Booking a cruise for the first time is a minefield. Which liner? Which ship? Which itinerary? I speak to many customers who have cruised previously and wouldn't consider it again. When I question them, it becomes very apparent that they had either chosen the wrong liner, wrong ship or wrong itinerary. Get these right and you will have an awesome time. Get it wrong and it will not be the best experience. 

Prior to meeting my husband if you'd ask me if I'd do a cruise I would have said "it wouldn't be my first choice of travelling', but Matt is a massive fan of cruising. When we met he had been on 8 cruises and really wanted to do one with me. 

Many first time cruisers have concerns that the ships are going to be full of a more mature clientele, a bit boring, worried about sea sickness, queuing for everything etc etc. Sound familiar? Then read on. 

I was exactly the same! As a Travel Agent I'd been on plenty of ships for ship visits to see different cruise lines products but hadn't actually cruised myself. Ship Visits for us as agents are invaluable, it gives us an opportunity to see the ships and product for ourselves. What it doesn't do is give us the experience of actually cruising. This is the fundamental difference between a travel agent who's been on a ship visit and a travel agent that has cruised with the liner. 

Since being with Matt, I've been on Virgin Voyages, P&O, Holland America, Tradewinds, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines. Having cruised with these very different liners, it's clear that they all offer a different onboard experience and product. So as a first time cruiser where do you begin? 

When looking at your first time cruise make sure you speak to your lovely travel agent like ourselves. We spend hours training with cruise liners to really understand their product and different ships, we invest a huge amount of money to actually go and cruise with the different liners to experience the product for ourselves. When you speak to us we will get to know and understand you and your interests so we can match not only the right liner, but the right ship to your interests. 

Don't be tempted to be price led, which is easy to do on your first cruise. You've never cruised before and want to try it without too much of a financial commitment, I get it. Think about the type of land based holidays you take. If you stay in 5 star hotels then the cheaper cruise lines probably aren't going to enamour you to cruising! Do you like to dress up at night or are you more casual? Many cruise liners have formal nights on board which can range from a smart jacket and trousers to full black tie depending on the cruise line. Some are 'resort casual' which is a more relaxed attire on board. 

What kind of activities do you like to do? Are you someone that likes to be active and participate? Do you like to watch activities but not get involved or do you just want some peace and quiet and to unwind? 

Think about what size ship you would like? When you go on a land based holiday do you prefer a small boutique style hotel or do you prefer large hotels that have everything going for it. Bear in mind some ships have capacity's of 7,000 passengers!

How much time are you going to spend in your stateroom? This is one of the things Matt and I disagree on alot. He has always had a balcony stateroom. So on our last cruise I actually kept track of how much time he spent on the balcony, and it was a total of 19 minutes over a 7 night cruise! So our next cruise is going to be an inside stateroom! If you are someone who likes to sit and relax with a book in peace and quiet on the balcony then I would suggest a Balcony Stateroom. If you prefer to be in the thick of it with the other guests then look at an Inside or Ocean View. 

How do you like to eat? Some people love a buffet and grabbing food on the go, others like to sit down and take their time. Nearly all cruise liners offer buffet style restaurants onboard. Most will have a main dining room with a varied menu along with speciality restaurants that may have an additional charge. 

So out of all the cruise liners I have cruised with so far, who is my favourite? Well it's gotta be Virgin Voyages. They were the first cruise line I did a proper cruise on and since cruising with other cruise liners I find myself constantly comparing them to Virgin. That's not to say the other cruise liners were 'terrible' I just found they were missing the mark for me, whereas I didn't find that with Virgin. 

However..... Virgin is not for everyone. It is a very different product to the other cruise liners. It's very tongue in cheek, vibrant & lively ship. The entertainment is very 'alternative' shall we say. Thought provoking interpretive dance acts about climate change, Cirque Du Soleil style interpretations of Romeo & Juliet, Drag brunches and Sex Therapy shows gives you an idea of what to expect. The pool is lively and reminiscent of Ibiza pool party vibes. The age range on the ship is varied, but everyone has come for the same thing, a great time. 

Who was my least favourite? I'd have to say P&O Cruises. To be fair to them I have only done the short break cruises which I don't feel is representative of their offering at all. It just felt a bit Butlins on board and as such I don't recommend clients doing a short break cruise for their first cruise, it tends to put people off cruising all together as it seems to attract a lot of stag & hen type groups. What I did like about them is whilst they don't offer drinks as part of the cruise fare, the prices are actually very competitive onboard. Think pub prices. 

Who's the best for service? Well for me it was Royal Caribbean. The staff are just so amazingly friendly and we loved our bar staff on the Serenade of the Seas. Every night we'd go to the LGBTQ meet up at 10pm and the bar staff were awesome. When we had the unpleasant experience of a homophobic passenger display his opinion to us, he was swiftly dealt with by the staff and security and banned from alcoholic beverages for the remainder of the cruise. No messing with Royal Caribbean! 

There are plenty of liners out there so we know it's a minefield to decide and that's why we do the training we do so we can give our customers honest opinion's on ships, itineraries and liners to make an informed decision. So if you are thinking about cruising for the first time, why not give us a shout to discuss who would be best for you.