Your Cruise goals

[overalls39]

Hello all,

I am exploring ideas on our goals for our future cruises, beginning next year. I had thought about going on all carnival ships and posted that topic and got some great responses. I would like to know if y’all have goals. Say different ports, itinerary, ships, cruise lines, etc. 

We are planning on doing 3 to 4 cruises per year. I look forward to reading your comments. 

[LA_CA_GAL]

Trans Atlantic on the bucket list.

[evandbob]

Trifecta of fjords:  Alaskan (done), Norwegian, Chilean (both booked).

Edited June 1, 2019 by evandbob

[puppycanducruise]

3 or 4 cruises a year.  Oh, I'm a little jealous.  We plan on one cruise every 2 to 3 years.

Our next cruise visits Istanbul.  A friend says she loved Turkey, but as yet, I'm a little nervous about touring on my own, so a cruise fits the bill.

We try to visit different ports, with not a lot of duplication between cruises. 

We would like to do more European cruises (maybe another river cruise).  We stay a few days before the cruise in the disembarkation city (or close to it) so we can do a lot of sightseeing.

[Flatbush Flyer]

You can count us in that group of folks who do three to four cruises per year. Most of these cruises are 4+\- weeks in duration and we like sea days (Among our favorite itineraries are TransPacifics).

 

Our "goals" are fairly simple: explore new locations (and/or revisit favorites) and enjoy extended breaks from the normal day-to-day demands of life at home. We also have cruise expectations and preferences including the right balance of quality and value.

 

We do have a bit of a "formula" for cruise selection. This includes having a preferred cruise line which fits our travel profile "like a glove." In part, that means exceptional food and service. We strive to start and end in different locations so that we can add extended land stays and get max value from ever-increasing airfares (though it's great that our preferred line provides air tix or air credit). As aforementioned, we seek a mix of port and sea days. And, unless we're doing an occasional yacht charter (which I highly recommend for groups of 6-10), we avoid the overrun boring Caribbean as a primary destination.

[SmoothFlying]

13 minutes ago, puppycanducruise said:

3 or 4 cruises a year.  Oh, I'm a little jealous.  We plan on one cruise every 2 to 3 years.

Our next cruise visits Istanbul.  A friend says she loved Turkey, but as yet, I'm a little nervous about touring on my own, so a cruise fits the bill.

We try to visit different ports, with not a lot of duplication between cruises. 

We would like to do more European cruises (maybe another river cruise).  We stay a few days before the cruise in the disembarkation city (or close to it) so we can do a lot of sightseeing.

OOOOOOOOOh yea, me tooo..🙄 When the wife and I started cruising back in 2007 we were barely able to afford TWO a year ! Then when I retired early in 2012 and even with her still working we could only afford once. We'd LOVE to go back to two a year but with retiring at the end of this month and both of us on a fixed income AND advancing age that goal might not be possible but our minds are willing, so who knows ! So, I guess that brings up another question for the members of the peanut gallery, 'How LONG do you think youll be able to cruise ? In other words what would be the deciding factor, 'wealth OR health'. Id be interested in your remarks.

Mac

[Flatbush Flyer]

42 minutes ago, SmoothFlying said:

OOOOOOOOOh yea, me tooo..🙄 When the wife and I started cruising back in 2007 we were barely able to afford TWO a year ! Then when I retired early in 2012 and even with her still working we could only afford once. We'd LOVE to go back to two a year but with retiring at the end of this month and both of us on a fixed income AND advancing age that goal might not be possible but our minds are willing, so who knows ! So, I guess that brings up another question for the members of the peanut gallery, 'How LONG do you think youll be able to cruise ? In other words what would be the deciding factor, 'wealth OR health'. Id be interested in your remarks.

Mac

We've had that discussion twice: once, soon after retirement, regarding should we start doing more cruises (as an efficacious way to explore the world) now that we had the time and some disposable income. 

 

The second discussion was about 5 years later when the reasonable concerns of aging (e.g., eventual physical limitations) added another dimension to the equation.

 

The bottom line for us (60s-70s with fairly good health and a "travel" line item in our family budget) is "travel while you can." 

 

As regards your question (wealth OR health), it has to be a mix of both. For example, unforeseen medical issues can stop you dead in your tracks both physically and financially.

 

That said, IMO, the worst thing a retiree can say (when it comes to spending your kid's inheritance😎) is "maybe some day."

 

[Husky61]

No goals, we just cruise when we want.

[Mike981]

We have only cruised the Caribbean in January to get away from our Minnesota winters and a few times in the summer with our kids.

SOOoooo, we are wide open to many other experiences all over the world.

[SuiteTraveler]

Our cruise goals have been to explore places we have not been and also trying some of the newest ships.  Often this leads to a later land-based trip.  I think our favorite new ships have been RCCL's Oasis class, but we also enjoyed NCL, MSC, Princess, Celebrity, HAL, Carnival and Uniworld's newest ships. Another fun thing has been trying suites - NCL, MSC, HAL, and Uniworld.  IMO MSC does suites best in terms of being all-inclusive and they are the least expensive suites.  Uniworld, we got a junior suite to have more space and a larger bathroom as river ships have tiny cabins but it turned out the butler service was wonderful as well and I loved the individual decor of the suites.      

[MicCanberra]

For me it is cruising to new ports, new itineraries for me. Generally the line or ship isn't important if the itinerary, timing and price is offered by one that I do not have status with we will still do it.

[Warm Breezes]

We have been taking about 2 cruises a year the last few years along with at least one land trip each year.   I will be retiring in the next 2 years, DH retired a year ago.  Our initial plan for retirement was to downsize with a small place in Florida and to cruise/road trip at our whim.  My mother had a stroke 6 months ago so those plans are currently up in the air until we see where she is at when the time comes.  Some of our bucket list trips for retirement include:

 

Route 66 Chicago to LA, cruise to Hawaii and back, drive up the coast to Seattle and then cruise to Alaska and back.

 

Drive down the Eastern Coast with at least one cruise to Bermuda and back along the way, possibly others as well.

 

DS requested we do a European trip with him after retirement and DD said make it when I can go so we are looking at a Transatlantic to or from Europe.  Meet the kids in Europe for a land tour including the finally of the Tour de France in Paris that DS has on his wish list.  Taking some Mediterranean and European cruises while we are out there.

 

Australian cruise

Panama Canal Cruise

 

Those are the big trips we want to do with I am sure a lot of smaller land trips and cruises in between as the opportunities arise.  I always try to do or have at least one new or different thing in every vacation we take.  

 

[mom says]

Since we both started receiving our old age pensions, the only goal is to cross off as many items from our bucket list as possible while we still can, health wise. This includes both land and cruise vacations. We always have 2 trips in the planning stages - one is usually a cruise. We prefer itineraries with ports that are new to us.

 

An exception is this winter. After an exhausting month long cruise last year, I had requested a lazy 2 weeks at a Caribbean AI this winter. But the prices of our favorite places were high. I bet my DH that we could cruise for a lot less. And I was right. We just booked a B2B, and the Ports are of little interest to us this time, as we've visited them several times already. We'll probably only get off the ship 2 or 3 times and simply enjoy the relaxation and service on board.

[Tonopah]

We want to sail on all four Cunard Queens. So far, we’ve only been on the QM2. The fourth Queen (Anne?) isn’t built yet. So we’re hoping to get on the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Victoria in the next 2-3 years. Then we’ll get on the new Queen in 5 or 6 years.

[Bizmark'sMom]

I'm all about new places to explore, new itineraries, new ports.  I rarely repeat a cruise destination, but I do go back for more extensive land trips if the area interests me.

[bonsai3s]

When we were younger, our goal was to cruise once...yes, once.

We had very little money, and not much vacation time.  Unfortunately (or fortunately), we got addicted after that first one.😊   Our next goal was to cruise once a year. 

 

As we got older, saved a bit of money, and had more vacation time...we managed to cruise once a year.

 

Our next goal was to try and experience as many cruise lines as we can...we did. (Our favorite was Renaissance Cruise, until it went bankrupt.)  It was fun experiencing the differences in cruise lines and ships.

 

Our next goal was to visit as many countries as we can...we are doing that now.  In our Golden years, we are blessed to have both the resources and time to travel.  As last remaining places to visit are Antarctica, Easter Island, Seychelles and Maldives.

 

We absolutely agree with Flatbush Flyer.....our number one concern now is simply staying healthy and avoid any serious medical problems.  Note: We don't eat as much on cruises and walk as much as we can to burn those unwanted calories.  Happy Sailing!....safe travels and good health to all. 😊

[pris993]

Been cruising since l982, 37 years... never had any specific goals except to cruise and see ports of interest.

 

 In doing that we often cruised in new ships as they were announced.  As a result we cruised on 9 different lines over all these years:  RCCL, Sitmar/now Princess, NCL, Crystal, HAL, Celebrity, Royal Cruise line no longer around, and Cunard.  

 

We repeated cruises on only a few ships initially that we liked a lot:  HAL Westerdam, Cunard Queen Victoria, Princess Ruby, and Princess Grand because it is home ported in San Francisco near where we live.  

 

Without any specific goals: we have cruised Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Carribean, the Baltics, Northern Europe including Ireland, England and Scotland, most of the Mediterranean east and west, including Turkey, Israel and Egypt.   Well over 60 cruises, we have lost count... 

 

Now our focus at 87/72 years of age: staying closer to home.  Doing the Panama Canal on the Coral Princess, which we have never done and cruising out of San Francisco RT where ever Princess goes, love taking a taxi to the ship, air travel is not as pleasant as it use to be.  We used  AA miles to get a first class ticket to Florida for the Panama Canal cruise... flying one way is okay in first class for free, LOL.  

 

Happy cruising to everyone... goals or not... it is fun and one of the best ways to travel.  

 

 

[MicCanberra]

3 hours ago, Bizmark'sMom said:

I'm all about new places to explore, new itineraries, new ports.  I rarely repeat a cruise destination, but I do go back for more extensive land trips if the area interests me.

Yes, we include land trips along with a cruise in many of our holidays.

[navybankerteacher]

Of course it is possible to do more than one thing at a time.  Rather than just shoot for different ships or different lines, why not plan different itineraries, on different ships, of different lines, in different accommodations?  The permutations are close to endless.  Last winter we sailed on RC Grandeur -  with a number of people who had sailed her a number of times on the same itinerary.

 

I don’t think I’d enjoy an inside- but maybe a suite, or a duplex just once, would change the game a bit.

[getting older slowly]

No Goal....

 

Just cruise while we enjoy it..... when you do not get excited, about your next cruise

then the goal would be to do something else ...

 

Cheers Don

[cb at sea]

I have no "goals"...a cruise is simply a vacation.  It's not a race or competition!

[MicCanberra]

2 hours ago, getting older slowly said:

No Goal....

 

Just cruise while we enjoy it..... when you do not get excited, about your next cruise

then the goal would be to do something else ...

 

Cheers Don

Good point.

[GUT2407]

To cruise as often as I can for as long as I can, is my primary goal.

[MicCanberra]

2 hours ago, cb at sea said:

I have no "goals"...a cruise is simply a vacation.  It's not a race or competition!

I certainly don't see it as a race or a competition, that can be left for those who may (i.e get most cruised or a certain status, etc) but that is not to denigrate their goal either. Everyone has their own motivation. For me it is new places and countries, regions. I am hoping to do a Black Sea cruise in the near future, timing and pricing permitting.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, cb at sea said:

I have no "goals"...a cruise is simply a vacation.  It's not a race or competition!

OMG! how sad not to have goals.

 

Been cruising for 40 + years, around the world multiple times and been in most ports. However, I still have goals - in addition to visiting new areas, I also enjoy returning to ports, some I haven't seen in 40 years.