JohnnyScottish

Ok, that makes a lot of sense. I didn't know you'd have the opportunity to get a refund on the pre-pay. Thank you. (this it my first cruise)

I enjoy slots. I've never done a tournament but it sounds like it could be fun to experience. Many above note that you get a discount to buy in advance, but the Celebrity website doesn't make clear if there are fixed times for the tournaments and when they'd be. Obviously I wouldn't want to pre-pay if they'll clash with other things I already want to do.

That’s why NCL Sun and Marella Explorer appealed. They may not be as up market but they are both under 2,000 passengers. If / when we do book, I’ll put everyone out of their suspense and report back!

I think personally this approach would be very like me. I’m of the opinion that I can find fun and enjoy almost anything. My partner is a big “analyser” and so I want to try and be respectful of that. Maybe I should just make it a surprise! Haha

My partner and I are looking to do "a cruise" soon (specific I know). We generally like the idea of seeing so many nice new places and eating nice food and drinking nice drinks aplenty. I'd generally say we do like a relatively peaceful experience (lots of activities but also space to have some quite time). Our budget would stretch to the likes of Celebrity, HAL, etc however for our first cruise we'd like to not spend quite as much. We'd also like to go Nov/Feb time (we've got a lot of other stuff booked) this year in Canaries / Med which rules out a lot of the typical premium lines. We've looked at Norwegian Sun and Marella Explorer who both offer competitive prices on an all inclusive experience. The real question is - do these ships feel busy when full. Are there bars etc on busy sea evening which would feel like a quiet intimate cocktail bar on land. Having never been on a cruise its hard to tell how busy ships really feel given that all the Youtube tours are clearly taken at the crack of dawn when everyone is still asleep. Im really sorry for the long winded post, but i thought it was best to set the scene. Please feel free to tut or tell me off. You're help is appreciated!