Jump to content

New England Canada for First Time Cruisers


erlyvon
 Share

Recommended Posts

Looking for advise on booking a New England Canada Cruise.....such as book with Travel Agent or direct with Cruise Line, include airfare in booking, Celebrity, Holland America or Royal Caribbean, etc, etc,.  Any suggestions, comments and recommendations appreciated!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, eoverton said:

Looking for advise on booking a New England Canada Cruise.....such as book with Travel Agent or direct with Cruise Line, include airfare in booking, Celebrity, Holland America or Royal Caribbean, etc, etc,.  Any suggestions, comments and recommendations appreciated!

Hard to answer with zero information about your travel profile. Find a respected "cruise specialist" TA who will interview you regarding desires, preferences, expectations, demographic, experience, means (e.g., Motel 6 or Intercontinental; Golden Corral or Michelin star).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the replies.  We will be traveling with others who have cruised and have given me input and I've done extensive research in order to narrow our search down to 3, those being 1 on Royal Caribbean  Visions of the Sea, 1 on Norwegian Gem and 1 on Celebrity Summit. While the Celebrity cruise is somewhat more expensive we are leaning towards it for the itinerary and the fact that it is a round trip from Boston.   I am aware that the Summit is an "older" ship but it is due for a complete refurbishment in March 2019 well in advance of our travel dates.   Any comments on those Cruise Lines/Ships and are there pros/cons to booking direct with the cruise line or with a travel agent?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, eoverton said:

Thanks for the replies.  We will be traveling with others who have cruised and have given me input and I've done extensive research in order to narrow our search down to 3, those being 1 on Royal Caribbean  Visions of the Sea, 1 on Norwegian Gem and 1 on Celebrity Summit. While the Celebrity cruise is somewhat more expensive we are leaning towards it for the itinerary and the fact that it is a round trip from Boston.   I am aware that the Summit is an "older" ship but it is due for a complete refurbishment in March 2019 well in advance of our travel dates.   Any comments on those Cruise Lines/Ships and are there pros/cons to booking direct with the cruise line or with a travel agent?

Is the Celebrity cruise REALLY more expensive? Are you just comparing cabin costs or are you figuring in the value of included amenities that may be there on one line but not another. Use "net daily rate" of all necessary and anticipated optional costs as the basis for comparison. You may be very surprised at how little more a far better experience (even better than Celebrity) may cost.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sigh! I guess we have been cruising too long (over forty years) because what some call "older ships" are  among our personal favorites.   That being said, on Canada/NE cruises the itineraries are pretty port intensive and the itinerary should rule (in most cases).  As to the so-called older ships (like the Summit)...there are many experienced cruisers who find lots of advantages to a smaller ship (all relevant) which often means one of the older ships in a given cruise line fleet.  Personally I would opt for Celebrity over RCI..on most cruises...because Celebrity is a slightly more upscale product.  RCI also has such a great reputation for their kids programs that it attracts many younger families (with lots of kids) which we prefer to avoid :).  We cannot comment on Norwegian since we swore off that line around the time they got rid of the ole Norway (we loved that vessel).  I guess at our ole age and having literally spend years on many cruise ships we are not "wowed" with big atriums (you hear me Vision of the Seas) but prefer a less commercial atmosphere (have you ever noticed all the merchandise tables they set up on the RCI ships).

 

Hank

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the replies.  I've enjoyed reading each one and have gained valuable insight from them and along with finding a great travel agent and doing my own research we have decided to book Celebrity Summit for our upcoming cruise. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I gotta agree with Hank (again). At a certain point in our lives, we decided that the ports of call were more important than the ship or the cruise line. Now that we are older (not sure on the wiser thing), ports of call are the big thing with us. If all the ports are the same (or similar) go with Summit, great ship: not too big, not too small. Older in this case is wiser.

 

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally I am partial to a TA and extremely loyal to mine.  He specializes in cruises, and I've been using him for 21 years.  It shouldn't cost you more to use one, and they are chock full of good information because they have likely traveled to these ports or been on a lot of ships before.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/12/2019 at 7:27 AM, eoverton said:

Looking for advise on booking a New England Canada Cruise.....such as book with Travel Agent or direct with Cruise Line, include airfare in booking, Celebrity, Holland America or Royal Caribbean, etc, etc,.  Any suggestions, comments and recommendations appreciated!

Booked on Celebrity Summit for the Sept. 23, 2020 New England Canada Cruise.  Decided to use a TA who was very helpful along with suggestions in replies to my questions to make an informed decision.  In taking the advise of Flatbush Flyer, Celebrity wasn't "really more expensive".  In fact it ended up being the less expensive of our two  choices with all things considered.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...