When choosing a cruise, we always recommend taking a close look at the ship you will be travelling on. The itinerary might be wonderful and the fare an absolute bargain, but you will still spend a substantial part of your holiday on board. You will have breakfast there, return after excursions, relax, have dinner and spend your evenings there. Sometimes you will spend entire days on the ship as it sails from one port to another.
That is why we want to understand what you are hoping for from the trip. Do you want to see as many cities as possible? Are you travelling with children who need plenty to do, or planning a holiday for two with good restaurants and lovely evenings?
That is where the choice begins. Cruise lines have different personalities, and even within the same fleet, ships can be so different that the holidays they offer feel worlds apart.
How to choose a cruise line
For a first Mediterranean cruise, we often recommend considering MSC Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line. Both offer family holidays, but the choice should come down to the specific sailing: the itinerary, ship, cabin and total cost of the trip.
We recommend Norwegian Cruise Line, or NCL, to travellers who appreciate flexibility in the little details of everyday life. Its main restaurants offer Freestyle Dining, with no fixed dinner seating or table assigned to you. After a long day ashore, you can return to your cabin, take a shower, relax and have dinner later, within the restaurant's opening hours.
That flexibility still benefits from a little planning. Popular speciality restaurants are best booked in advance, and there may be a wait in the main dining rooms at busy times. But the principle is convenient: you do not have to arrange your holiday around a set dinner time.
MSC has a wide range of ships, from relatively small, traditional cruise ships to enormous floating resorts. It is particularly important to understand exactly what you are booking. The name of the cruise line may be familiar, but the scale, facilities and way the holiday is organised can vary considerably.
Royal Caribbean is especially interesting for travellers who want plenty of experiences on the ship itself. Selected ships have ice rinks, surf simulators, climbing walls, waterslides and zip lines. For families with active children and teenagers, that can be a strong reason to choose a particular ship.
Just make sure you check that ship's facilities. The cruise line's advertising showcases the most impressive features across its fleet, and it is easy to assume they will all be available on your sailing. Sometimes the attraction you liked is on a different ship.
If interiors, restaurants and overall comfort are higher on your list, we include Celebrity Cruises in the comparison. It is worth looking closely at the different ship classes and the benefits of your chosen cabin category. Your experience will depend on many details, including cabin space, the restaurants you can access and additional services.
We consider Princess Cruises and Holland America Line for travellers who enjoy a more traditional cruise holiday. An evening show, live music, dinner with table service, a walk on deck. Music is an important part of life on board Holland America ships. If those are your kind of evenings, check which venues and performances are available on your particular ship.
For a holiday without children on board, there is Virgin Voyages, which welcomes guests aged 18 and over. It takes a different approach to dining: all its restaurants are included in the fare, although certain extra menu items may carry an additional charge.
However, we would not recommend choosing Virgin solely for peace and quiet. An adults-only ship can also have parties and lively nightlife. Here, too, it is worth checking whether the programme suits you.
We are generally cautious about advice such as “this cruise line is for retirees, and that one is for young people”. The atmosphere is influenced by the length of the cruise, itinerary, season and school holidays. The same cruise line can attract a different mix of guests on different sailings.
Compare cruise lines by the total cost of your holiday
Before choosing the cheaper offer, we check what the fare includes.
Drinks, internet access, service charges and speciality restaurants can all make a noticeable difference to your budget. Packages also vary depending on the cruise line, the market in which the cruise is sold and the terms of the specific booking.
That is why we calculate the cost with the services you actually intend to use. If you want drinks and internet access, include them in both offers from the outset. If you do not, there is little reason to buy a package simply because it is being heavily promoted.
How to choose a cruise ship
Once you have chosen a cruise line, the most interesting part begins. It is time to look at the ship itself: its size, layout, cabins and facilities.
Take MSC Sinfonia and MSC World Europa, for example.
Sinfonia offers a more traditional cruise setting, with pools, restaurants, a theatre, bars and children's areas. World Europa is an enormous modern ship with promenade spaces, a waterpark and a considerably wider range of entertainment.
For a trip focused mainly on cities and excursions, Sinfonia's facilities may be quite sufficient. If you want to spend several days on board and find something new to do each day, we would take a closer look at World Europa.
Much depends on how you feel about the size of the ship. A larger ship offers more choice, but also means more walking. Sometimes the distance from your cabin to the restaurant or kids' club becomes a significant part of the day, particularly if you are travelling with young children, older parents or someone who has difficulty getting around.
How to choose a cabin and its location
That is why we look at the deck plans alongside the cabin's location. How far away are the lifts? What is directly above and below the cabin? Is it easy to reach the places you will use most often?
We also consider the ship's age, although the year it was built tells only part of the story. Its condition and the updates it has received matter more. “Refurbishment” can mean different things: the restaurants and public areas may have been updated while the cabins remain unchanged. Recent photographs of your chosen cabin category are therefore more useful.
The ship should suit the itinerary and season
In the Mediterranean summer, you will probably want to spend time on the open decks. In cooler weather, indoor spaces, panoramic lounges and places to relax when it is wet and windy outside become much more important.
We also check how many sea days are on the itinerary. If the ship arrives in a new port almost every morning, the range of entertainment may matter less. But if you have several days ahead without going ashore, it is worth knowing how you will spend them.
We study the port schedule just as carefully. A famous city appearing on the itinerary does not tell you how much time you will have to explore it. You need to consider the length of the stop, the port's location, the journey into the city and the time you must be back on board.
Choose children's facilities to suit their age
A kids' club deserves more attention than simply checking that one exists. The age groups, opening hours, attendance rules and activities all matter.
Teenagers have their own interests. They may want sports facilities, games and somewhere to spend time with people their age. For waterslides and other attractions, check the height and age restrictions. Otherwise, you could choose a ship for an attraction your child is not yet allowed to use.
We also look at what will make life easier for parents: the location of family cabins, accommodation options and the distance to children's areas. These details affect the holiday every day.
Check what you can actually use
Photographs of a ship often show its most beautiful spaces. However, some may be reserved for guests in particular accommodation categories.
MSC Yacht Club, for example, has separate spaces, including a restaurant, lounge and pool. Booking a standard cabin does not give you access to this part of the ship. That is why we always clarify which facilities come with your chosen accommodation.
The same applies to entertainment, spas and restaurants. You need to know what is included, what costs extra and where advance reservations are required.
Before making your final choice, we recommend watching recent ship walkthrough videos. They give you a good view of how the public areas are laid out, how much space there is between sun loungers, what the cabin looks like and what to expect from its balcony.
We also read reviews, but focus on the details. Repeated comments about noise in a particular part of the ship or an inconvenient dining setup deserve further investigation. A general rating without an explanation tells you much less: the reviewer may have expected a completely different holiday.
We want you to have a clear picture of the trip before you book: where you will stay, how you will spend your days, what you can do on board and how much it will all cost. That makes it much easier to choose a cruise you will enjoy.
Let us help you choose your cruise
At IBG Travel, we will be delighted to help you choose: we will find an itinerary, ship and cabin that suit you, explain what is included in the price and help you prepare for your trip. And we will stay in touch throughout your journey!
Email or call us:
info@ibgtravel.eu
💬 WhatsApp: +34 629 457 395
IBG Travel
Spanish tour operator licence: CV-Mm2484-A
Planning your first cruise? Read our guide to choosing an itinerary, ship and cabin.
