Where to start!

Hubby and I are very active early 60s (when did that happen?), and interested in travel, the natural world and meeting like minded peeps but don't much like shows or 'entertainment' or having to don long dresses/DJs and jewellery each night (although totally happy to dress smartly of course as we do appreciate a bit of luxury...). Where do we start with picking the right cruise? Are we on our own?

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

You may want to engage a good travel agent who specializes in cruises.

Ask around your friends and relatives. They might more of like mind and can give their advice too. Read reviews of the various lines also.

I am the same age and I LOVE the shows and entertainment. I don't play the games (trivia, quest, etc). I can dress up if I need to, but would rather just be casual. I also find the complimentary food very good, I don't need the specialty restaurants.

So far I've been happy with all our cruises. Royal Caribbean 3 cruises, MSC 2 cruises, Princess and NCL each 1 cruise. In 2 months I'll be on my first Celebrity.

Happy researching!

I think you first need to decide where you want to go. Then find out who is going there and what their attire requirements are. On most cruise lines, dressing smartly will get you into the main dining room every night. But first, decide where you want to go, and then where you would like to sail from. Do you fly, or need to be able to drive to the departure port? These things will impact the cost of your cruise...

Go to http://www.cruisetimetables and choose some of your desired destinations from the Ports of Call list, and then the dates you have available. It will tell you who is calling there and their itinerary. Happy planning! EM

Welcome to Cruise Critic, RosiP! I would do your due diligence on where you want to go. You can cruise from virtually any continent, for almost any length which makes the choices nearly unlimited. Also very high on my list is budget. Establish your budget then you can narrow down your cruise choices. Once you have a general idea of where you want to go, then read, read, read! Check out the Ports of Call thread on CC. Ask friends who have cruised where they went and on which cruise line. Ask questions. The community on CC is a great group of folks with some really in depth knowledge of the cruise industry and are always eager to help someone with their questions or concerns. Good luck!

Look at the premium lines or the luxury lines

Oceania, Azamara, Viking Oceans, Regent, Crystal, Silverseas, Seabourn

They have smaller ships, more adult oriented ..some have more relaxed dress code

Talk to a cruise specialist they can steer you to one that suits your wants/needs

Be sure to have an area in mind that will narrow down the search

The price may seem higher than the larger ships but usually the premium& luxury lines include things that the other lines do not so take that into consideration

Enjoy whatever cruise you choose

Thank you so much everyone! That has really helped us know where to start. Hope to meet you on an amazing cruise at some point!:cool::D

You might also want to consider expedition cruising. There are some great small ship trips to places like the Galapagos or Antarctica. They aren't cruises in the traditional sense, but you are using a ship to see hard-to-access nature, and the stops are pretty active. For the most part, the entertainment is the place, and things are quite casual.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! :)

You might also find a travel agent who specializes in cruising very helpful.

Welcome to Cruise Critic, a wealth of information.

Even though you've given us some possible likes and dislikes with regards to a cruise, any answer I may have is just opinion.

I'm 70 yrs old, very active and have been cruising since 2002. Sometimes I cruise solo, sometimes with a friend. I now base my cruise choice on itinerary although I do like Celebrity. I stepped out of the box this year and will be cruising with Windstar out of Tahiti next month and with Viking Ocean out of San Juan this coming January. In both cases, even though I have not cruised yet with these two cruise lines, I think they probably both offer more of the environment you might be looking to join.

You can do as much or as little on a cruise as you want. Consider it your "resort hotel"...albeit, with smaller rooms! You don't need to "dress up" anymore on almost any line. Long pants and a collared shirt (for men) will do nicely on almost EVERY line. Women can pretty much wear anything.....sleeveless, strapless, capris, skirts, sundresses.....it's all good.

Don't try too hard to find your perfect cruise. The first will be your benchmark to find a better one, and the next, till you become a cruise addict like many of us here.

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Ask around your friends and relatives. They might more of like mind and can give their advice too. Read reviews of the various lines also.

 

I am the same age and I LOVE the shows and entertainment. I don't play the games (trivia, quest, etc). I can dress up if I need to, but would rather just be casual. I also find the complimentary food very good, I don't need the specialty restaurants.

 

So far I've been happy with all our cruises. Royal Caribbean 3 cruises, MSC 2 cruises, Princess and NCL each 1 cruise. In 2 months I'll be on my first Celebrity.

 

Happy researching!

A lot older here and we love all forms of entertainment .

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

 

 

You may want to engage a good travel agent who specializes in cruises.

When we started cruising, we used a travel agent friend of ours who helped us pick a cruise line suited to our tastes (11 cruises later, we're still with the same cruise line). We picked a 7 day cruise that was reasonably priced and not too far from home to see how much we liked it.

We only use a travel agent now for more advanced trips, when I don't have the time and energy to do all of the researching myself (still working for a living).

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Reading the OP's post gave me an idea, but its pretty expensive. She might want to look at the Celebrity Xpedition....which is a very small ship that does year round cruises to the Galapagos.

Hank

Sounds a great idea. Many thanks!

Check out Grand Circle Travel (GCT) for their small ships trips. Also their related company, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT).