Getting a little tired of the same old same old...

[vancom]

Folks: just got off the Jewel and finished my 7th cruise. It's been almost 20 years of sailing RCCL exclusively, and I think I am getting too old and weary to climb another rock wall and struggle through big ships with huge crowds. I am thinking about trying Celebrity, or maybe even heading off in another direction altogether. I prefer to keep cruises to 7 nights, or so, and would love to see something other than the Caribbean.

 

Any ideas? I am thinking northern Europe, or maybe South America. Would love some hints!

 

Vanessa

[cb at sea]

Never have climbed the rock wall...no interest in that whatsoever....of course, fingernails don't help when climbing!

 

Nothing wrong with checking out something new! Go for it, and post some reviews for comparison!

[Ashland]

Folks: just got off the Jewel and finished my 7th cruise. It's been almost 20 years of sailing RCCL exclusively, and I think I am getting too old and weary to climb another rock wall and struggle through big ships with huge crowds. I am thinking about trying Celebrity, or maybe even heading off in another direction altogether. I prefer to keep cruises to 7 nights, or so, and would love to see something other than the Caribbean.

 

Any ideas? I am thinking northern Europe, or maybe South America. Would love some hints!

 

Vanessa

We have a lot in common it seems..however beside the eastern caribbean we have done the western med and northern europe and the baltics, alaska and of course the mexican riviera..And last month thought we would try another cruiseline after sailing nothing but RCI for the past 30+ years..and did the PCL Sapphire this time to the mexican riviera..It only "confirmed" I have been right all those years in sticking with RCI at least IMHO....Best of luck in whatever you decide to try....

[lrn2cruise]

I can never imagine being tired of looking at a Caribbean ocean. I live smack dab in the middle of suburbia with sirens, tagging, etc.

 

I would go ahead and try another line.

[Lady Hudson]

Do try Celebrity -- I think you would enjoy it. Great food and "slightly" older crowd. Great service as well. Best of luck trying something new.

[Jimbo]

Folks: just got off the Jewel and finished my 7th cruise. It's been almost 20 years of sailing RCCL exclusively, and I think I am getting too old and weary to climb another rock wall and struggle through big ships with huge crowds. I am thinking about trying Celebrity, or maybe even heading off in another direction altogether. I prefer to keep cruises to 7 nights, or so, and would love to see something other than the Caribbean.

 

Any ideas? I am thinking northern Europe, or maybe South America. Would love some hints!

 

Vanessa

 

Hawaii and Panama Canal , don't leave them out.

 

Jimbo:)

[Cheryl H]

Folks: just got off the Jewel and finished my 7th cruise. It's been almost 20 years of sailing RCCL exclusively, and I think I am getting too old and weary to climb another rock wall and struggle through big ships with huge crowds. I am thinking about trying Celebrity, or maybe even heading off in another direction altogether. I prefer to keep cruises to 7 nights, or so, and would love to see something other than the Caribbean.

 

Any ideas? I am thinking northern Europe, or maybe South America. Would love some hints!

 

Vanessa

 

I'm not sure we'd like the larger ships either. We like the Radiance size. We did a nice week long repositioning cruise one year up the west coast....it started at San Diego, and had stops at Catalina Island, San Francisco, Oregon, Victoria, and ended in Vancouver in preparation for the Alaska cruises. It was a May cruise.

 

We also enjoyed the New England/Canada one so much that we are going again this fall.

 

We got tired of caribbean too. Did Alaska last summer and loved it. The Europe ones are tempting, but I think I'd rather have a couple weeks to do some exploring while over there and my husband just can't get that much time off all at once. So it will have to wait until retirement.

[rafinmd]

I think it's worthwhile to try other cruise lines and do so regularly. They all have something to offer, and while there's one I wouldn't return to, I've never regretted trying anything. If you've never sailed anything else, how can you be sure RCCL is the one that's right for you. You may either find a new favorite, or a new appriciation for the one you already have. I think either way you come out ahead.

 

By the way, you might consider something like the Jewel out of New England for a change of pace.

 

Roy

[KathyPet]

Let's face it the Carribean, and Mexico are all about the 3 S's (sun surf and shopping). You are not doing those sailings for any great cultural or historical interest. Stay on the ship and enjoy the pool in the sun or get off and enjoy the sun at the beach.

THe cruises that visit the European ports have a entirely different focus. The primary purpose is to soak up the culture and the history. If you don't enjoy those kinds of shore excursions then why go????

Also you can pretty much forget "sea days". THe last cruise we took (Regent 10 days from Barcelona to ROme) there was not a single day without a port vist. Same on a Seabourn cruise we took a few years ago from Copenhagen through the Baltic.

THe entire focus is completely different. We have loved the cruises that we have taken to Europe but they are not relaxing by any stretch of the imagination. THey are a great way to see some incredible sights in a short time period.

Let me also add that we also did a 10 day cruise tour to Alaska. I will just say that it was not to my taste and I would never go again. If you are really into scenery and some interesting shore excursions like glacier walking then you might enjoy it. THe ports are pretty awful in and of themselves.

[Expat...]

Would recommend Celebrity too, Northern Europe is good. It is go go go as far as itineraries go, personally like a longer cruise, but that is just me.

[endymion6942]

Try europe if you can afford the insane airfare prices.

[luvscruising2007]

If you really want different amenities aboard ship definitely try a different line. And if you are tired of the Caribbean then I would try Bermuda, Alaska or Canada. They would fall into your 7 day time frame.

[Familygoboston]

We've cruised Royal for almost 20 years too, but mostly because they had

- reasonable prices

- short cruises

- Florida departures ( where it used to be cheap to fly to:rolleyes:)

And that all worked for us for a long time. I'm not bored yet...not sure I can be out on the ocean! BUT

Now that the kids are bigger and and can be left for a longer time, DH and I are expanding our horizons, I want more interesting ports, and we can leave the kids ( and soon they won't even be home anymore!) for lengthier cruises. And times that were traditionally busy times that we needed to be around for the kids are now times we could consider cruising.

We have PG booked in Oct, and are thinking Azamara, maybe PGs new Moana in the Caribbean for Dec 2013. Also, we would consider Celebrity for the right itinerary, since our Crown and Anchor benefits ( except balcony discount:() would translate to that line.

So yes, like you we are at a time in our life where the ports and longer cruises might drive our decisions for a while and RCL may not "win" the day. But it won't be because I've ever been bored onboard ( except maybe for that dang " if it's day one it must be vidalia onion tart" menu:p

[seaofwonder]

I completely agree re the Caribbean. We're over it too. Check out the cruises out of Colon, Panama...cheaper (you do have air fare though to get there) and visit some less visited ports. The ship is smaller too (Not sure how we'll feel about that...we like the big ships).

 

Europe....cruises are relatively inexpensive (compared to Oasis/Allure and some of the other US homeports) and air fare isn't "insane." If you can go off peak, you can save quite a bit. Otherwise, I don't find $1000-1500 expensive for airfare to visit amazing places.

 

We're also trying Alaska this year (cruise + airfare more expensive than a European cruise) on a smaller ship.

 

---

Check out Celebrity....slightly older crowd, maybe a little more laid back in terms of onboard activity, and you can transfer over your elite status from Royal.

[EGG]

We decided several years into cruising when we saw the same production shows on different ships that we were going to mix up the cruise lines. This gave us a much more varied experience on board and a choice of multiple itineraries. We started with X which we still like but which has limited itineraries. Since then we've cruised RCL, Princess, HAL, Cunard and Carnival and we love different ships, different shows, different things to do on the ships and different itineraries.

 

We did the Hawaii west coast round trip several years ago on HAL. This year we did it on Cunard. While the ports themselves were the same it was an entirely different experience. By leaving your options open, especially last minute, you can often pick up better deals and certainly go to different ports.

 

When we took

 

I don't think it is worth it to fly to Europe for a 7 day cruise. There is so much to see there and you will probably want a few days pre and post cruise.

 

Don't forget to look at the debarkation ports. Many people forget about the New England Canada cruises. Check the airfare to NY/NJ. Have you been to Bermuda? Try Explorer which rotates 3 or 4 different cruises.

[clean1owner]

Do try Celebrity -- I think you would enjoy it. Great food and "slightly" older crowd. Great service as well. Best of luck trying something new.

 

 

Yes, not as many whippersnappers on the X ships. From what I understand, better food and service too.

[Erik101]

Let's face it the Carribean, and Mexico are all about the 3 S's (sun surf and shopping). You are not doing those sailings for any great cultural or historical interest. Stay on the ship and enjoy the pool in the sun or get off and enjoy the sun at the beach.

THe cruises that visit the European ports have a entirely different focus. The primary purpose is to soak up the culture and the history. If you don't enjoy those kinds of shore excursions then why go????

 

THe entire focus is completely different. We have loved the cruises that we have taken to Europe but they are not relaxing by any stretch of the imagination. THey are a great way to see some incredible sights in a short time period.

 

I absolutely like your perspective, especially on the "sun surf and shopping." Personally, I think shopping in the Caribbean is crap! I remember in St. Martin where every other store is a jewelry store? Do people actually buy that much bling when going to these islands? Okay, moving on....

 

I'm actually glad to read that there are other people who are desiring to move on from a seemingly popular Caribbean cruise! I've read the thread signatures of several CC members and can't help but notice that a good number of them have only sailed the Caribbean. While there's nothing wrong with this, my question is why would you want to continuously plan your vacation to the same demographic? Do cruisers really want to go to other destinations but can't due to expense? Or is the international culture too foreign for some folks?

 

I like RCI and have lots of respect for the company but for the same reason that I would like to see other vacation spots, I'd like to experience other cruise lines and what they have to offer.

 

To the OP, if you end up going to the Mediterranean, please post a review! That will be our next destination! :)

[Big_G]

Alaska, Panama Canal, and New England-Canada in that order. We really liked Celebrity but I don't know if they have those three itineraries.

[critterchick]

The possibilities are endless. If you've only cruised the Caribbean, you've just started exploring the world.:) It's hard to know what to suggest without knowing what you like to do. Are you a ship person or a port person, for starters?

 

Some thoughts from our experience:

 

Why not combine a cruise with a land trip? A week in Italy (or whatever country you'd like to see) followed by a cruise that stops in ports that you didn't visit on land. Spend 3 days in Rome, take the train to the Cinque Terre, Florence or Sorrento (to name a few), then down to Civitavecchia (the port for Rome, but it's 90 minutes away) and take a cruise to the Eastern or Western Mediterranean. Or there's Venice....

 

RCI has some nice itinerarities, but Azamara (sister line to RCI) has some amazing ones. And their two ships hold 700 passengers each, so not a lot of crowds, plus they can get into some of the smaller ports.

 

Also look at Princess' small ships (they are the same ships as Azamara, all from the now-defunct Renaissance line) for some unique itineraries.

 

Or then there are the Galapagos Islands - you can go there on Celebrity, Lindblad or a host of smaller lines. 7 nights in the islands and then you could add on some South America cities (including Macchu Pichu).

 

Australia and New Zealand are wonderful places to visit.

 

Honolulu to Vancouver.

 

I could go on and on......:D

[Paulxyz2004]

I was tired of the Caribbean after my one and only cruise there.

Out of some 30+ cruises I´ve only been on one Caribbean cruise and only because of the Oasis experience, otherwise I wouldn´t have gone to those ports. A couple other cruises like PC transits had some Caribbean ports included. To me the islands are not attractive at all.

Instead there is Hawaii, Alsaka, Baltics, Mediterranean, Australia, New Zealand and my all time favourite Transatlantics with destinations like Iceland and Greenland.

Well and then there´s of course all those destinations that are still on my list, like Southamerica, Antarctica, Southafrica, Emirates, India, ......

Oh well, I guess I need more vacation time and money;) Being limited to only six weeks a year sucks:(

[Nothin' But Sun]

Never have climbed the rock wall...no interest in that whatsoever....of course, fingernails don't help when climbing!

 

Nothing wrong with checking out something new! Go for it, and post some reviews for comparison!

 

LOL, I always save the rock wall for later in the cruise, when my mani isn't so pretty anymore:D

 

Sue

[vancom]

10 more years until retirement...until then, I am lucky to cobble together 9 days in a row off, which includes the weekend before and after, and even then I have h*** to pay when I get back. Oh crap, that would be tomorrow! As I noted earlier, DH is a college professor and has a lot more flexibility than I do. Sigh.

 

He and I talked this afternoon about trying to find 3 to 4 days to maybe fly to Australia, sail to Tahiti or something exotic and then fly home. Maybe in 2013 late, or early 2014. We both like the idea of sailing to Alaska as we have a 14 year old who loves the outdoors. I think we will try Celebrity or another line if we venture way around the globe, like to Australia or North Europe. Maybe even Paul Gaughin line to Tahiti, who knows!

 

Thanks to all who shared ideas. Wish I had more time to travel, and yeah, mo' money too!

 

Vanessa

[Ocean Boy]

Never have climbed the rock wall...no interest in that whatsoever....of course, fingernails don't help when climbing!

 

Nothing wrong with checking out something new! Go for it, and post some reviews for comparison!

 

How is this for a coincidence.... I love the rockwall but have no interest in tanning whatsoever!:p

[hazmat1]

I'm pretty much over the eastern/western Caribbean. I am going one more time, but this time out of Bayonne for something different.

 

We have also done the Baltic (LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT) and one of my favorites was a transatlantic on the Indy that stopped in Cherborg and I was able to go to the Normandy D-Day beaches and the American Cemetery there. If sea days are what you are looking for, a transatlantic is great. Best of both worlds.

 

Next time I think a Med/transatlantic BTB is in my future.

[negc]

How is this for a coincidence.... I love the rockwall but have no interest in tanning whatsoever!:p

 

Just don't try to tan in a Radiance class solarium Everyone just knows that the glass roof prevents those UV rays from burning or tanning your skin.:D