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15th Wedding Anniversary Suggestions


rrkman
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We'll be celebrating our 15th anniversary this October and the Mrs. wants to take a cruise. We've taken the kids on about 6 or 7 Disney cruises and the 2 of us did an Alaskan on the Celebrity Solstice a couple years ago. Any suggestions? We'd like to see some new ports vs the ones we've already hit with Disney (Nassau, Tortola, St Thomas, Key West, and will be hitting Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Falmouth next spring) but I think she'd like warm weather still and although I'd love Europe, I'm not sure she's sold on that. I've even suggested a river cruise but not sure she'll buy into that either.

 

Any suggestions? We're mid 40's, not crazy excursion types, not overly social and would rather eat alone, she'd like to keep it somewhat short meaning 7 days give or take a couple. disney is our go to but open to others.

Edited by rrkman
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You could always look at Bermuda, but that is pretty late in their cruise season. But, as example, Celebrity Summit offers a 7-night with 3 days in Bermuda from Bayonne, NJ, that is excellent. Maybe move your cruise up a few weeks?

 

Another option would be any number of Southern Caribbean itineraries, of which most 7-night itineraries leave out of Puerto Rico. This would provide a change of pace for a departure port as well. IMO, these are some of the nicest Caribbean itineraries offered. There are also longer S. Car. itineraries offered out of Florida.

 

Europe and the Mediterranean IMO are better with longer itineraries because of the distance of travel to and from, but there are a number of 7-night itineraries to consider.

 

Whatever you decide, enjoy your cruise.

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I second Bermuda, preferably with an extensive overnight. my royal one was : arrive about 3 pm, and left by noon the second day. most people got off and had dinner and went drinking the first night, sightseed the full day and then a few did a quickie shopping trip first thing in the morning.

 

some itineraries and lines have you staying 2 full days( arriving much earlier the first day and leaving much later the last)

 

no excursion needed, the public transportation is very easy to navigate with plenty of nice quiet areas to just walk and breathe in the salty sea air. we did the zoo and enjoyed it greatly.

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I second Bermuda, preferably with an extensive overnight. my royal one was : arrive about 3 pm, and left by noon the second day. most people got off and had dinner and went drinking the first night, sightseed the full day and then a few did a quickie shopping trip first thing in the morning.

 

some itineraries and lines have you staying 2 full days( arriving much earlier the first day and leaving much later the last)

 

no excursion needed, the public transportation is very easy to navigate with plenty of nice quiet areas to just walk and breathe in the salty sea air. we did the zoo and enjoyed it greatly.

 

RCI up until 2016 offered a 3 day stay in Bermuda on Grandeur out of Baltimore but discontinued that itinerary. It was very similar to the Celebrity itinerary arriving at 1 (as I recall) on the first port day and leaving at 4 on the last. Celebrity's schedule offers the longest in port times arriving earlier and leaving later. NCL also offers similar Bermuda itineraries.

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Never heard about or seen the extended Bermuda trips. Will have to look into that. There was a Celebrity Summit trip in the fall that hit some new places but I've been reading that they are having issues lately with that ship so that concerns me a bit.

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

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You might consider a The Haven Spa Suite on the following NCL suites: Epic, Getaway, Breakaway, Escape. With The Haven Spa Suite you get a suite with a spa tub in the room for 2 people, a huge shower, big enough for 2, double trough sink, butler service, concierge service, dvd player, coffee/tea/hot chocolate maker, entrance for 2 to the spa thermal suite, daily hors'douerves, welcome aboard flower arrangement, welcome aboard sparkling wine and large bottle of water, upgraded bathroom amenities including seashell bath salts for the spa tub, bathrobes and slippers, pillow menu, use of The Haven pool, hot tub, sun deck, sauna and steam room, including The Haven Restaurant, The Haven Lounge, room service is free through your butler and NCL runs specials that include things like free drinks, free internet, 3rd and 4th guest sails free, free drinks, free specialty dining package, free shore excursions and as a suite guest you get all 5 perks. It kind of feels like being on a private yacht as opposed to a big ship and then, when you want to do ship activities or see a show or go to a specialty restaurant you go out of The Haven, so it is the best of both worlds. You also get early self-disembarkation where the concierge will bypass all lines for you to exit the ship, which is extremely convenient and nice! You have a small ship experience within The Haven PLUS all the advantages of being on a mega ship. For the evening of your anniversary, I would suggest dinner reservations in Le Bistro the most romantic restaurant onboard. On NCL with the exception of the Teppanyaki restaurant where you sit in a group of 12, you always eat alone in all the restaurants whether they are the MDRs or a specialty restaurant.

 

These ships have a full scale waterpark with 3 - 5 major water slides, ropes course, rock wall climbing, mini golf, bowling, pub games, casino, lots of specialty restaurants, Burn the Floor - ballroom dance show, a Broadway musical, a comedy club, Howl at the Moon (dueling pianos), ice bar, and much much more. Your cruise can be as exciting or as laid back as you want it to be with a suite in the Haven. They also have the best spa thermal suite at sea with a water circuit, hot tub, dry sauna, steam room, rain showers, heated tile loungers, hot tub and padded loungers, salt room all overlooking the bow of the ship through panoramic windows. It is a little piece of heaven at sea.

 

The Breakaway sails from Port of Manhattan to Bermuda where it parks for 3 days. Many cruisers get off the ship with their golf clubs and go check into golf resorts. Others stay onboard and take romantic sunset sails with a Bermuda swizzle drink in the gorgeous pink sunset of Bermuda. There are exquisitely beautiful pink sand beaches and nice shopping and world class golf courses. There are lots of different types of excursions including boat trips, a historic town, and diving. Unlike the Caribbean, there are NO pushy locals as everyone in Bermuda is either middle class or wealthy - even your taxi driver. One of the interesting local hobbies is sailing kites with giant tails and you can often catch locals doing this. They make an interesting whirring noise with their tails. There are many great restaurants on land in Bermuda as well as museums and caves.

 

A nice (not too expensive) memento of your 15th anniversary might be a necklace or pair of earrings for your wife that contains the pink sand of Bermuda which you can buy there at jewelry and fashion stores. You can see it and order it here: https://www.alexandramosher.com

 

In regards to river cruises, you would dine at a table for 6 - 8 every night as they really don't have tables for 2. Usually in the first and second night informal groups form and that's who you eat with for the entire cruise. Also, most of the shore excursions are included, so you would be on a bus with your fellow river cruisers and then following a guide for your group around every day unless you decided to borrow bikes from the river cruise ship or walk around on your own or stay on the river cruise ship. However, you have paid for all the excursions in the price of your river cruise so you might want to take advantage of what you paid for unless you have been to that port before. I think it is important to understand that it's more of a family feeling on a river cruise and you eat at the same time as everyone and you do everything at the same time.

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