40th anniversary cruise

[kaytez]

Looking for suggestions to celebrate 40 years in 2006! Husband is 56 and I am 54 (yes we were children, but it has lasted and we have a great family).

We have been on 4 cruises: 3 Carnival and 1 RCL, always had a balcony. I have been looking at HAL ; the Westerdam imparticular.

All experiences and suggestions appreciated!!!!!!!! :) ;) :)

[sk8teacher]

Looking for suggestions to celebrate 40 years in 2006! Husband is 56 and I am 54 (yes we were children, but it has lasted and we have a great family).

We have been on 4 cruises: 3 Carnival and 1 RCL, always had a balcony. I have been looking at HAL ; the Westerdam imparticular.

All experiences and suggestions appreciated!!!!!!!! :) ;) :)

 

We have only been on the Volendam, but I would say that HAL would be an excellent choice for your anniversary cruise. During our cruise HAL certainly lived up to their reputation of great service and food.

 

Congrats on your 40th as well. The wife and I are celebrating our 43rd next month.

 

Cheers,

[jbd2003]

We were on the Zaandam and really loved it! This will be our first cruise with Carnival and I'm afraid it won't live up to the standards of HAL. It was elegant and the food was great! I am going to go into this cruise with an open mind, even though it sounds like I'm not. I'm not a partier and was just a little concerned about it. I asked a question on the Carnival board and was attacked by others because I asked about nudity on the ship. We didn't have a nude deck on HAL, at least not that I knew of. That being said, I hope you have a great time which ever cruise you choose!

My DH and I are 56 but we have only been married 32 years.

There is nothing better than being on a cruise with the one you love! :D

Have a GREAT time and I love these boards.

[weluvcruisin']

Congratulations....we celebrated our 40th this last April.

 

We were on the Westerdam in Jan/05 and it's nice, we prefer a bit smaller ship though, did back to back on Volendam in Jan. The Westerdam is great as, we think, HAL is probably the best cruise line we have been on. That could just be us, we like to lay back and relax, the staff is wonderful, food is great, I'm sure you would love the Westerdam.

 

Where is the Westerdam going? Last January we did the Western Caribeean and it was nice, we love to snorkle and find the Western Caribeean is the best for snorkling, although it doesn't really matter as long as we're cruising.

[DesrtDrmr]

Kaytez, we celebrated our 40th last April on the Island Princess on a round tripper from Los Angeles to Hawaii and back. It was 15 days, with 5 sea days each way. It was relaxing, romantic and wonderful to have so much time together, along with lots of stuff to do if we wanted to. We liked the Princess Personal Choice dining, which gave us a choice to choose Traditional Dining when booking, or "anytime" dining, which means you can go to the dining room anytime you wish between 6 and 10. We usually had a table for two, and it was just special. The buffet restaurant was open 24 hours, and there were two extra charge restaurants.........a Cajun one, which also had steaks and fish, and an Italian.

I think that if you prefer HAL, they sail the Statendam on the same itinerary, except it is round trip from San Diego. Celebrity also has a cruise to Hawaii either from or to Ensenada, but I think they are going to sail from California in 2006.

Whatever you decide, have a wonderful cruise, and a very Happy Anniversary!

[kaytez]

Thanks for all of the comments!

We really like the idea of more sea days.

DH refuses to fly, so we will have to stick to the east coast. There are plenty of ports to choose from within driving distance.

Planing is part of the fun for me, part of which is visiting all the travel boards.:D

[JLT]

Actually, you don't have to fly to go to Hawaii. I don't fly either and I took the train to San Diego for a 21 day Celebrity cruise 2 years ago. It was relaxing and fun.

[yancycruiser]

Congratulations on your upcoming 40th. My DW and I celebrated our 40th last August on an Alaskan Cruise on the Sapphire Princess and had a wonderful time. Try a new itinerary or maybe one of your past favorites. One thing for sure, whatever you do will be wonderful.

 

Best regards,

[charliem]

Congratulations on the 40th!! DH and I will be celebrating ours next May on the Radiance of the Seas - 14 day roundtrip out of San Diego to Hawaii.

 

We took our first cruise to celebrate our 25th anniversary (seems like yesterday) - never dreaming the "cruise bug" would strike. We both fell in love with cruising!!

 

Have a wonderful celebration next year.

 

 

Linda

[juliepaule]

Hooray for you.

 

We are sailing on Princess next year. But my favorite cruise line is Celebrity.

Try a 10 day cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. Princess had the ports of call I wanted. Carnival/Royal Caribbean are good also. But its Magic on Celebrity.

 

What kind of cruise are you looking for.

 

Julie

[kakalina]

Congrats on your special day. DH and I have celebrated several anniversaries on HAL and everyone was made extra special by the staff and crew! They always bring a special cake to the table in the dining room and make a fuss. Last time my TA had flowers and champagne waiting for us in the room. We book directly through our agent Bill Single with HAL, My DH doesn't fly either, we generally leave from Ca. on a HAL round-trip to Hawaii, the Mex. Riviera or Panama, great line, great people, great times. Bon Voyage and enjoy

[ianturner]

Last October my wife & I re did our vows on Ziderdam, the captian was fantastic & put on a great cerimony.

The ship was great & extra flowers were sent to our cabin.

THANK'S HAL.

[Pixie Dust II]

My husband & I celebrated our 40th anniversary aboard the Disney Magic with 4 other couples. We met two of the couples on a previous Disney Cruise and they each brought their sister & spouse along for our grand celebration. You meet the most wonderful people on Disney. I would highly recommend it for any age group. We have done it seven times and have number eight booked. We find their dining style the best. Your serving team rotates dining rooms with you and by the end of the cruise you feel like they are part of your family. It is just a wonderful experience. The entire staff of the ship is outstanding. We always find familiar faces upon returning and they always remember us and are so gracious.

[DesrtDrmr]

There are also more Caribbean cruises sailing from Charleston and Norfolk now...........maybe one of them..........you would hardly even have to drive! :)

Have a great cruise!

[Nanatravel]

We just celebrated our 40th and will sail to really relax and celebrate in 4 weeks. No matter what ship or itinerary, you will have a wonderful time because you are cruising together. I am 58 & DH is 61 but you have us beat! I would suggest trying a Celebrity ship Millennium class; Millennium, Summit, Infinity or Constellation. I don't know which one sails from an Eastern/Southern port of embarkation in 2006 but the schedules just came out. Invest in a balcony cabin and see if you can get an aft cabin for a great view and slightly larger balcony. Although I know HAL offers a great product, I am afraid you may be still to young to meet others in your age bracket. Pick an itinerary with a Private Island too for a great relaxing day, if you can.

Bon Voyage

[kaytez]

Thanks again to everyone!

So very much to consider.

We have not even come close to deciding and are already excited!

[cruising grammy]

Hi there,

 

Congratulations on your 40th. We will celebrate our 35th this May.:)

We have a group going on the Triumph on April 29, 206 doing a Western if you are interested.

We were able to get some wonderful rates and also $100.00 per cabin shipboard credit. If you are interested look at Roll Call Carnival---then Triumph April 29, 2006. All the pricing is there.

[yancycruiser]

Congratulations on your upcoming 40th. We spent our 40th on an Alaskan Cruise last year. I did not take time to read what the other posters recommended, however, I am listing some suggestions.

 

Do try a new cruise line and Holland America is a good one. Splurge on a 10-14 day cruise and treat yourself to a junior or regular suite with a big balcony. Or, if you have not been to Alaska - try the 11-14 day land/cruise package.

 

Whatever you pick will be wonderful...because you will be CRUISING!

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

[CaroleSP]

We just celebrated our 40th by cruising through the Panama Canal. It was spectacular and I would do it again in a minute!

[Enchantment 04]

OMG you guys were young! You guys were like 14 and 16!!! I am 16 now- and its weird when i think about getting married now, let alone to a 14 year old LOL

[realproperty]

but I checked this site anyway. And you guys are young. It isn't the cruise line that counts, it is the place that counts. We are also mid 50's and if you haven't done it yet, the Greek islands on Windstar, Istanbul to Athens, the Baltic which we did on RCL, anywhere in the mediterranean if you haven't done it before. Man, if you are celebrating, do it right and stay away from the Caribbean, -- boring and good only as an alternative to an all-inclusive beach holiday in the winter.

 

Or maybe forget the cruise and see London, Paris, Italy for 2 weeks is awesome. Get out there. A cruise is not the only way to see the world, especially if you are healthy, mobile and young.

[mike2000]

Sometimes it's not the ship or cruise line but the staff that make the cruise good or not so good. Wife and I took our 15 year old dauther on a short cruise on spring break one year.Our waiter was rude and acted like he hated Americans.I took it that all cruises on that cruise line were like that. I later desided to give them one more time,had a great time and most of my cruises are with that line.We have celebrated our Anniversary on 2 different cruise lines and had a great time both years.Not flying limits your ports you can leave from.Pick the ports you want to visit that leave from ports that are within driveing distance.That cruise we through was not very good. We look back on it now with nothing but great memories.Our dauther loved that cruise and was planing her next one when she became sick and passed away 5 months later. Mike

[tinsel57]

If your husband refuses to fly, you can take trains to other locations if you find a cruise that you love.

 

As many others have said, I think the Alaskan Cruise Tour package is an incredible once in a lifetime opportunity. You are exactly the correct age for it! Not too young, not too old with plenty of choices to be had. However it does not have a ton of sea days.

I also happen to favor Celebrity for this.

 

For lots of sea days and another incredible experience, I'd do the RT out of CA for Hawaii. Talk about romantic! Woohoo! I think the two lines that do the RT out of CA are Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. If you get their four star ships they're quite nice and you'll be the median age there!

 

How about an ALL sea day cruise!!>? Take the Cunard line RT out of New York and sail to and from England! I've sailed the QE2 and it is unlike anything else, but you must love sea days!!

 

I find that there are two kinds of people that sail, those that love ports and those that love the ship. The hardest trip planning is for the couple that has a one of each!

 

Congratulations and good luck!

[DesrtDrmr]

Kaytez,

Did you decide on a cruise? I was just thinking that the Coral Princess, out of Ft. Lauderdale, does a nice ten day Panama Canal cruise, where they go in through the first lock, sail around Gatun Lake, and back out. It's a relaxing cruise, with an exciting look at the Canal, and you go right back to Fort Lauderdale, which should be a "do-able" drive down 95 for you.

Would love to hear what you decided?

[RevSmith]

The Princess line has a wonderful idea on their ships...It's a romantic lobster and steak dinner served out on the balcony, complete with a server, table linen, champagne and photo. They also offer a romantic breakfast in bed and all the usual things the other lines offer. If you are traveling with children I suggest the Caribbean or Grand Princess as they are ships that have excellent children's programs and a baby sitting service if needed.