My sister took a Royal Caribbean cruise a year ago...Sydney, Melbourne then the ship headed for NZ where it had many ports of call. She thoroughly enjoyed it. We intend to take the same cruise before too long.

I have been on quite a few cruises...mostly large ships. I like the newer, larger ships because there is more to do...theatres, ice rinks, speciality restaurants etc. The longer the cruise...the more likely it is to have more mature passengers. In the US Carnival are known as party ships. We like Princess and Royal Caribbean...I believe Celebrity is very good too.

Even on a full ship there is plenty of opportunity to get away from the masses...and there is usually lots to do. Children are not a problem...they are usually kept busy and out of the way by the organizers of the Kids Club. On all the ships I've been on we have been able to sit on a table for 2 in the dining room.

We have had some excellent cruise deals. You can travel to different ports of call without having to pack and unpack...and you get to go back to your own room every night. Plenty of food and entertainment and it is for the most part included in the price. Many cruises are great value for money.

For years I refused to take a cruise holiday because I thought I would be bored. My husband suggested we went on a large ship for a short holiday. We went on a 5 day cruise from New York to Bermuda. From then on I was hooked.

I'll start stocking up

I have cruised a lot and used to be a cruise agent.

From what you have posted, my initial recomendation would be Cystal Cruises. They are not cheap, but personally i think very good value. If you PM me with more details about yourselves i can probably be more accurate.

What do you like doing on land? - seeing sights? relaxing on a beach?
Your age? - VERY important
Dining - Do you think having one or two nights pretty formal - black tie would be fun or a pain and are you into or would like to try gourmet food?
What sort of itinary are you looking at - lots of different cities or more days at sea?
Are there any specific activities you are interested in such as learning to dive or do watersports?
Any particular part of the world?

You want a Nelson or Golden Bay stop. It does happen.
Christchurch is 4/5 hours drive each way . North Island would be a no-no.

An ex of mine always fancied a cruise but he had the same reservations as people here about being stuck with a crowd of people he didn't get on with. He was a really sociable guy but also liked to be able to retreat and be alone at times. His solution was to book one leg of a cruise - one of the ships doing a trip around the south Pacific, and he just booked Hobart to somewhere like Nauru, then flew back from there.
He said it was great, but wouldn't do it again, too restrictive and no escape! He spent much of his time reading in little spots where he could appreciate the sea view and the beauty of the ocean, and he said the entertainment value of fellow passengers was great - just people watching, and listening to their conversations kept him entertained for hours.
Best story was a group of Americans, screaming loudly inside the casino at the front of the ship when they saw some dolphins leaping up from the sea ahead. Something along the lines of 'aw gee look at those huge sharks, I hope we are safe in here'

I'll fly in for the occasion! Another Mods Meet Up

Tiddler (19) went on a cruise with a friend and her family in Feb. Had a blast and it was just a regular P&O, out from Brisbane, round the Pacific Islands and back in a week cruise. Chatted to who she wanted, avoided small children like the plague and was pleasantly surprised that the vast majority of children stayed in the kids club and away from 'normal' people all week. She's not a clubber or a joiner inner iykwim. She wants to go on another one. Must be ok, she's almost as fussy as me!

My inlaws are on the QM2 right now doing the Hong Kong to Singapore leg...Will give you an expedited trip report when they get back. Like Amazulu said, what surprised me was the short times in port...like 10 hours in Ho Chi Minh...most of it spent driving from the port to the city and back!

i thought this was a thread about George Michael and cottages

We done a 2 week cruise (1st time on a ship ) around NZ a couple of years ago out of Brisbane and it was absolutely brilliant .Stopped off at either 6 or 7 ports which was very interesting and all aboard the vessel were very dignified indeed and never seen any pissed up bogans yet ! Even the bingo was won and lost gracefully

Get a decent cabin, at least a mini suite, the tiny staterooms as they call them are probably smaller than a prison cell and seven days is about the max that you can stand them. Do not ask for special meals like vegetarian, they'll hate you and you'll find that things are very different once on the boat to what you were promised. We have always been let down by Princess, Cunard and Royal Caribbean. Someone suggested Crystal Cruises, we haven't been on that one but others have spoken very highly of them as have others about Regent Seven Seas, worth paying a bit extra. Don't go for those cruises offering huge last minute discounts, means they haven't sold much and to compensate they'll cut back on entertainment, lectures and food. Beware of shore excursions, the cruise line will add a huge mark-up, you can get them much cheaper going direct, in some countries, not New Zealand or Tasmania, there'll be people waiting in ports offering real good deals. In Canada once we teamed up with another couple and hired a cab for three hours, it was great, saw everything that we wanted at about the same cost for a booked tour and we got much better service along with personal attention. We like to book tours after lunch so that we can have a leisurely two hour breakfast, we hate it when they say be on the wharf at 7:45 am, that often means a hurried 6:00 am breakfast, don't want to do that on holiday. Beware of tenders, that's when the boat is too big for the port and they have to use the lifeboats to get ashore, by the time you are there you'll be smelling of diesel fumes from the engines and you'll be herded like cattle, that's not true, there's laws against treating cattle like that. In general though you will enjoy the cruise and more than likely will go for others later but by then your experience will help to do it better.

The other half has always wanted to cruise, I was not so keen
2 years ago we went on a mini cruise, 3 days from Fremantle to Geograph Bay
This was with P&O, it was ok, pleasant, nothing to write home about
Last year we cruised with The Royal Caribbean, on one of the smaller liners, Legend Of The Sea, from Singapore, to Phuket, Kuala Lumpa, back to Singapore
This was amazing, lots to do, fantastic food, and great crew
The only downer......as it was in Asian waters, 99% of the passengers were asians, not that being asian bothered me, it was the language barrier that drove me nuts as a majority of the announcements were in a language I couldn't understand
The only other downer, was that we booked to go on the excursions and it wasnt until we met up with another couple, whom advised us not to book anymore and just jump on the ferry taxis when the boat dropped anchor
We followed there advice, and when we docked just outside Phuket, those that had paid for the excursion were trekked off the ship, in military style, we just jumped on the next boat taxi and spent a leisurely day in Phuket
Would we do it again?? YES....next time I want to go on the Oasis of the sea!!

The Queens and Princess have their own dining rooms and a common exclusive lounge. The difference frankly is zero except for price and "status". Both have what Cunard call free seating, but not, Captain, as we know it <g>.

Free seating on other ships means just that - you can eat wherever and whenever you like. The Cunard version is that you get allocated a table for the voyage, the only "free" bit is that you can eat whenever you choose. In the "Britannia" restaurants you are allocated a table and a sitting time.

We chose a Princess table for two and very pleasant it was, too.

We are off on a double cruise with Oceania soon, just 700 passengers - the Queen Victoria was the largest ship we've used and even at 2000 its far to many for us.

PM me if you need more info.

Royal Caribbean's Oasis and Allure of the Seas are fabulous ships.

Like a couple of people have said...we usually don't book tours but jump in a taxi/mini bus at the port. They usually take you on exactly the same route but are a fraction if the price.

For first time cruisers...definitely book at least a balcony cabin. That way if you wish to be alone but have fabulous views you can sit on your balcony.

I wish the ship would stay in port for several days at some destinations. They don't because of the high port fees. We are looking to travel on the QM2 from Southampton to Singapore next year. Just not sure about spending so much time on the ship.