Never cruised before.
 

Hi,
this is my first post on here :)
i was originally joingin this forum to ask about holidays closer to me as to be honest, i'm teriffied of flying, to the extent that i have had to be sedated in the past,
Basically i've never been on a cruise before, might sound like a bit of a daft wuestion to put on a flying fourum, but i saw the section aha,
what are they like? arte there any things that i must know about beofre properly considering one? what companies are the best and where should i book one if i decide too?
Any help will be greatly appreciated :)

Welcome to FT - and might I suggest joining its counterpart or equivalent for cruising over at cruisecritic dot com - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/index.php
There is a section for new cruisers, 101 questions, FAQ & tips, etc.

If you are near a homeport and within half a day/a day of driving to the closest homeport, a whole new world is waiting for you. Travel off-season & flexible, you will find bargains & last minute specials, no TSA to deal with, all the free checked luggage that you can bring along ... It is surprising affordable and far less than 2 round-trip business class tickets, and even the inside cabin deals are far better than one can imagine.

We fly mostly for business & work as cruising are really for vacation & relaxation.

Hmmm, would help if you told us where you live, how old you are, etc. Some cruise lines have older passengers as a rule and some have younger.

Yes, we need to know all sorts of things about you - where you live, rough age, travelling alone, with a partner, with children, where you want to go. People cruise for several reasons - some think the ship is everything (you know, on board entertainment, casinos, dressing up and stuff like that) while other want to see the world, wildlife such as polar bears in the Arctic, albatross and penguins down south, or seriously exotic places like the South Pacific. Others are more cultural, opting for Baltic and the Med and its historic cities and museums etc.

Then there's money - lots of cruises can be dead cheap on paper (mid-range, mass market lines such as P&O, Cunard, Celebrity and so on) but pile on expensive extras, such as water and excursions. Other cruise lines can be very pricey. Big ships are cheap, small ships are expensive.

So let us know . . . Cruise Critic in my view isn't very helpful as it seems only to cater for the big ship crowd.

oh sorry,
ill check out that forum although i asked my friend and he said some people are a bit judgemental so to speak on that forum :)
im 39 and shes 38 so itll probably turn into a joint 40th birthday thing aswell if it is an expensive one we find, we are very adventerous and sporty, both of us kayak, rock climb and like to explore places etc (were big kids at heart) :) i live just near birmingham too :) money isnt too much of a issue, maybe 2 or 3 grand per person, i think that should be enough for a decent trip :)

Hi,
ive doen a bit of research and i was thing of going on a cunard 2014 cruise
maybe in april for 12 nights or something, it gives us time to get ready and book it off work etc :)

The judgmental part comes in on the forums in some cases but cruise critic is the best way to learn about the ships. If you are considering Cunard for 2014 I would go to the review of the ship by the experts AND read member reviews! Pay particular attention to the age mentioned in the expert review and the activities offered.

consider a 3-4 day cruise for a taste of it....

i like vacationstogo.com for searching....

look at the florida ports, & maybe mobile or new orleans...

edit....you are in the uk?

Ocean or River?
 

From your post, I am not sure which type of cruise you are interested in taking.

There is the ocean cruise and there is the river cruise...both are wonderful experiences.

With your fear of flying, I would think your best option might be a river cruise which you can easily access throughout Europe via train.

They are vastly different experiences but, definitely, worth the time and money.

As to your age and interests, it's been my experience and observation that most people that I have seen on either cruise type is in the mid-50's and above...but not hard and fast rule.

Again, I think a river cruise would be your best option however, much of it is based upon the destinations you desire to visit!

Hope this helps a little!

Can't help you with Cunard. Our next door neighbours are in their 60s and are big Cunard fans. They go for the butler service and the whole dressing-up thing. We aways cruise for the places we visit and go on small ships with about 100 passengers and no one wears a tie.

including seadream

seabourn is getting rid of their smaller ships

Same here.
I like to go to vacation, but unfortunately I never gone before cruises. Can you tell me what the precautions look while planning for vacation in cruises ?

Me either! How about what to make sure to pack for the cruise?

My dad gave promise to me, this time. We will go for vacation. So, help me out.
I don't want to miss the opportunities to left the important things.

For first time cruiser(s) from UK with a "money is not an issue" attitude^ I would also recommend Cunard - their service is simply outstanding, and their 3 liners are really the most famous ones! I know is a little bit confusing to search for cruises when you don't know exactly what you're looking for, so I'll give 3 links for the Cunard liners where on a single page you'll see all their departure dates, itineraries - and prices, which are really affordable for that kind of big luxury ships - "big" as both ships and luxury:p - For QM2 cruises see this (http://www.queenmarycruises.net/queen-mary-2-schedule/) - rms Queen Mary 2 is a Transatlantic cruise liner):p, for all Queen Elizabeth ship cruises see this http://www.queenelizabethcruises.net...th-2-schedule/ and the Queen Victoria ship cruises see here http://www.queenvictoriacruises.net/...oria-schedule/.
The all 3 have short/mini cruises from 2 to 5 days/nights which are a good choice to sample Cunard and the cruise travel in general:p