I Took My Mum on Her First Cruise – Here’s What Happened
Cruise Circle
My mum has always been one for holidays. City breaks, beach stays, you name it – if there was a plane involved, she was off. But despite all that, she’d never once considered a cruise. So I thought, what better way to ease her into it than with a short two-night sailing from Liverpool to Bristol with Ambassador? She was, in true mum fashion, excited and curious. “Will I get seasick?” “What do I wear on a cruise?” “What currency do I need to bring?” “Do I have to pack a towel?” – all valid questions. I didn’t want to overwhelm her, so I gave her a few helpful hints like "bring a water bottle”, "leave your towel at home" and otherwise let her wing it. That’s half the fun, right?
First impressions count
Embarkation in Liverpool was a breeze – Mum couldn’t believe how quick and easy it was to get onboard. No faff, no endless queues. Once we stepped onto the ship, we were both genuinely impressed. Our first stop? The pool bar, of course. The sun was shining, so naturally that’s where we headed – cocktail in hand, we were ready to set sail and wave goodbye to Liverpool.
Ship life in full swing
The two days onboard flew by. On our first night, we went to a country music show. The following day, the weather wasn’t quite as glorious, so we tried our luck at a pub quiz – no trophies, but plenty of laughs. That afternoon, we watched an interactive murder mystery followed by the formal night and the best show of the cruise: a Live Aid performance that had us singing along from start to finish.
The food
Dining was a bit of a treat too. We ate both nights in the main dining room. On the second evening, just as we were waiting for dessert to arrive, the blinds started to lower — a bit odd but it was evening, so we didn't really give it much thought! Turns out, it was the start of the famous Baked Alaska parade. All the waiters marched through the dining room with sparklers in Baked Alaska as we all wafted our napkins – it was brilliant, proper old-school cruise fun.
Breakfasts were a mix – buffet on day one (plenty of choice) and a quieter buffet-style breakfast in the dining room on day two, with a nice touch of waiter-served tea and coffee. During the cruise we even squeezed in afternoon tea. There were scones, sandwiches and cake, just what we needed!
A convert in the making
By the time we disembarked in Bristol, Mum was quietly chuffed with the whole thing, from being somewhat apprehensive about this ‘cruise malarkey’, to actively sizing up her next adventure.
