Please select for me a cruise line and/or itinerary

[TwentyTwelve]

15 hours ago, TruckerDave said:

I say a nice 7 day out of either Port Canaveral or Miami on Carnival in Feb or Mar. 😎

 

  😂 How do you think I arrived at my list of preferences? Carnival was my first and only cruise, and it made me swear off cruising. People keep telling me to try another line, so I've been doing some research and just wanted others opinions and suggestions in case there were some more obscure lines I may have overlooked. 

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. Celebrity and Viking were actually in my top choices, so I think I'm going to try Celebrity next based on the recommendations. You all have given me some food for thought, and I appreciate it. 

[Tapi]

15 hours ago, TruckerDave said:

I say a nice 7 day out of either Port Canaveral or Miami on Carnival in Feb or Mar. 😎

If the OP is going to do Carnival out of Port Canaveral or Miami in March, may I suggest a 3-4 night cruise to the Bahamas instead? Nothing says “culturally enriching” more than Señor Frog’s during Spring Break. 😂

Edited October 20, 2019 by Tapi

[Aquahound]

1 hour ago, TwentyTwelve said:

Celebrity and Viking were actually in my top choices, so I think I'm going to try Celebrity next based on the recommendations. You all have given me some food for thought, and I appreciate it. 

 

You're making a good choice.  Enjoy your cruise. 

[George C]

There are some music charters on celebrity infinity, way more expensive , but great entertainment and adults only , we are doing our third year in a row next year.

[Bookish Angel]

Expedition ships to remote places are hard to beat.  National Geographic, Hurtigruten, Celebrity's Xpedition, etc. are small ships the lack (in a good way!) the bells and whistles of mega-ships but focus on zoology, geology, etc.

[TruckerDave]

On 10/20/2019 at 10:48 AM, TwentyTwelve said:

 

  😂 How do you think I arrived at my list of preferences? Carnival was my first and only cruise, and it made me swear off cruising. People keep telling me to try another line, so I've been doing some research and just wanted others opinions and suggestions in case there were some more obscure lines I may have overlooked. 

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. Celebrity and Viking were actually in my top choices, so I think I'm going to try Celebrity next based on the recommendations. You all have given me some food for thought, and I appreciate it. 

I like that with the little laughing emoji you got my attempt at humor.  So many folks on here have no sense of humor, I am glad you seamed to have "got it"😉

[TruckerDave]

On 10/20/2019 at 11:06 AM, Tapi said:

If the OP is going to do Carnival out of Port Canaveral or Miami in March, may I suggest a 3-4 night cruise to the Bahamas instead? Nothing says “culturally enriching” more than Señor Frog’s during Spring Break. 😂

You and the OP are the only two who have seamed to get the humor in my post. 😉😬

[DirtyDawg]

20 minutes ago, TruckerDave said:

You and the OP are the only two who have seamed to get the humor in my post. 😉😬

 

I swear that the many, many days exposed to the sea air has deteriorated the funny bones of the cruisers around here.😎

Edited October 21, 2019 by DirtyDawg

[DirtyDawg]

On 10/20/2019 at 11:06 AM, Tapi said:

If the OP is going to do Carnival out of Port Canaveral or Miami in March, may I suggest a 3-4 night cruise to the Bahamas instead? Nothing says “culturally enriching” more than Señor Frog’s during Spring Break. 😂

 

Don't be denogrationg the “culturally enriching” that goes on at Senor Frogs during Spring Breaks. Over the years many youngsters  have gotten  “culturally enriched” during Spring Breaks at Senior Frogs and you can see the glit in their eyes whenever that place in mentioned. 😊

[Tapi]

1 hour ago, TruckerDave said:

You and the OP are the only two who have seamed to get the humor in my post. 😉😬

A lot of people here need to relax and go on a cruise! 🚢 

[EMOSEA]

For you I would pick a Baltic Sea cruise on NCL (they have singles cabins, assuming that you are going solo?) 

[clo]

On 10/20/2019 at 10:17 AM, Bookish Angel said:

Expedition ships to remote places are hard to beat.  National Geographic, Hurtigruten, Celebrity's Xpedition, etc. are small ships the lack (in a good way!) the bells and whistles of mega-ships but focus on zoology, geology, etc.

We've sailed on Hurtigruten twice (Antarctica and Norwegian coast) and will take another shorter one next spring.  It's completely different than almost all but/and we loved every minute of it.

[pacruise804]

On 10/19/2019 at 12:10 PM, TwentyTwelve said:

Based on a description of myself, I would like those of you who have cruised various lines to select the one(s) you think I would enjoy most. 

 

-36yo from the US Most of the lines/types of cruises that have less drinking, few if any children, higher quality, etc will skew older if that matters.  We were some of the youngest on our Princess cruise and expect to be on the young end for Viking.

-Not interested in excessive drinking Longer cruises should help with this.  I would avoid CCL, RCCL, and NCL - I'm not sure about Celebrity, I get the impression there is a bit of drinking there.

-Not fond of children Length of cruise, itinerary, and time of year should help with this.  Again, avoid mainstream entry level lines and I get the impression Celebrity has some kids.  Disney also probably isn't a good choice 😉 although they might hit many of the items on your list. 

-Enjoy the finer things in terms of cuisine and entertainment. Don't want to feel like I'm at a golden corral or a Jr. High school play. Definitely avoid the mainstream lines.  Premium or better, possibly expedition or truly small ships (impression only, no experience) although entertainment may be limited on the ship.

-Not interested in constant group activities, need a more free style/low key/relaxed vibe. We can make this for ourselves on any ship, but again should probably avoid CCL, RCCL, and NCL

-No preference on size of ship

-prefer local culture, history, architecture, scenery over shopping, resorts and water activities I'm not sure how far you want to travel, but Bermuda or CA/NE could be good close to home itineraries.  I'd probably eliminate Caribbean and Bahamas Itineraries.  Bermuda has great shopping and water activities too, but also the other items you do want (and if everyone else is at the beach and stores there's more space for you at the caves and forts 🙂 )

-prefer 7+day itineraries

-can cruise any time of year

 

Thoughts?

 

 

It looks like you've gotten some good input already and have a starting plan 🙂 I'll add a few thoughts in your post, with my background as a point of reference.  I'm 46 and have cruised since 2012 with my husband (only one cruise with our kids); we enjoy some drinking but not excessive; appreciate finer things but can have fun with more basic; tend to keep to ourselves/explore on our own; have only sailed mainstream (CCL, RCCL, NCL, Princess) and only from East Coast; prefer a 2K pax ship to 4K (but look forward to trying even smaller); have booked Viking for our 25th anniversary next year; enjoy history, scenery, and water activities; prefer longer cruises but schedule has only permitted 7 day or less to this point; have cruised various times of the year.

 

Something to keep in mind is the perfect cruise probably doesn't exist - there will be a tradeoff somewhere.  Carnival and RCCL have a good price point and are a lot of fun, but also bring with them a lot more drinking and a Golden Corral feel.  Premium and luxury lines tend to be higher quality and more about enrichment than entertainment, but also have a reputation for being stuffy and older.  My husband and I generally get along better with people in our parent's generation than our own, so I think we will be fine 🙂 

 

On 10/20/2019 at 10:48 AM, TwentyTwelve said:

 

  😂 How do you think I arrived at my list of preferences? Carnival was my first and only cruise, and it made me swear off cruising. People keep telling me to try another line, so I've been doing some research and just wanted others opinions and suggestions in case there were some more obscure lines I may have overlooked. 

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. Celebrity and Viking were actually in my top choices, so I think I'm going to try Celebrity next based on the recommendations. You all have given me some food for thought, and I appreciate it. 

 

The right travel agent could probably help with the more obscure lines, or maybe looking at the luxury cruising board.  Celebrity and Viking were my top thoughts for you as well, but I didn't know if Celebrity would be high enough quality or too much drinking or if Viking would be too old.

 

On 10/20/2019 at 1:17 PM, Bookish Angel said:

Expedition ships to remote places are hard to beat.  National Geographic, Hurtigruten, Celebrity's Xpedition, etc. are small ships the lack (in a good way!) the bells and whistles of mega-ships but focus on zoology, geology, etc.

 

With the possible exception of lack of entertainment (my assumption, might not be an issue), this might be a good fit for you.  It's another trade off of what is most important to you.

 

On 10/21/2019 at 5:39 PM, TruckerDave said:

You and the OP are the only two who have seamed to get the humor in my post. 😉😬

I got it too 😄 

[pacruise804]

Something else to consider are river cruises.  My understanding is that it is a very different experience than ocean cruising and you will still likely have an older audience, but likely hit many of the things on your list.  It might be worth researching.

[candycaramel]

Celebrity Summit

Southern Caribbean