1st time Cruising, which Boat and Company?

I wish to do cruise and stay in the Med. Is there only Thompson who do this, if so which Boat is best. Don't want formal ie dressing up! But don't want the Carnival Boats. Bit old for that,

Suggest you go back to the main boards page and scroll down to Cruise Lines A-O and post your question on the Marella forum (formerly Thomson). Folks there will be able to help you choose your ship. Fly/cruise seems to be a Brit thing, so they should be able to help you with that also. EM

We tend to call the vessels ships.

There are numerous ships and cruise lines sailing the mediterranean.

Best is really a personal decision because best for one person means one thing and for someone else something else.

I would highly recommend getting a travel agent who specializes in cruises to help you.

Keith

If you want to know specifics about Thompson now Marella this link will take you there at:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=497

Keith

I agree with the suggestion to see a Travel Agent. The first thing you will see is that many cruise lines serve the Med. Thompson, now called Marella, is far from the only cruise line operating ships in the Med.

A good Cruise Specialist TA will assist you in narrowing your choices to a "Ship" that fits your

requests . Lots of choices , confusing for any first timer.

I wish to do cruise and stay in the Med. Is there only Thompson who do this, if so which Boat is best. Don't want formal ie dressing up! But don't want the Carnival Boats. Bit old for that,

Depending on your budget look at these two lines with good reputations. Celebrity Cruise lines which is considered mass market, Regent Seven Seas which is considered luxury. Both are offering promotions on their Med sailings for summer 2018

Here's the Pullmantur Brit link:

http://www.pullmanturcruises.co.uk/destinations/mediterranean

I'm a sailor with the USN. It's a boat. :)

I have always thought the difference was:

A Ship can carry a Boat but a Boat can't carry a Ship .

I'll stick with that .

We all just had this conversation a few weeks ago at work. I thought it was funny because of CC's insistence that a ship is a ship and so forth. I was never on a ship, but every sailor I talked to said, No, it's the boat, not the ship.

 

I'll always in my heart call it the boat.

Odd...you might have served on a warship, DW served on a Hospital Ship when she was a Navy Officer. We have sailed on 21 cruises on cruise ships. I have yet to sail on a cruise boat.

Yes, I am aware submarines are called boats.

We all just had this conversation a few weeks ago at work. I thought it was funny because of CC's insistence that a ship is a ship and so forth. I was never on a ship, but every sailor I talked to said, No, it's the boat, not the ship.

 

I'll always in my heart call it the boat.

And you would be correct. Fact is, all ships are boats but not all boats are ships. It's like calling a square a rectangle. In fact, if you look up "boat" on dictionary.com, you'll find it says "4. a ship".

So these folks who are always jumping on people for calling it a boat are technically wrong. :)

I wish to do cruise and stay in the Med. Is there only Thompson who do this, if so which Boat is best. Don't want formal ie dressing up! But don't want the Carnival Boats. Bit old for that,

So anyways, back to your actual question...

Are you trying to cruise during the winter months when there are less choices? I ask because there are a ton of choices in the Med. A TA is a good suggestion, but you could also go to any cruise site, including this one, and search by departure port.

I think we have drifted away from the question. She wants to do a cruise & stay, as has only found Marella/Thomson offering this. She wants to know if there are any others, and if Marella/Thomson, which vessel to choose. EM

I've never seen any other cruise line offering cruise and stay or stay and cruise, which we've done with T/Marella. That's because Tui cover the complete package from entering the airport; have their own aeroplanes, and provide all the shuttles from airport to ship to hotel to back to the airport... you're in their hands until you arrive back to the UK.

If a cruise line offers a fly/cruise, then it is difficult to break that package.

There are newer ships now with this company, so search on the Marella page on here.

You could take a cheap flight out to somewhere like Barcelona, where lots of cruise ships leave, and book your own hotel nearby, or even Venice. MSC pick up at each port, more or less, as they go round the Western Med.

Be careful not to choose an inland destination, such as Rome, as it's an hour away from the port. Look at what's sailing from Barca, Genoa, Malaga and Mallorca.

I think Marella stands out as they have their own planes,resorts and ships. Unfortunately, they are also known for not having the best ships in the industry.

However, if you search cruise package deals on the internet there are a few really good and trusted sites. I can't mention them on here though.