Old Moaner Travel

Celebrity is, effectively, the "up-market" string of the Royal Caribbean Group, offering an extra touch of class to the brand, of course at a premium cost.

Having said that, compared to other up-market cruise lines Celebrity is still very competitive and offers great value for money.

The line operates two ships, operating in Greece for ten months a year. Many of the cruises involve visits to the Greek Islands, often with overnight stops to allow more time ashore. The company also offer seasonal Caribbean cruises.

CMV is a British owned company which was a Phoenix resurrection of the bankrupt Transocean Tours, a German company back in 2010 and is based in Essex.

With a fleet of six aged, small to medium ships it markets itself as being an ex-UK cruise line, although fly-cruise options are available on their Round The World cruises. Most of their vessels are named after explorers

Costa Cruises, now part of the Carnival group, started life as a cargo shipping company in 1854 and was a family owned company.

During World War Two one of their vessels was commandeered and converted to a troop ship and after the war it became Costa's first cruise ship. Eventually they converted to being a passenger line only and they now have 14 ships, with three more on order. 

In the world of cars you could choose to travel in a Vauxhall Astra or a Rolls Royce, both would get you to your destination but the relative experiences would be completely different.

It is the same in the world of cruising, you could cruise in the Astra equivalent with MSC, or the Rolls Royce version with Cunard.

MSC officially stands for Mediterranean Shipping Company. Those of a more cynical disposition may say it stands for Must Steer Clear and, after two cruises with them, I have to say I’m firmly in the cynics category.

Having said that, judging by the number of fellow cruisers carrying gold cruise cards, MSC does have a loyal fan base but from talking to fellow cruisers MCS is definitely a Marmite cruise line ..........

For me P&O offers just the right blend of formality, classy ships and value for money. Yes, they can be more expensive than other cruise lines (but they are by no means the most expensive) BUT you do, very much get what you pay for.

It's also safe to say P&O are very much geared towards the UK audience, although their cruises reach almost every corner of the world.