A second time cruiser, but novice level applies still!

Hello Cruisers,

After a bit of advice from you experienced types!

Last year myself and my Partner took our first cruise on RCI Freedom of the Seas, and absolutely loved it!

I wondered if anyone could suggest other cruise lines that we may enjoy?

We are both 30 (ish, early 30's anyway!)

No babies, we like to have a drink but don't necessarily want to dance the night away!

I don't really know what the demographic is for all of the Cruise Lines,don't want to end up somewhere where we would be completely out of place!

Thanks in advance!

Amy :)

Hello Cruisers,

After a bit of advice from you experienced types!

Last year myself and my Partner took our first cruise on RCI Freedom of the Seas, and absolutely loved it!

I wondered if anyone could suggest other cruise lines that we may enjoy?

We are both 30 (ish, early 30's anyway!)

No babies, we like to have a drink but don't necessarily want to dance the night away!

I don't really know what the demographic is for all of the Cruise Lines,don't want to end up somewhere where we would be completely out of place!

Thanks in advance!

 

Amy :)

Questions we ask:

1.WHEN can we go.

2. Where do we want to go.

3. How much can we afford.

As far as which cruise line; you get what you pay for.:)

Being loyal to Norwegian Cruise Lines, we went through hoops of fire, but got our most recent cruise for a big discount.

Keep asking questions as you narrow your search, here on Cruise Critic.

Good Luck!

Your best bet is simply to try the other lines! They are more similar than different! NCL has the best "suite" perks....Carnival has some of the larger "standard" cabin, but horrible "suite perks"...Celebrity, Princess and HAL are a bit quieter, if you are looking for something without "belly flop" contests and such! RCI, well, you've tried that, and the other ships will have the same menus, and procedures, so you'll sort of know what you're getting.

Hiya,

well annoyingly due to my job (I work in Education but am not a teacher) we have to School Holidays!

I have just been browsing etc,I guess more to know any I should stay away from? That are definite no-nos?

Amy

Hiya,

well annoyingly due to my job (I work in Education but am not a teacher) we have to School Holidays!

I have just been browsing etc,I guess more to know any I should stay away from? That are definite no-nos?

 

Amy

It depends on what you are "into".:D

THIS gets sold out every year, months in advance;

http://www.kidrockcruise.com/

Lol it's def not school holidays!

Hello Cruisers,

After a bit of advice from you experienced types!

Last year myself and my Partner took our first cruise on RCI Freedom of the Seas, and absolutely loved it!

 

Amy :)

Well, what was it you loved?

The ship, the ports, the food, entertainment?

My suggestion would be, if you loved the ship or the cruise line, why not stick with that? Maybe look into Allure, Oasis, Anthem?

I see you are in the UK...Are you wanting to sail from the UK, or someplace in Europe that is less expensive to get to than the US? EM

Hello Cruisers,

After a bit of advice from you experienced types!

Last year myself and my Partner took our first cruise on RCI Freedom of the Seas, and absolutely loved it!

I wondered if anyone could suggest other cruise lines that we may enjoy?

We are both 30 (ish, early 30's anyway!)

No babies, we like to have a drink but don't necessarily want to dance the night away!

I don't really know what the demographic is for all of the Cruise Lines,don't want to end up somewhere where we would be completely out of place!

Thanks in advance!

 

Amy :)

Best alternatives to Royal Caribbean are Carnival, NCL and Princess.

I know education workers who go on the adult only ships of P&O or Cruise and Maritime in the summer hols, but the other cruisers may well be on the older side for you...or else be teachers... ;)

Celebrity leaves from Southampton, sister line to RCI but without the swings and roundabouts; Princess is sister line to P&O and I haven't seen much difference except P&O's tipping and bar prices are much less... the ships are the same build. C&M uses old ships, but again, like the other UK lines, has less tipping and lower priced alcohol; Fred Olsen is seen as not having young-ish people on board, but again I have forum friends who are young at heart and adore the comfort and food.

Thomson use older ships but do remarkable packages using their own aeroplanes from many local airports, and keep you on board at the end until your flight has landed, which is a big plus when many lines want you off as soon as poss on the last day. They also have great itineraries.

Cunard also sail from S'ton... beautiful ships and elegant dining but they use the American $; tipping and alcohol rates, which might make a difference.

And you're too young for Saga ... :D

Ok so UK Cruise Ships are better value but potentially the ships are a little older?

So verses the only experience we've had of Freedom, what are we talking? I assume just a few less facilities? The food is still yummy? They still have wine to drink?

What are the downsides?

We watched a bit of the entertainment, but not lots found plenty to do with just having dinners and drinks?

And obviously once you get to port then it's all the same anyway?

Just don't want to book something and then it's all a bit grotty?

As a UK based cruiser who got into this in her 30s and am travelling with just my other half (no kids) I'd suggest fly cruise from Venice, Barcelona etc - get you straight to the Med and to calmer seas - more ports in 7 days, too.

Since you're having to travel during school holidays question is.. do you want to stay clear of kids/families or don't mind them? For family friendly and RC-like option I'd consider the brand new Carnival Vista (google it!) or the NCL ships - but those aren't as new..and to me the interiors/designs a little garish. But lively, chilled out cruising.

If you want a chic but not stuffy cruise holiday, more couples' than families cruise, then check out Celebrity. We were on Silhouette from Venice in Aug 2014 and loved it. Sure, the club was quiet on most nights but we did get to dance too on a few occasion. Mostly listened to live music in various venues, saw the shows (stunning!), stand up and few game shows. And loved the hammocks up on lawn deck...glasses of wine in hand. Heaven :)

Sometimes older, smaller ships are good too... We went with RC Splendour in Nov 2015 as we wanted to go back to Dubrovnik and cruise called in Split too. Small in comparison to the newer ships but great service, much like Vision this spring.

Itinerary matters too.. not just the ship. Look at what ships/cruise lines are available on the dates you are able to travel and narrow it down from there :)

Happy 2nd cruising! :)

Ok so UK Cruise Ships are better value but potentially the ships are a little older?

So verses the only experience we've had of Freedom, what are we talking? I assume just a few less facilities? The food is still yummy? They still have wine to drink?

What are the downsides?

We watched a bit of the entertainment, but not lots found plenty to do with just having dinners and drinks?

And obviously once you get to port then it's all the same anyway?

Just don't want to book something and then it's all a bit grotty?

The Princess/P&O/Celebrity and RCI ships out of S'ton are not all old... some of the smaller P&O ones are, but look at the brand new Britannia, or the large Azura and Ventura, but, like the RCI ones, they will have lots of children on board...

Celebrity might be a better bet here, because they're children friendly but don't have the RCI on board facilities.

The older ships will have good food and wine, and some, like Thomson, are noted for their entertainment. It's the lack of glitz and glamour which will be apparent to you after RCI. Service from crew is generally much the same on all, and most have speciality restaurants for a different evening.

Older ship doesn't necessarily mean grotty ;) though I wouldn't go back on any of the old Thomson ships as last time we were on Spririt 8 yr ago the plumbing was a bit iffy then and there was a bit of vibration felt from engines - can't imagine what it must be like now.

BUT...having seen what Thomson have done to the refurbed RC Splendour, christened the Thomson/TUI Discovery, it looks rather nice! Yes, we were on Splendour in Nov and it is 20yo ship but it had a recent RC refit. And I'd be quite keen to try it under the Thomson livery and fresh refurb they did to relaunch it - plus I like the all incl aspect with direct Thomson flights & transfers. And with Thomson the tips are already included unlike on the majority of US own ships (incl. Carnival owned P&O) where you have the service charge added plus high grats on purchases (18% on drinks on RC!)

Older ships tend to be smaller with less dining options, but we're normally just MDR diners...occasional buffet meal here and there. Theatre shows aren't as grand as the venues are smaller - but didn't sound like that was a dealbreaker for you two.

And smaller ships can call at ports the bigger ones can't. Or they can dock where bigger ships may need to anchor and tender to the shore. Or use a bigger, freight style harbour like Tallinn's Muga or Stockholm ships calling at Nynahamn instead of the main inner city port.

If the time you've chosen to travel/itinerary chosen has an older ship - look online for refurb information, read reviews here on CC or on Cruise Dot and ask past cruisers for info too :)

We, too will be interested in the new Thomson cruise ship- and now they've bought the sister ship, Legend, also.

We had a good experience with Thomson, but like Mrs P, didn't care for the old ship (Celebration). The itinerary was superb, and the atmosphere on board extremely good.