Honeymoon Cruise Help

My fiancee and I are planning our honeymoon for next summer. We are a gay couple in our early 30s from New York City area. We are looking at a few trip options, all of which would take place in June or July 2016 and last about 2 weeks.

1. Australia is our first option. I couldn't find any cruises of interest for our trip (I guess since its winter there.), so it'd be a land and air trip that would include a few day in Sydney, a few days in Melbourne, maybe a few days in Brisbane, and some time in Cairns/Great Barrier Reef/the rainforest.

2. Hawaii is the traditional option. Coming from New York, we are thinking about spending a few days on the West Coast (Anaheim/Vegas/Napa Valley), and then heading to Hawaii. (I) A land/air only trip would include a few days in Honolulu, and then 4-5 on Maui and 4-5 on Kauai. (II) A cruise/land/air trip would have the same few days in Honolulu, then the Norwegian Pride of America cruise, followed by 4-5 days on one of those two other islands, or 2-3 nights on each.

3. The third option is a Mediterranean cruise, ending with a few days on either/both Mykonos or Santorini (or another island). There are so many different options for cruising the region, so we'd love some input about peoples' experience and recommendations. I'm thinking it makes sense to end up in Athens for easiest accessibility to the islands, but is my logic accurate? What are the sites we HAVE to see - The Barcelona, Nice, Rome route? Or the Venice, Croatia, Greek Isles, Turkey route? What cruise line and/or ship is right for us? Are there any cruise lines which are or are not gay-friendly? We don't want to be the only newlyweds on a family-heavy cruise, nor do we want to be the youngest people on a seniors-heavy cruise. If our trip is 2 weeks, how much time should be on the boat and how much on land? Big, mega ship or moderate size?

The two of us have virtually no cruise experience, so we'd welcome any input and suggestions. 15 years ago, on a teen tour, I cruised with what's now DFDS Seaways in Northern Europe, so I am familiar with only the basic premises of cruising. My fiancee is worried about getting sick since he fell ill on a deep sea fishing boat off the coast of Florida as a kid, so what can we do to minimize his risk of getting sick on our honeymoon.

Thanks everyone!

Well, there are cruises in OZ/NZ next summer (our summer) but you might not see them on the US websites of the cruise lines, because they are not marketed to us. Try this site to see what there is:

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruises-from-sydney-australia.html

I don't have any suggestions for Hawaii.

I like the Med. idea, but you can be creative there. Research the islands of Greece and the Adriatic. You can book a traditional cruise, or google for small ship cruises, which are not usually marketed here in the US. Or you can pick a place to start, such as Athens/Piraeus, and island hop from there using the very extensive cruise ferry system. The ferries travel overnight from one island to another, or fast ferries may travel in just a couple of hours. They have seating, or basic cabins. You could even do it without a schedule - take a ferry to an island and stay a day or two, move on when you are ready...or not.

There is a board here for GLBT cruisers, under Special Interest cruising. I think most lines are GLBT friendly, but folks there can give you their input/experience. EM

My fiancee and I are planning our honeymoon for next summer. We are a gay couple in our early 30s from New York City area. We are looking at a few trip options, all of which would take place in June or July 2016 and last about 2 weeks.

 

1. Australia is our first option. I couldn't find any cruises of interest for our trip (I guess since its winter there.), so it'd be a land and air trip that would include a few day in Sydney, a few days in Melbourne, maybe a few days in Brisbane, and some time in Cairns/Great Barrier Reef/the rainforest.

 

2. Hawaii is the traditional option. Coming from New York, we are thinking about spending a few days on the West Coast (Anaheim/Vegas/Napa Valley), and then heading to Hawaii. (I) A land/air only trip would include a few days in Honolulu, and then 4-5 on Maui and 4-5 on Kauai. (II) A cruise/land/air trip would have the same few days in Honolulu, then the Norwegian Pride of America cruise, followed by 4-5 days on one of those two other islands, or 2-3 nights on each.

 

3. The third option is a Mediterranean cruise, ending with a few days on either/both Mykonos or Santorini (or another island). There are so many different options for cruising the region, so we'd love some input about peoples' experience and recommendations. I'm thinking it makes sense to end up in Athens for easiest accessibility to the islands, but is my logic accurate? What are the sites we HAVE to see - The Barcelona, Nice, Rome route? Or the Venice, Croatia, Greek Isles, Turkey route? What cruise line and/or ship is right for us? Are there any cruise lines which are or are not gay-friendly? We don't want to be the only newlyweds on a family-heavy cruise, nor do we want to be the youngest people on a seniors-heavy cruise. If our trip is 2 weeks, how much time should be on the boat and how much on land? Big, mega ship or moderate size?

 

The two of us have virtually no cruise experience, so we'd welcome any input and suggestions. 15 years ago, on a teen tour, I cruised with what's now DFDS Seaways in Northern Europe, so I am familiar with only the basic premises of cruising. My fiancee is worried about getting sick since he fell ill on a deep sea fishing boat off the coast of Florida as a kid, so what can we do to minimize his risk of getting sick on our honeymoon.

 

Thanks everyone!

1- There are cruises in the Australia area in our summer- we are going on one in August. Check out Princess cruise line- Sea, Dawn and Sun Princess. But, Seeing Australia by land tour is far superior to cruising.

2- Hawaii is great. As you noted, only Pride of America is there in the summer. I agree, 4 or so days on each of several islands is a good land tour.

3- The Med is a great idea, the favorite of our 18 cruises. I wouldn't worry too much about the ship involved- Med cruises are very port intensive- each port has far more than you can typically see in one 8 hour touring day. Haven't heard of any cruise line that is not gay friendly- your money is good as anybody else's. June is the start of summer, so families will be on the rise. But there is so much to do, I wouldn't worry an awful lot about the demographics.

As always, the Med is also best seen by land. But a cruise would be a great way to introduce yourselves to those countries and decide where you might want to explore in the future.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

This is a tough one.

I like the idea of touring Australia and New Zealand by land -- but at the time you are suggesting -- weather may not be the best.

Med cruise -- would be my choice -- we love the eastern Med -- Greek Islands, Turkey, etc. So much to see there.

You have some great options there. I personally wouldn't do POA for a honeymoon cruise. It's not a luxury boat and just doesn't scream honeymoon to me. I would go with the Med cruise personally. As for land trips in Hawaii, I would try to stick to two islands in that time period (max) and one of them would not be Oahu unless there's something specific you want to see here. Maui and Kauai are beautiful, lots to see and do and not as much traffic. You don't want to spend your honeymoon in airports and in traffic.

You and your fiance can take Meclizine (trade name Bonine) for seasickness. You may not experience it; I never have, even in force-8 gales and high seas but my partner gets queasy just looking at a boat. He takes Meclizine...no side effects like with Dramamine.

With regards to which itinerary to choose, it depends on what YOU like. Hawaii truly is paradise and very romantic, while the Med is a much more port-intensive trip with many iconic landmarks to see. I'd skip Australia. Love Sydney but the barrier reef is...meh. Better snorkeling in Hawaii. (JMO--YMMV)

We have been on many cruises and there are always quite a few gay couples, and nobody even bats an eyelash these days. So don't worry about that, just have fun.

Congratulations!

My fiancee and I are planning our honeymoon for next summer. We are a gay couple in our early 30s from New York City area. We are looking at a few trip options, all of which would take place in June or July 2016 and last about 2 weeks.

 

1. Australia is our first option. I couldn't find any cruises of interest for our trip (I guess since its winter there.), so it'd be a land and air trip that would include a few day in Sydney, a few days in Melbourne, maybe a few days in Brisbane, and some time in Cairns/Great Barrier Reef/the rainforest.

 

2. Hawaii is the traditional option. Coming from New York, we are thinking about spending a few days on the West Coast (Anaheim/Vegas/Napa Valley), and then heading to Hawaii. (I) A land/air only trip would include a few days in Honolulu, and then 4-5 on Maui and 4-5 on Kauai. (II) A cruise/land/air trip would have the same few days in Honolulu, then the Norwegian Pride of America cruise, followed by 4-5 days on one of those two other islands, or 2-3 nights on each.

 

3. The third option is a Mediterranean cruise, ending with a few days on either/both Mykonos or Santorini (or another island). There are so many different options for cruising the region, so we'd love some input about peoples' experience and recommendations. I'm thinking it makes sense to end up in Athens for easiest accessibility to the islands, but is my logic accurate? What are the sites we HAVE to see - The Barcelona, Nice, Rome route? Or the Venice, Croatia, Greek Isles, Turkey route? What cruise line and/or ship is right for us? Are there any cruise lines which are or are not gay-friendly? We don't want to be the only newlyweds on a family-heavy cruise, nor do we want to be the youngest people on a seniors-heavy cruise. If our trip is 2 weeks, how much time should be on the boat and how much on land? Big, mega ship or moderate size?

 

The two of us have virtually no cruise experience, so we'd welcome any input and suggestions. 15 years ago, on a teen tour, I cruised with what's now DFDS Seaways in Northern Europe, so I am familiar with only the basic premises of cruising. My fiancee is worried about getting sick since he fell ill on a deep sea fishing boat off the coast of Florida as a kid, so what can we do to minimize his risk of getting sick on our honeymoon.

 

Thanks everyone!

Aloha :D

The most important thing you have to decide is what are you trying to do. When you have this answer, your questions will be more specific and people can give you better answers. Otherwise it's like asking simply "What should I do on vacation?" This is the most important answer of your planning!

Are you just trying to celebrate, get out of NYC during the summer heat, or do you want to go somewhere and sightsee, hike, or lie on the beach?

Without you being more specific, we can't give you very good answers.

Also, I notice since you posted your first question, you haven't responded to any of the replies on this thread! You need to work for to get your answers.

Aloha :D

We honeymooned in Hawaii but as a land trip -- a few days on Kauai, then a few in Honolulu. Both of us had been there before but before we had met. One cruise that had been on our "dream list" was the Hawaii cruise but the RT from LA to Hawaii. We ended up doing this cruise three times on Princess, so definitely we love this cruise. To me, if we return to Hawaii but not on the RT, we would just do the land trip again.

Currently our dream list now consists of the Australia-New Zealand, Baltic, and the South American cruises. Hubby is retiring next week (we were in the retirement office signing papers today) but our little girl starts college in a couple of months so much of the pension checks will be paying for her dorm, books, tuition for the next four years. So hopefully we'll stay healthy so we can cross a cruise or two off the list after that.

Hopefully you'll have many happy years and some cruises together! (many of us straights were so happy this morning too #love wins:))

Well, there are cruises in OZ/NZ next summer (our summer) but you might not see them on the US websites of the cruise lines, because they are not marketed to us. Try this site to see what there is:

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruises-from-sydney-australia.html

 

I don't have any suggestions for Hawaii.

 

I like the Med. idea, but you can be creative there. Research the islands of Greece and the Adriatic. You can book a traditional cruise, or google for small ship cruises, which are not usually marketed here in the US. Or you can pick a place to start, such as Athens/Piraeus, and island hop from there using the very extensive cruise ferry system. The ferries travel overnight from one island to another, or fast ferries may travel in just a couple of hours. They have seating, or basic cabins. You could even do it without a schedule - take a ferry to an island and stay a day or two, move on when you are ready...or not.

There is a board here for GLBT cruisers, under Special Interest cruising. I think most lines are GLBT friendly, but folks there can give you their input/experience. EM

Thanks so much for the advice. And sorry for my delay in getting back to you; its been a busy week.

Thanks for sharing that timetable, but the cruises on there didn't really speak to either me or my fiancee. Besides, as I've been asking around, people tell me that aside from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia is for the most part seen best by land.

Anyway, we've opted for the Med. cruise aboard Celebrity Reflection next June. Instead of a 7- or 8-day cruise with longer stays on land, our itinerary is an 11-day round trip. So we plan to fly in to Rome a few days early to sightsee and adjust to the time difference. Then we'll board the ship and set sail, coming home right after disembarkation. This way we can cut down on some extra costs from ferries and hotels but still see the islands we want to. We've heard and read great things about Celebrity and the ship looks absolutely amazing!

Thanks.

1- There are cruises in the Australia area in our summer- we are going on one in August. Check out Princess cruise line- Sea, Dawn and Sun Princess. But, Seeing Australia by land tour is far superior to cruising.

 

2- Hawaii is great. As you noted, only Pride of America is there in the summer. I agree, 4 or so days on each of several islands is a good land tour.

 

3- The Med is a great idea, the favorite of our 18 cruises. I wouldn't worry too much about the ship involved- Med cruises are very port intensive- each port has far more than you can typically see in one 8 hour touring day. Haven't heard of any cruise line that is not gay friendly- your money is good as anybody else's. June is the start of summer, so families will be on the rise. But there is so much to do, I wouldn't worry an awful lot about the demographics.

 

As always, the Med is also best seen by land. But a cruise would be a great way to introduce yourselves to those countries and decide where you might want to explore in the future.

Thanks so much for the advice. And sorry for my delay in getting back to you; its been a busy week.

We've opted for a 10-night Mediterranean cruise for a few reasons, which I've outlined in another post on this thread. But, of course, since we are first-time cruisers, I'd welcome any input you have.

Thanks again!

You have some great options there. I personally wouldn't do POA for a honeymoon cruise. It's not a luxury boat and just doesn't scream honeymoon to me. I would go with the Med cruise personally. As for land trips in Hawaii, I would try to stick to two islands in that time period (max) and one of them would not be Oahu unless there's something specific you want to see here. Maui and Kauai are beautiful, lots to see and do and not as much traffic. You don't want to spend your honeymoon in airports and in traffic.

Thanks so much for the advice. And sorry for my delay in getting back to you; its been a busy week.

We've opted for a 10-night Mediterranean cruise for a few reasons, which I've outlined in another post on this thread. But, of course, since we are first-time cruisers, I'd welcome any input you have.

Thanks again!

You and your fiance can take Meclizine (trade name Bonine) for seasickness. You may not experience it; I never have, even in force-8 gales and high seas but my partner gets queasy just looking at a boat. He takes Meclizine...no side effects like with Dramamine.

 

With regards to which itinerary to choose, it depends on what YOU like. Hawaii truly is paradise and very romantic, while the Med is a much more port-intensive trip with many iconic landmarks to see. I'd skip Australia. Love Sydney but the barrier reef is...meh. Better snorkeling in Hawaii. (JMO--YMMV)

 

We have been on many cruises and there are always quite a few gay couples, and nobody even bats an eyelash these days. So don't worry about that, just have fun.

 

Congratulations!

Thanks so much for the advice. And sorry for my delay in getting back to you; its been a busy week.

Great tips on the sea-sickness. We'll get all the prescriptions and take care of all of those needs before we leave. My fiancee is less concerned now that he's heard from a who always get sick how much they love to cruise -- or he's not letting on to me that's he's still nervous.

We've opted for a 10-night Mediterranean cruise for a few reasons, which I've outlined in another post on this thread. But, of course, since we are first-time cruisers, I'd welcome any input you have.

Thanks again!

Aloha :D

 

The most important thing you have to decide is what are you trying to do. When you have this answer, your questions will be more specific and people can give you better answers. Otherwise it's like asking simply "What should I do on vacation?" This is the most important answer of your planning!

 

Are you just trying to celebrate, get out of NYC during the summer heat, or do you want to go somewhere and sightsee, hike, or lie on the beach?

 

Without you being more specific, we can't give you very good answers.

 

Also, I notice since you posted your first question, you haven't responded to any of the replies on this thread! You need to work for to get your answers.

 

Aloha :D

Thanks so much for the advice. And sorry for my delay in getting back to you; its been a busy week.

Both of us agree that a day or two of relaxing a beach would be OK, but things will get boring after that. Both of us love culture and seeing new things. I've traveled aboard before, but my fiancee hasn't been out of the county - not even to Canada or Mexico; he's been to Puerto Rico but that is still technically part of the US. So we are looking for a trip that will let us make some new memories together and see places are new to us.

We've opted for a 10-night Mediterranean cruise for a few reasons, which I've outlined in another post on this thread. But, of course, since we are first-time cruisers, I'd welcome any input you have.

Thanks again!

We honeymooned in Hawaii but as a land trip -- a few days on Kauai' date=' then a few in Honolulu. Both of us had been there before but before we had met. One cruise that had been on our "dream list" was the Hawaii cruise but the RT from LA to Hawaii. We ended up doing this cruise three times on Princess, so definitely we love this cruise. To me, if we return to Hawaii but not on the RT, we would just do the land trip again.

 

Currently our dream list now consists of the Australia-New Zealand, Baltic, and the South American cruises. Hubby is retiring next week (we were in the retirement office signing papers today) but our little girl starts college in a couple of months so much of the pension checks will be paying for her dorm, books, tuition for the next four years. So hopefully we'll stay healthy so we can cross a cruise or two off the list after that.

 

Hopefully you'll have many happy years and some cruises together! (many of us straights were so happy this morning too #love wins:))[/quote']

Thanks!

My wife and I did the Greek Isles cruise out of Venice(NCL) for our honeymoon and we highly recommend it. A good friend of mine is Greek and he advised me that the ideal time of year for traveling to Greece is August and September. Our trip was in September. We also stayed in Venice for a few days post cruise.

Thanks!

We are very excited for the itinerary, but August or September won't work with my job schedule, so it will have to be June/July. We looked at cruises out of Venice, but didn't really see one that we liked. The prices were too high, the lengths were either too long or too short, or the ships weren't exciting.

We've decided to take a 10-night round trip from Rome that hits most of the Greek islands. We'll fly in a few days early, but come home right away. In this way, we hope to keep costs manageable while still having a great time and seeing the places we want.

Thanks again.

That sounds great! I hope you both have a fantastic time and return home as cruise addicts, like many of us here :)

Thanks!

 

We are very excited for the itinerary, but August or September won't work with my job schedule, so it will have to be June/July. We looked at cruises out of Venice, but didn't really see one that we liked. The prices were too high, the lengths were either too long or too short, or the ships weren't exciting.

 

We've decided to take a 10-night round trip from Rome that hits most of the Greek islands. We'll fly in a few days early, but come home right away. In this way, we hope to keep costs manageable while still having a great time and seeing the places we want.

 

Thanks again.

The very first cruise my wife and I took (not for honeymoon, granted...we'd been married 26 years) was a 10 day on the Norwegian Jade, starting in Rome. It was an Eastern Med. cruise, so we hit a couple of stops in Greece, went to Izmir, Turkey (for Ephesus) and spent two days in Alexandria, Egypt (for Pyramids, etc.). We spent two days in Rome beforehand. It was a great, GREAT trip for us that created many fantastic memories and instilled a love of cruising (which I wish we had time to endulge more often). I think you've made a great choice, not only for an enjoyable vacation, but a relatively stress-free and very romantic one. Happy honeymoon!

Murray,

Thanks so much! We are definitely looking forward. It's great to hear good reviews and know that others have enjoyed this itinerary before.

Thanks!

You have chosen an excellent itinerary on a fantastic ship.

We did a cruise out of Rome 3 years ago, and I absolutely fell in love with Rome. We spent 5 days in a Roman hotel and loved it. Please don't go to Rome and stay at a Marriott or a Sheraton. There are literally over a thousand smaller local hotels and a great number of them are awesome, unique places to stay at. For anything about Rome, if I can offer any info, I would be most happy to do so.

t_car,

Thanks for the support! We are both very excited, though I'll be agonizing over the wait; it's almost a year until we leave!

My travel agent suggested we give ourselves some more time in Rome, 3-4 nights instead of the 2 I was thinking. The more I think about it, this makes sense: we'd only have a half-day for sightseeing -- at best -- on arrival and embarkation days, so we really should plan on staying a few days more.

For sights, of course we want to see the Vatican, the Coliseum, the Forum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Spanish Steps. (I visited Rome once before, 15 years ago, so I sort of know what the tourist site are.) But any other recommendations are highly appreciated.

Your hotel advice is appreciated? Any specific hotels you recommend? It doesn't have to be the Ritz, but I'm thinking a location should be close to some of the sites we want to see and near good restaurants. Is it better to do Rome on our own for the pre-cruise or book the package offered through Celebrity?

Thanks,

Barry

t_car,

 

Thanks for the support! We are both very excited, though I'll be agonizing over the wait; it's almost a year until we leave!

 

My travel agent suggested we give ourselves some more time in Rome, 3-4 nights instead of the 2 I was thinking. The more I think about it, this makes sense: we'd only have a half-day for sightseeing -- at best -- on arrival and embarkation days, so we really should plan on staying a few days more.

 

For sights, of course we want to see the Vatican, the Coliseum, the Forum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Spanish Steps. (I visited Rome once before, 15 years ago, so I sort of know what the tourist site are.) But any other recommendations are highly appreciated.

 

Your hotel advice is appreciated? Any specific hotels you recommend? It doesn't have to be the Ritz, but I'm thinking a location should be close to some of the sites we want to see and near good restaurants. Is it better to do Rome on our own for the pre-cruise or book the package offered through Celebrity?

 

Thanks,

 

Barry

You will enjoy doing your own thing a lot more. I loved planning our activities, and had no issues at all.

The hotel we stayed at was the Auditorium de Mecenate. Do not let their 1 star designation fool you into thinking it's a bad place. They only reason they have only one star is that they do not have a breakfast room or buffet. Instead they bring you breakfast in bed, pastries, fruit toast, whatever coffee or cappucino or hot beverage you like.

The owner Fabrizio, and the other two fellows at the desk, Kumar and Max, are a wealth of information, restaurants, sights, all that stuff.

Check out their website. Highly recommended on Trip advisor. This hotel is actually the fourth floor of an old monastery, only 10 rooms, most of the rooms have domed ceilings with the original frescos, all room are totally remodelled and very nice.

Location is ideal too. 2 minutes from a metro stop, 10 min to the main train station, 15 min walk to the colosseum and forum. Take metro to the Spagna station and easy walk to all the other attractions on your list. For the vatican, get off at ottavio station.

When my sister visited rome, she stayed at at the "Antico Palazzo Rospigliosi Hotel" she still raves about that place too.

For Vatican and colosseum, google them and get your tickets for entry and tours on line. It will save you hours of waiting in line.

I understand fully the agony of planning a trip that far ahead, especially a honeymoon. Leave yourself some free time to just walk around the piazzas, the gelaterias (ice cream shops), the market near Piazza Navona is awesome - Campo di Fiori. This is only if you are early risers. Great from about 8am to noon, and nice restaurants in this immediate area too.

Are you looking at car services for getting from airport to hotel and hotel to port? We did a taxi from the airport. Opted for the train to Civitavecchia. That was actually a lot of fun, and saved a bunch of Euros.

If I can answer any other questions, I would be happy to help.

Since you have opted to spend even more time in Rome, get a copy of Rick Steves' Rome guidebook. Lots of info on sights and how to get to them, times, etc. EM

EM,

It seems like everyone on Cruise Critic swears by Rick Steves' book; it's been suggested many times, and I will certainly pick it up!

Currently, it seems like only the 2015 guides are out. Should I wait for 2016? When do those usually come out?

Thanks,

Barry