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I'd like to tag along here as well since I am looking at an Alaskan Cruise as a possibility in late May - early June of 2024 as well. In my initial reading, and watching tips for travelers, I had mentally narrowed the choice of lines to HAL or Princess. As I have watched more videos and read reviews, I am starting to sour on Princess but as is noted in this thread, I too have a LOT of reading to do!

Thanks for pointing this option out @cruizergal70 - I should have included a bit more explanation on this... As the years have gone by and some of our vacation times have been around oceans or the Gulf of Mexico, we have enjoyed being around the water and given that a cruise is on the wife's list of must do's at some point, it seemed like a good time to give cruising a try. Based on what I have read, I am hoping the Serenity area of the ship may be the answer when a quieter time is wanted / desired. We shall see! Thanks.

Hello again all, Sorry I have not been back this way in a month or so but I did want to let y'all who have replied in this thread know that your advice definitely proved helpful. After searching, planning, revising and repeating I finally found a cruise that would work with our schedule and allow us a decent sample of cruising. We are going to take a Carnival Cruise out of Galveston (which is in driving distance for us) to Mexico. As was suggested here, we did find a decent price on a balcony cabin and purchased this through a travel agent I will not name (oops!) in case of price drops. I realize Carnival (being the fun line) might be a bit more boisterous than would likely prefer, but in the slew of YouTube videos I have watched about cruising on Carnival and the Serenity section was mentioned on several videos. This sounds ideal and I am sure we will give this area several visits. OF course, I have no way of knowing for sure if Carnival will be our best fit (as far as cruise line) but we have to start somewhere (with one cruise line first). Also, this cruise port allows us to economize a bit as we will save airfare, hotel and/or some driving time. Galveston does not offer a larger variety of cruise lines, but for proximity it is definitely good choice for us (as perhaps New Orleans and Mobile may be in future cruises). Again, thanks to all of you who offered ideas throughout this thread!

@trafaelwyr If I may piggyback on this thread, we have a similar situation with respect to an upcoming Carnival cruise with Costa Maya as a port of call but with only a 6 1/2 hour window. In your OP you did not note how much time you will have in Costa Maya - are you facing a similarly small window of time? We have never cruised before and while there seems to be no end of choices for things to do in Costa Maya, the fact this is such a small window of time has me thinking it would be best NOT do any excursion while in Costa Maya. Is getting off the ship and walking around the area surrounding the port safe and does it offer things like shops, bars, restaurants, etc near the port? We would prefer to avoid taxis and we don't mind a good amount of walking. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Hello all, Thank you in advance for any ideas, suggestions or modification you offer to the following plans. My wife and I have never taken a cruise (any and all previous plans at this fell through the cracks). We have been on small boats before (a catamaran being the most recent example) and I found I do get motion sick on this size of craft. This particular outing was in Hawaii and the surf was estimated at 3-6 feet. This was a swim with the manta rays...which was quite memorable. Anyway, I want to give cruising since the wife has mentioned this on more than one occasion so I came up with the following idea. We own timeshare holdings and can take a trip to Florida in February and/or March. I would like to have a timeshare stay (and then take a cruise - in that order) to get the most from this trip. I am looking at cruises lasting somewhere in the 3-5 night range as I want the cruise to be long enough (time wise) where we can enjoy the cruise but not so long that in case I am miserable that I would be wishing for the cruise to be over. (I will definitely read and follow the advice to -hopefully- avoid / minimize the possibility of seasickness!) Again, considering that we can be in Florida anytime in the months of February and / or March, is there a particular route / destination that is more likely to produce a smoother sailing experience than other destinations? For example, I see several cruises to Mexico from Florida but given this would be over the Gulf of Mexico (with what appears to be very little shelter) would there be a better route / destination? For example, might some of the Caribbean destinations be a better choice given this background? I should also not the destination is not as important as the sailing experience so whether the destination is Mexico or the Caribbean makes no difference here. A (more) perfect cruise for us would be one where we could be alone to some extent when desired. For example, we would enjoy sitting on the ship taking in the sunrise / sunset as much as (if not more than) whatever shows or attractions the ship may have to offer. I have read a bit about the day(s) some cruise lines spend at their island (ex: Perfect Day at CocoCay) and while I do not know if we would enjoy such a crowded area, some time back on dry land may be beneficial in shaking off the effects of the sea on me (in case of motion sickness). Might anyone have some suggestions as to which cruise line / destination makes sense here? I am certain of the date range (hoping crowds will be a bit smaller) and that we are budgeting for a balcony cabin. Also, the point of departure is Florida (all ports are in play). Beyond that, I hope to find a smooth sailing experience.... we have no previous or existing ties to any cruise line. Thanks again!