Need help - Buying cruise for parents as a gift, which cruise line....

[kaitlinsmom]

Hi -

 

Going to buy my in-laws a cruise for my mum-in-law's 60th birthday party - (Feb '06) They are from England, so we thought a Western Caribean is best - But we have only done Disney - and I am sure they do not want to go on there - plus we are trying to keep costs down -

 

They have never been on a cruise, so they really won't be disappointed if we don't get them a top level room - But we would like to get them an ocean view, possibly verandah, etc - and on a nice ship - not one that is too old.

 

Can anyone please recommend a cruise line and if possible, the cruise ship we should start looking into -

 

Thanks for anything you can suggest -

 

Karen

[jnc411]

Hi , I would recommend either Princess or Royal Caribbean.Lovely ships, nice clientel, good service. It would depend on the itenirary. What a wonderful gift. I am sure they would enjoy it. I am sure you will get many suggestions. Perhaps it might be good to contact a reliable Travel Agent after you have checked the prices on the online agencys and have a good idea of what you want. Good luck ,

Cori

[SANDY BEACH]

Celebrity Millennium. Always a nice choice for a first cruise. It was our first and nothing could have been any better. Possibly you could afford the CC class. This would give them a few of the extras with a balcony. I'm sure they would feel spoiled. What a great gift from very generous children.

[wtevrfltsurbt]

Please remember when hurricane season is and book accordingly! All of the lines the other posters mentioned are great, what a great gift!

[spongerob]

I think the western Caribbean cruises tend to be a bit more rowdy than eastern Caribbean. You might want to take the party-hearty factor into consideration.

[Cotton]

Karen, since the cruise won't be until Feb.06, you have plenty of time to do lots of homework. Coming here is a good first step.

 

I would suggest that you go to a local TA and pick up some of the big brochures all the cruise lines have. Tell them you are just considering a cruise, and want to have the books as a reference. You won't be under any obligation to them.

 

Look through all the books. Usually, the rates in the books are deceiving, and are more than you will be paying.

 

Get a notebook and pen. Call or go online to a few online agencies, get their rates, and make sure you get the bottom line price (including port charges and taxes), and ask about any hidden charges such as fees/penalties for changing or cancelling.

 

Then - check with the cruise lines directly. Sometimes, but not always, they can beat the prices you're gotten from others. After you've done all your homework, you can compare and make an intelligent decision.

 

I think it's a very nice gesture on your part. I'm female, 60+, and a solo-cruiser. I've been on NCL, Princess, and Carnival. Carnival is my favorite, as you can see below my signature.:) It's not the party-hardy cruiseline it once was, believe me.

 

Good luck, and I hope they have a wonderful time on their cruise!

[doone]

Look at Holland America, this is a wonderful cruise line. They have some great itineraries for 7 and 10 day cruises. Check out their web site: http://www.hollandamerica.com

 

Also, I would suggest for a 7-day cruise the easterns caribbean, the 10-day cruises will take you deeper into the caribbean, some great islands there as well.

[Bruin Steve]

It's actually a pretty tough question...

By "from England" do you also mean they live there presently? (I have friends who are "from England" and live in SoCal)...

 

Does the cruise have to be on her birthday? Or do you give it FOR her birthday and taken at an alternative date? Reason I'm asking this is that with airfares added from London to Miami or San Juan or wherever, a more reasonable alternative might be a European cruise...but most of them only run April-October...

 

Another possibility is that the air costs are little different from London to Miami than they are London to Los Angeles...So, you might also want to consider a Mexican Riviera cruise--which would allow them to come and visit you either prior to or after the cruise...

 

As to cruise lines, ships, etc., my vote, as usual, goes to Celebrity...The M-Class ships are just flat out outstanding...but, for English people in their age group, I would also consider HAL and Princess.

 

Since it's a special gift, depending on your budget, I'd try to go with a veranda...It seems hard to put one's parents into a non-glamorous inside cabin (although, when I go myself, I'll do it depending on the price differentials...and I'll recommend to people going ont their OWN cruise to save money with the inside if you're the type that doesn't spend much time in the room)...We gave my parents a Baltic Cruise on the Celebrity Constellation for my Dad's 80th...and we booked them a Concierge Class Veranda for that one (We offered to get them a Sky Suite and they flat out refused--didn't want us to spend that much money just to get them a bigger room)...

 

Good luck...

[serene56]

If you click on my banner under my posts you can get information on the Brand new Carnival Liberty Sailing on February 12th. We are going to the western caribbean and sailing during valentines day. Its a group but you dont have to do stuff with the group-- you can just book to get the pricing and all the amenties that come with the group.

 

I have sailed the western side 4 times-- Liberty will be my 5th time. I dont see it any more rowdier then the eastern. A cruise is what we make it to be.

 

Presidents week in February 18th. Starting that week you will see many more familes and kids sailing

[kaitlinsmom]

So many great suggestions! Thank you so much!

 

Cotton - If you don't mind and have time - which Carnival ship do you enjoy? My husband and I went on Carnival about 10 years ago and hated it! Swore we would never cruise them again - I have heard that they have changed a lot, but I am still hesitant to book with them -

 

Steve - They do live in England right now - I know they are not interested in doing a European cruise because that is where they usually go for their holidays - Mum-in-law has always wanted to go to either Caribbean or Hawaii -

 

We thought about a mexican cruise, but the ports are so much better in the carribean - We would love to see them, looked into Hawaii cruises, but they are so much more expensive! We were also considering the jet-lag - So we thought out of Florida or Texas for a Caribbean cruise -

 

serene56 - I will definitely check out your banner - Thank you so much for the heads up -

 

Thanks again everyone, you have given me a starting point, which I did not have before - But any more suggestions are certainly welcomed!

 

Karen

[cruisingmimi]

Karen,

 

You are definitely a nice daughter-in-law. Can you send me on a cruise w/ your in-laws? I'll be their tour guide! LOL.

 

Seriously, though, Bruin Steve has made some good suggestions. Cotton also has made some great suggestions. Just go to a cruise agency or vacation outlet store & pick up lots of brochures. Spread them all out and it will be easier to visualize what you might want for itinerary.

 

My thoughts: A cruise to Hawaii would be lovely & they could cruise from the west coast vs. not having to fly to Hawaii to board the ship.

 

I just received in the mail some brochures from Princess & they have some awesome new Caribbean itineraries.

 

We have done a Mexican Riviera cruise out of L.A. on the Star Princess down the Baja Peninsula & it was very nice. Not what I call "honkey tonkey" like some of the other Mexican ports we went to. Very relaxing too.

 

It also depends on where they would begin their cruise, on the east or west coast.

 

I would also factor in the President's Week vacation. Most ships will have a ton of kids onboard. We took a cruise in April & it was spring break in 4 states & we had 800 kids onboard. It was not a good cruise. If this is your in-laws 1st cruise, you want it to be very special. I would also opt for a balcony if you can swing it because they will enjoy sitting out & enjoying the wonderful views.

 

We have cruised Princess, RCCL, Carnival (w/ the 800 kids), and Celebrity. My favorite and recommendation for your cruise selection: CELEBRITY! All the way!

 

Good luck. Let us know how you make out.

[michmike]

you can't go wrong with celebrity, but we prefer the laid back atmosphere on holland america and the personal service provided by their indonesian/filipino crew. Take a look at Maasdam, Veendam, Volendam, or Zaandam. Balcony is nice but as first time cruisers I'm sure they'd be happy with an outside cabin and that is about $600 less (for the 2 of them). If you wanted to spend the additional money you could, instead, simply put $500 on their shipboard account and that would cover most of their incidental expenses during the week

[hotmike98]

I also recommend Holland. The atmosphere is a little more refined and sedate, which folks of the in-laws age might preferable to the disco all night reputation (deserved or not on Carnival). Two other itineraries you might consider are panama canal or Alaska (of course that is a summer cruise, but it's a place like no other!) If the folks really want to see Hawaii, I would recommend that you book a flight direct to either Los Angeles or San Francisco or San Diego, with a couple of days on either end to decompress and de jet lag. I believe Princess sails from San Diego to Hawaii, or you can book a flight from any large west coast city to Hawaii and sail from there.

[arnieslady]

Dont' know when you are going to send them, I know b'day is 02/06. You can get some pretty good deals for Spring sailings, probably next best to Fall which is hurricane, then you know how that can turn things upside down.

 

If you book Spring, keep in mind Spring Breakers. Try to avoid college weeks, sometime in late Feb thru end of March for college, April for grade schools. You could consider sending them out of San Juan and that would eliminate much of teen/young adult crowd.

 

I say this because we had some friends on Norwegian ??(don't remember ship) and their trip turned into a nightmare. Students destroyed the ship, Miami police were flown to Cozumel to board ship, it just turned into a disaster. If you go to Norwegian their is a post regarding this, just search for Spring Break and I think you will find. Just my thoughts. Good Luck.

 

btw..dw and I took parents this past April on Golden Princess out of San Juan..very nice..sailed week of 4/10. Veeeeeeery few folks in the 25 and under crowd. Even fewer grade school kids, I bet we didn't encounter 2 dozen the entire week. Kept seeing the same ones time after time. I'm not a kid hater, have two DD's that are now 22yrs, have taken them since they were 15 yrs and thoroughly enjoy when they go. Just know sometimes I want a little peace. Sorry if I offend anyone, don't mean to.

[shmily]

Hi there. Since you are looking at a February, 2006 cruise, I would recommend Holland America's Zuiderdam. She sails either east or western caribbean plus is scheduled to go into dry dock for a major face lift in December, 2005 which means she would be happy and fresh for your in-laws. We did the eastern Caribbean and had a wonderful time. I agree that the tone on the HAL ship is more..."sedate" than perhaps a Carnival or Princess. Sailing in February would mean that you would be early for any spring break partying. I'm so happy for you and your in-laws. This would be a fabulous gift for them.

 

Happy Cruising!

Chris:D

[LHT28]

It may be a bit more money but I would give Oceania cruises a look.

They may enjoy the smaller less formal ship experience and if booking in the U.K. I think they have some special rates going on.

[mrg0433]

If they are retired and time is no problem, I would recommend a trip to see you in California before and after the cruise. If finances are tight, I would suggest Royal Caribbean or Carnival 4 night cruise LA to San Diego, Ensenada, and Catalina Island. However, if you can afford it, I would highly recommend the Norwegian Star 8 night cruise LA to Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Zih...,and Alcapulco.

 

We sailed the Mexican Riviera on RCL Visision of the Seas in Feb 2004, but I recommend the cruise to Alacapulco on Norwegian in February because the ports are better and the weather is warmer the further south you go. Our last Norwegian ship had lots of restaurants (French, Italian, Mexican, English Pub, 2 American, Ventetian Dining Room, Japanese, Chinese/Fast Food Diner, NY Deli, 2 levels of poolside BBQ, plus buffet. They appealed very much to my 60 year old husband and myself. We liked the ambiance of each type of restaurant and eating freestyle whatever time we wanted much more than a specific assigned dining time in one dining room with the same waiter and same table guests night after night. I enjoy meeting new people with the option of other table guests or a table for 2.

 

If somebody is paying for my cruise, I would be very happy with an inside cabin. I could always upgrade and pay the difference for a balcony myself. Mexican Riviera cruises that time of year often are not sold out, so I am sure they could upgrade last minute when it is less costly. With the money you save on an inside cabin, you can join them.

[Cotton]

Cotton - If you don't mind and have time - which Carnival ship do you enjoy? My husband and I went on Carnival about 10 years ago and hated it! Swore we would never cruise them again - I have heard that they have changed a lot, but I am still hesitant to book with them -

 

Hi again Karen. Remember, things can change a lot in 10 years!:) Oh, you asked - the Holiday is my favorite ship, smallest and oldest of Carnival's present fleet, but I prefer smaller ships.

 

If my assumption is correct, and that your inlaws will be visiting with y'all prior to the cruise, why not book a cruise out of L.A. or San Diego? I doubt they'll be wanting to FLY again to reach a port? Carnival has 3, 4, and 7-day cruises leaving from L.A. and an 8-day from S.D. You didn't mention the length of the cruise you'll be planning.

 

My daughter lives in L.A. (I was there 2 wks. ago!:) ), and she did a Carnival MX Riviera cruise a few years ago. She said she enjoyed the ship (sorry, I don't remember which one, but it was a 7-nighter), and the food and production shows, and really liked the ports they visited. I believe the shorter cruises are to Baja.

 

To me, there's a good mix of ages on all the cruises I've been on. (Except the ones with lots of kids; i.e., spring break, summer, holidays.) We 'seniors' enjoy everything just as much as they younger set does. There's a lot of activities, or lots of quiet spaces to sit and read. I've enjoyed my Princess and NCL cruises, but I truly do prefer Carnival. One thing, I think the food is better, and the cabins are definitely larger than on other lines.

 

Again - do your homework. I know they'll enjoy whichever ship you decide on, and will LOVE you even more for the thoughtful gift!:)

 

**Edited to say: You might want to go over to Cruise Critic's CARNIVAL board for more info.