Need advice

[nour6128]

My husband and I want to go for a cruise for our 25 wedding anniversary and I need some advice about which cruise line to go with.

 

We are not into athletic so no snorkling,wall climbing, etc. We just want to be able to spend some quality time together eating good food and seeing sights we haven't seen before. We are interesting in going to the western or southern carribean.

 

Any advice?

 

nour6128

[Lorij91]

Take a look at the destinations and decide which ports you would like to see. Then, you can see what cruiselines visit those ports during the time frame you would like to go. Consider also, what your budget is, as some lines are more expensive than others. Personally, I would go with RCI or NCL, but there are other nice ones too. I know it can be overwhelming at first, but take your time and read everything you can on these boards and it will help you decide where and when to go. On just about any of the ships, you can decide your activity level from very active to chilling by the pool. Have fun!!

[watchdiva]

My vote for this type of relaxing cruise goes to HAL. They have great itineraries for both Southern and Western and their private island (Half Moon Cay) is rated one of the best private islands in the world.

 

Cruising on HAL is reminiscent of the grand days of cruising - refined elegance at its best. Splurge and book a Deluxe Verandah suite and be pampered like you won't believe.

 

We've done two HAL cruises - we're heading back to NCL because we love freestyle!

[barbarah33]

I would definitely go with Holland America or Celebrity.

 

Congrats on your anniversary.

[CaptData]

Go on the newer Hal or Milli class Celebrity ships.

[Kerry&LuAnn]

We have sailed on both Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruise lines and were thrilled with both. Excellent service, wonderful food, great entertainment. We particularly like the "Anytime Dining" concept with Princess because it gives us the flexibility to decide each day when we want to have dinner.

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

You have many nice choices as Celebrity, Princess, and RCL will provide you with a nice cruise experience. However, I agree with another responder, that Celebrity's newer and bigger ships might be the best choice here because Celebrity does have (based on my 15 cruises) an especially pleasant European ambiance.

 

And toward saving money as well as having a great cruise, I would look at repositioning cruises and transatlantic cruises to get the best buy for money spent.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

Fred

[Youngjude]

We have just returned from a Panama Canal cruise and a southern Caribbean cruise.....all on RCCL Serenade of the Seas.

 

It was a beautiful ship, but the service, food and entertainment was nothing, compared to the elegance of HAL Statendam!

 

We visited St Lucia, St Thomas, St maarten, Barbados and Antigua in the Sthn caribbean. All very nice, but a real sameness about them all

 

Coming from New Zealand, i think we are spoilt for scenery and didn't find the caribbean as exciting as it sounded

 

Have a good trip

[98Charlie]

• We are not into athletic so no snorkling,wall climbing,
  

Even if the ship advertises a lot of athletic facilities, there will be a lot of varied activities available. I wouldn't eliminate any cruise line or ship based on this.

• We just want to be able to spend some quality time together
  

This may be one of your primary decisions. What type of cabin will you want and what suits your budget.

As a first time cruiser you may want to explore the ship and all of the opportunities available. Depending on the cruise you select you will find cooking demonstrations, dance classes, various craft classes (napkin folding, scrapbooking, etc.) ice carving demonstrations and much, much more. If you are out and about most of the day, an inside cabin or oceanview may be what you will want. The savings can be used for an anniversary dinner in one of the specialty restaurants, a photo, souveniers, or put back toward the next cruise.

 

OTOH if you really want time alone, a balcony or suite would be a great idea.

• eating good food
  

You will get a wide range of answers as to which line has the best food. We seldom go to the buffet, preferring the dining room for all meals. We've been on 16 cruises on 5 different lines in the past 4 years and never had a "bad food cruise". Yes, there have been some items that we didn't care for and a couple of products that were just prepared wrong. Our personal preference for food quality and presentation would be Celebrity. (Unless you are a pizza junkie, then it's definately Carnival:D )

• seeing sights we haven't seen before
  

Itinerary! Have you travelled to any of these areas before? If not then it's all new. Southern Caribbean cruises are generally more port intensive with fewer sea days. If you want to see a lot of new places it is something to consider. If you don't want the feeling of having to get up and go ashore every day, it is something to avoid.

 

Western Caribbean will give you more sea days normally.

 

You may also want to consider one of the Eastern cruises that leave from FLL or MIA and go to St. Martin, St. Thomas and a private Island. There are a variety of things to do on the port days and 3 sea days to explore the ship or be alone.

 

I would suggest sticking to the larger ships.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Charlie

[nour6128]

I found a cruise I might like. It is a 7 day Western Carribean Round Trip out of Miami on the Norwegian Sun. The ports of call are Miami, Roatun, Belize City (I want to see the Mayan ruins.), Costa Maya, and Great Stirrup Bay. It sails on 10/27 and the price seems reasonable.

 

Has anyone been on this ship or this cruise? What were your experiences like?

 

nour6128

[Beth & Rob]

We just booked the Jewel for an 8 day out of Ft Lauderdale next Feb. I booked this as it is port intensive with 5 ports and the time in port is reasonable.

 

This will be my 3rd Radiance class ship. It is beautiful and plenty of room not to feel crowded in.

 

One reason I did not care for the itinerary of Princess is the number of ports was limited if you went out of Florida (more expensive air to San Juan offered different, more interesting ports), but from Florida, one port is a private island which I was not interested in at all.

 

I think Holland serves an older group, service and food is wonderful. But it's a bit pricier if that is a concern. I find Princess (we just did Mexico on the Diamond and it was a beautiful ship) a great cruise for a great price. A younger crowd and more children.

 

If bonding is your deal, just remember to ask for a dining table for 2..

 

Enjoy wherever you choose.