Re: Cruise and which cabin is best
Hi Susan
Good decision to try a cruise. You will most likely get the bug very quickly and never look back.
As others have stated go for P&O cruises or Cunard depending on what you want.
Cunard operates a "class" system where lesser mortals are not permitted on certain parts of the ship. It is more formal than P&O generally.
P&O is a very British cruise line and is semi formal, a mixture of smart casual and formal evenings, friendly but still glamorous. I have done over 35 cruises with P&O.
In terms of cabins you can actually select purpose built single occupancy cabins on some ships. I think Azura and Ventura have them and I can confirm that the fantastic Aurora has some brand new ones as a result of her recent refit. However they will naturally be in short supply and booked up quickly but check anyway. Otherwise as you already know you will pay a significant supplement for travelling alone.
Position of cabin is essential depending. I suffer from the ship's motion so a midships cabin is an absolute must for me. It would ruin my holiday to be at the front or back as motion sickness is debilitating at times. If you have never been on a ship the size of a cruise ship and don't know if you'll suffer from motion, then assume you will and pick a midship's cabin.
Don;t pick cabins on deck A at the top, you'll get lots of noise from people above and staff putting sun chairs out or pushing trolleys around. I usually opt for deck B. Nice and high up, spectacular views and won't flood in bad weather !!
Other people love to be down below on deck 5 (often same deck as Reception area). A stable place to be but sometimes in very extreme bad weather it is deck 5 cabins that have had their cabin windows smashed by waves and thus flooded.
An inside cabin is perfectly acceptable but having a balcony is like nothing else. That freedom to walk out teh door for fresh air at any time is priceless. Or to sit there during the day in peace and quiet, to watch the dolphins, to see what's going on when in port or, like me, to sit out late at night and gaze at the fantastic vista of stars on a clear night.
In my early cruises we used to get inside cabins on the basis that we never spent much time there. We would always be out and about around the ship.
Some years later we started with balconies and never looked back and now find we spend a lot of time in the cabin on the balcony to get away from the hubbub of people.
We have often had cabins just inside the midships lift areas and had no problems at all. About 2 or 3 doors in from those lifts is perfect. Easy to get about and perfectly midships.
DO NOT get any cabin opposite a laundry. You'll have the laundry door opening and closing all the time and people yapping.
Study the deck plans and look at the decks above and below where you plan to be. Make sure there's nothing significant there. For example being underneath a gym is bad news. Lots of thumping and banging from weights etc.
Under or above any lounge or bar or theatre equally bad.
Ideally you want other cabins to be above and below you.
Choosing the Mediterranean is the perfect choice for a first cruise. You may get 2 rough days at sea from Southampton across the Bay of Biscay and down the side of Spain/Portugal but then once in teh Med it is generally idyllic cruising.
Choose Freedom Dining over Club Dining. You get to go to dinner at any time that suits you and will meet different people every night. With Club Dining you sit on the same table the whole cruise with the same people. Great if they turn out to be great people, dire if they turn out to be bad.
If you go P&O, Aurora is imho the best ship but a trifle expensive now that Oriana is leaving the fleet. It's a traditional ship with big wide prom deck, proper enclosed bars and lounges, superb crows nest on 3 tiers and much more. About 1800 passengers.
Ventura and Azura bigger, less traditional, 3000 passengers but still lovely in their own right. Much much cheaper too which means you are more likely to be able to have a balcony. Good choices for a first cruise. However, don't choose Ventura when kids are on board (i.e. during school hols), it becomes a VERY different experience then.
How's your wardrobe? Do you lots of posh frocks or lovely outfits? It's a fun part of the process, expanding and growing your "cruise wardrobe".
Do you prefer a little glam and formality? Or do you prefer complete absence of formality and a pub/party atmosphere? This will determine which type of cruise line you go for.
That'll do for starters. Feel free to ask more as time goes on.
Best