Mediterranean cruise

Hi,

I am looking to book my parents on a cruise preferrably one week cruising another week on dry land! can anyone recommend a package/Cruise company who would do this? tried looking on the net but it just seems that they do flights and cruises only
thanks,

Irish agents catering for cruise holidays give poor value & have no clout with the big cruise lines.I have used [broken link removed] many times & find them great for special offers & discounts from all the main operators.
If you are going to treat your parents I would strongly recommend one of the well known operators such as P&O or Carnival rather than go to one of the holiday brochure packages who use old "rust buckets". Also if it is their first cruise get them an outside cabin. The price differential is always well worth it. Web sites like Cruise Critic are informative & helpful.

My bit of advice.
When going on a cruise.
Always book the cruise, flights and hotels yourself.

Go to cruise line websites such as

Going through any online operator and especially Irish cruise travel agents is just like burning money.

Go to the irish site that the poster above mentioned and get a quote on the crusie you want. Dont be foole by the 'From' price either.

Then go to the cruise directly on the cruiselines website and get the price of the cruise you want. Dont book the flights with the cruise company either. Just the cruise.
Then check the prices for flights and hotels yourself.

I bet you save minimum 50% off of what the agent would have ripped you off by.

If you dont do thise you might as well burn your money.

have a look here http://www.cruisecritic.com/ for loads of review of every cruise line

Research your cruise company carefully before you make a decision - for example the Celebrity Cruise Line concentrates on fine food and gracious living, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines provide lots of activities and recreational facilities and some of the other cruise lines have offerings which may/may not be to your parents' taste, such as "let's all get to know each other" sessions, wet t-shirt competitions etc. www.cruisecritic.com and www.cruisemates.com are good sites for passenger reviews.

Personally my choice will always be Royal Caribbean, having experienced 6 different cruises with them. For your parents I would recommend a week based in Vancouver or touring around Canada and a week on an Alaskan cruise for an unforgettable experience. The Fairmont Hotel chain in Canada is excellent.

The Balkan Peninsula may be attractive from them also, as they will get to visit Norway, Sweden, Russia, Estonia, Finland and Denmark. They might like to spend a few days in London before the cruise and take the ship from Southampton.

The Med cruises are very popular now, so a few days in Madrid and/or around the Barcelona area before or after a cruise would be lovely also. I have found the Melia Hotel chain to be very good, or for something a little different they can stay in the paradores, www.paradores-spain.com. RCCL are offering Med cruises leaving from Southampton.

I normally book cruise/hotels/flights directly.