Suggestions for 60th anniversay cruise for party of 14 22-81 November of 2018

[kathy884]

My brother and I are in the beginning stages of planning a three generation group cruise to celebrate our parents' 60th wedding anniversary. We are looking at Nov. of 2018.

 

I'd like to keep costs somewhat reasonable, so am looking at keeping it at a week or under and looking at the Caribbean.

 

My dad in particular enjoys sea days, so I wanted to get something with a reasonable number of these, nothing too port intensive.

 

My parents. I believe, would prefer a ship that isn't too huge. Most of the Royal Caribbean ones I'm seeing, though are super big. They could probably live with that if need be.

 

Any suggestions?? I'm open to other lines also.

 

I was thinking maybe the six night For Lauderdale Adventure of the Seas with stops in Georgetown, Costa Maya, and Cozumel for size of ship. The ports, though, are ones my parents and brother and his long time girlfriend have been to really often and quite recently. Date options are Nov. 4 and Nov. 11 2018, the month we were thinking

 

Another one that looked good, except it's that huge Oasis ship is from Orlando, is either Nov. 11 or 25 2018 and does Laboardee, Falmouth, and Cozumel. I like it that it is seven nights and just does three ports.

 

We would have a party of 14 (seven rooms) with ages 22-81. Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.

 

We have people that would fly in from Chicago IL (2), St. Louis MO (4), Idaho Falls ID (4), Orlando FL (2) (could drive), and San Diego CA (2).

[Clarea]

For smaller ships, also consider Rhapsody or Brilliance out of Tampa. Those would be 4, 5, or 7 day cruises to the Western Carib. These would have at least 2 sea days.

[knittinggirl]

We did this for my parents's fiftieth anniversary, and it worked out great! My parents insisted we share one shore excursion as a group. We met daily for dinner, and otherwise were were on our own. Sometimes we'd bump into each other for the MDR at lunch, and other times not. We did this before Specialty Dining started.

 

Don't do it over Thanksgiving Day, because the price will be very high. But I have a Disney Cruise booked that embarks the day after Thanksgiving because it was one of the cheaper dates.

 

We had a group of eight, which worked out great for table size.

[WeAllLove2Travel]

My brother and I are in the beginning stages of planning a three generation group cruise to celebrate our parents' 60th wedding anniversary. We are looking at Nov. of 2018.

 

I'd like to keep costs somewhat reasonable, so am looking at keeping it at a week or under and looking at the Caribbean.

 

My dad in particular enjoys sea days, so I wanted to get something with a reasonable number of these, nothing too port intensive.

 

My parents. I believe, would prefer a ship that isn't too huge. Most of the Royal Caribbean ones I'm seeing, though are super big. They could probably live with that if need be.

 

Any suggestions?? I'm open to other lines also.

 

I was thinking maybe the six night For Lauderdale Adventure of the Seas with stops in Georgetown, Costa Maya, and Cozumel for size of ship. The ports, though, are ones my parents and brother and his long time girlfriend have been to really often and quite recently. Date options are Nov. 4 and Nov. 11 2018, the month we were thinking

 

Another one that looked good, except it's that huge Oasis ship is from Orlando, is either Nov. 11 or 25 2018 and does Laboardee, Falmouth, and Cozumel. I like it that it is seven nights and just does three ports.

 

We would have a party of 14 (seven rooms) with ages 22-81. Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.

 

We have people that would fly in from Chicago IL (2), St. Louis MO (4), Idaho Falls ID (4), Orlando FL (2) (could drive), and San Diego CA (2).

 

 

I know you mentioned wanting shorter than a week. I often look for shorter cruises as well due to limited time off from work. HOWEVER, Oasis of the Seas has made me rethink my strategy altogether. We've got our vacations already booked through early 2020 so I can't possibly squeeze in one more 7 day cruise but I've sure suggested it to several others who've mentioned needing a fun get away. I haven't sailed Oasis yet but I sure want to.....SOON! Lol. Good luck and happy planning! Sounds like it'll be a fun family adventure regardless of where you decide to sail.

 

Happy anniversary to your parents!! What a beautiful blessing!!

 

 

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[OceanAria]

We did the Allure 4 years ago for my grandparents 50th anniversert/ my 30th birthday and it was a great hit! We were 7 age 21-80. We always did seaday lunches, dinner and shows together. Due to my grans mobility issues we borrowed a wheelchair, but She mostly used it off the ship .

Oasis class has something for everyone[emoji16]

 

 

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[starlightjulie]

We're doing Oasis in two weeks for my parents 50th. If you get Aft rooms it will not be a lot of walking (MDR and Windjammer are both aft). The Oasis is a beautiful ship. ...Central Park at night is so peaceful!

 

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[kalliekae]

I wouldn't rule out the Oasis class ships because those ships appeal to all age groups. One can do as little or as much as one wishes to do. If you book your parents' room on deck 8, they will enjoy the convenience of Central Park. You can cut across the ship in CP and avoid the crowds on the Promenade and CP has restaurants, music at night, and the Park Cafe for morning coffee/breakfast. Whatever you decide, I applaud you for organizing a wonderful memory for your parents.

[sportmorgan]

If your parents enjoy the trivia games onboard, do as I did and create a customized trivia game based on the year they got married. I printed my own answer slips and brought junky prizes for the winning team (we travelled in a group of 12 so split into pairs for teams). We gathered in the pub after dinner one night and I surprised everyone with the game. It was a hit!

 

 

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[jamesr3939]

We did Oasis with 14 family members and loved it. There is plenty of stuff to do for all ages. That was our 4th family cruise and it's great as nobody has to cook, clean, or drive. Considering the locations of everybody you might want to consider Galveston. We also did from San Diego, which is a great city to come in a few days early. Early November can be reasonable cost wise.

 

Not being "port intensive" is really a non-issue, just don't get off the ship. We love to stay on during port stops as you pretty much have the ship to yourself. Our last Galveston cruise on Carnival Magic we never got off the ship.

 

I know it's not "cost effective" but on the 14 group DW and I booked an OS. It was great! We hosted a sail away cocktail party with a bar and heavy appetizers in our cabin. There was plenty of room and everybody still comments on that was the best way to start off vacation. Actually when I say not cost effective the OS is expensive, but the bar and buffet was surprisingly reasonable.

[bdink921]

We did a family cruise for my parents' 60th too! We chose Freedom of the Seas out of Orlando....the dates and lower airfares made this the best choice. We had a blast! We were a party of 13 ages 14-80, my son was the only grand that came since he was too young to stay home alone.

 

We did the Western route. Grand Cayman we went our separate ways, in Jamaica the sisters went zip lining, in Labadee we all hung out on the beach together and in Cozumel we all did a private driver tour of the island. For a special dinner, we all booked Chops and the staff was so accommodating with pictures and a special dessert for my parents.

 

My husband, son, and I had one of those huge aft balconies so we grabbed cheese and crackers from the buffet with pizza from Sorrento's and a bottle of champagne to celebrate our sail away. Fit all 13 of us no problem and plenty of room to spare!

 

We sailed in April and managed to get a few price drops. We wanted to do Oasis or Allure but the price was much higher and flights to FLL or MIA were just too expensive. We booked about a year out. The ship was big but except for us, everyone had rooms near the elevators.

 

Happy planning and congrats to your parents!

[kathy884]

Thanks you all for taking the time to post and sharing you suggestions and experiences. You've given me some other options to consider that I appreciate and also thoughts that we are on the right track.

[knittinggirl]

We're doing Oasis in two weeks for my parents 50th. If you get Aft rooms it will not be a lot of walking (MDR and Windjammer are both aft). The Oasis is a beautiful ship. ...Central Park at night is so peaceful!

 

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Oasis is a HUGE ship, and each of those tiny rooms on the diagram is probably 15' wide or more. Also, Royal Caribbean ships don't have aft passenger elevators so you have to walk all the way to mid-ship to catch an elevator. I'd grab aft room(s) as close to mid-ship as possible. Probably five to ten cabins down from the mid-ship elevator, so you escape any noise. That long walk from that back of the ship is even harder w/ mobility issues. But They also have hallway railing for support.

 

 

We chose to cruise at the beginning of my parents 50th year, good thing too. My mother went down hill rather fast in the year after we cruised. We did the 10-day Panama. Three generations like you're planning. We also met in Bar Harbor for my parent's 40th.

 

We were on a cruisetour with a 94-year-old lady who could walk circles around all of us. And we had a dining companion probably in her 80s that walked five miles a day.

[WeAllLove2Travel]

I know it's not "cost effective" but on the 14 group DW and I booked an OS. It was great! We hosted a sail away cocktail party with a bar and heavy appetizers in our cabin. There was plenty of room and everybody still comments on that was the best way to start off vacation. Actually when I say not cost effective the OS is expensive, but the bar and buffet was surprisingly reasonable.

 

 

That sounds FABULOUS!! I will definitely use this idea in the future! At this juncture DH & I typically either cruise alone or with our young kids. However, we are hoping to add grandparents to the mix within the next year or so. This would be a lovely, less hectic way to enjoy a sail away! Great idea! Thank you!

 

 

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