Help with Planning First Ever Cruise

[Matkai]

Hi Everyone, my husband and I are both in our mid 50's and hoping to book our very first cruise for 2023/2024 (pandemics permitting).  We are normally use to planning road trips around the USA or Australia, so cruising is both new and confusing to us, and would appreciate any advice we can get - so our introduction to cruising is a positive one.

 

We live in Western Australia, the last state in the country that is opening up to Cruise Ships in October this year, however from what I have been able to find out (please correct me if I am wrong) cruises which depart from Fremantle are very limited, both in the ships and itineraries, so we are more than happy to fly to another destination to join a better cruise ship / itinerary if necessary.

We are looking for something that is around 10/12 days, hopefully that is going to places such as Noumea or Fiji or New Zealand - not interested in only Australian Ports.

Would appreciate any recommendations on the best cruise ships to use / good itineraries and even what ships to avoid (have been reading some really bad reviews on Coral Princess, so will be avoiding that one at least). 

With all that being said, is it worth even flying internationally to the US / UK or even Europe, would we get a more interesting itinerary and better experience, seeing as these have a much longer history and more experience with the cruising industry compared to Australia?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[OzKiwiJJ]

To get the itineraries you want you'd have to fly to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. There is plenty of choice from all of those ports.

 

What sort of ship do you want to cruise on? Small ie less than 1000 passengers means one of the luxury lines. Mostly these do one way itineraries as they pass through our region.

Medium ie up to 2500-3000 passengers. Quite a few of the mainstream cruise lines have ships around this size.

Large ie 3000+ passengers. Some of the cruise lines newer ships fall into this category.

 

What sort of ambience do you want?

Traditional vibe - try Princess or Cunard, Holland America also I think.

Modern vibe- Celebrity

Family - Carnival, P&O Australia, Royal Caribbean

 

BTW Coral Princess is a wonderful ship if you like a more laid-back traditional style. I've been on nine different Princess ships and Coral is my favourite. Just the right size, around 2000 passengers, plenty of public space, excellent food, and great music and entertainment - Princess is one of the few cruise lines that has its own show band rather than using recorded music for shows. What it doesn't have is flowriders, climbing walls, waterslides etc.

 

Of course the Princess style of ship doesn't suit everyone but luckily there are plenty of choices. Celebrity might suit you better, it's on a par with Princess in my opinion.

 

One thing to be aware of is that most of the cruise lines operate in USD onboard. The only three cruise lines that operate in AUD when operating in our region are Princess, Carnival and P&O Australia.

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by OzKiwiJJ

[subaru94]

Don't believe everything you read re: reviews, the Coral Princess is a lovely ship, it depends on what you are expecting from a cruise, in regards to destination, it depends on whether you want warmer weather which is Noumea/Fiji with beaches or New Zealand which does have some quite cool months.  Perhaps go on a smaller cruise there are some leaving Fremantle going up to Broome the Kuri Coast to give you a taste, I believe P&O and Princess both doing that.

[buchhalm]

Number one consideration for me would be what TYPE of cruise you want.

Budget(ish), classy, luxury?

What's important for you ON THE SHIP? Lots of action, party, activities? Good (gourmet) food? 

Do you want a mega ship with many thousands of passengers and everything up to and included thrill rides?

There is a British guy who has a fabulous YouTube channel called "tips for travellers", Gary Bembridge. 

Well worth looking at for lots of cruise info.

[Mrs f.]

We are doing a circumnavigation Australia tour on Oceania in December.  They have the same one going Dec2023

[Sparky74]

9 hours ago, Matkai said:

Hi Everyone, my husband and I are both in our mid 50's and hoping to book our very first cruise for 2023/2024 (pandemics permitting)…

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. The people here on the Australian and New Zealand board are a friendly bunch. Between us we have a wealth of knowledge and experience and are happy to chip in with our two cents worth. 
 

I see that others have already given great advice so I'll try not to repeat too much of that but I must echo @OzKiwiJJ's comments about the Coral Princess. Don’t take too much notice of negative reviews. DW (Darling Wife) and I sailed on her a couple of months ago and had a great time. Was everything perfect? Well, what is in this world?

 

I'll also say that like @buchhalm, I’m a fan of Gary Bembridge's  Tips for Travellers YouTube channel. Maybe start with this video. 

We love cruising. We took our first cruise in 2010 and a couple of months ago took our 19th. As we have more leave which must be taken this year we’re about to embark on a mad itinerary, jumping from ship to ship and line to line, visiting 5 countries and spending 43 nights at sea!

 

There's such a variety of ships, cruise lines, and itineraries out there. As you’re probably aware, the industry is only starting up again here in Australia following a two year lock down, so things aren’t quite what they were at this stage but even so there is a wide choice. 
 

We (a couple in our late 40s with no kids) tend to sail on larger ships, those with 2,000 passengers or more, the mass market cruise lines. Royal Caribbean, Princess, Carnival, P&O, Celebrity… each has its own character and attracts a slightly different demographic. Having said that, the "feel" of a ship can change from sailing to sailing as the passengers change. Longer cruises TEND to attract a slightly older crowd and one expects to see more families during school holidays.

 

For many who sail on larger ships, to a greater or lesser extent, the ship IS the destination. Certainly during the cruise ship lockdown even we got to the point where we said, "I just want to go on a cruise; I don’t care where it goes to."

 

As we are on relatively low fixed incomes, we are attracted by the affordable price of cruising and usually sail in the cheapest available cabin. This is an inside or interior cabin (ie it has no window) and a guarantee cabin (you don’t get to choose which cabin). Location of cabin is important to some people, as is the natural light provided by a non-opening window of an outside or oceanview cabin, or the ability to step out into fresh air afforded by a balcony cabin. We find plenty of fresh air upon deck and don’t spend a lot of time in our cabin. YMMV. 

 

BTW, cabin = stateroom. Same thing just another term. 😮‍💨

 

The other thing I must mention about cruising (on larger ships) is that you don’t get a huge amount of time in each port. Often you arrive in the morning and have to be back on board by about 5pm. Sometimes it’s a later sail away, like 11pm. And occasionally a ship will even remain in port overnight giving you two full days to see a place. This was the case when we docked at St Petersburg on our Baltic Sea cruise. But generally speaking you really only get a taste of the port you’re visiting. For many this is sufficient but just be aware that it’s not like a road trip where you may spend a couple of days exploring an area. 
 

My Aunt (late 70s with plenty of money) tends to sail on smaller ships, less than 500 passengers. I understand that these cruises tend to be more destination focussed. Cruiselines include Oceania, Ponant, Silversea, Seaborn, Azamara. These are well out of our price range but you do you. 
 

I hope this helps you decide if cruising is for you. 😁

[gogo65]

I think you need to decide on budget and then go from there.

You are similar age to us, and for the main stream lines I prefer celebrity, it has a slightly older vibe to Royal caribbean, beautiful ships, a singer in a bar playing a bit of jazz, no rock climbing walls or water slides, a quite place to read a book,  in saying that I enjoy Royal caribbean as well it’s just louder with lots more kids. I haven’t been on Princess but would definitely try them.

I don’t like carnival at all (dark, gloomy ships) and I’d do a P&O again for a specific itinerary (Papua New Guinea)

There is also the more luxury lines Silversea, Oceania, Viking, azamara to name a few, much smaller ships, less activities but higher level of service.

For a first cruise I don’t think you can go wrong with a pacific islands or NZ cruise.

I would do a local cruise first  and then if you enjoy them look further afield such as Europe, US or Asia.

I loved my first European cruise waking up in a different country each day without unpacking/packing, a good taster to where you may want to go back and do a more in-depth holiday. 
Good luck deciding there are a lot of helpful people here with so much knowledge, so ask away 😊

Edited August 10, 2022 by gogo65

[Ozwoody]

Well there you go Matkai, a wealth of great advise, to digest.

Welcome to the Cruise Critic World.

To sum up the above,

     Decide on the type of cruise you would like.

     Don't over set expectations.

     Think about the length of cruise you would like to try.

     Consider what your budget is, you are willing to spend.

     What time of year you plan to go.

     

When you do,

     If want more advice specific to your choices, don't hesitate to ask again.

     When you have selected a cruise, search for it's Roll Call.

             It will have people that will help you as well.

             Maybe even a Meet & Greet in your area, prior to the cruise, so you will have some friendly faces when you get on board.

 

What ever happens, just relax and enjoy your experience.

I wasn't keen on going on a boat prior to my first cruise in 2010, now you can't keep me off then. So beware their addictive.🤣

 

Regards

Edited August 10, 2022 by Ozwoody

[arxcards]

With only two ships cruising here at present, all the bad reviews are pointed to those two ships. Also the good ones. The restart has been a bit bumpy, and it has taken a bit for the service standards to settle. Also some of the poor reviews are from passengers that are used to sailing on other brands that aren't an option ATM.

 

You are correct about Fremantle. When everything is normal again, there will be cruises to Asia. To fit in 10 to 12 nights to NZ or the Islands, you will need to fly to the east coast.

 

NZ from Sydney or Melbourne, with much more choice out of Sydney, with cruises departing between late Oct and March. A large number of these cruises are for 14 nights, but there are some that fit your spec.

 

Sydney or Brisbane for Pacific Islands. Most choice is also from October to March, but there are ships that will have these year round from either port. A bit more choice from Sydney, but Brisbane is closer to those Island ports.

 

Your mainstream lines to look at, in no particular order. All will have comparable ships here over the summer months. Have a browse through their websites, and each brand has their own "style" which might help you to connect.

Princess

P&O Australia

Carnival

Celebrity

Holland America

Royal Caribbean

Norwegian (NCL)

Cunard

Virgin

 

Not sure if detailed, some have $AU currency aboard, others are $US aboard. Take your time, and have fun coming up with a short list.

 

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by arxcards
Don't forget the Virgins

[Jean C]

Hi @Matkai, I  may be jumping the gun a bit here, but when you have a pretty good idea of which particular cruiselne and itinerary you prefer, you need to pay careful attention to what cabin you pick.

 

Regardless of whether you choose inside, window, balcony, mini suite or suite, cabin location can make or break the enjoyment of a cruise.

 

A bit of invaluable advice we were first given was to choose a cabin on a deck where you had cabins both above and below you, for minimal noise disturbance. Noise most complained about is from walking/jogging areas of decks above, decks below the pool area where people hear the scraping of chairs including very early in the morning when decks are being cleaned, and cabins above and below the theatre and noisy dance/nightclub areas.

 

People will also say that generally the most stable location in a ship for minimum ship movement is the mid ship area and lower rather than higher decks.

 

My own personal preference is high up in the forward section - we've never had very nasty, rough seas and ships are very stable these days. If there's bad weather conditions ahead the captain usually tries to avoid it for the comfort of passengers.

 

We avoid the rear of the ship as we've sometimes noticed vibration from engines/mechanics of the ship in that area that you don't get midship or forward. But again, just our personal preference.

 

Happy planning 🛳 🌞 🥳 🥂 🍹

Edited August 11, 2022 by Jean C

[Aus Traveller]

There has been a lot of valuable advice/hints given already so I won't repeat it. There are regular seven-day cruises to Noumea, Lifou (in New Caledonia) and Port Vila (Vanuatu) from Brisbane. Cruises to Fiji are a bit longer - often 14 days. Return cruises to NZ are usually 14 days, but may be 13.

 

I feel it is important to consider which cruiseline might suit you best. The following are my personal comments/observations -

Princess - excellent cruiseline. I wouldn't let negative comments about the Coral put you off. The nightclub doesn't really get many people attending and is often a running joke.

 

P&O Australia - probably a cut-price Princess. Popular with families. The ships have zip-lines and a waterpark with large waterslides.

 

Carnival - Over-the-top interior decor. Carnival is often a party ship with a more active nightlife on board.

 

Royal Caribbean - very popular. They have a lot of activities on board and are particularly suited to families and people in their 40s-50s who enjoy an active lifestyle.

 

Celebrity is the up-market arm of Royal Caribbean. They market themselves as up-market of Princess, but we didn't feel it was when we sailed on it. The bathrooms on the ship we were on were larger than those on Princess (our usual cruiseline).

 

Holland America - A traditional style of cruising but the joke is that it is a floating nursing home. Definitely no nightlife here and only a couple of people on the cruise staff (those who run activities for the passengers).

 

Norwegian (NCL) - can't really comment here, but this is a smaller cruise line. Princess, P&O, Carnival and Cunard are all owned by Carnival Corp. The second-largest line is Royal Caribbean/Celebrity.

 

Cunard - traditional British cruising with different 'classes' on board. They don't have a lot of activities. They are pretty expensive. The dress code is more 'dressy' than the other lines with formal attire expected on occasions.

 

Virgin - New to the Australian market. They are adult-only and fairly expensive. They will be offering very limited cruises.

 

I hope this helps. BTW, maybe not everyone will agree with my opinions of the different cruiselines, but I am trying to give you somewhere to start your deliberations.

Edited August 11, 2022 by Aus Traveller

[cruisermsoon]

Coral Princess: avoid!!! It's old and tired, and the Princess Grand Class ships are much better designed and maintained.

Holland America: lovely ships and not too large. 

Celebrity ; above average and can be all-inclusive: look for specials.

Royal Caribbean: very large impersonal ships that I can't recommend.

All-inclusive small ships: Azamara: more expensive, but really nice smaller ships, all-inclusive [drinks included however not shore excursions which the luxury lines include, however at much bigger prices]. The Christmas cruise is from Perth to Melbourne, then a series of New Zealand cruises, a destination which I can recommend for a first time cruiser, probably better than the South Pacific. 

Food for thought, however being your first cruise, choose wisely, and you'll have a memorable experience. 

Bon voyage. 

[Jean C]

Hi, generally speaking, the public areas of older ships are meticulously maintained and regularly refurbished. Cabins aren't updated, the bathrooms are usually still original but functional. Beds are very comfy and carpets are replaced if needed, usually in same dated colours for non-suite cabins. They are kept very clean though. You may see some rust staining on the sides of the ship, painters constantly work on them so visually it's hit or miss whether staining is visible or not.

 

Personally I like the size and layout of the Coral. A lot of the negative reviews relate to minor cutbacks that people have noticed, ie no moisturizer in bathroom, no pen and pad in cabin, no branded Princess bag - nothing to wreck enjoyment of a cruise. As far as food is concerned, it's a darn sight better than anything I cook at home and equally as good as you'd find in a good restaurant, and I'm fortunate to eat at enough good restaurants to know 😋 

[arxcards]

Gary Bembridge does good videos. I like his perspective. Still, I prefer local opinion, and reading everyone's posts here so far, I think there is far more info here.

 

Many here don't even venture to the individual cruise line boards, as the information can be different to here, and they have a different perspective. For Gary, he has a British way of seeing things, and most of his cruises are free including onboard spend. In that scope, it is easy to decide what is the best cruise, but no idea on bang for your buck. As with others that cruise on industry freebies, you have to read between the lines, as they will only tell you the good bits.

[cruisermsoon]

When you have successfully done your first cruise, start planning your Mediterranean cruise, the best cruising destination in the world, and the year after that, Norway. 

You won't regret.

[Aus Traveller]

4 minutes ago, Jean C said:

Hi, generally speaking, the public areas of older ships are meticulously maintained and regularly refurbished. Cabins aren't updated, the bathrooms are usually still original but functional. Beds are very comfy and carpets are replaced if needed, usually in same dated colours for non-suite cabins. They are kept very clean though. You may see some rust staining on the sides of the ship, painters constantly work on them so visually it's hit or miss whether staining is visible or not.

 

Personally I like the size and layout of the Coral. A lot of the negative reviews relate to minor cutbacks that people have noticed, ie no moisturizer in bathroom, no pen and pad in cabin, no branded Princess bag - nothing to wreck enjoyment of a cruise. As far as food is concerned, it's a darn sight better than anything I cook at home and equally as good as you'd find in a good restaurant, and I'm fortunate to eat at enough good restaurants to know 😋 

I agree with your comments, however I got the moisturiser on our June cruise on the Coral. The cut-backs I noticed were - no pen and tiny pad, no branded Princess bag (they aren't that great anyway) and no chocolates on the pillow at night.

[Aus Traveller]

25 minutes ago, cruisermsoon said:

Coral Princess: avoid!!! It's old and tired, and the Princess Grand Class ships are much better designed and maintained.

Holland America: lovely ships and not too large. 

Celebrity ; above average and can be all-inclusive: look for specials.

Royal Caribbean: very large impersonal ships that I can't recommend.

All-inclusive small ships: Azamara: more expensive, but really nice smaller ships, all-inclusive [drinks included however not shore excursions which the luxury lines include, however at much bigger prices]. The Christmas cruise is from Perth to Melbourne, then a series of New Zealand cruises, a destination which I can recommend for a first time cruiser, probably better than the South Pacific. 

Food for thought, however being your first cruise, choose wisely, and you'll have a memorable experience. 

Bon voyage. 

We loved our cruise on the Coral Princess. At the moment it is the only Princess ship sailing her. We don't seriously consider Azamara and the other small ships mainly because of the cost.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Just now, Jean C said:

Hi, generally speaking, the public areas of older ships are meticulously maintained and regularly refurbished. Cabins aren't updated, the bathrooms are usually still original but functional. Beds are very comfy and carpets are replaced if needed, usually in same dated colours for non-suite cabins. They are kept very clean though. You may see some rust staining on the sides of the ship, painters constantly work on them so visually it's hit or miss whether staining is visible or not.

 

Personally I like the size and layout of the Coral. A lot of the negative reviews relate to minor cutbacks that people have noticed, ie no moisturizer in bathroom, no pen and pad in cabin, no branded Princess bag - nothing to wreck enjoyment of a cruise. As far as food is concerned, it's a darn sight better than anything I cook at home and equally as good as you'd find in a good restaurant, and I'm fortunate to eat at enough good restaurants to know 😋 

Don't forget no very ordinary American chocolate on your pillow at night, thank goodness. The last thing I need after indulging in delicious Princess desserts is poor quality chocolate.

 

Some of those missing items may have been from supply problems. They are too trivial to worry about IMHO.

 

One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post was the excellent service on Coral Princess. We were on the first of the 7 day cruises in June - there had been 3 or 4 short cruises before ours, just enough for the crew to settle back into a routine. I'm really looking forward to being back onboard her in 23 days, for 19 days this time. 😊

 

 

[Jean C]

Just now, Aus Traveller said:

I agree with your comments, however I got the moisturiser on our June cruise on the Coral. The cut-backs I noticed were - no pen and tiny pad, no branded Princess bag (they aren't that great anyway) and no chocolates on the pillow at night.

Ah yes, how could I forget the missing chocolates 🍫 😧 That could be a deal breaker, hehehe

[OzKiwiJJ]

37 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

There has been a lot of valuable advice/hints given already so I won't repeat it. There are regular seven-day cruises to Noumea, Lifou (in New Caledonia) and Port Vila (Vanuatu) from Brisbane. Cruises to Fiji are a bit longer - often 14 days. Return cruises to NZ are usually 14 days, but may be 13.

 

I feel it is important to consider which cruiseline might suit you best. The following are my personal comments/observations -

Princess - excellent cruiseline. I wouldn't let negative comments about the Coral put you off. The nightclub doesn't really get many people attending and is often a running joke.

 

P&O Australia - probably a cut-price Princess. Popular with families. The ships have zip-lines and a waterpark with large waterslides.

 

Carnival - Over-the-top interior decor. Carnival is often a party ship with a more active nightlife on board.

 

Royal Caribbean - very popular. They have a lot of activities on board and are particularly suited to families and people in their 40s-50s who enjoy an active lifestyle.

 

Celebrity is the up-market arm of Royal Caribbean. They market themselves as up-market of Princess, but we didn't feel it was when we sailed on it. The bathrooms on the ship we were on were larger than those on Princess (our usual cruiseline).

 

Holland America - A traditional style of cruising but the joke is that it is a floating nursing home. Definitely no nightlife here and only a couple of people on the cruise staff (those who run activities for the passengers).

 

Norwegian (NCL) - can't really comment here, but this is a smaller cruise line. Princess, P&O, Carnival and Cunard are all owned by Carnival Corp. The second-largest line is Royal Caribbean/Celebrity.

 

Cunard - traditional British cruising with different 'classes' on board. They don't have a lot of activities. They are pretty expensive. The dress code is more 'dressy' than the other lines with formal attire expected on occasions.

 

Virgin - New to the Australian market. They are adult-only and fairly expensive. They will be offering very limited cruises.

 

I hope this helps. BTW, maybe not everyone will agree with my opinions of the different cruiselines, but I am trying to give you somewhere to start your deliberations.

I think you've summed them up quite nicely.

 

Princess v Celebrity is hard to judge. I did like the cabins and bathrooms on Celebrity Solstice but the cabin storage (wardrobes, drawers, nightstands) weren't as good as Princess. The Solstice Sky Lounge was terrific for sailway drinks at each port. And I did like having sommeliers serving the wine at dinner in the Celebrity MDRs. But IMHO Princess wins hands down on quality and variety of meals, music, entertainment, decent-sized lounges and bars (except on the newer Royal class ships), and good promenade decks on all by the Royal Class ships. Coral Princess has a particularly good promenade deck. Princess also has a much better and bigger cocktail list but their wine list is underwheming at present. Hopefully that will improve.

[OzKiwiJJ]

14 minutes ago, Jean C said:

Ah yes, how could I forget the missing chocolates 🍫 😧 That could be a deal breaker, hehehe

BYO if you need chocolate at night, that way you're guaranteed to get the quality you like.

[Jean C]

29 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

BYO if you need chocolate at night, that way you're guaranteed to get the quality you like.

Hahaha, tried that with Lindt Caramel Squares but never opened them, ate more than enough to even feel tempted - brought them back to NZ and gave to my daughter 😋

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, cruisermsoon said:

Coral Princess: avoid!!! It's old and tired, and the Princess Grand Class ships are much better designed and maintained.

 

Interesting you should say that. Coral Princess was built four years after Grand Princess. Coral and her sister ship, Island Princess, are Panamax Class ships, built specifically to fit through the original Panama Canal locks. She has all the features of the Grand Class ships but is a little smaller and narrower. She is ideally suited to the longer cruises we have during our off-season - 28 night Round Australia cruises, 35 night Hawaii/Tahiti cruises and the 107-110 night World Cruises.

 

Perhaps you were thinking she was one of the older Sun Class ships?

 

It will be interesting to compare the condition and maintenance of Grand Princess when we cruise on her next year.

[arxcards]

Coral Princess can't be that old & tired, otherwise she would already be sailing for P&O. 😉

They gave that honour to two of the other older Grand class ships in Golden & Star.

 

Still, Grand Princess is the only older ship left in the Princess fleet, and less than a coincidence that they are both spending time here. One of them will be a P&O ship by the time Pacific Explorer is retired.