Most Luxurious Mediterranean Cruise (ship) Company

[Little Nicky]

Hi all

This is my first time posting in this part of the forum so please be gentle...

My partner and I have been on two cruises in the last few (5) years - the first to the western Mediterranean and the second to the Baltic - both with P&O.

We really enjoyed both cruises (especially the first) but there were a few 'unsavoury' characters on our second trip which made me question P&O's clientele..

... and ask the question 'which is the best cruise line for overall quality'? (Criteria is quality of service / ship / accommodation / food / other passengers).

We're happy to pay for a superior experience as we can't get away as much as we would like (so we appreciate it more when we do).

So back to my original question: which is the best cruise line for overall quality?

• We're both in our 30's, are fit and healthy, are not great fans of flying and prefer a ship that is adult only...

Thanks all

[Cloud 9]

Silver Seas generally have a more "upper class" passenger , which is reflected in the price.

[Simon Brooks]

Unless you can find a ship that only has top end cabins, you will still have the great unwashed onboard

[cjs]

Silversea or Seabourn. Both all inclusive and you will find very few children on board, if any. Oh and at 30's years old you will be some of the youngest on board. Max 450 passengers on these ships and a good mix of UK/USA and other international customers.

Or look at Oceania cruises, not quite as high end as the others, not all inclusive but still very good and a little more casual than the two above, may suit people in their 30's more.

Or if you want the big ship experience then Princess are a cut above the others.

[mad4amanda]

I dont think you can go wrong with Royal carribean , Voyager of the seas is a fantastic ship and does a med season now each year.

[Mr XXXX]

Little Nicky,

I believe the company you are looking for is SeaDream Yacht Club.

Small, intimate, luxurious, active, fully inclusive and 5-star cuisine.

Naturally, the majority of the luxury cruise lines attract mainly older clientele, however, when I was onboard the SeaDream 1 there were plenty of people in their 30's.

Also, one of the many benefits of small-ship cruising is that the ships, or yachts in SeaDream's case, are able to dock in a lot more ports that the larger ships simply cannot.

[Simon Brooks]

Down side of smaller ships is if it's rough at sea you're gonna really know about it

[Mr XXXX]

Simon Brooks said:

Down side of smaller ships is if it's rough at sea you're gonna really know about it

Of course, most newer ships are stabilised which does help.

However, around the Mediterranean shouldn't be too rough dependant on the time of year you wish to travel.

[Deva Link]

Little Nicky said:

• We're both in our 30's, are fit and healthy, are not great fans of flying and prefer a ship that is adult only...

I was going to suggest SAGA until that point.

My FIL is a big cruise fan and he's tried others but said SAGA do it much better. He's in his 80's though, and even he complains about all the old people on board.

[Simon Brooks]

Did a summer cruise around the med a couple of years ago on a reasonable sized ship, got tipped out of bed one night during a particularly nasty storm, all passengers banned from deck areas

[Broomsticklady]

Check out Voyages of Discovery - small ships about 450 passengers, no childrens facilities and have never seen brats on a cruise we've done.

[GrumpyOldWesty]

Look at Crystal. Ships neither to big nor to small. They only have two ships and one is in the Med during the summer.

Not cheap!

[RS03]

Sorry to bring up an older thread, and I'm not sure if you have made your decisions yet, but Princess is by far the most superior in our experiences. We have done 3 (Med and 2 Caribbean) on Princess and they have all been great. Food is world-class, service is fantastic and the staff are all very friendly.

[Mr XXXX]

RS03 said:

Sorry to bring up an older thread, and I'm not sure if you have made your decisions yet, but Princess is by far the most superior in our experiences. We have done 3 (Med and 2 Caribbean) on Princess and they have all been great. Food is world-class, service is fantastic and the staff are all very friendly.

Really?

You'd rate Princess as by far the most superior to lines such as Crystal, SeaDream, Seabourn, Silversea etc etc?

[Nicholas Blair]

Tell us more about the unsavoury characters. Intrigued to know what they were up to

[RS03]

Mr XXXX said:

Really?

You'd rate Princess as by far the most superior to lines such as Crystal, SeaDream, Seabourn, Silversea etc etc?

The only one of the above mentioned I have been on is Silversea. The problem I found with these, was that the food and service was great, but there were just not enough people to make it feel like a holiday, and the facilities are limited because it is a much much smaller ship. I think the diversity of people you get with a more commercial cruise liner is much more entertaining and enjoyable, especially for younger people (20-30)

[Mermaid]

Celebrity has an excellent reputation (but not 6 star).

[Little Nicky]

Nicholas Blair said:

Tell us more about the unsavoury characters. Intrigued to know what they were up to

Few early 50's Scottish chaps being very drunk and shouting / swearing accross the bar on P&O's Arcadia.

This was fairly early evening - before dinner - so we felt quite sorry for whoever was seated close to them in the restaurant...

It is an adult only ship but I wouldn't expect to have to subject my partener and I to this type of behaviour - especially considering the reputation of that cruise line.

It happened several times over the two week cruise and I could tell other guests felt intimidated.

It was enough for me to ask my original question and look for an alternative.

[anonymous-user]

We've also witnessed a few oiks on our P&O cruises, but on a big ship it's fairly easy to avoid them.
RC also going down hill in my opinion due to them offering cheap seats and last minute deals to fill berths.
Due to go away shortly on QM2, hoping for a better class of clientele, but not too stuffy.

[sussexjob]

D3fender said:

Due to go away shortly on QM2, hoping for a better class of clientele, but not too stuffy.

Just don't put your glass down in the disco, you may find a pair of dentures in there when you pick it up again