Non-Caribbean Recommendations

[carriecga]

Good evening!! Just off Allure this morning and loved it. Ready to book another cruise but my husband doesn't want to do another Caribbean itinerary as we have been on several of them and also been on a few week long vacations in various Caribbean destinations...

 

I've heard mixed reviews regarding European itineraries and the time you get to spend in each place and we just do not know anyone who has been on a cruise to anywhere other than the Caribbean so I wanted to get some opinions and recommendations from the knowledgable cruisers.

 

A little about us... 32 and 28, love to travel and enjoyed our cruise on Majesty and loved our cruise on Allure (pros and cons to different sizes so I'm not sure that matters much to us).. We like to explore on our own once at the ports, but are open to excursions. I like the pool and to lay out, he enjoys the various activities around the ship. We like the casino. We also like the MDR and we do enjoy formal nights. Quantum looks so appealing but I've read some negatives.

 

Anyway, enough rambling. Suggestions or experiences you'd like to share? Thanks in advance!!

 

 

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[Clarea]

Alaska.

 

Australia.

 

Panama Canal.

 

Ocean Voyage.

[John&LaLa]

Trans Atlantic

 

Western Med

 

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[celebrity]

Definitely the Med.

Embarked from Barcelona and sailed to Rome, Naples, Athens, Mykonos, Santorini , Ephesus

And Malta.

Cruise of a lifetime!

[PCWalton1]

We have done Western Med, Eastern Med, Panama Canal, transit to Hawaii. I would recommend any of those.

[jaimevoyager]

Don't forget about the Baltic. Absolutely many incredible things to see!

[celebrity]

Once you step out of the usual Caribbean itineraries, you will see a great big wonderful world!

Do your research and go for it!

Happy Sails!

[cb at sea]

The airframe and times are the problem....for me, anyway!

[Bookish Angel]

A beautiful place with nice people.

 

Antarctica - stunning landscape and no human natives.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Bookish Angel

[Beachin2]

Don't forget the fall cruises - Boston R/T AKA the lobster crawl. :D

[Cruise a holic]

Good evening!! Just off Allure this morning and loved it. Ready to book another cruise but my husband doesn't want to do another Caribbean itinerary as we have been on several of them and also been on a few week long vacations in various Caribbean destinations...

 

I've heard mixed reviews regarding European itineraries and the time you get to spend in each place and we just do not know anyone who has been on a cruise to anywhere other than the Caribbean so I wanted to get some opinions and recommendations from the knowledgable cruisers.

 

A little about us... 32 and 28, love to travel and enjoyed our cruise on Majesty and loved our cruise on Allure (pros and cons to different sizes so I'm not sure that matters much to us).. We like to explore on our own once at the ports, but are open to excursions. I like the pool and to lay out, he enjoys the various activities around the ship. We like the casino. We also like the MDR and we do enjoy formal nights. Quantum looks so appealing but I've read some negatives.

 

Anyway, enough rambling. Suggestions or experiences you'd like to share? Thanks in advance!!

 

 

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Consider the Quantum from NJ. I believe when the issues of a new ship are addressed the ship will be wonderful. We enjoy Bermuda, Canada and Alaska. If you sail from Puerto Rico the caribbean itinery is great and different as are two week cruises from Florida. We enjoyed the Panama Canal as well

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[OCruisers]

Have you considered cruises lines other than RCCL?

LuLu

[vrock]

Alaska so beautiful. Also recommend Harv and Marv whale watching the best excursion we have ever taken.

[sueernieb]

Canada/New England

 

 

 

Sue

[Elvis1209]

Try the Norwegian Fiords. The most beautiful scenery you'll ever see! Did it on Brilliance as a retirement gift to myself. Great ship, wonderful cruise!

 

Elvis

[Raschueler]

My husband and I also loved the Allure. We now feel spoiled though when we get on other ships and find ourselves comparing to the Allure, even though there is no comparison! We are 22 and 26. We went on a Med cruise this year and LOVED it. Definitely different than the usual beach days of the Carribean. There is so much helpful information here on CC for the ports,. I found so many DIY tour suggestions and good companies to use for group tours with roll call members.

 

Happy cruise searching!!

[tidygirl]

Alaska is very nice, but can't just recommend a cruise there I feel you also need to do some time in the interior.

We also did the Western Med in Sept I have a review under Our families viewpoint of our Western Med cruise with quite a few pictures and also information on ports and how to do most of the ports by yourself.

My husband wasn't sure how much he would like it as we are a very active family, but he thought we saw some "pretty neat stuff!"

Any questions feel free to ask. (I have 2 folders of vacation information!)

[lucymorgan]

Sounds like it is time to see the rest of the world!

 

I recommend Australia and NZ (of course), the med and the baltic as well as a trans pacific from US through Hawaii, French Polynesia and Fiji (if you have the time!).

 

A world awaits!

 

If you like a particular place, leave some time at the end of the cruise or later to go back!

[Biker19]

The issue for most working folks for anything other than a Caribbean sailing is not enough vacation time. If that's not an issue, then a transatalntic with some good ports on the European end would be good. There's some really good ones in early fall via the northern route (Iceland, Norway,etc). If you like warmer climes there are plenty with stops in the Med. Most European ports have lots of interestings things to do within walking distance of the ship.

[lauren0309]

After 11 Caribbean cruises, we've decided to try something different so we're going to Alaska in June. This is going to be totally different experience for us and I can't wait. I read its breathtaking. Tons of different excursions.

[Bobal]

I think the first thing you should do to narrow it down is to decide how important the weather is to your cruise. If a key attraction for you is to lie out by the pool an Alaska or Baltic cruise won't be for you.

 

We've travelled on many different Med itineraries and some do involve a lot of travelling (eg Rome and Pisa/Florence) but if you don't have any bucket list cities some ports involve little travelling and maybe even just walking off the ship.

 

Also, if you're planning on visiting Europe, have a look at the time of year since shoulder season can be cool and rainy in some parts but mid summer will be very very busy - end of May/early June and September are my favourite times for the Med.

 

Two of our favourite cruises have been Panama Canal and Australia.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Bobal

[reney313]

A lot of great suggestions of other itineraries on this thread.

 

An alternative, that would be one week, and still warm weather would be Mexico (from California) or California Coastals off the west coast. RCI has only a few limited itineraries from California, but other cruise lines like Princess sail regularly.

 

Oddly, I have yet to take one of those itineraries, but I do plan to book one for 2016 so it's on the forefront of my mind at the moment. Like you, I love the Caribbean. We have branched out an enjoy a "cool" cruise during summer months and a "warm" cruise during winter months. I was trying to think of somewhere other than the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico and landed on the LA/San Diego cruise choices.