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Haven’t cruised in a long time. Please help picking 2018 cruise.


wny4ever
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My wife and I are in our early 60s and looking for a nice cruise experience to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary this yesterday. We have been on 2 cruises long ago - 1988 & 2008. Both were with RCCL, to the Caribbean (Western & Eastern). We were directed to RCCL by a travel agent for a more “classy” cruise than a “fun ship”. We were very satisfied both times. However, much could have changed in the cruise industry since then.

We are seeking recommendations on cruise line, cruise ship, destination. We are thinking of a Caribbean, Bahamas or Alaskan cruise, about 7 days, at a reasonable cost. We like dining, entertainment, ports of call excursions.

A specific question is since we have been on 2 RCCL cruises, are there any significant advantages to staying with RCCL this time?

Your advice and recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

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If you want the Caribbean , then I would suggest Southern Caribbean for destination. If it's a great ship experience then I would suggest Freedom or Oasis class ships although the Voyager class is one of my favorites and I think at least one may go to the Southern C.

Alaska is , well simply wonderful. I think the Explorer is doing 7 nights out of Seattle. It's a great Voyager class ship. If you want more then a cruise tour is (I hear) the way to go, and that is on our bucket list.

We really loved the Anthem out of NJ for New England/ Canada.

Congratulations on 40 years! We're working on 37 this year:).

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We are seeking recommendations on cruise line, cruise ship, destination. We are thinking of a Caribbean, Bahamas or Alaskan cruise, about 7 days, at a reasonable cost. We like dining, entertainment, ports of call excursions.

 

 

For Alaska, Princess would be the best. They can go into Glacier Bay, but some cruiselines cannot. They also own a railroad and lodges near Mt. McKinley (Mt. Denali now??) and have wonderful cruisetours. I recommend doing Alaska hands down over Caribbean or Bahamas....especially since you've already been there twice.

 

A specific question is since we have been on 2 RCCL cruises, are there any significant advantages to staying with RCCL this time?

Your advice and recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Most cruiselines have loyalty programs that give you certain perks if you sail with them alot....each line has their own qualifications. You can check out their website. I think Celebrity might share some points with RCCL since they're owned by the same holding company. You'll probably find more people your age on Celebrity, Princess and Oceania. Holland America can have more passengers in their 70/80's....RCCL, NCL and Carnival tend to have younger people with more children. Do your research so you aren't sorry about which line you choose. A travel agent can be a big help.

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We're in our early 60's and except for a few early Carnival cruises have almost exclusively sailed Royal Caribbean. We did sail on a Celebrity ship a few years ago and it was nice, better food, much older demographic. The entertainment was disappointing at best . The loyalty transfer from Royal to Celebrity helps but it wouldn't make me choose Celebrity over any other cruise I wanted to take. Although we are "older" and we don't climb rock walls or use the zip line or surf simulator, we like to watch all the activity.

If you choose a good TA they can help you narrow it down. I'd get as much printed information as you can, narrow it down and then come back to the boards and ask the questions you have then. Happy planning!:D

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  • 2 weeks later...

We are in our late 50's (57 & 59) and have done about 8 cruises in the last few years.

 

We have done Disney, you may want to avoid that one. Beautiful ships but lots of ankle biters - don't get me wrong I love my grands but they are mine so....

 

Also Norwegian, okay but when we sailed RCCL we knew we had landed. We've never had a bad ship.

 

Do you want an island heavy cruise? Or would you rather more days at sea? I think that might make your pick abit easier.

 

Also the Oasis & Quantum class will have alot more onboard activities/nightlife.

 

We like the Southern Caribbean. Our next is island heavy 5 islands in all and sails from San Juan on the3 Jewel of the Seas.

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We are in our late 50's (57 & 59) and have done about 8 cruises in the last few years.

 

 

 

We have done Disney, you may want to avoid that one. Beautiful ships but lots of ankle biters - don't get me wrong I love my grands but they are mine so....

 

 

 

Also Norwegian, okay but when we sailed RCCL we knew we had landed. We've never had a bad ship.

 

 

 

Do you want an island heavy cruise? Or would you rather more days at sea? I think that might make your pick abit easier.

 

 

 

Also the Oasis & Quantum class will have alot more onboard activities/nightlife.

 

 

 

We like the Southern Caribbean. Our next is island heavy 5 islands in all and sails from San Juan on the3 Jewel of the Seas.

 

 

 

I’m 63. Depends how many days & how much you want to spend. I love NCL Baltic Capital Cruise & their Cruise from Barcelona thru Italy & France. Carnival has pretty good sailing thru islands if Hawaii. Staff usually not top, but adequate. There’s Princess to Alaska. I’m doing 29 day B2B with NCL going Sydney-Singapore-Hong Kong. Later I’m doing 4 day NCL to Cuba. The worlds wide open. Happy sailing. I’d recommend a TA. If special offers or reductions come up, they’re right on it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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  • 1 month later...
My wife and I are in our early 60s and looking for a nice cruise experience to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary this yesterday. We have been on 2 cruises long ago - 1988 & 2008. Both were with RCCL, to the Caribbean (Western & Eastern). We were directed to RCCL by a travel agent for a more “classy” cruise than a “fun ship”. We were very satisfied both times. However, much could have changed in the cruise industry since then.

We are seeking recommendations on cruise line, cruise ship, destination. We are thinking of a Caribbean, Bahamas or Alaskan cruise, about 7 days, at a reasonable cost. We like dining, entertainment, ports of call excursions.

A specific question is since we have been on 2 RCCL cruises, are there any significant advantages to staying with RCCL this time?

Your advice and recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

I would recommend a 7-night one-way Alaskan cruise (either north-bound or south-bound) between Vancouver and either Whittier or Seward, that includes a cruise into Glacier Bay. Princess, Holland America and Norwegian lines do these cruises. Add on another few days to take a whale watching boat tour out of Whittier or Seward; and the train trip up to Denali with the tour into Denali National Park.

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Please let us know how much activity you want to do onboard; that way we may steer you with the ship and cruiseline that will fit your requirements. Example; do you like to attend shows like broadway shows, do you like adventure like ice skating or surfing; or bumper cars? Do you like to relax in a lounge and play trivia? The more info you give us the better we can suggest the ship and cruise line

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