Opinions please.

[Mommyof3boys]

Dh and I are looking at booking our 10yr anniversary trip for next May. We have not been on a cruise and aren't sure what to expect. We found the NCL epic western Med cruise and are interested but feel that it may be very busy. We want this to be a romantic trip. Any thoughts?

[CruiserBruce]

The mass market lines, for the most part, may all feel "very busy". HAL might be the most "sedate" if you want to say that. Know that you can participate or not participate in the busy-ness, it is up to you.

 

Upscale luxury and small ship lines are your best for the very relaxed mood.

 

A Med cruise is very port intensive, so that doesn't help with your quiet time much either. But, after just celebrating our 25th on a 20 day Med cruise (on HAL), all I can say is, WOW! We had the quiet time we wanted, but we also saw sights like you wouldn't believe, and were very busy at times. It was by far our best cruise- and we have sailed 12 times.

[eh2zed]

Nice thing about cruising is that you can make it as busy or sedate as you wish. I would agree with CruiserBruce that HAL may be what you are looking for. The Med is terrific and special.

[cb at sea]

The nice thing about cruising is having all of the "stuff" available to you, but you don't have to participate! There are plenty of quiet places on the ship...or join in the fun....your choice!

[av8tr21]

I second the HAL suggestion, much more laid back when compared to Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian.

[paul929207]

On a cruise, you only have to do what you want to. Yes, they will have lots of events scheduled, but all are optional

[Happy ks]

Personally I think a Med trip next May sounds very romantic, regardless of the ports and fewer sea days. If it were me, I think after flying that long I'd want to stay on the ship and do a B2B, or at the very least, spend a couple days both pre and post cruise in the departure cities. The romance part is up to you and I don't think it has anything to do with ports/ship/who else may be onboard the ship. Splurge and get at least a balcony, I know people argue the finer points of cabin selection and some are fine with an inside or ocean view cabin, but we found it very romantic to look out at the sea with a glass of wine in the evening.

 

I don't know what port you're sailing out of (NCL lists both Rome (Civi) and Barcelona). We cruised out of Rome (Civi), arrived 3 days before the cruise and stayed over an extra day after, our cruise was 13 nights. If we had been able to, we would have spent another week in Rome. We've not been to Barcelona yet, but friends and family who have say they love it there.

[Mommyof3boys]

Thank you all for your thoughts/opinions.

[aohkay]

As Happyks mentions, it's a long way to travel for a 7 or 10 day cruise only. Add a couple of days pre cruise so you're over any possible jet lag and add a couple days post cruise. Believe, once you realize the cruise is coming to an end, it's... :eek:. Adding on another couple of days lessens the shock.

 

Pleantly of smaller ships from the mass market lines do the Med. I would choose a smaller ship, perhaps HAL or Princess. Haven't heard a lot of good things about NCL, but of course, they have their followers too.

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

I would consider Celebrity's Solstice class ships, Emerald Princess and Princess' newer ships in addition to HAL.

 

There are many great itineraries to choose from. I would go for a suite on this special occasion, though not necessary, as compared with spending a lot on airfare. A 7 day Bermuda cruise or Canada/New England or Alaska would be great choices.

 

I really likethe Med but it isn't necessary to go all that way (and expense) to have a great cruise experience.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Whatever cruise line you choose -- you can make it as romantic as you want.

 

I would suggest HAL as they are more sedate than some of the other cruise lines.

 

Happy 10th anniversary.

[Mommyof3boys]

Thank you all. The reason why we are specifically looking at this cruise line/ports is because from all cruise lines travelling during this time (end of May) this is the only itinerary that interests us. It is also something we would not do with the kids. We are fairly certain at this point that this cruise is the way to go, we just need to sit down and decide which ports we want to visit and what we want to do.

 

Thanks again for all your opinions and thoughts. It is greatly appreciated.

[Wayfairers]

Thank you all. The reason why we are specifically looking at this cruise line/ports is because from all cruise lines travelling during this time (end of May) this is the only itinerary that interests us. It is also something we would not do with the kids. We are fairly certain at this point that this cruise is the way to go, we just need to sit down and decide which ports we want to visit and what we want to do.

 

Thanks again for all your opinions and thoughts. It is greatly appreciated.

 

Instead of staying on the ship at some ports you might consider not booking any excursions at some of the ports but still experience the port by walking around or having snacks or a meal and drinks in a cute restaurant or bar.

I've stayed on a ship once and while it was fun being on board with fewer people, I felt like I was missing something by not experiencing the port at least a little. You may not be this way, but here are some low key port suggestions if you are interested....

 

We have had a blast just sitting in a well located restaurant or bar for the day having great conversations and just enjoying each other.

 

If you are going to beaches, consider renting an umbrella and chairs for the day in an area where someone will bring you food and drinks. We had our best beach day in St Martin by walking to the beach near the ship and paying some guy $7 for umbrella/chairs and he delivered us $1 beers and $5 lunch for 2.

 

We've also had wonderful days wandering through the port town on foot without an itinerary.

 

Our most romantic moments have not been on an excursion or private tour and we've learned that 2 days of back to back tours is about our max in the Caribbean. Elsewhere we have to do more than that sometimes, but we try to throw in a day exploring with just each other at least every 3rd day.