Imput - Trying To Choose

[Angels On Board]

Hello Cruise Community!  My husband and I have done about 9 cruises and Alaska Cruise Tour 11 day on Princess is our absolute Favorite!!! Spectacular!

We are going on NCL Prima in August of 2024 with a Norway/Iceland 11 day itinerary and I am now wanting to book something (to Save for) for sometime in 2025.  I would love some imput from seasoned travelers as we are considering a New England/Canada min. 10 day cruise VS an Italy cruise.  Any suggestions as to itinerary, length, best month and cruise line will be so Welcome!  Thanks so very much. We love scenic and wildlife viewing Immensely! 

[Lois R]

13 minutes ago, Angels On Board said:

Hello Cruise Community!  My husband and I have done about 9 cruises and Alaska Cruise Tour 11 day on Princess is our absolute Favorite!!! Spectacular!

We are going on NCL Prima in August of 2024 with a Norway/Iceland 11 day itinerary and I am now wanting to book something (to Save for) for sometime in 2025.  I would love some imput from seasoned travelers as we are considering a New England/Canada min. 10 day cruise VS an Italy cruise.  Any suggestions as to itinerary, length, best month and cruise line will be so Welcome!  Thanks so very much. We love scenic and wildlife viewing Immensely! 

Hi, Italy wins for me every time!

 

[jsn55]

21 minutes ago, Angels On Board said:

Hello Cruise Community!  My husband and I have done about 9 cruises and Alaska Cruise Tour 11 day on Princess is our absolute Favorite!!! Spectacular!

We are going on NCL Prima in August of 2024 with a Norway/Iceland 11 day itinerary and I am now wanting to book something (to Save for) for sometime in 2025.  I would love some imput from seasoned travelers as we are considering a New England/Canada min. 10 day cruise VS an Italy cruise.  Any suggestions as to itinerary, length, best month and cruise line will be so Welcome!  Thanks so very much. We love scenic and wildlife viewing Immensely! 

Oh, you will LOVE Norway!  We did Quebec to Boston last fall on NCL.  While it was a lovely cruise, it can't hold a candle to Italy.  I am leaving in 3 weeks to cruise Marseille-Trieste and can hardly wait. 

 

I was really looking forward to 'seeing Canada' as we cruised up the St Lawrence Seaway, but the river's so vast you couldn't see a thing.  We anchored waaaay out at Bar Harbor, the tender took 45 minutes, it was awful.  Not Bar Harbor, of course, but all the time wasted getting there from the ship.  Weather was lousy most of the time but we didn't care about that ... it was our first trip since the virus disaster.  The one shore excursion I took was Portsmouth (I think) was quite lame.  Halifax is just a big city.  Quebec was as perfect as always, even tho the wind was so strong it was difficult to walk on the promenade!  Ship was very enjoyable and the crew their usual marvelous selves.  So Italy has my vote for sure.  

[Angels On Board]

Thanks for that Vote! Any ideas for which CL and itinerary? We've never been and in fact the 2024 Iceland/Norway cruise will be our first European cruise!  Always so much research to do, it can be overwhelming. 😉😃

 

[Angels On Board]

Thank you also Lois R. 😃

[lenquixote66]

We did a NYC to New England and Canada in October 2013.It was a great cruise,2 nights in Quebec City,other ports were Prince Edward Island ,St.John’s,NB,Halifax,NS,Portland.ME and a tender port in ME.

 

We have never been to Europe but everyone we know who has been to Italy raves about the country.

[puppycanducruise]

We loved our cruise in Norway, I'm sure you will too.

We've done a few cruises in the Mediterranean.   I know, there's a lot of research that you must do.  Be aware that some cruises say that embark or disembark in Rome, but actually, the port of Civitavecchia (sp?) is an hour away from Rome.  And, sadly, you can't cruise from Venice anymore.  So, plan on spending a couple or more days in Europe before and/or after your cruise.  I'd suggest going in the spring or fall, avoid July and August because of the heat.

Lots of information on the Ports of Call board.

Enjoy the research, enjoy the cruise.

[LHT28]

If doing Italy would do in spring or fall unless you love the heat /crowds

 

CAN/NE  try for  spring or June   no hurricanes  & the weather is much nicer

 Maybe start in Montreal or QC & stay a few days  before the cruise  explore the area

 

Do some research  to see what works best  for you

[SPacificbound]

2 hours ago, Angels On Board said:

Hello Cruise Community!  My husband and I have done about 9 cruises and Alaska Cruise Tour 11 day on Princess is our absolute Favorite!!! Spectacular!

We are going on NCL Prima in August of 2024 with a Norway/Iceland 11 day itinerary and I am now wanting to book something (to Save for) for sometime in 2025.  I would love some imput from seasoned travelers as we are considering a New England/Canada min. 10 day cruise VS an Italy cruise.  Any suggestions as to itinerary, length, best month and cruise line will be so Welcome!  Thanks so very much. We love scenic and wildlife viewing Immensely! 

We are doing B2B New England/Canada, total 22 nights on RCCL Jewel if the Seas.

[Szt]

2 hours ago, Angels On Board said:

Hello Cruise Community!  My husband and I have done about 9 cruises and Alaska Cruise Tour 11 day on Princess is our absolute Favorite!!! Spectacular!

We are going on NCL Prima in August of 2024 with a Norway/Iceland 11 day itinerary and I am now wanting to book something (to Save for) for sometime in 2025.  I would love some imput from seasoned travelers as we are considering a New England/Canada min. 10 day cruise VS an Italy cruise.  Any suggestions as to itinerary, length, best month and cruise line will be so Welcome!  Thanks so very much. We love scenic and wildlife viewing Immensely! 

How do you feel about adopting a nice couple in their late 50s? 😁

[Angels On Board]

😂

[Angels On Board]

50 minutes ago, puppycanducruise said:

We loved our cruise in Norway, I'm sure you will too.

We've done a few cruises in the Mediterranean.   I know, there's a lot of research that you must do.  Be aware that some cruises say that embark or disembark in Rome, but actually, the port of Civitavecchia (sp?) is an hour away from Rome.  And, sadly, you can't cruise from Venice anymore.  So, plan on spending a couple or more days in Europe before and/or after your cruise.  I'd suggest going in the spring or fall, avoid July and August because of the heat.

Lots of information on the Ports of Call board.

Enjoy the research, enjoy the cruise.

Thanks so much, even the Spring/Fall suggestions!  Italy is my husbands dream.  I'm the Alaska or Rocky Mountains etc. viewing.  However, I know I will Love Italy too! Definitely want to go when it's still Cool enough to enjoy walking around!

[Angels On Board]

20 minutes ago, SPacificbound said:

We are doing B2B New England/Canada, total 22 nights on RCCL Jewel if the Seas.

Sounds absolutely Wonderful!  22 days! 🎉

[Szt]

1 minute ago, Angels On Board said:

Thanks so much, even the Spring/Fall suggestions!  Italy is my husbands dream.  I'm the Alaska or Rocky Mountains etc. viewing.  However, I know I will Love Italy too! Definitely want to go when it's still Cool enough to enjoy walking around!

Italy is fantastic. But I’m not sure cruising is the best way to experience it. We were there last Oct. It was still pretty warm and residents are not allowed to run ac after Sept 30. So the places we stayed were uncomfortable for sleeping, even in Milan. But if you go after Oct the opening hours are shorter. Spring is pretty rainy. So good and bad no matter how you slice it. 

[Angels On Board]

Does anyone have a particular Cruise Line they liked for Italy cruising? We have been happy with the ones we have taken on Carnival, Princess, NCL, and RCCL so far. We are open to suggestions for Italy and or NE/CAN.

[Angels On Board]

2 minutes ago, Szt said:

Italy is fantastic. But I’m not sure cruising is the best way to experience it. We were there last Oct. It was still pretty warm and residents are not allowed to run ac after Sept 30. So the places we stayed were uncomfortable for sleeping, even in Milan. But if you go after Oct the opening hours are shorter. Spring is pretty rainy. So good and bad no matter how you slice it. 

Humm, interesting😃

[Szt]

One thing I cannot say enough good things about- the after hours tour of St Marks in Venice. 
overall, Venice was a bit disappointing. It didn’t mesh with my memory of it from 30 years ago. It smelled bad and was so dirty. We had to decide between leaving the windows open, getting attacked by bugs and choking on the smell or suffocating with the windows closed. So sleeping on a ship would have solved that problem. 
However, if we hadn’t stayed one night we would have missed the best experience of our entire trip. St Marks is breathtaking no matter when you see it. But the after hours tour lets you get up close and personal without fighting crowds. The gold dome and the glass mosaics take on a whole different magical feel in the  evening light. I think my jaw was agape the entire tour. I found the tour through Viator I think. Don’t miss it!

[Angels On Board]

it's now on the list of "Must Sees" 😃

[sanger727]

Those two itineraries are so different. We love europe. If you haven’t been before do a one way cruise and add extra days before and after the cruise. Italy is not seen best by cruise but it’s a wonderful place to spend a few days. The geek islands are fabulous by cruise.

[SbbquilterUT]

I would love to cruise the Med in the fall but would definitely do land travel by train while I was there.  We really enjoy the time to walk and soak up the places we visit on land, everything except the need to pack and unpack more.

[cruisemom42]

3 hours ago, Angels On Board said:

Does anyone have a particular Cruise Line they liked for Italy cruising? We have been happy with the ones we have taken on Carnival, Princess, NCL, and RCCL so far. We are open to suggestions for Italy and or NE/CAN.

 

With cruises like the ones you're considering, I would say that itinerary should be the most important consideration, then time of year, then ship or cruise line. (Of course, affordability is an overall limiter.)

 

If you likes Carnival, Princess, NCL etc in the past, there's no reason not to look to them for your proposed cruise. You'll find a lot of the same atmosphere carries over, no matter where the ship is sailing. 

 

Just compare some itineraries before making a decision. 

[Angels On Board]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

With cruises like the ones you're considering, I would say that itinerary should be the most important consideration, then time of year, then ship or cruise line. (Of course, affordability is an overall limiter.)

 

If you likes Carnival, Princess, NCL etc in the past, there's no reason not to look to them for your proposed cruise. You'll find a lot of the same atmosphere carries over, no matter where the ship is sailing. 

 

Just compare some itineraries before making a decision. 

Makes sense. Thanks.  I will check out YouTube also.

[puppycanducruise]

When considering the cruise line, remember that your sightseeing days in port will be long.  You will probably be off the ship early in the morning and touring all day.  After dinner, you may be too tired to do much.  Nightly entertainment on the ship is less important than on a Caribbean cruise.  At least, that's my opinion.

Look carefully at the itinerary and the actual time in port.

[jsn55]

On 9/19/2023 at 10:17 AM, Angels On Board said:

Thanks for that Vote! Any ideas for which CL and itinerary? We've never been and in fact the 2024 Iceland/Norway cruise will be our first European cruise!  Always so much research to do, it can be overwhelming. 😉😃

 

Use my 'spreadsheet' method and a good search engine.  Make a list of what's important to you, in order of priority.  Run a line of potentials across the top.  Rank each one per your priorities.  It doesn't take as much effort as it sounds, and the best choice will be almost automatic.

[Mary229]

Consider carefully but wait until you sail to book.  Most cruise lines have programs with special perks if you book onboard. 
 

https://www.ncl.com/cruisenext

 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-tips-vacation-ideas/cruise-destinations/cruise-tips-advice-and-information/ways-to-save-money-on-your-next-cruise.html