First timers with three teens!

[triplets98]

Hi......this is mind boggling!

First of all we have at last been offered travel ins for my husband who is in remission from cancer, so we can at last book ahead!

Looking for 7-12 nights in the Med next July/Aug

Feel RCI or P&O would be good for us

Really not sure about cabin type for first timers, would need two cabins so thinking one could b a balcony for a treat?

Which decks/for/aft?

Basically I need your good advice please on what to look out for, gratuities etc

 

THANK YOU!

[paul929207]

Welcome to Cruise Critic and congrats on your husband reaching remission. My wife is coming up on 11 years in remission with leukemia.

 

You will probably want to get a balcony cabin for you and your husband and an inside cabin across the hall for the kids. You don't specify the age of the kids. It is likely you would have to put you and your husband in separate cabins with the kids split between you. When you board, you can go to the front desk and switch to the way you want it.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Good to hear that your DH is getting better. Prayers for him to continue to recover.

You are right -- 2 cabins -- one with a balcony -- excellent idea.

You need to talk to a travel agent in person (not over the phone) and ask the differences between the 2 cruise lines. This way you can talk about itineraries and ports and what your interests are and what you want to do in the ports.

[triplets98]

Very pleased to hear of your wifes long remission:) gives us hope.

Our children will all be 16 next year..........triplets! A girl and two boys, so yes would have to split up, husband and boys me and daughter!

[griffy116]

We've traveled with teens and we go with RCI. We've also done the Med cruise. We book one balcony cabin and one inside cabin across the hall for the teens. We prefer to book a promenade cabin for the teens. You can put your name on one cabin w/teens and the other in the balcony cabin. Once on board, go to guest services and get an additional key. That way, you can put the teens in the cabin directly across from you and you get a balcony cabin..we've even been able to book the teens directly in the cabin across from us and book the balcony cabin straightway, without going through the extra key business, but I'm told it's not always possible. With the promenade cabin, we were able to enjoy the parade from the teen's cabin and they were able to occasionally enjoy the balcony. It worked out perfectly!

[Essiesmom]

Don't limit yourself to those two lines. A Med. cruise is usually very port intensive so the ship acts more as your hotel/restaurant than as entertainment. Most of us come back to the ship exhausted, with time for a shower before dinner and show after. Most cruise lines will allow you to book the three teens in a cabin near you, how close depends on the cruise line. But they do not really care who sleeps where, and you can get extra keys to the kids cabin, and for yours so that they have access. EM

[triplets98]

Sorry, what is a promenade cabin? Can you tell I`m a complete rookie?? Essie what other companies would you recommend, we would like to sail out of UK rather than a fly cruise. There are so many out there to choose from!

[triplets98]

You are some cruiser, what an impressive list. I would love to cruise to NY, I love the States, but sadly the insurance comp won`t consider cover for my husband world wide, just Europe.

[t_car]

Agree with previous poster, med cruises are very port intensive with usually only one sea day. The ship acts more as a floating hotel. So when shopping around you should look more at the ports you would like to visit. There are a lot of options to choose from.

 

Probably the most popular embarkation ports are Barcelona, Rome (Civitavecchia) and Venice. These are all easy and inexpensive flyins of train commutes.

 

A good plan is to always arrive at your embarkation port at least one or more days early, to explore these great cities and as insurance in case of same day travel delays.

 

We did the Mariner of the Seas out of Rome last year, but enjoyed 5 days in Rome and Tuscany before our cruise.

 

Enjoy your holiday,

[Essiesmom]

You are not going to make it to the Med from the UK on a 7 - 10 day cruise. Yu would need at least 14 days. Cruises leaving from the UK for those periods will go to the Baltic, Norway. and I did find one to the Canaries. I suggest you look at http://www.cruisetimetables.com. Choose the UK departure ports from the top list, then the months that interest you. It will show you what ships are sailing then, and their itineraries. Most sailings are from Southampton, Harwich, Dover and one ship from Liverpool. EM

[Cruisin' Chick]

When you're actually booking, make sure the travel agent helps you select cabins across from each other and marks your booking "no changes" and "no upgrade." Else, there's the risk that you'll board and find your cabins in different parts of the ship.

[triplets98]

Hi all..........I posted last year our hopes of taking our first cruise , sadly it didn`t happen due to a complication following surgery for my husband. It was a routine op not connected to cancer, of which he is still in remission! So once more we are hoping to finally take a family holiday, and a cruise would be a treat. My three 16r olds all finish their exams in June so we can take off anytime after that. Still find it confusing first time around, went to my local travel agent and wasn`t very impressed with them to be honest. She was really only recommending Royal Caribbean. I have just read on here that many cruise lines do have large family suites that would sleep 5 of us, would be nice to have lots of space! Hoping to hear some recommendations from you guys! Thank you.

Edited May 21, 2014 by triplets98

[nmg85]

Yes lots of ships have larger cabins but they usually book up very quickly. If you are looking for lots of activities I would say royal Caribbean are a good choice. As mentioned earlier in the post sailing from UK limits where you will be able to get to and you need to cross the bay of biscay twice which can be unpredictable weather wise. Look at going from Barcelona or Rome if you can. This will also increase the number of cruise lines available to you. If not from uk you are pretty much left with P&O, royal and celebrity.

[SouthernYinzer]

Hi all..........I posted last year our hopes of taking our first cruise , sadly it didn`t happen due to a complication following surgery for my husband. It was a routine op not connected to cancer, of which he is still in remission! So once more we are hoping to finally take a family holiday, and a cruise would be a treat. My three 16r olds all finish their exams in June so we can take off anytime after that. Still find it confusing first time around, went to my local travel agent and wasn`t very impressed with them to be honest. She was really only recommending Royal Caribbean. I have just read on here that many cruise lines do have large family suites that would sleep 5 of us, would be nice to have lots of space! Hoping to hear some recommendations from you guys! Thank you.

 

 

Check out the "family ocean view" stateroom on Royal Caribbean's Freedom class ship. They are a great value and can easily accommodate 5.

 

 

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[Sea Green]

P&O do fly cruises to the Med so you should be able to fit one in your 7/10 day timespan, check their website. Thier youth programmes get good feedback.

 

How old are your children? P&O insist lead passengers in a cabin must be over 18 so you and your husband may have to split up...