First Time Crusie for over 60's

[macka001]

HI All,

 

My Parents are looking to go on their first cruise. they are both in their 60's are are looking to stay local so Mediterranean region for 7 - 10 days.

 

They are looking to go July-August 2019.

 

Any suggestions on something that would be suitable and offers day trip excursion are set ports.

 

many thanks

 

Macka

[Essiesmom]

Every cruise line offers excursions in every port.  Most of them offer the same excursions.  A travel agent is a good start for matching your parents with the best line for them.  What is their native language, and do they speak others?  Some lines have a multi-national clientele, others are specific to their home country, such as Pulmantur for Spain;  AIDA, Mein Schiff, Phoenix Reisen for Germany...  Most cruise lines board at one port on the itinerary, others (Costa, MSC may board new guests at each port.  July & August are going to be hot and crowded in the Med.  EM

[John Bull]

Hi, Macka, & welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

You don't quote your location, but I'm guessing that you've posted on cruisecritic.co.uk thinking it'a a UK website.

It's actually world-wide, mostly north American, Brit, and Antipodean.

 

If I'm right and your parents are Brits I suggest for a first cruise they concentrate on Brit ships. 

There's a lot to learn about cruising, and a Brit ship means less to have to learn, a more-homely feel amongst Brit fellow-cruisers, on-board prices in sterling, etc.

US ships tend to be more glitzy & more cosmopolitan - and great if they want to feel more "abroad".  But when choosing bear in mind that on-board costs are higher on US ships, mainly due to daily charges, higher drinks prices, and service charges on drinks. 

I'd definitely avoid Italian ships for a first cruise. Ditto German, French & Spanish, though they're not usually marketed in the UK.

Thomson (now called Marella) broadly have a wider demographic and age-range, P&O tend to be similar ages to your parents plus families, Fred Olsen and Cruise & Maritime are almost all retired folk.

Cruise & Maritime's ships tend to be much older, the same to some degree for Fred Olsen and to a lesser degree with Marella. P&O ships are newer, purpose-built for P&O.

 

Your parents have the choice of sailing from the UK or flying to a Med port.............

 

Sailing from the UK avoids the time, grief, and limitations of flying - but would involve more sea-days. Needs a 14-day cruise.

 

For flying to the Med, Brit ships like P&O and Thomson have the advantage of a cruiseline-organised  package - flights from several UK airports on aircraft  chartered by the cruise-line (everyone on the aircraft is on the cruise), transfers to the port and the cruise itself. You really do feel that your holiday starts at the airport, and the whole business of getting to the ship is pretty seamless. Can includes other advantages too, like cheaper pricing,  handing over your luggage at your UK airport  & not seeing it again until it arrives at your cabin door, no risk of missing your sailing due to flight cancellation or delay. 

Cruises from 7 days upwards.

 

As Essiesmom's post, July / August are the hottest months in the Med. And the busiest.

Probably too hot, possibly too crowded. And being during kids' school holidays it'll be more-expensive and there'll be a lot of families.

Are they stuck with July / August?

September into early October would probably be better. 

Or next Spring.

 

If they've been to places in the Med, or they expect to in the future (retired?), they might do better to cruise the Baltic (Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Tallinn, Copenhagen etc).

That itinerary isn't popular with school-kids, important if they're committed to July / August.

And whereas in the future they might want to tour the Med area by car or train or coach, the Baltic is much more difficult to tour by road, rail or air, but is made for cruising.

Cruises from Southampton & Dover, sometimes from ports further north,  usually 12 - 14 days. Or fly to ports like Copenhagen for approx 10-day cruises.

 

Whichever cruise, don't be too quick to book ship's excursions. They tend to be over-priced and there are lots of alternatives from simply walking out of the dock gate in some ports to using local transport to sharing tours with fellow-passengers to organising private tours. 

Come back to these pages for info & advice on excursions once they've booked a cruise.

 

Phone one or two cruise-specialist travel agents. We're not permitted to name TAs on Cruise Critic, but googling "cruise agents UK" will give you the names.

Phone rather than rely on websites, you can get much  better info and tips from a friendly & knowledgeable person than from a screen. And a pet cruise specialist can be invaluable in advising on the minor matters like cabin selection, dining choices and such.

 

Happy hunting

 

JB 

[Tom47]

I would also consider Celebrity and Azamara

[Itchy&Scratchy]

My parents loved Regal Princess as their first cruise in their late 60s. They are coming with us again this November. Regal Princess is just the right combination of nice musical entertainment and venues, and quiet spots for relaxation.

[John Bull]

2 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

My parents loved Regal Princess as their first cruise in their late 60s. They are coming with us again this November. Regal Princess is just the right combination of nice musical entertainment and venues, and quiet spots for relaxation.

 

................ and a "mid-Atlantic" experience. 

Princess are American, but with a bit of a British feel.

Glitzy without being brash. And they fly the Red Duster.

 

IMHO, certainly the most suitable of the US ships.

 

JB 

Edited June 4, 2019 by John Bull

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, John Bull said:

 

................ and a "mid-Atlantic" experience. 

Princess are American, but with a bit of a British feel.

Glitzy without being brash. And they fly the Red Duster.

 

IMHO, certainly the most suitable of the US ships.

 

JB 

:) Edited.

Edited June 4, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[George C]

We did a smaller rccl ship brilliance of the seas 12 days out of Barcelona and loved it, on Europe cruise because of lack of sea days and lots of time in ports I do not think ship or line matters as much as what ports you are visiting, I also would avoid ships tours they are normally overcrowded and overpriced we did tours with our fellow roll call which was great.

[cabin4three]

If your parents want to have a no-fly cruise, leaving from the UK it will limit their options.  As they are also looking to go  in July/August which are popular with those of us restricted to school holidays, their options are even more limited (we book our August no-fly cruises over 12 months in advance - usually at least 18 months in advance)

 

If they are flexible on dates or willing to book last minute then there can be late deals to be found.

 

Are they young at heart 60-somethings?  Do they love adventure sports?  Some cruise ships have water slides,  flow-riders, etc; other cruise lines are a bit more traditional.

 

P&O, Princess and Cunard are popular cruise lines leaving from UK, I have sailed on them and enjoyed each cruise. Cunard is (in my experience) more formal and attracts an older passenger - even on school holiday cruises.   P&O and Princess both offer a good product, P&O include gratuities in their price (in GB £)  Princess don't and charge in US $.

[jocap]

The problem might be the school holidays- mid July through August, and a fortnight earlier for Scotland and I think, NI. 

Perhaps an adult only ship for their first? Because family friendly ones are packed, due to cabins using bunk beds and sofa beds, so adding to the usual numbers on board.

Cruise and Maritime have adult only cruise ships, although one ship does take children in August; P&O have 2 at the present; Fred Olsen doesn't take many children ( we were on one last August and there were around 40 children), so they don't feel crowded.

C&M and Fred O sail from different ports around the UK...

[macka001]

Hi All,

firstly thank you for all your posts and advice. i spoke to my parents and contacted a couple of local cruise agents and they suggested they try the Baltic sea cruises. theres a couple that are looking promising for 14 nights which i think will fit their requirements. leaving from either Liverpool/ Tilbury or Southampton.

 

parents are based in Midlands, speak fluent English and are quirte excited to be embarking on their first cruise. thanks again

[John Bull]

3 hours ago, macka001 said:

a couple of local cruise agents and they suggested they try the Baltic sea cruises. theres a couple that are looking promising for 14 nights which i think will fit their requirements. leaving from either Liverpool/ Tilbury or Southampton.

 

Good thinking.

 

Tilbury suggests Cruise & Maritime.

C&M lack glitz, their ships are old and don't have the whistles & bells of modern ships.

But I don't suppose that's what your parents are looking for, and in any case Baltic cruises are port-intensive so the itinerary is more important than the ship.

And C&M ships are small, much more friendly and easy to navigate their way around than the 4 - 5,000 -passenger leviathons - a village rather than a city. Our preferred size is up to 2,000 passengers (eg P&O ships which ply this route), C&M's ships are about half that size.

One of our best cruises was on a small & old C&M ship (long since gone to the scrapyard) where we hooked up with like-minded folk, though you do have to make a few allowances for the age of the ship.

 

Whichever ship, two things to look for in a Baltic cruise ...........

 

The long sail-in to Stockholm through the archipelago of islands is one of the best in the world, and ships berth in the city centre. But some ships are too big to sail-in and instead port at Nyneshamn, which is on the coast (therefore missing that glorious sail-in), and about an hour's drive from Stockholm.

So try to avoid itineraries which say "Stockholm (Nyneshamn)." 

 

The crown in any Baltic cruise is St Petersburg, and it's worth two or even three days.

Most cruises overnite there, giving passengers two days. That's likely with a 14-day cruise. But some itineraries are only in St Petersburg for a single day, and that's woefully inadequate.

So choose an itinerary which includes "St Petersburg (overnight)"

 

Most travellers to Russia require a tourist visa, but there is a dispensation for cruisers.

No doubt the cruise line will tell you that if you take a ship's tour in St Petersburg you don't need a visa. That's correct. But they fail to tell you that it's also visa-free if you take a tour with an approved local tour operator. And those local operators' tours are better and usually cheaper than ships' tours - small groups in minibuses rather than big coaches, lots of inclusions like the hydrofoil or the famous ornate metro system which aren't possible with large groups. You do have to pre-book (the tour ticket which the tour operator e-mails to you gets you through immigration without a visa) but most tour operators don't require payment, or even a credit card number, in advance - you pay when you're there. 

Google TJ Travel, Best Guides, Alla Tours, SPB Tours, DenRus, Anastasia Tours, and there's half-a-dozen more, all with excellent reputations.

 

If they don't take a tour in St Petersburg, a ship's tour or one with an approved operator, they will need a visa in order to get off the ship to explore on their own - and it's just not worth the hassle. We almost-always avoid organised tours and prefer to DIY , but St Petersburg is one place where a tour makes sense.

 

Take a look round the Baltic forum on Cruise Critic, here's a short-cut

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/forum/116-northern-europe-amp-baltic-sea/

Lots of useful information and advice.

Ask on there for anything you need to know about Baltic cruises.

 

JB 

Edited June 5, 2019 by John Bull