Best cruise line for 50th Anniversary Cruise?

[Marzbar71]

My parent's 50th Anniversary will be in November 2007 and they are thinking of a family cruise.

 

They will be going as well as me, 35 and single, my brother, 40 and his wife and daughter, who will be 11 at the time.

 

Also, which would be cheaper do you think, 3 rooms with two in each of them (me sharing with my niece) or 2 suites with my brother, wife and daughter in one and my parents and I in the other?

 

I'm trying to figure out which cruise line would be the best. I've cruised twice on Carnival and liked it a lot but I don't think that my parents would enjoy it. But my brother and his family are very outdoorsy and casual so I wouldn't want to go on a line that is overly "stuffy" Although I'm pretty sure we can get my brother into khakis for dinner at least.

 

Any recommendations? Thanks!

 

 

Marzee

[doone]

I would suggest three cruiselines, Holland America, Celebrity or Princess. I would also recommend putting 2 in a cabin vs. 3, its hard with the bathroom situations with 3. We just did a family/friends cruise to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary last month on Holland America's Volendam for 10-days. It was fantastic, we had 2 per cabin and it worked out great. The kids loved Club HAL. There weren't alot of kids onboard our cruise and the kids loved having all the special attention from the counsellors by not having alot of kids with them. We found it worked out well for us.

 

I would also suggest you go to a travel agent who specializes in cruises to help you, a good travel agent is worth their weight in gold sometimes. The three cruiselines I suggested may be a bit more, as you say, stuffy, and dressier, but there is one cruise line that is a resort casual cruiseline as far as dress goes, its Norwegian Cruise Lines. Check out all of them and see which one fits what you and your family would enjoy for your cruise experience.

 

Hope this helps, good luck and have a wonderful cruise.

[flashdog_1]

If your "khakis is dressy enough" brother in law is amenable to eating in the lido for dinner, then Holland America might be a good choice for him. But would the rest of the family want to forego dinner in the dining room?

 

Celebrity has a reservation dinner time lido area which might work. I've been on both lines and never did use the lido at dinner, but did check out the menus. In both cases, all of the dining room selections are NOt available in the lido. For instance,no lobster at the lido.

 

However, if he is willing to eat in the cabin with room service, he can get the entire dining room selections.

 

Princess and Norweigan both have options for no formal dining room assignment.

 

Just be sure your parents know he won't be joining them in the dining room so they can have other meals together.

 

I agree that 3 cabins/3 bathrooms will be easier on everyone. But just for fun, you can go to the websites and pretend you are booking a suite for 3, just to get the price to be able to compare, since that seems to be on option to get a larger cabin. The 3rd passenger rate is much less than the first and second passengers at full fare. Depending on the suite, the sleeping privacy issue may be something to consider. Some suites have a separate bedroom and others have a pull out sofa within the same cabin for the 3rd person.

[montgomeryfamily]

With what you described, I think Princess would fit everyone's needs/desires best. Celebrity and Holland America have more formal dress codes, which you are supposed to follow even if you eat in the buffet (although some don't). I remember on one Celebrity cruise when the cruise director even reminded people of this and that the formal wear was all evening, not just dinner. (Athough we do like Celebrity and HAL, but your brother and his family might not)

 

Princess does have the Anytime dining, which is in formal dining rooms, but you are supposed to follow the evening dress code there. But there is also a buffet where the dress code is more casual. And on the Caribbean Princess there is the Cafe Caribe, which in the evening is a buffet but with waiters providing beverage service and lobster on both formal nights and embarkation night. Most people who eat here on formal nights do so because they don't want to dress formally.

 

Princess has a terrific kids program, freshwater pools and hot tubs, which stay open late and some even 24 hours, adult only pools, fantastic spa, and lots of activities. They even offer free snorkeling lessons in the pool for passengers who may want to give snorkeling a try in the ports.

 

They put balloons on the door for the anniversary and a cake in the dining room--all complimentary. But there is also a great renewal of vows ceremony with amenities you can purchase and they offer a for purchase balcony dinner with course by course service in your stateroom--very romantic with flowers and photograph by ships photographer for $100 per couple.

 

Some suites have a separate room or a divider curtain for privacy, so you could consider cost of three in that. There is also a family room you can bok with a balcony and two bedrooms. The recommendation about pricing the options of two to a room vs three to a room is a good idea.

 

I would be happy to provide additional information and answer questions, especially about room assignments. Feel free to email me at kacruiser@ev1.net.

 

I also have recently gotten an offer from Carnival as a past passenger offering shipboard credits for booking on Princess. I don't know if it is still valid or would be valid on the sailings you want, but since you are a Carinvial past passenger, I'd be glad to give you the information I have if you have decided to book on Princess and are interested, but I suggest that you contact me before you book about it as it could help you to decide what sailing/ship of Princess you decide to book.

[Marzbar71]

Thanks for the recommendations. I think my parents have cruised Princess before so I'll talk to them about what they think.

 

I have a feeling for their anniversary, we can get my brother to dress up for the dining room. I know he has one suit so he can bring that along.

 

Thanks again for all the info!

 

Marzee