruising.

 

Regarding sea days inparticular what activities did you think we're going to be offered that weren't offered.

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Since this is on the new cruiser board it will definitely be good info to have posted and available for new cruisers to read.

i think the logistics and the time associated with berthing an unloading passengers was an eye opener for us ,the congestion this created both at disembarkation and re emabarkation was significant and cut into our time ashore which was annoying.

In relation to onboard activities I guess we are used to doing things together as a family unit which is the norm for us .The lack of activities for families to do together with there kids was glaring on our Princess cruise .

The entertainment and activities offered was very sedate and even the some older passengers onboard we spoke to where dissatisfied with the CD and onboard program as it was fairly uninspired.

Overall we found big ship cruising way to mass market for us ( for the record we generally do not do large land based resorts either).

Hi

We are currently looking at a couple of options

Travelling with a small ship European Line ( Europa 2 is on the shortlist) or teaming up with some friends in Dubai ( one has a 53 foot cruiser) to travel between Dubai / Abu Dhabi/Oman this is really just a fuel and food and berthing deal cost deal split between 6 of us .

The reviews for our cruise weere varied overall we were satisfied with the ship and the service ,it is really the lack of flexabilty to get of these bigger ships in a timely manner and the lame onboard atmosphere on sea days.

Hi we are not really a cost sensitive travel group ,our first cruise was in a suite $16,000 plus our airfares to Europe which which equated over $12,000

In addition we had a pre stay in Barcelona and a post stay in Venice so cruising was certaining not the cheapest option for 12 days in Europe we have driven and railed to most of the location we went on the cruise and it was significantly cheaper .

Hi All

We have recently received some feedback on some smaller more exotic location cruises available in 2015 with virtully no sea days so we might give this a try if we run out of land based travel ideas.

We spend a lot of time in Dubai so some Arabian Gulf private charters maybe an option Oman looks interesting but we will see how we feel in another year or so.

Kind Regards

Tony

Thamks Tim

I would be interested in further feedback re the YC2 location on deck 12

is the access to the YC amenities straight forward the loss of the balcony is a shame but in late sept east med I suspect it would not get much of an use anyway we really only used ours on the Royal Princess when coming in and out of port

another option for us is the Liraca in the Arabian Gulf

Thanks I have noticed over the last 10 years smoking has reduced alot in Europe overall

We are looking a a YC 2 on deck 12 we wanted a yc3 but they have all gone

As I work whilst travelling whats the inet and email like in suite ?

Hi

Preziosa Sept next year ,we like the itineraryand it has a couple of ports we have not been to as well

The other option is the Lirica for the short ex Dubai cruise ,we have travelled in most euro countries before and the language thing has never caused us any issues we make an attempt to pickup some basic local phrases and it normally gets us through.

We are non smokers but not fanatical about others who smoke are there designated areas on deck or is it anyplace anytime ?

Hi All

We recently completed our first cruise on the Royal Princess ( 12 day Med Cruise) we are a couple in our late forties with an older teenage son.

Princess really did not click with us we travel overseas alot and like to live the local scene not transport everything from home to our holiday.

We have looked at MSC Yacht club concept and MSC in general and think it maybe a better fit for us .

Feedback appreciated .

Kind Regards

Tony

I am happy to admit we booked and took a cruise just do not ask me to recommend it we where underwhelmed by the experience

Hi

We travelled on the Royal for 12 days in Europe and the remix programme waS a huge let down my son who is 15 went once and was underwhelmed by the staff and the programme.Personally I think the 15 to 18 group on Princess get a very poor deal this age group specifically needs something for them as the remix program in its current format is lame and not suitable for older teens .

In addition a number of staff and some passengers who should know better actively are obviously hostile to this age group .

Hi

Venice really needs at least 4 to 5 days if possible ,Burano and Murano ,Lido etc are a 1/2 day each if you hustle.We love Venice particularly after 5pm when the mainland tour groups leave .

We stayed at the Hotel Becher which was very central and friendly .

The photographers on Royal Princess where very pushy we had actually asked our head waiter to keep them away at meal times and they ignored his request and hence had to deal with me ( big mistake).

We had RC suggested to us previously it is not really about Princess or any other line we just did not get into cruising we live on an island so the sea is not a novelty for us .

The downtime on the ship was the deal breaker for us we felt stuck and missed the flexability you get with land travel ie "lets go to town and have a meal with the locals etc"

It would be really nice if more cruises offered overnight stays in some ports

All The Best

Tony

Thank you OP for your post as it will give others who are new to cruising some things to think about before they book. I love cruising mainly because I like being on the water - it's so relaxing. I'm embarking on a Princess cruise this Saturday and I hope that the photographers are not too intrusive. What I cannot tolerate is when the photographers come into the dining room on formal nights while you're eating to take your picture. You stated that you stayed in Venice for a day or two after your cruise. Would you mind sharing where you stayed as I'm booked on a Mediterranean cruise next year and plan to stay in Venice for a couple of days after the cruise. I know that you and your family will continue to enjoy whatever type of vacation you choose in the future. If I may recommend a cruise line that I think your teenager will enjoy - Royal Caribbean. A friend of mine went on her first cruise with her husband and teenage son on RCL and her son enjoyed their teen programs and the entire experience.

Hi

We stayed at the Becher Hotel in Venice for 5 nights it was very central we love Venice it was our third trip to this area

Kind Regards

Tony

Thanks for all the feedback

We did comsider small ship/expedition cruising but we thought it would not suit a couple with an older teen

Thanks People

For the feedback as I indicated in my original post everyone on CC has been very helpful

We think its a "SHIP" thing mainly the inability to jump in a taxi ,car ,plane ,helicopter etc was the deal breaker for us mainly we like to eat somewhere local ,hang with locals at night etc .

Cruising had its good points one I work whilst we travel and it was great to setup my laptop once in 12 days .

As one of the final posters it is unlikely we will cruise again as it just did not tick the boxes for us ,but if the dozens of ships and thousand of passengers we saw in Europe is an indication it suits more than it does not.

All The Best

Tony

We chose the cruise because of itinerary and the fact that a suite onboard enabled us to be in the one cabin comfortably .

We looked a expediation type cruising but it really did not appeal ( we live in close proximity to alot of wilderness areas).

I can drive in Europe no problem but we have done it a few times so we will most likely try something different next time ,perhaps a better look around the USA we have only been to Montana and Wyoming skiing.

Its a pity however we had high hopes for cruising still theres lots out in the world

Thanks All

I think we are moving on from cruising the ports etc fantastic its the time on the ship it was all show no substance and the inability to get and go to something else was frustrating . It suits alot of people but its just not our thing

Hi

As a recently returned first time cruiser ,older forties couple with an older teen son I thought I would give some feedback.

We picked a 12 day Princess cruise in mediterranean on the Royal Princess with pre stays in Dubai ,Barcelona and after stay in Venice.

The main reason we tried cruising was that travelling as a triple can be awkward as far as available hotels rooms go and we looked at the ship as floating transport and accomadation.

The port stops were fantastic we have travelled extensively so we had been to a number of the previously .

Now the issues if you do not like big resorts ,crowds ,waiting in line and being micro managed cruising is not for you,we are independent and fit and by no means needy and found the whole cruise experience very in your face all the time.

Our cruise demographic was older and the ships entertainment was targeted at this group with no attempt to engage parents who might actually want to do stuff with their kids.

Sea days are "boring " the cruise directors entertainment program on these days completely failed to entice us with it offerings.

My teen was totally put off by the programs offered on board and when I read the program it was pretty lame for teens 14 + this was one area Princess failed miserably these older teens need and deserve something better than "child minding" they pay the full fare also.

Photographers are obtrusive and pushy and frankly everyone I spoke to on board wants them gone .

I would like to thank the people on cruise critic who answered questions prior to us cruising unfortunately unless something with a really interesting destination appears with 1 or less sea days I do not think we will cruise again.

The main reason of this blurb is to make people aware that cruising is not for everyone and before you jump in have a list of what you can and can not tolerate when travelling.

Hi

Royal Princess was our first cruise 12 days in the Med we are a couple in our late forties with an older teen and are well travelled.

Cruising really did not do it for us ,the ports were great but the atmosphere on the ship was extremely sedate and the entertainment very old and lame.We have decided that we prefer a more independent mindset that we found on Princess and "if " we cruise again it will be with an expediation type cruise product.

Hi Pam

Did you notice if the concierge lounge had fax and printing facilities ,and how was the inet/email service onboard as I will have work to do on the trip.

Kind Regards

Anton

My main issue with photographers is that they do not take NO for an answer and are extremely obtrusive .When I am trying to enjoy a meal with my family I do not want my

****ing photo taken.On my last trip ( a major land based resort in Dubai) and had to resort to calling security to get them to leave us alone.

I support a civil society and would generally just say no thank you and keep walking ,but a section of this "profession" seem to think it is perfectly acceptable to harass and bully people.

Why to cruise lines persist with this archaic practice in the digital age

I must be a complete pooper because a hate the vermin and the sooner cruise lines get rid of them the better

Personally I think photographers are vermin and should be thrown overboard

Hi we have M108 booked Barcelona to Venice Sept 28th I actually chose it months ago as this is our first cruise and wanted to be as far away from public spaces as possible as I need to work whilst travelling .I suspect this will be our first and last cruise as we generally like to try new travel ideas and it would need to impress to get us to repeat .

I will post feedback on the trip .All The Best Anton

Hi

We are a couple in our forties with a 15 year old ,our son has always travelled with us and we have been i on some challanging trips and live in Tasmania which has a some great wilderness .He has learnt so much from these travels my advice is go for it.