Itinerary Reccomendations please

[Bethwte]

Alright, so we are looking to do another cruise. We don't want to do the same-old same-old (see my signature for an idea of what that might be). What would you recommend. Here are some things that might help. We love Celebrity, and most likely will choose them, perhaps Princess to try something new (any opinions on Princess?). We are a family of 4 (parents in their 50's, two children, one 19, one 11). We would like to cruise either during the summer, or around Christmastime (the younger one hates missing school, different, but nice!). Alaska would be different, but what is the crowd going to be like? Both the father, and myself (the 19 year old) really enjoy the nightlife, and so this is important to us. The bars can't be dead at night. I have heard Alaska tends to be an older crowd, is this true of the summertime as well? As for December, what itineraries are good for that time of year? Do cruises go to Hawaii then (we did that once and loved it)? Where else are some different itins than just Western and Eastern Carib? Thanks in advance for the help :)

[rollie]

I see that you have done American Hawaii. If you liked that cruise, NCL does that cruise now. They have 3 ships that do that itinerary. We did it last year and had a great time. If your worried about nite life in Alaska then you may not want to do Celebrity. Princess would be my choice here. I think the ships with the best night life and activities for the family may be the Explorer class RCCL ship. Too bad they only do the Caribbean. These are just my opinions and I'm sure others will follow.

 

Rollie

[greeneg]

You might look at some of the South American trips in December, which is Summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

 

We did Rio to Valpariso via Cape Horn and it was a unique experience. Certainly worth a look.

[Bethwte]

I see that you have done American Hawaii. If you liked that cruise, NCL does that cruise now. They have 3 ships that do that itinerary. We did it last year and had a great time. If your worried about nite life in Alaska then you may not want to do Celebrity. Princess would be my choice here. I think the ships with the best night life and activities for the family may be the Explorer class RCCL ship. Too bad they only do the Caribbean. These are just my opinions and I'm sure others will follow.

 

Rollie

 

Thank you for the Recs. We are not too fond of the idea of freestyle cruising and have heard bad things from friends about NCL, so I think we're going to stay away from that. Also, we don't really need family things so to speak. My younger sister sticks with my parents and doesn't do the family stuff. Good to know about the nightlife in X in Alaska. Thanks again though :)

 

 

You might look at some of the South American trips in December, which is Summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

 

We did Rio to Valpariso via Cape Horn and it was a unique experience. Certainly worth a look.

 

That sounds nice, does anyone have any thoughts on South America? Is it different that visiting the Caribbean I hope? I hate to sound rude, but all the islands blend together after a while.

[Host Anne]

Hi Bethwte ~ If you are looking at summer, I'd highly recommend the Mediterranean....still one of our all time favorite cruises. Celebrity will have several ships in the Med in the next two summers so you'd have lots of choices (Galaxy and Millennium are doing the Med this coming summer). We did the Baltic last summer (Constellation and Century are doing that route this summer) and it too was wonderful, but my first choice is still the Med. Lots of fabulous ports and a great passenger mix in the summer. Can I go, too?

 

Infinity is doing the Hawaii run this December....two cruises - Dec. 9 and 23. It's a 14-night itinerary roundtrip out of Los Angeles.

 

I agree with you about NCL....I've heard from several different sources that the ship that is an all american crew has marginal service at best.

 

Happy Planning!

[chicagolass]

To Bethwte:

See Rome and Die!

A European tour has always been seen as a great cultural experience

especially for young people. While in school or in college the pages of the

books that they will need to read will be filled with the names of European

cities such as Rome, Florence, London,etc., in World History, Literature and Art.

 

We did it with our children and believe it enriched their lives in many

different ways. Plus it was great fun.

 

A European summer cruise with a chance to visit those cities would make those

places and that history come alive for them and will stay with them for

the rest of their lives. In addition there's great night life with theatres, opera, bars,etc.Celebrity's Galaxy is our choice for a 10 day Med.Cruise from Rome to Rome this year, but there are several other ones available.You could sightsee in Rome before the cruise and possibly see London on a stopover after the cruise. Have fun.

[Bethwte]

To Bethwte:

See Rome and Die!

A European tour has always been seen as a great cultural experience

especially for young people. While in school or in college the pages of the

books that they will need to read will be filled with the names of European

cities such as Rome, Florence, London,etc., in World History, Literature and Art.

 

We did it with our children and believe it enriched their lives in many

different ways. Plus it was great fun.

 

A European summer cruise with a chance to visit those cities would make those

places and that history come alive for them and will stay with them for

the rest of their lives. In addition there's great night life with theatres, opera, bars,etc.Celebrity's Galaxy is our choice for a 10 day Med.Cruise from Rome to Rome this year, but there are several other ones available.You could sightsee in Rome before the cruise and possibly see London on a stopover after the cruise. Have fun.

 

I wish! My parents, for some reason, aren't fond of going to europe. I'll be sure to go myself once I have the money to go, but since they're paying, Europe is out. I really do appreciate the input though, and agree with the recomendation... can you email my parents and convince them?! LOL

[mahdnc]

I also would recommend Alaska. Great summer cruise and very port intensive with lots to see and do. Can't comment much on the shipboard nightlife for this itinerary but I don't think you have to worry that the crowd will be that much older because you will have alot of families cruising in the summer.

 

Another recommendation is doing a Panama Canal cruise unless you think that it falls under the same-old same old category. Mercury is doing an awesome 16 nt transcanal cruise this Dec and it occurs over Christmas and New Year's day so most of the school worries should be handled (as long as the kids have the rest of the week after New Year's Day off). It combines the Carib and the Mexican Riviera itineraries and starts in Miami and ends in San Diego. But of course, the highlight is the Canal and 7 days at sea!

[Druke I]

Reference South America - we just completed a trip (3-9/22-06) on Regal Princess, Buenos Aires to Valparaiso (Santiago) 'round the Horn, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Celebrity's Millenium is also down in those waters, as is one of HAL's ships.

 

South America is somewhat off the beaten track - certainly different than the Caribbean. The Falkland Islands, remote as they are, were very interesting. I took a Battlefields Tour (UK vs Argentina War, 1982) that was very well done.

 

The Chilean fjords and glaciers are very pretty - more like Norway than Alaska.

 

Another good cruise in winter, I think - is any crossing of the Panama Canal - an engineering masterpiece. I still think Jimmy Carter was wrong to give it back - we stole it fair and square - and if we hadn't built it, Panama would still be part of Columbia, rather than independent.

[cavkc]

We too are stuck with school holiday dates for crusing.

 

We took the boys & my parents through the Panama on a Christmas/New Year sailing on Infinity out of San Diego which was fantastic. Even though it was Christmas time & there were 250 children onboard, we never felt cramped.

 

Shame you can't persuade your folks about Europe, Millennium has a wonderful 12 night itinerary alternating out of Venice/Barcelona. There are some fabulous ports of call - we are doing this one in 7 weeks and we really cannot wait. It is easier for us though as we are from the UK so it will also make a pleasant change only having to fly 2 hours.

[dmarch@islc.net]

How about the Seychelle islands, or Tahitian islands. Way better than school and probably more educational. Here's one on my to do list..Australia and New Zealand.

[richsea]

For the summer, why not consider Bermuda on Zenith? IMO Bermuda has the caribbean beat hands down; clean, friendly & the best beaches, & if you go when school is out, the atmosphere on Celebrity is much more lively than other times of the year with plenty to do on board.