Cruise holidays for first-timers - Telegraph When choosing a hotel the usual considerations are: do I want to be by a beach or in a town or city, in a boutique property or large resort and do I want a room with a view and balcony or the cheapest accommodation because I won't be spending much time in the room? Selecting a cruise is no different. Many of today's mega-ships are destinations in their own right, but being able to visit lots of different countries, parts of a region or islands on one holiday without the usual logistical hassle is still the main reason why most people choose a cruise. Whether you are new to cruising or not the itinerary is a good place to start. The Mediterranean is usually top of the list for first-time cruisers as it's familiar, doesn't entail a long flight (you can also bypass the airport and cruise there from Britain) and has guaranteed summers. Staying closer to home, you can explore cities in the Baltic or enjoy scenic cruising in the Norwegian fjords (also from Britain), or take a mini-cruises (two or three nights) to France and Belgium to sample life at sea. Cruising is often unfairly dismissed as unadventurous. Yet there are opportunities to join a cruise and go hiking in the remote Scottish Hebrides or rambling in Madeira (below) or Tenerife; to learn to dive in the Caribbean, spot polar bears in Spitsbergen or camp out on the ice in Antarctica. Your destination choice will, to a large extent, dictate the size and style of cruise ship you pick. For instance, if adventure cruising appeals, you can expect to be on an older, smaller ship with a couple of hundred passengers plus naturalists, geologists and marine biologists. If you want a family cruise (the average age of British cruisers is the mid-fifties, but the industry body CLIA calculates that worldwide around 1.5 million youngsters aged 18 and under cruise each year), the resort-style vessels with multiple activities and dining venues offered by the likes of Carnival Cruise Lines (carnival.com), Royal Caribbean (royalcaribbean.co.uk) or Disney (disney.co.uk) are a better bet. Both are American-owned. If holidaying with fellow Britons appeals more, consider P&O Cruises (pocruises.com) or MSC Cruises (msccruises.co.uk) for a European flavour. Dressing up, or down? These days cruising can be as formal or as informal as you like and river cruises tend to be much less formal. P&O and Cunard (cunard.com) have formal nights, with black tie de rigueur in public areas on certain evenings, while on other lines a jacket will suffice, and many have dropped dress codes altogether. Choose with care if dressing up on holiday does not appeal, and likewise if you don't want assigned seating in the evening (where you are allocated a table and time to dine, often sharing with other people selected at random, for the duration of the cruise). Increasingly, cruise lines are offering open seating, allowing you to dine when and with whom you want (on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruises - celebritycruises.co.uk - you must pay your gratuities in advance to secure that privilege). Accommodation You also need to decide what sort of cabin you'd like. Inside cabins (no window) are the cheapest, but you can pay a bit extra for a room with a sealed window. Cabins with balconies are the most popular, but if money is no object suites are a treat as they are spacious and often come with a butler and little treats such as a free minibar or pre-dinner canapés. Some companies cater especially well to singles who don't want to pay through the nose for a double cabin: try Fred Olsen (fredolsen.co.uk) or Saga Cruises (saga.co.uk/cruises). Consider the costs Obviously price is important, but choosing a cruise only on cost could be a false economy if you don't have a good holiday. With entertainment, children's clubs and as much food as you can eat included in the price, and fierce competition forcing prices down, there has never been a better time to book (in November, P&O was offering a pre-Christmas 10‑night cruise in northern Europe from £399, which is not even £40 a night, and Princess was selling seven nights in France and Spain in May from £549, less than £80 a night). In the first two months of the year, when the lines try to secure early bookings, you can often also benefit from free flights, drinks-inclusive packages, upgrades and on-board credit to spend in the spa, bar and shops or on excursions. Tipping Most lines put gratuities on the bill as a "per passenger per day" charge. This can add £125 per person or more to a two-week cruise. One way to avoid the tipping is to book a cruise with one of the luxury lines. Seabourn (seabourn.com) and Silversea (silversea.com) both include drinks and gratuities in the price; Regent Seven Seas Cruises (rssc.com) includes drinks and most excursions. Telegraph Cruise Show Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a first-timer, our three-day event in January 2014 will answer your questions and give you a taste of life on board. Find your perfect cruise holiday on Telegraph Cruises >