Wannabe first timers

[Deltaman]

I've noticed how readily you experienced cruisers are to help newbies or ditherers, so here's hoping:-

 

My wife and I are 60 somethings, and, although many of our friends are cruisers, it has has never appealed to us because of our (admittedly outdated) perceptions of set mealtimes, set seating, black tie dining and captains table. So many people have assured us that modern cruising is not, or need not, involve such formalities, that we are looking to give it a try.

 

So, we are looking to try a shortish (6-9 +/-) days Mediterranean cruise, with a balcony cabin, to see if it suits. Having looked online and spoken to one travel agent, here is my summary of my limited research:-

 

MSC - this was strongly recommended by the travel agent to meet our non-formal criteria. However, looking at the reviews on this forum, it seems that there are "issues" in particular with free for all check-ins/disembarkations.

 

P&O - this was the travel agents second choice. I had originally been put off by the black tie issue but was assured that this was optional and was easily avoided by going for buffet dining on formal nights. However, from reading the following on P&O's website, it does suggest you'd take on pariah status

 

[/b]

Should you wish to dress more casually in the evening, then you will be able to dine in buffet style restaurants

though you should be aware that nearly all passengers adhere to the evening's dress code and this helps to set the ambience for the evening.

 

Cunard & Princess - These are not for people looking for non-formal cruising.

 

Thomson - No balconies

 

I would be grateful for anyone, with your views on my, limited, research or any suggestions.

 

By the way, no disrespect to those of you that like black tie dining, its just a personal foible of mine.

[paul929207]

Princess has formal nights, there would be 2 on a 7 to 9 day cruise. However, you can choose to eat at the buffet, specialty restaurants or have room service if you don't want to dress. Princess has Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining. With AD, you don't have the set meal time and table mates.

[Daisyloo]

Why don't you look at Holland America Line? Yes they have formal nights, but you don't need black tie - a suit would do. (or even a sports jacket) On the formal nights you can also opt to dine in the buffet or have room service, and no one will look down on you.

The food on HAL is great, wonderful service, elegant mid-size ships, we found them to be very organized and everything ran smoothly. They tend to cater to an older demographic which we liked (we are 55 and 53) so no rowdy drunken people, not very many kids.

Pat :)

[Talisker92]

I would second Paul's recommendation. I have been on a transatlantic cruise on Cunard, where it was black tie every night except the first and last.

On our last Princess cruise, I finally decided to give up on the formal nights and eat in the buffet. It was quite nice, quiet, and they put tablecloths on the tables.

As far as the cruise length, I think that Princess does not offer any shorter than 10 to 12 days.

[psbtrvlr]

Norwegian Cruise Line is very casual. No set dining times. On the formal night, dress up is optional, and there is always one main dining room that remains casual.

[Beopthtuh]

im another one who thinks like paul ,

princess sail from southampton during the summer season to the med ,iberia ,norway and even the canary isles ,

they do have formal nights but you dont have to take part ,the horizon court is there for folks who dont want to suffer black tie dining on the 2 nights it happens .

i am a bit baised towards princess been on thompson,s and p&o both good lines

p&o a bit more formal the princess .

if your unsure just keep asking questions were here to help anyone we can .

happy cruising its a great way to holiday and very relaxing

[Deltaman]

Thanks folks, very useful feedback, as I expected.

 

Whilst I didn't want to do the black tie thing, neither did I want to be a social outcast - which is the impression given by P&O.

 

I'll see what Holland America, Princess and Norwegian have available.

[Sauer-kraut]

Norwegian does both a Med itinerary and a Baltic. Just a word of advice, Med cruises are intense, port intense and a feeling of needing/wanting it see it all. Make sure you schedule down time, or short excursions so you don't exhaust yourselves.

 

Norwegian as a previous poster stated is a casual line, with many dining options both free and with a surcharge. They are the line that basically started open/anytime dining and they do have it down to a science. There is no dressing up if you don't want to, shorts and resort casual attire is always appropriate.

 

I hope you realize that cruising is addicting so make sure you are prepared.:D

 

Best of luck and if you need specific questions answered about ships/layouts/cabins please post on the cruise line appropriate board. Welcome to Cruise Critic!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Princess does have formal nights, but some passengers will go to the buffet (you can wear shorts if you want), a speciality restaurant (which is smart casual every night), even the outdoor poolside grill or pizzeria. Some ships have the International Cafe, which isn't an enclosed eatery, but a display case that has a selection of paninis, sandwiches, salads, desserts, etc. You can take your plate and find a table there in the Piazza or find a spot to eat elsewhere, even in your cabin.

 

You won't feel like a pariah walking around the ship after 6pm on formal nights even if you are dressed down. About five years ago on New Years Eve, there was a couple in denim -- if it bothered any of the tux crowd, so what. And on some itineraries, you may find more people wearing dress shirts and ties and cocktail length dresses (like me) than wearing tuxes and full length gowns walking into the MDRs on formal night. We had three formal nights on our two last cruises and did go to all three of them. But on our last cruise, we ended up eating half of our dinners in the buffet.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Glad you have narrowed it down to 3 cruise lines.

 

All have the buffet which is great for people who do not wish to dress up -- and you will find quite a few people eat there for dinner so you would not be social outcast.

 

Do let us know what you decide on.

[Beopthtuh]

you,ve narrowed down to 3 good lines .

first choice is always itinery then line .

if folks dont like the way you feel comfortable dress wise .that is there problem not yours .

on pour last 14 day cruise we did 2 formals in the mdr and dined the rest of the time in the horizon court .

cruising is for enjoying and seeing the world .

[momcat]

You might want to look into Azamara. They don't do many Caribbean cruises, but we were on one last spring and it was terrific. The dress code is always smart casual, no formal nights, wonderful food and perfect service. The age demographic would suit you, and the super crew would make you feel instantly at home. The entertainment isn't as elaborate as on bigger ships, but the quality is fine and the cruise directors are very good. In addition, since the ships are small (690 passengers), many of the ports are unusual and the stays are quite long, sometimes overnight. (No, they're not paying me for this - we just had a super time on our two cruises with them and have two more booked)

[soccerref]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Cruise Critic and, hopefully, the even more wonderful world of cruising. You have had several positive replies to your questions and I would like to add my 2 pen’orth.

 

The first thing I would say is that you have had, in my humble opinion, very poor information from your TA. Unfortunately many TAs are young people with very little experience of cruising and also they don’t always understand the preferences of the more mature traveller.

 

Dress: My DH and I are in our early 60s and are not formal people but we also don’t dress in jeans/shorts and sleeveless T-shirts (in my case - never....!) in the evenings. We both wear smartish trousers and shirts/blouses and these have been perfectly acceptable dress in the main dining rooms of all the lines on which we have sailed (Princess, RCI, Costa, Thomson, Star Lines, Carnival, P&O and NCL). The more stringent weight allowances on flights have also forced us to leave our ‘formal dinner dress/suit’ at home. I now wear trousers and a glittery top and my DH has trousers and a shirt and tie accompanied, sometimes, by a jacket. We have never been turned away from the main dining room on formal evenings.[/color]

 

From my experience over the last 20 years cruise lines are more similar than they are different. That being said there are certain things to be aware of:

 

Quote ------MSC - this was strongly recommended by the travel agent to meet our non-formal criteria. However, looking at the reviews on this forum, it seems that there are "issues" in particular with free for all check-ins/disembarkations.

 

We’ve not sailed MSC but would have no hesitation in doing so if the itinerary was what we wanted (itinerary is our total criterion....sad, I know, but I want to see as much of the world as possible before I end up in my ‘Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ and cruising is the easiest and most comfortable way of doing it that we’ve found. We still do coach tours but love the fact that on a cruise you unpack once and have the same bed every night!!!!) but, it is an Italian line like Costa (sailed twice and 1 booked for next year) and caters for a much more diverse set of nationalities. You need to be prepared to have announcements in several languages and to accept that our European cousins don’t always do thing ‘like us’.

 

Also, our Costa cruises have not had the option of buffet dining in the evenings.

 

NCL might be your best fit. Nice modern ships in the Med and complete ‘freestyle’ dining (no set dress code, times and tables....just turn up at your chosen venue and wait to be seated like a land based restaurant) with several restaurants to choose from.

 

P&O - this was the travel agents second choice. I had originally been put off by the black tie issue but was assured that this was optional and was easily avoided by going for buffet dining on formal nights. However, from reading the following on P&O's website, it does suggest you'd take on pariah status

[/b]Should you wish to dress more casually in the evening, then you will be able to dine in buffet style restaurants though you should be aware that nearly all passengers adhere to the evening's dress code and this helps to set the ambience for the evening.

 

We had a great cruise on P&O but it is a little more formal than Princess, RCI, Celebrity, NCL and Thomson. That said we still just dressed smartly in the evenings and never had adverse comments.

 

Cunard & Princess - These are not for people looking for non-formal cruising.

 

I can’t comment about Cunard but I do believe it is the most formal of all the cruise lines. Princess, however, is one of our favourite lines and seems to suit our preferences – great itineraries, good service, nice ships, pleasant mix of U.S., Brits and European passengers and about the right balance of formality/informality.

 

Thomson - No balconies

 

Thomson ships are much older and are recycled from other cruise lines. They are very much a British product and we have enjoyed the itineraries but, for us, their AI option leads to some less than pleasant behaviour in a minority of people. Thomson Dream does have some balconies and is their biggest ship.

 

My advice, for what it’s worth, is to talk to your cruising friends, ask questions on here and ‘bite the bullet’. After all, even if you hate the cruise it is only 7 days out of your life and a Med cruise is very port intensive so you can be off the ship for most of the day . Many of our friends who have come to cruising recently are totally hooked and complain that they wished they had tried it sooner.

[trish1c]

The lines your TA recommended cater to Europeans.

The lines suggested here, NCL, Princess, HAL etc. cater to Americans. If you select one of them for the more casual experience I think you will be happy but you may be subject to the American style of tipping, everybody & anybody which can be weird to somebody from the UK who is not used to it.

[Waihekean]

I would suggest that if very casual dressing is most important, then go with NCL. For better food go with Princess, Celebrity or Hal.

 

Secondly, IMHO a seven day cruise is too short to really enjoy a Med cruise, unless flying to say Rome, Barcelona, Istanbul or Venice first to explore one of these wonderful cities for a few days.

 

Like already mentioned these cruises are very intensive and I personally also look if some seadays are included, but that is not everyone's cup of tea.

 

But most important, start researching the places you would like to visit like Santorini or Sorrento or Ephesus (the list goes on), look up U-tube and other sites or library books for impressions. Then check out the Port of Calls forum here at CC.

The researching is half the fun on a Med cruise;):D:D

[penguinscott]

While I do like to dress a bit for dinner, I don't want to dress black tie (altho I usually do 1 night). I LOVED HAL ( http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1585890 ) and you could very easily get away with a sports coat or a suit and tie. I had open dining, but really liked the simplicity of having a set time without worrying about how long I'll wait for a table or who I'm going to dine with after having met others who wanted to dine with me.

 

I'm about to try NCL for the first time and I hear they are very relaxed and don't even require a tie. I'm not sure I'll like that either, but I'll try anything once.

 

It sounds like NCL would suit you rather nicely, and HAL as well.

[KENANDPAT]

I second momcat's comments.

 

Azamara is the most comfortable cruise we have ever taken. You eat when you want, with a group or table for two. No need to bring formal gear, or have to go to the buffet if you aren't dressed up. It's an almost all inclusive line, you pay for your alcoholic drinks other than wine with lunch and dinner. All other drinks are included.

 

We have not had better service and felt so looked after on any other cruise we have taken. They have some wonderful Med itineraries and can get into smaller ports since the ships only hold 670 passengers.