Newbies & first holiday

Hi All

We have been looking at cruises non stop for over 2 weeks now, bombarded with pro's and con's.

This will be our first holiday together so even more daunting, lol.

We are in WA and limited cruises leaving from Fremantle.

Liked the look of the South Pacific destinations as my partner has just done Asia.

The sales currently on looked very inviting but then you have to add flights, on board expenses and tipping, not so cheap now.

Any feed back good and bad on cruises would be appreciated and also recommendations for a first timers.

Many Thanks

Lynda n Nath

Hi All

 

We have been looking at cruises non stop for over 2 weeks now, bombarded with pro's and con's.

 

This will be our first holiday together so even more daunting, lol.

 

We are in WA and limited cruises leaving from Fremantle.

 

Liked the look of the South Pacific destinations as my partner has just done Asia.

 

The sales currently on looked very inviting but then you have to add flights, on board expenses and tipping, not so cheap now.

 

Any feed back good and bad on cruises would be appreciated and also recommendations for a first timers.

 

Many Thanks

Lynda n Nath

G'day Lynda n Nath

What age bracket are you in, and what are your interests.

A you have found choices from WA are a little limited and when you add in travel to, say Sydney, it all starts to add up.

Also there is such a large range of choices there is an option that suits most.

Some lines tipping is purely optional (effectively included in the fare). Cruises where on board expenses are in AUS$ may be better for you with the $ as low as it is at the moment.

Spending on board doesn't have to be high out cruise last year our final bill was about $10, but we did have some OBC ($300 I think) and tips were pre paid. We just completed a 33 night cruise and we had about $500 OBC (on Princess tips included in our fare, though we did pay some extra tips in cash) our bill was about $2K our spend in ports about the same.

Hi All

 

 

 

We have been looking at cruises non stop for over 2 weeks now, bombarded with pro's and con's.

 

 

 

This will be our first holiday together so even more daunting, lol.

 

 

 

We are in WA and limited cruises leaving from Fremantle.

 

 

 

Liked the look of the South Pacific destinations as my partner has just done Asia.

 

 

 

The sales currently on looked very inviting but then you have to add flights, on board expenses and tipping, not so cheap now.

 

 

 

Any feed back good and bad on cruises would be appreciated and also recommendations for a first timers.

 

 

 

Many Thanks

 

Lynda n Nath

Oceania cabin prices include airfare (and many additional things you'd pay extra for on other cruise lines.

WA is Western Australia - the tip off is the port of Fremantle.

Cuddlah:

Most South Pacific cruises depart from Sydney. I know P&O sails this itinerary from Fremantle but I'm not seeing many other cruises to the South Pacific. What lines have you found?

Hi All

Thanks for the replies.

We are mid 30's and active people both day & nights, eating is a thing for us and decent drinks.:D

Interested in onshore trips but heard its better to organise yourself and not use the cruise liner (value).

The gratuities is an extra cost and some of the cruises say you can remove- is that being stingy?

Again we have heard good and bad about the South Pacific cruise, in particular New Caledonia being less than desirable.

Our main choices at the moment are Royal Caribbean, Princess & Carnival.

Issues with seating to eat and around the pool have been mentioned on the bigger ships (RC).

All in all we would still like to experience a cruise and any feed back would be welcomed.

Lynda n Nath

Princess does tend towards an older crowd, I'd lean towards RCI. But one of their smaller ships were I you.

I would highly recommend Royal Caribbean Line. The ships are beautiful, have tons of on board events plus delicious food, friendly passengers and crew. Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas does a 16-night circumnavigation to Sydney on March 12th, 2016.

Have a look at cruisetimetables.com and click on departures you will find all of the lines sailing from Freemantle, Australia next year. Radiance is a really gorgeous ship.

I think you would enjoy any of those lines, either Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or Princess.

Me, I'd book the Radiance in a heartbeat.

Jonathan

The gratuities is an extra cost and some of the cruises say you can remove- is that being stingy?

Well, in a word, yes. ;)

I will explain. I understand you have asked with a sincere heart. Some people who have never taken a cruise, or who don't normally tip in their culture, are a little frightened/upset/angry/confused about why there are gratuities on top of the cruise price. Please understand that the crew you will encounter will be working very hard for you. They will make your cruise an extraordinary vacation experience. Consider the gratuities/service charge/hotel charge (it's called different things on each line) to be an additional part of the crew's salary. Now why, you might ask is it not included in the price, or why don't they just pay their staff more to start with? Fair questions, and the answer is "Well, they just don't.". It's not up to the cruising public how to pay the employees, but up to the parent company.

Having said all that, the tips make up a huge part of the salary which the employees send home to their families. As well, since the tips are still considered "optional", on most lines you can still have them removed if you see fit.

My hope is that you will not remove or decrease the gratuities. Many passengers actually tip more, in addition to what the cruise line recommends/charges each account.

Best to you.

.

Thanks for the great replies.

Now to actually commit and book the thing :p

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

You do have many choices. You should go and talk to a travel agent.

Do come back and let us know what you decide on.

Well, in a word, yes. ;)

 

Having said all that, the tips make up a huge part of the salary which the employees send home to their families. As well, since the tips are still considered "optional", on most lines you can still have them removed if you see fit.

 

My hope is that you will not remove or decrease the gratuities. Many passengers actually tip more, in addition to what the cruise line recommends/charges each account.

 

Best to you.

.

Agreed!

Did you know that many of the cruise staff, those who work for tips, are only paid an additional salary of about $50 per month. Yes, $50 per month. The rest is tips / gratuities. Other's work on tips/ commission. Ship's photographers mostly work on just commission on the number of photos sold.