Trip Suggestions Needed

[beachnut41955]

Hi Everyone! You are all such a wealth of information and I am stumped, so I thought I might throw this out and see what suggestions I get. We just did the Eastern Caribbean cruise on Getaway September 20-27. It was awesome. Next April I have my big 6-0 birthday and my good friend and travel buddy thinks we need to do another trip to celebrate. We have done the following cruises with Princess and NCL.... Eastern Caribbean, Western Caribbean, Southern Caribbean, Alaska Cruise Tour, Hawaii. We would like to go somewhere we haven't been instead of repeating, but since I work at a church it is going to really take a lot to save up enough to cruise in April/May which is when her vacation has to be. I couldn't save up thousands to do something really big. Can any of you suggest some cruises with NCL that might fit the bill???? I know as long as you are cruising it is a wonderful vacation, but would love to experience some new locations. I love some of the European trips, but the airfare costs more than the cruises. We usually cruise an inside room. Thanks for your suggestions!

[cubfan63]

Hi Everyone! You are all such a wealth of information and I am stumped, so I thought I might throw this out and see what suggestions I get. We just did the Eastern Caribbean cruise on Getaway September 20-27. It was awesome. Next April I have my big 6-0 birthday and my good friend and travel buddy thinks we need to do another trip to celebrate. We have done the following cruises with Princess and NCL.... Eastern Caribbean, Western Caribbean, Southern Caribbean, Alaska Cruise Tour, Hawaii. We would like to go somewhere we haven't been instead of repeating, but since I work at a church it is going to really take a lot to save up enough to cruise in April/May which is when her vacation has to be. I couldn't save up thousands to do something really big. Can any of you suggest some cruises with NCL that might fit the bill???? I know as long as you are cruising it is a wonderful vacation, but would love to experience some new locations. I love some of the European trips, but the airfare costs more than the cruises. We usually cruise an inside room. Thanks for your suggestions!

 

If you really want ideas for NCL, perhaps you should post that on the NCL board. This is the Princess Board.

 

Since you considering April or May, and this is the Princess Board, have you considered a Pacific Coast cruise . They have week-long ones that are roundtrips from the west coast as well as repositioning to Vancouver. Also this is a time when there are Transatlantic cruises going to Europe. Panama Canal cruises occur at this time too. All are available on Princess.

[beachnut41955]

Thanks Cubfan. I did want Princess suggestions since we have cruised Princess as well as NCL and we love Princess. We are toying with the Western Costal cruises. Would love to hear from anyone who has gone on one. I did post as well on NCL board, since we have cruised with them before too.

[skynight]

If your budget is limited you are probably also limited to the Caribbean, where the fares are lowest and you can avoid the time and expense of air travel,since you live in GA. Don't worry too much about the actual ports of call, go for the enjoyment of the ship, the beaches, shopping, etc.

[cruiserny]

You might try looking at the fares for the Panama Canal partial transit cruises that go round trip from Ft. Lauderdale.

[Penny3]

Have you signed up for Price Drops, which get sent to your e-mail? After checking with them a few times for one particular cruise, I was able to book it for a reasonable cost. Also, *************.com, as well as so any other travel deals websites, are worth trying. My motto: I Live for the Deals 😉 Good Luck!

[beachnut41955]

Hi Penny3. How do you sign up for Price Drops? Sounds like a great thing.

[capriccio]

 

Since you considering April or May, and this is the Princess Board, have you considered a Pacific Coast cruise . They have week-long ones that are roundtrips from the west coast as well as repositioning to Vancouver.

 

Reading the OPS posting I had the same thought: a Pacific Coastal. We took the 'wine country coastal' (LA to Vancouver repositioning) in mid-May 2012. We had lovely weather and the stops - even the ones that we had vacationed in before - were wonderful (Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Astoria, Seattle, and Victoria). Then you can spend an extra day or two (if you have the time) in Vancouver which is one our favorite cities.

[lovevacadays]

I would think a Pacific Coastal or Panama cruise would be a good bet for you.

[OCruisers]

Consider a Full Transit Panama Canal cruise on Princess! ;)

[Princess Patches]

How about a cruise to Alaska? In May you can get very good deals for a 7-day Alaska cruise. You can get an inside for about $500. You can also get an airfare from Georgia for about $400-500 to Seattle. I saw some last minute deals to Alaska this year that were as low as $249 in an inside cabin for a 7- day cruise.

 

Another possibility is sailing out of Galveston on the Emerald Princess for Belize. Again, very good deals available and airfare would be cheaper for you than to Seattle.

 

Since you are a past Princess passenger, you should get on their email list for last minute specials. These are always the best deals. I received a last minute special for an 11-day Panama Canal sailing that was about $400 for an inside just last week. It was a roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale. You could drive their from Georgia and save the airfare.

Edited October 18, 2014 by Princess Patches

[GradUT]

We did the 11-day partial transit of the Panama Canal on the Island Princess in April 2010 and it was fantastic! That's what I would recommend.

[Penny3]

Hi,

Price Drop is right here on cruisecritic.com. On the top of the page, where you see Reviews, Find a Cruise, etc., you'll see "Deals." Click on that and at the bottom of the drop down list, you'll see "Price Drop." That's one of my main go-to places to find cruise deals. Just sign up to have the Price Drops sent to your e-mail address, and they will go to you regularly. If you find a cruise that links good, but think the price could be better, just be patient and it will come. I waited for 3 different Price Drop e mails for the one particular cruise I wanted, and I got it! Good luck, and I'm sure you know there are lots of other travel deals websites, too. Hope this helps.

[Penny3]

Oops, sorry...I typed "a cruise that looks good" and it showed up as "linked good..."

[LeeW]

I don't see Bermuda on your past cruise list. Princess does occasionally sail between New York and the Caribbean at that time of year. Great island, although the channel is narrow going into West End and sometimes big ships can't get in. By next year any damage from the hurricanes should be fixed.

 

Princess doesn't sail out of San Juan any more (grrrr = our favorite port to sail from), but you can do a 10 day from Ft Lauderdale that goes to both Aruba and some of the eastern islands - check to see if these islands are ones you haven't seen before.

[nojoke]

Just a comment on the Transatlantic costs. If you take an inside cabin, the per day cost could very easily be quite a bit less than $100 p.p. Then figure in ONE way air..about $500p.p.booked with the cruise line. And you have 14 days quite inexpensively plus the wonderful 4-5 European ports. We always travel off-season, which would be April-May and the late Fall. The TA is a great way to enjoy the most days for the least $. Check out the online Agents as well as the cruise line.