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What I want in a Cruise


VK3DQ
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Hi Folks

 

After reports of bad behavior by passengers on a number of cruise lines I'm thinking that I have to choose very carefully the lines on which I want to cruise.

 

I cannot afford the ultra luxury ships so my choice therefore will most likely be from the main stream of lines such as Princess and RCCL

 

Possibly I might consider a number of smaller lines running older and smaller ship such as Fred Olsen

 

Here in Australia for many years we had very little choice we had P&O running in competition with Sitmar Lines

 

The P&O bought out Sitmar and converted all their cruises to "FUN Ship" cruises using the Old Sitmar Migrant ships

 

Gone were the Likes of Oriana and Arcadia ....

 

 

So lets fast forward to the current day

 

We have out of Australia

 

Full time ... Carnival with 2 and soon to be 3 FUN SHIPS

 

P@O Australia continuing of the tradition of operating OLDER Ships with 4 berth cabins catering for family groups and other groups such as hen parties and bucks nights

 

 

Part Time

 

Princess

RCCL

HAL

Celibrity

 

All tending to offer a higher class experience than the local lines but to some degree Australianizing there offerings which sometimes is not to the good

 

So I wonder what we as Australians want when we go cruising

 

 

 

My choice is for a relaxing cruise not disturbed by loud "Bogans" I want a large private cabin and am prepared to pay for it.

I want a nice dining room , would prefer a ship that does NOT have a self service buffet please replace this with a bristio arrangment with meals cooked to order and brought to ones table.

 

Entertainment should be contained in its venue IE no loud music in hallways and public spaces

 

A "Lounge" a proper traditional lounge with drinks service but no entretainment or piped music ,,

 

This on my ideal ship would replace a casino

 

I would prefer an adults only ship ... no one under 30 y/o , there are ample options for the young on Carnival and P&O

 

So that rules out childern , again plenty of options for them on Carnival and P&O

 

 

Even on board Princess and Celebrity I witnessed incidents of children being most objectionable and their parents not a bit concearned and whist on board RCCL there were a number of groups of late teens roaming around in gangs .

 

Frankly I dont want them on my cruise and I expect the feeling is mutual ... fair enough

 

At the moment my choice is a suite on princess / HAL / RCCL ?Celibrity

 

Or a possible move to Crystal or the suchlike

 

 

So what do you want on your cruise ?? please tell it in all reality , dont ridicule others

 

 

Regards

 

John

 

To straight up answer your question Viking, Uniworld, Scenic, Holland America, Crystal and Seabourn all offer along the lines of what you said you want there so it's not like it doesn't exist out there :cool:

 

It does sound like you have a bit of champagne taste, beer budget however if you've been travelling on P&O, Carnival, RCCL, Princess with what you're "looking for" :p:')

 

Each cruise line does its best to please its part of the market and if they all catered exactly to one persons wants and needs they would alienate the other 90% of the market.

 

I do agree with half of what you said there, which just goes to show how different we all are :D.

 

In Australia an adult is 18+ so that is what an "adults only" cruise would be. Also if you wanted to ban under 30's from certain cruiselines it should be reciprocated so that no one over 30 could travel on those ships and I think you will find many people 30+ certainly feel more at home on say Carnival or P&O at the same time under 30's may feel more at home with the luxury of Celebrity etc.

 

To chime in with my "ideal" cruise ship-

 

-All restaurants included in the fare along with all ship amenities e.g. no sauna, entertainment or specialty restaurant charges.

-I love the little things like amazing food and luxury but without the compromise of lacking entertainment.

-A ship which always has something to do whether I want to dance, laugh or party.

-Anyone that reserves a deck chair is made to walk a plank, never to return again.

-Still does the baked Alaska parade, champagne waterfall etc.

-Has fun deck parties like Toga etc.

-Has only positive minded passengers, anyone that complains non stop to others should be also made to walk the plank.

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I would not think the bogans would be on board the expensive river cruises from Uniworld, Scenic etc, not at $700 plus per diem. But then again beer and wine is included so 1 or 2 might sneak on board. ;p

 

The nice people sail with Princess, well apart from the odd bogan on Australian sailings, but they are generally banished to the deck bars and the Horizon Court buffet. have not experienced them on Princess from foreign ports. Just 'Escape Completely and Come Back New' young John.

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The nice people sail with Princess, well apart from the odd bogan on Australian sailings, but they are generally banished to the deck bars and the Horizon Court buffet. have not experienced them on Princess from foreign ports. Just 'Escape Completely and Come Back New' young John.

We love the Princess brand too and agree with your comments. Sailing out of foreign ports with Princess you have newer ships and happier crew. The only time we've experienced 'bogans' on Princess is with sailings out of Sydney.

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We love the Princess brand too and agree with your comments. Sailing out of foreign ports with Princess you have newer ships and happier crew. The only time we've experienced 'bogans' on Princess is with sailings out of Sydney.

 

I agree with you 100%, sailing with Princess from foreign ports is a totally difference experience compared with Princess Australia. :halo: We have done both.

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We love the Princess brand too and agree with your comments. Sailing out of foreign ports with Princess you have newer ships and happier crew. The only time we've experienced 'bogans' on Princess is with sailings out of Sydney.

 

 

 

I’ve booked to go on princess next year, sailing from Los Angeles. I’m hoping that was the case. It’ll be rather unusual to go on a bogan free cruise. I will kinda miss the Australian majority though [emoji14]

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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On the thought

What I would like

 

Nice wine and food, good service and nice Cabin ( a suite is good ) over 12 days, and not too dear, to start and finish in OZ....

 

Well almost did it on Last cruise to NZ in a suite on Princess....

 

It is all what you want, and how much you are happy to pay..

 

Cheers with a G&T

Don

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VK3DQ - John

You do not have to try the more expensive lines.

Change your cruising to minimum 14 days duration & repositioning cruises.

That will solve 90% of likely problems.

Did a 14 day repositioning cruise on Pac.Eden Singapore to Au. - a year after it started operation & it was an excellent cruise.

No Bogans & very few children.

John

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We have cruised to Diamond level with RCCL & receive reciprocal benefits on Celebrity. The Diamond Lounge is a nice escape with most often like minded people who enjoy socialising & a few drinks without any aggressive behaviour.

 

I have had mixed experiences on my cruises although enjoyed all of them.

 

Just got off Voyager to the islands last week, all good except bad timing with multiple groups of young uni student age men waking us up every night bar one when returning to their cabin. Only cruise so far with that much noise but didn't see or hear of any fights or violence. I find Royal are generally very good in dealing with unruly passengers.

 

Another we did on Voyager to NZ though was so full of very senior people that I literally felt like I was in a floating nursing home some days! Same ship - 2 totally different experiences.

 

Last year sailed on Ovation - big new ship with big price tag & most beautiful adults only solarium I have seen so far- all good, can't recall many bogans - so seems price point is one way to avoid them but annoying you have to pay extra to do so!

 

I had considered the Princess longer cruises Sydney - Sydney as I prefer not to fly, but I think the ships they are using are older & smaller, plus they charge I believe to use the tiny solarium area with even tinier pool? Also, concerned the demographic will be a bit old for us - we are middle aged & prefer a mixed age group cruise without too many kids or too many seniors.

 

I think your age group always has an effect on your cruise experience so choosing a cruise line that has the majority in your own age demographic, plus or minus 10 years in my experience has been the best way to pick cruises that suit us better.

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I always start my voyage in a foreign port. That way you get a ship on which there are as few Autralians as possible. The reason for this is that one goes on a sea voyage to get a change of scene and to meet people from foreign cultures. I don't want to go on a ship just to meet the same sorts of people I can meet every day at home.

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I always start my voyage in a foreign port. That way you get a ship on which there are as few Autralians as possible. The reason for this is that one goes on a sea voyage to get a change of scene and to meet people from foreign cultures. I don't want to go on a ship just to meet the same sorts of people I can meet every day at home.

 

I like this approach :)

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As a mum of young kids, my ideal cruise holiday is one where I don't have to worry about getting food for my family, one where I don't have to spend all spare moments cleaning up, one where I can have a few spare moments to myself to enjoy a massage, or a show, or another adults-only activity. This is why I'm not fussy with my cruising at this point it time ... if there is a kids club and a spa on-board, I'm usually pretty happy.

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