Next cruise recommendations

[Marga.Anders]

Hi,

 

Summer of 2018 we took our first cruise. Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas - western Mediterrenean

Summer of 2019 we went on Jewel of the Seas from Rome to the Greek Isles.

 

We loved Symphony of the Seas. Especially : Solarium: large and quiet.  Entertainment at night: much to choose from, high quality of shows. 

We like Jewel of the Seas but:  solarium too small; way too much noise. Enterainment at night: very little choice. Low quality. 

 

So now for 2020 we are a little bit lost on what to do. We live in Europe and do not fly.  So that limits the possibilities to Europe mainland and UK.

We would prefer a route we haven't done before, but ship has to be 'better' than Jewel. 

 

We like the itineraries to the North (UK, Norway, Iceland) but are hesitant because of the weather. 

 

From your experiences what ships and/or routes would you recommend?   We are 2 adults mid 30's, no kids. 

 

Thanks!

 

 

[LHT28]

Have you looked at what ships leave from the UK  within your time frame ?

That would  be the 1st  thing to do  then choose what Itinerary works for you

[Floridiana]

A cruise along the Norwegian coast is wonderful and if I am not mistaken, many ships go there from the UK. Follow LHT28's advice. 

 

As to the weather, it was variable on our Norway cruise. If you want more pool time, this may not be it. It's more about marvelous scenery.

[jocap]

Anthem of the Seas is to be home ported in Southampton from next May- she has varied itineraries, including cruises to the Canaries.

[John Bull]

Hi, Marga,

 

We found both Vision OTS  (Vision Class) and especially  Voyager OTS (Voyager class) to be crowded, and most especially in unreliable European weather, when everyone crowds inside. 

 

I had to hunt thro' your previous posts to see where you live, because your English is perfect.

Wouldn't have guessed you're Dutch.

But that makes it easy.

The Baltic.

From Amsterdam or Copenhagen or half-a-dozen other places, to Stockholm (not Nynashamn, which is on the coast & misses the long & glorious sail-in through the archipelago to Stockholm), St Petersburg (make sure you choose a ship that stays there for at least two days) and other important & historic Baltic cities.

 

The ship isn't as important as the itinerary, but I feel sure you can find less-crowded ships than RCI.

P&O's mid-size ships like Azura and Aurora aren't crowded, but sail from the UK - so you'd fly west to sail east.

 

JB 

ps quoting your country with your screen name would help avoiding unhelpful and sometimes downright inaccurate (eg visas, currency, etc) advice

 

Edited September 4, 2019 by John Bull

[Marga.Anders]

10 hours ago, John Bull said:

Hi, Marga,

 

We found both Vision OTS  (Vision Class) and especially  Voyager OTS (Voyager class) to be crowded, and most especially in unreliable European weather, when everyone crowds inside. 

 

I had to hunt thro' your previous posts to see where you live, because your English is perfect.

Wouldn't have guessed you're Dutch.

But that makes it easy.

The Baltic.

From Amsterdam or Copenhagen or half-a-dozen other places, to Stockholm (not Nynashamn, which is on the coast & misses the long & glorious sail-in through the archipelago to Stockholm), St Petersburg (make sure you choose a ship that stays there for at least two days) and other important & historic Baltic cities.

 

The ship isn't as important as the itinerary, but I feel sure you can find less-crowded ships than RCI.

P&O's mid-size ships like Azura and Aurora aren't crowded, but sail from the UK - so you'd fly west to sail east.

 

JB 

ps quoting your country with your screen name would help avoiding unhelpful and sometimes downright inaccurate (eg visas, currency, etc) advice

 

Thanks for the tips and compliment!  I will look at P&O cruises, they were not on my shortlist.

[John Bull]

24 minutes ago, Marga.Anders said:

Thanks for the tips and compliment!  I will look at P&O cruises, they were not on my shortlist.

 

When comparing cruise ticket prices, bear in mind that with P&Othere's no daily service charge (P&O introduced daily charges, that was met with howls of protests from Brits, &  they abandoned the charge). There's no service charges on drinks etc. & bar prices are lower than on US ships. 

Standards on P&O are broadly the same as on Princess (some ships have identical layouts) but decor is more-reserved, perhaps a little bland. Service is good but not so in-your-face as on US ships. High proportion of UK passengers, average ages higher than Royal Caribbean. Some P&O ships are adults-only, though if you choose the Baltic you're unlikely to find many kids on any ship.

P&O sail out of Southampton - there are direct one hour flights between Southampton airport (SOU) & AMS.

 

Marella (which like Mein Schiff is part of TUI) and Fred Olsen also sail the Baltic out of the UK.

Again, mainly Brits.

Again, lower on-board costs.

But most of their ships are old.

 

JB 

[jocap]

Looking at JB's post- there are flights from Amsterdam into Newcastle- just a short hop!- and Fred Olsen, Cruise and Maritime and Marella all do Baltic or fjords cruises out of Newcastle port.

But, yes, they are older ships and do not have the activities you enjoyed on Symphony OTS. 

[geoffrywillhardt]

9 Day Europe from Copenhagen to Southhampton on the Mardi Gras could be a new experience for you. It is a new ship which could be a good or bad thing. New and shiny vs New with growing pains if you will. In my opinion this is not likely to be a Carnival "party" itinerary, so it probably wont be very loud and loaded with kids.  

 

• Kiel (Hamburg), Germany •
•  Goteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden •
•  Oslo, Norway •
•  Zeebrugge (Bruges), Belgium •
•  Rotterdam, Netherlands •
•  Le Havre (Paris), France •
•  Southampton (London), England

Leaves Aug 31 ends Sept 9. 

 

Give it a look. :)

[Wayfairers]

How much time do you have?  We are using transatlantic cruises to go US to Europe and back and spending some time touring Europe next summer between the transatlantic cruises.  So much better than flying.   

 

You could sail the first half of HAL Voyage of the Viking to the US, see Boston then find a sailing back to somewhere in Europe from somewhere in the US and see things while traveling between Boston and wherever you sail from in the US.  You could stay in the US for a few days or weeks, whatever fits your schedule.  Along the way you would see Greenland, Iceland, Canada and a few other places.  

 

If you want something shorter then Norway, Baltic  or Canary Islands/North Africa.   I’d look at all the sailings from ports you are willing to travel to and go from there.  There are websites that list all sailings from particular ports for multiple cruise lines if you haven’t found those yet, google cruises.