Please help....trying to find the right cruise line....

[Zolena]

Hello :-)

My husband and I are planning a cruise for our 20th anniversary which will be in 2020.

We are eyeing either a cruise leaving Sydney, going to the South Pacific or a Mediterranean Cruise visiting Spain, Italy and Greece.

We want this cruise to be something special. I looked into Regent, Viking, Windstar...but we are not looking for enrichment classes or lectures in the evening. For this cruise we want comedy, magic shows, etc.

We want great food and great service.

We are not into jazz and we are not into wine/alcohol.

Trying to find the right cruise line is very difficult as there are so many to choose from.

I was eyeing Celebrity...so far we've cruised with Carnival once and twice with Disney.

I appreciate ANY and ALL suggestions, advice and/or questions you have and thank you so much in advance.

Oh, and we are in our early 40s and we will be traveling without kids.:cool:

[Tapi]

Oh, and we are in our early 40s and we will be traveling without kids.:cool:

 

 

It’s hard to narrow it down, but I’m thinking that, because you want something special, better service, but at the same time you enjoy more casual entertainment, going with a premium mainstream cruise line but in a suite/concierge level stateroom may provide the perfect balance that you’re looking for.

 

You mentioned Celebrity which is a definite step up from Carnival without going into the luxury segment. They do offer concierge and aqua class staterooms as well as suites if you wish to make it more special. So maybe this may be a good choice. Princess targets a similar demographic so they would get my vote as well. In fact, we selected Princess for our 10th wedding anniversary and we were so happy with that decision that we are choosing them again for our 15th wedding anniversary (this time in a Club Class mini-suite). By the way, we are also in our 40’s.

 

I would probably shy away from Carnival/Royal Caribbean/Norwegian/MSC which may be a bit too mass market for a special occasion.

 

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[OCruisers]

Celebrity could be a very good choice for you!

Also consider Princess. You'd especially enjoy a Club Class Mini-Suite on Princess ... comes with Club Class Dining. :D

[Zolena]

Awesome. Thank you both very much for your responses!! Yes, I agree we did not want to do a carnival cruise for this occasion. I will research Princess!!!

[Jasalth]

While I haven't taken it yet, I planned the same type of thing for our 20th anniversary this November coming up.

 

First we are mainly Carnival sailers, but have been on Disney, NCL, and RCCL also.

 

With MSC we could get a suite for far less than sailing the mainstream US lines for 11 days. It is a smaller ship so no "Ship with-in a ship" on this one with suites though, but it does include alcohol and spa access with 2 massages in the price.

 

From what I gather, the entertainment will not be exactly what you like, mainly musical productions, but in truth, the savings on the cruise cost alone allowed me to book 8 days in Italy before hand at about the same price as NCL Haven which is.. well just crazy talk not to take!

 

I suggest look at one of the compare sites for what cruises you want to go on first, make a list of those THEN research the line/ship for them. I suggest this because you don't want to compromise for your 20th anniversary (at least I wasn't going to and he has put up with it this long!) on what you want to get our of your trip.

 

When it comes down to it, is going to a once in a lifetime place you might never get to again worth giving up say.. comedy shows? Also if you look at the cruises first, especially looking at Med ones, they are port intensive and almost like a marathon. Sure it might be nice to have the option of something late at night to do... but you get back into a new port at 8am and is it worth it to stay up later? Just one of many things to debate when deciding who to sail with!

[Keith1010]

Another line to look at is Crystal Cruises.

 

During the "daytime" they do have an extensive enrichment program. At night they offer a diverse set of entertainment.

 

They also offer wonderful cuisine.

 

Their 2020 itineraries are not yet out but when they are you will see that they will include all of the places you have listed.

 

Keith

[GUT2407]

A lot will depend on your budget.

[Zolena]

Jasalth, thank you so much for your response. But I don’t fully understand. I’m not looking for late night clubbing. But we do want options right after dinner. May it be a movie theater or some type of show. I’m just looking for more than what we would get on a Regent Cruise if that makes sense.

 

Keith, thank you very much. I will look into Crystal Cruises.

 

Gut2407, if budget didn’t matter what would your recommendations be? If you can give me some luxury cruise lines that offer great entertainment I would love to know.

[Aquahound]

I think you're on the right track with Celebrity. They're a great option. If you want to go a little smaller and slightly more upscale, also consider Oceania. Oceania is a line that has found their niche between the more upscale mass markets lines (like Celebrity) and the luxury lines (like Crystal).

[Zolena]

Thank you so much Aquahound!!!!

[jocap]

Have a look at the Cunard Queens- elegant ships for a special occasion.

[Zolena]

Jo,

Great!!! Thank you very much!!!

[Velvetwater]

I agree with Celebrity and also Princess.

 

If you want a Med with some Med flavour and cosmo vibe passenger mix then go for the elegance of the MSC ships.

[Tapi]

IIf you want a Med with some Med flavour and cosmo vibe passenger mix then go for the elegance of the MSC ships.

 

 

While I do agree that the passenger vibe that you mention is present on MSC, I think that the overall experience feels on the budget side unless one splurges on Yacht Club accommodations.

 

We sailed on the Divina out of Miami on a Fantástica balcony stateroom and the product quality felt at par with Carnival (budget minded), although I must say that the ship was indeed more elegant and tasteful. We are sailing on MSC again this fall (this time on the Meraviglia in the Mediterranean) but this time we have booked an Aurea Duplex Suite (which interestingly is still more affordable than many cruise lines in lesser accommodations).

 

So to summarize for the OP, if they look into MSC, I would recommend doing so in Yacht Club accommodations, or at least Aurea Suites

 

 

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[OCruisers]

You are on the right track considering Princess or Celebrity! ;);)

[Bridget2]

My husband and I are planning a second cruise soon (West Carrib). Our first was in 2010 on Princess, and we don't have any desire to try a different line. For us, Princess is the right price, we appreciate the elegant décor, it has the bars and restaurants and spaces we want without wasting (in our opinion) space on ice skating rinks, bowling alleys, etc. The service was great and so was the food. Also, I am destination-oriented, so uninterested in ships so big they can't enter many ports. We were 50 years old for our last cruise, which put us at the younger end, but we found our older tablemates to be such well-traveled folks and really interesting. We saw very few kids and the ones we did observe were incredibly well-behaved.

[Velvetwater]

 

Although I must say that the ship was indeed more elegant and tasteful.

 

 

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This is exactly my point...MSC's newer offerings are known to be stunning vessels.

 

Also, A few of my friends who have sailed MSC and vloggers I have watched have regularly commented that MSC's product is superior in the Med as I guess they feel at home and that is their specialism? I know they have been trying to get a US clientele for a while now though.

 

Haven't sailed MSC so cannot comment but that's what I have heard.

[olemissreb]

My now ex and I sailed on Celebrity for our 20th - in a suite. It was really special and our butler made it even more so. We sailed the Southern Caribbean for that cruise. The ambiance was really nice and we had plenty to do when we wanted to do something and plenty of areas to sit and relax and read when we wanted to. We were in our mid 40's then. I really love Celebrity because it does feel a little more upscale than RCCL with fewer kids (usually).

 

We sailed Celebrity again as a family 5 years ago on our Alaska cruise. Again we were in a suite with an adjoining stateroom since my mom joined us. Again, our butler made the cruise extra special.

[Tapi]

We were 50 years old for our last cruise, which put us at the younger end, but we found our older tablemates to be such well-traveled folks and really interesting.

 

 

I agree about this. We shared our dinner table with an Australian couple on a month long honeymoon that spanned the South Pacific, Hawaii, the US west coast, and a second cruise out of Sidney, a retired globe-trotting couple with fantastic stories to tell, and 2 life long friends who travel on cruise ships multiple times a year and who were on their way to Venice a few weeks after our cruise for the inaugural sailing of another Princess ship. Never have I sat with such a well-traveled group of people on a cruise vacation. Sharing travel stories was one of the highlights of our Anniversary cruise aboard Princess.

 

 

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[Zolena]

I can’t thank you guys enough!!!!!!