Help Picking Special Cruise 2024-2025

[taylortime05]

On 3/17/2023 at 1:29 PM, gerelmx said:

Iceland and Greenland, New England and Canada, Baltic and Norwegian Fjords, Hawaii

These all sound like wonderful itineraries.   I think I will limit our Caribbean cruises to 1 a year just for relaxing. There are so many beautiful places to visit in the world. 

[taylortime05]

On 3/17/2023 at 1:38 PM, TeaBag said:

Pacific islands and then on to Australia and NZ.  Wonderful

These sound wonderful.  I need to put together my list and then be ready to book when the itinerary is released.  Lately the prices on the cruises seem very expensive.   

[taylortime05]

On 3/17/2023 at 1:41 PM, ILgirl said:

I booked a 13 night sailing on the Edge which is my favorite ship.  Starts in Vancouver on 9/20/24 and ends in Honolulu.  I’ve never been to Hawaii or Vancouver so I plan on tacking on a few days on each end to explore.  I’ve also wanted to try a TA sometime.  This itinerary includes five days at sea after leaving Astoria, Oregon( first port after Vancouver) so this cruise gives me a taste of that experience as well.

This is a wonderful itinerary.  We’ve sailed on the Edge and really enjoyed it.   Hawaii is definitely on our bucket list.  I also love when the beginning and ending port are different to give me a chance to stay a few days in each to explore more.  

[cw2go]

@taylortime05 thanks for letting me jump in and soak up the info with you. 

 

Lots of great options shared that have my brain cells swirling 😊

 

Patty 

[taylortime05]

Just now, cw2go said:

@taylortime05 thanks for letting me jump in and soak up the info with you. 

 

Lots of great options shared that have my brain cells swirling 😊

 

Patty 

The more the merrier!   There are so many great suggestions.  I need to put my list together and start doing my research.  So many great places to see in the world and cruising sure makes it easier.  

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

Booking the Owner's Suite will take some of the sting out of having to visit all those unusual places.

The inside is above my pay graded with olife 😉

[txtechmk]

We sailed the Baltic Sea last May/June and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I was afraid it was going to be really cold, but it was very nice.  This year we are cruising around Japan, so I will report on that when we get back.  I have looked at the South America cruises and debated on them for a couple of years.

[Lalof]

On 3/17/2023 at 12:41 PM, ILgirl said:

I booked a 13 night sailing on the Edge which is my favorite ship.  Starts in Vancouver on 9/20/24 and ends in Honolulu.  I’ve never been to Hawaii or Vancouver so I plan on tacking on a few days on each end to explore.  I’ve also wanted to try a TA sometime.  This itinerary includes five days at sea after leaving Astoria, Oregon( first port after Vancouver) so this cruise gives me a taste of that experience as well.

I did a similar cruise years ago with Celebrity, but we left from San Diego and went to the Hawaiian islands, and then sailed back to San Diego. I have never had a more relaxing cruise than that one.  I think you will love this! 

[SPacificbound]

For Europe, the Amalfi Coast and/or Baltic. If you have the time, B2B or B2B2B

 

South America, must include Argentina. We did B2B2B

 

Iceland & Greenland.

 

My absolute all time favorite, Australia and New Zealand if you have the time.

[Belgian fry]

I can recommend the Norwegian fjords (and I've heard that Norway is going to make things more difficult for shops in the future, so now might be a good time to do them).

 

If you have the budget and are into wildlife, then I'd suggest the Galapagos islands. We have just booked for 2025

[Cruise till you drop]

We’re about 6 days from traveling on the Edge to Panama Canal and ABC Islands.  You might consider a visit to Panama Canal

[rodndonna]

2 hours ago, Belgian fry said:

I can recommend the Norwegian fjords (and I've heard that Norway is going to make things more difficult for shops in the future, so now might be a good time to do them).

 

 

That's a good point - if Norwegian Fjords are on your list somewhere in the future, it is worth considering moving it up the list as it will become more difficult in the future.

 

[the penguins]

44 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

That's a good point - if Norwegian Fjords are on your list somewhere in the future, it is worth considering moving it up the list as it will become more difficult in the future.

 

Just curious - what is Norway doing to make visiting more difficult?

If you really want to see the Fjords the best way is on one of  Hurtigruten's "Norwegian Coastal Voyages " which depart almost every day from Bergen. You can do South to North or North to South or ideally the full 12 night round trip. Travel at the right time and you are guaranteed to see the Northern Lights or you get a free 7 night cruise. Wonderful mix of sightseeing in ports and just relaxing in the observation lounge as the scenery passes by.  At some ports you can leave the ship early morning on a day excursion rejoining the vessel further up/down the coast at a different point. Some tours are timed so participants can take pictures of the ship as it passes specific vantage points. 

[Belgian fry]

14 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Just curious - what is Norway doing to make visiting more difficult?

 

Norwegian parliament adopts zero-emission regulations in World Heritage fjords - UNESCO World Heritage Centre

[rodndonna]

45 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Just curious - what is Norway doing to make visiting more difficult?

If you really want to see the Fjords the best way is on one of  Hurtigruten's "Norwegian Coastal Voyages " which depart almost every day from Bergen. You can do South to North or North to South or ideally the full 12 night round trip. Travel at the right time and you are guaranteed to see the Northern Lights or you get a free 7 night cruise. Wonderful mix of sightseeing in ports and just relaxing in the observation lounge as the scenery passes by.  At some ports you can leave the ship early morning on a day excursion rejoining the vessel further up/down the coast at a different point. Some tours are timed so participants can take pictures of the ship as it passes specific vantage points. 

 

I was speaking to access to the Fjords with the mainstream cruiselines like Celebrity. For sure Hurtigruten provides (and would likely continue) to provide the best experience with its small ships. Of course with that comes a price point above the standard offering on Celebrity. I was taking a point of view with "Celebrity" or equivalent since this is a Celebrity forum.

[2Long2NxtCrz]

On 3/17/2023 at 9:02 PM, mahdnc said:

@taylortime05, I presume you are asking for Celebrity ideas.  However in case your mind is open to other cruise lines, I would also recommend this unique Emerald Princess cruise:

 

Apr 4 2024, 15 night Panama Canal (Los Angeles to Ft Lauderdale) with Total Solar Eclipse

 

Princess recently altered the itinerary to allow Emerald Princess to view the total solar eclipse (Apr 8 2024) at sea off the coast of Mexico near Mazatlan.  The ship should be able to position itself under a clear spot in the skies (if there are clouds) to view over 4 minutes of totality.

 

We have seen one total eclipse at sea (1991) and on land (2017) and I can tell you that it is a lot easier to watch it at sea (no car traffic, worrying about being clouded out, etc).  It is a sight to behold.

 

Combined with a full canal transit, this cruise takes care of two things that may be on your bucket list.

 

Aug 21, 2017 total solar eclipse, Paducah KY

Wow. I know hubby and I would absolutely love to see that, but we already booked a partial transit for March 2024 to coincide with my next milestone birthday.

 

Since eclipses happen fairly regularly, do you know of anyway to track if a cruise will be offered to see one?

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, rodndonna said:

 

I was speaking to access to the Fjords with the mainstream cruiselines like Celebrity. For sure Hurtigruten provides (and would likely continue) to provide the best experience with its small ships. Of course with that comes a price point above the standard offering on Celebrity. I was taking a point of view with "Celebrity" or equivalent since this is a Celebrity forum.

I take your point but the thread already includes suggestions for Oceania, Princess, river cruises and the Great Lakes.

Hurtigruten's "normal" Norwegian sailings i.e. not those classified as "expedition" are  certainly not priced higher than Celebrity and truly explore the Fjords. As Hurtigruten provide the only link all year round to many small communities there is no possibility of the service being suspended only that the propulsion systems will be changed which is already happening.

[2Long2NxtCrz]

2 minutes ago, the penguins said:

I take your point but the thread already includes suggestions for Oceania, Princess, river cruises and the Great Lakes.

Hurtigruten's "normal" Norwegian sailings i.e. not those classified as "expedition" are  certainly not priced higher than Celebrity and truly explore the Fjords. As Hurtigruten provide the only link all year round to many small communities there is no possibility of the service being suspended only that the propulsion systems will be changed which is already happening.

I had a friend sail this past January on Hurtigruten from Southhampton up to the Arctic circle and while the crew and ports were great, the ship was not in good shape, far too many things (like the door lock in one room, electrical in another) were not functional and there were no plans for them to be fixed because the ship was due for a refurb. I totally understand not spending money to temporarily fix something that is going to be replaced/upgraded, but they shouldn't have sold the cruise with the ship in that state of disrepair, or at least they should have revealed this issues up front so that people can make an informed choice.

 

The only reason I bring this up is because Hurtigruten didn't make it right for her. And as much as all of us on CC complain about the mainstream cruise lines, I just don't think any of them would handle things as poorly as the main office did. And, yes, I know this could have just been a one-off, and wouldn't happen to anyone else, but it makes me cautious and I feel like everyone should have as much information as they can get, so my take away is to double check that any cruise with Hurtigruten is on a newly or recently refurbished ship.

[cbfb]

On 3/17/2023 at 2:52 PM, patty1955 said:

We're scheduled for Oceania Sirena  (Transatlantic) On 4/22/25. It's a great itinerary.  Cruise

That looks amazing! 

[mahdnc]

56 minutes ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

Wow. I know hubby and I would absolutely love to see that, but we already booked a partial transit for March 2024 to coincide with my next milestone birthday.

 

Since eclipses happen fairly regularly, do you know of anyway to track if a cruise will be offered to see one?

 

The only way I know of is to manually do a google search.  You will have to know when and where the total solar eclipses will be occurring to aid in your search.

 

For the Apr 8 2024 eclipse, Holland America and Princess are both sending two cruise ships each to see it.  There may be some charters doing it, too.

 

After 2024, the next total solar eclipse to watch for potential cruises is Aug 12 2026.  

 

Edited March 21, 2023 by mahdnc

[2Long2NxtCrz]

2 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

The only way I know of is to manually do a google search.  You will have to know when and where the total solar eclipses will be occurring to aid in your search.

 

For the Apr 8 2024 eclipse, Holland America and Princess are both sending two cruise ships each to see it.  There may be some charters doing it, too.

 

After 2024, the next total solar eclipse to watch for potential cruises for is Aug 12 2026.  

 

August 12, 2026? I'll add it to my plans since that's close enough to hubby's birthday it'd be a great present for him (and maybe by then I'll be retired and we can take longer than 2-week cruises).

 

Thanks!

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

August 12, 2026? I'll add it to my plans since that's close enough to hubby's birthday it'd be a great present for him (and maybe by then I'll be retired and we can take longer than 2-week cruises).

 

Thanks!

 

You will want to drive to Dallas, TX or Arkansas to see next year's total solar eclipse.  Sorry to hijack this thread.  I return your TV to its regular scheduled programming,

 

 

 

[jules815]

On 3/17/2023 at 1:52 PM, patty1955 said:

We're scheduled for Oceania Sirena  (Transatlantic) On 4/22/25. It's a great itinerary.  Cruise

Just took a peek at your link. That's insane! Sticking a pin in that one.

[patty1955]

1 hour ago, jules815 said:

Just took a peek at your link. That's insane! Sticking a pin in that one.

It's the perfect combination, lots of ports and lots of sea days.