What's your Favourite Cruise?

[boomerSexyK]

I was just wondering between all you seasoned cruisers and newbies what your favourite cruise had been or one you are still planning? There so many choices from destinations, sea days, ports, ships, as newbies ourselves I was just wondering in YOUR opinion what is the one cruise that's not to be missed.

 

Pouring thru the brochures and boards, I am thinking I want to try Panama or maybe the trip around Cape Horn or maybe the Norwegian Fjords or maybe..... Well you get the idea.

[ryansmemom]

I have been on about 20 cruises. My very favorite, so far has been HAL's Circle Hawaii cruise. I just adored this itinerary. For me, "at sea" is my favorite port. I enjoyed all of the sea days. I also enjoyed the days we had around the islands. They are truly a paradise on earth.

 

This cruise was just perfection. My husband and I are doing it again in January.

 

Linda

[Copper10-8]

Any European cruise (Harwich-Civitavecchia and/or the Baltic) The history of each port/country is unbelievable! Second is any Panama Canal cruise (you've got to see the canal), third is Canada-New England (Quebec City and Montreal are great cities):)

[Bramcruiser]

A newbie here really. Only have done two four day cruises over the past 12 years and about to embark on my first full week cruise later this year.

 

Of the two I have been on I thoroughly enjoyed the classiness of HAL on my four day repo of last fall. Although I have been to Victoria, BC about a million times or so it is my favourite city in Canada so any cruise that stops there can't be all that bad. I think this past cruise made me realized what I truly liked - the "at sea" days since I had two of them back to back. What a fantastic way to enjoy life. I didn't want to dock.

 

I am sure many favourites are due to come in the future. I'd love to do a true transatlantic, any European cruise, Eastern Canada/New England (love the Maasdam iteniary), South America/Antarctica and the Panama Canal. I am sure I'll be doing some if not all over the rest of my life.

 

As for dream ship line I have always wanted to enjoy a true ocean liner and Cunard was always something I had a big fantasy of travelling with. So I am still pinching myself that I am finally about to emark for my first 7 day cruise on the QM2. Its not my dream iteniary but this is a point where the ship and its company is the destination. An added plus is that at least there are three at sea days which I expect I will enjoy.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Hi Boomer:

 

I'm a resident newbie who persists in hanging out here until I finally get to leave for our first cruise!:) Great question of yours! We're heading to Alaska this summer, followed by the Southern and Western Caribbean/partial Panama Canal this winter. If there's any money left after that;) , I'm hoping to convince somebody in the family to go with me to Australia/New Zealand. On the distant horizon, I look forward to traversing the world on one of HAL's Grand Voyages. It's all only a simple matter of time and money:)

 

I am the family travel agent, so I'm the one who picked the itineraries. I picked Alaska first because of its well-known natural beauty and wildlife, and also because the cruise leaves from our home port of Seattle. It will take us only twenty minutes to get to the pier. I didn't want to stress my husband too much the first time! I picked the Caribbean/Panama Canal for our second trip because our winters here are very dark, wet, and gloomy, and I wanted to go someplace that hopefully will not be any of those things! I chose an itinerary with at least a partial Panama Canal transit for my husband, who is very interested in the engineering aspect of that great waterway. I'm looking at Australia/New Zealand because it's so far away and therefore, exotic:) Also, it's very beautiful, and we have relatives who live in Adelaide and Sydney. Because we have school-aged children, I had to pick itineraries that would coincide with their schedules.

 

I apologize for a somewhat lengthy reply. Enjoy your travels wherever they may take you! I'm enjoying reading the other responses to your question.

[RevNeal]

Thus far I suppose my all-time favorite cruise has been the cruise I made in 2004 through the Panama Canal. Hawaii was a strong runner-up, and I'm SO looking forward to making that cruise again this Fall.

[CoconutFish]

1. South America, with great weather for the Falklands and Cape Horn

 

2. Circle Hawaii from Vancouver

 

3. Panama Canal from Florida to Vancouver

[elmorejj]

My all time favorite out of many, many cruises, has to be the trans Canal, FLL to Vancouver. I think it was about 9 countries we visited, and I enjoyed every one of then.incl. Colombia!

 

My 2nd favorite has to be the Med. and Greek Islands.........jean:cool:

[kakalina]

Without a doubt the 30 South Pacific Explorer we were just on! The intinerary included all the normal Hawaii ports with the added attractions of Bora Bora, Moorea, Tahiti and the Marquesas. We now believe Moorea is the most beautiful spot on this earth, at least until our next cruise somewhere new ;) .

 

The six sea days in a row coming back were sublime. Service, service and more service. DH discovered everyplace there was to take a nap on board:eek: .

 

The 30 day Panama Canal/Amazon cruise didn't suck either :rolleyes: .

 

Glad you are joining us on the boards Boomer, welcome.

 

Trisha Virgil

[ger_77]

Favorite cruise: Mediterranean 14 day in June/04; sailing on the Black Sea, experiencing Greek ruins, travelling through the Dardanelles, sitting at the very table where the Yalta conference was held . We loved it so much that we're doing an almost identical itinerary in October this year.

 

Second favourite: Panama Canal - what a wonderful experience that was - particularly because we travelled with friends we'd made on previous cruises. We're all going to meet up again on the Maasdam in Feb/07 for another 10 days of fun in the sun in the Caribbean.

 

Let us know where you ultimately decide to travel!

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[ejbmorr]

boomerSexyK- You ask a difficult question because there are things about each cruise that make it a favorite in some way. It would be easier to say what my least favorite itinerary is- that would be the Western Caribbean.

 

I would go back on a moment's notice to South America and the Amazon (more adventursome and un-touristy), to the Baltic ( Loved the Celebrity Constellation for that one) and the Norwegian Fjords on the Rotterdam VI. That was amazing. We also thought the Mediterranean cruise on the Oosterdam was memorable.

 

....Wonderful memories from every cruise we have ever taken. I think it is hard to think of one that was a disappointment. I guess my advise is to go everywhere you can. Its all worth seeing!

 

Elaine

[jhannah]

This is a tough but interesting question. My favorite cruise is the one I'm on! :D But apart from that, I think it would have to be Canada/New England. Our Alaska, Panama Canal and various European cruises have been marvelous, but there was just something about that beautiful part of North America, being on the Rotterdam, and the fantastic tablemates we had that all added up to be something special.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Really tough.

 

We have enjoyed all of our cruises - Baltic (several different itineraries here), eastern and western Mediterranean (again several different versions), Alaska, South America, Canada/New England, full and partial transits of the Panama Canal, Atlantic crossings, so many different cruises in the Caribbean, Sea of Cortez, Mexican Riviera and even our latest Hawaiian cruise in spite of the weather and the virus. And there's probably others I have forgotten.

[Jemima]

Transatlantic New York to Copenhagen with an itinerary that included Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, and Norway.

[rkacruiser]

#1--without any doubt--so far, at least: Volendam's 64 day Asia Pacific Cruise

 

#2--Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale positioning cruise, also aboard the Volendam

 

#3--Royal Viking Line's Royal Viking Sky: New York to Copenhagen(non-stop, a 10 day journey), followed by a 14 day North Cape Cruise, Copenhagen to Copenhagen

 

#4--My first cruise: Rotterdam V, an 11 day Caribbean cruise from New York.

[RuthC]

Without a doubt the all-time favorite was the South America w/Antarctica cruise. The ports, scenery, fellow passengers, staff/crew aboard all came together for the perfect cruise.

Another favorite must be the round-trip trans-Atlantic on the northern route since I've done it so often. The best of those, however, was probably the '03 cruise as we went as far east as St. Petersburg.

[obriendan]

I second RuthC's choice. We were on the same SA-Antarctica cruise in 2002 on the Ryndam. The scenery in Antarctica and the Chilean fjords was spectacular. All the ports were worth visiting. Capt. Johnathan Mercer did an admirable job keeping us informed and making sure we saw all we should. For example, in the Chilean fjords, he stopped the ship for over an hour so we could watch two orcas stalk several sea lions on a very small sand bar.

[SDHALFAN]

Hi Boomer,

 

Welcome to the boards. Okay favorite cruise(s):

 

1. Without doubt San Diego to Rio aboard the ms Ryndam. It was a

fantastic experience and as obriendan says the Chilean Fjords are

absolutely unbelievable. We didn't go to Antarctica on that cruise and

that was okay with me - I've seen enough snow to last several

lifetimes.:D We were lucky enough to visit the Falkland Islands.

Apparently, because of the weather and high seas, we were the first

ship in 5 previous tries that actually managed to get passengers

ashore.

 

2. Panama Canal. I've done several cruises there and actually prefer

the partial transit of the Canal. I have been to the Caribbean several

times and really don't care if I ever go back, so I really enjoy visiting

the Central American countries.

 

3. Fort Lauderdale to Montreal aboard the ms Maasdam. Although the

weather pretty much stunk in Canada, because of the time of year,

I loved every port we visited - especially Quebec City - what a

gorgeous city that is.

 

Whichever cruise you decide on have a wonderful time.

 

Valerie:)

[Splinter]

#1: SF to Sydney on the Crystal Harmony. 20 days, with 5 days in ports (2 in Hawaii, 1 in Samoa, 2 in New Caledonia) plus 2 days in Sydney (berthed at the Circular Quay). This arrived the week of the Olympics, so it had an Olympic theme (the ship was leased by IBM for the entire Games as a floating hotel). We had a series of speakers on the cruise including Cathy Rigby, Bart Conner, Nadia Comaneche, Dwight Stones, John Nabor, and several other former Olympic athletes, plus Caspar Weinberger and a physician from the Olympic Committee who talked about doping.

 

#2: Valparisio, Chile to Rio de Janeiro on the HAL Ryndam. 17 days. We saw so much beautiful country, had great companions at our dinner table, mostly wonderful weather, and saw a part of the world we had never seen before. I would do it again in a minute.

[H2Oregon]

Our favorite cruise was a 14 day repositioning cruise in Europe on the (old) Noordam. The ship was getting a little old, but the cruise was fantastic. The cruise went from Rome to Copenhagen. We saw Italy, France, Monnaco, Spain, Gibraltar, Portugal, England, The Netherlands, Norway and Denmark. From my experience you get a lot for your money with a repositioning cruise.

[chasetf]

It's like asking who is you favorite child. Each is unique, was taken for the experience expected. Sometimes we like to just be on the ship and relax.

 

Other times we are in the mood to explore and see new things. In that catagory probably the European and Tahiti B2Bs go to the head of the class. ;)

 

Then again, when we took it, we were really looking forward to the unique experience, so our Paddlewheeler Mississippi river boat "cruise" was an exciting experience. :cool:

[boomerSexyK]

This is boomers better half. Thanks for all the great replies everybody. With our second cruise ever, coming up this nov. we seem to live on this board. :rolleyes: Boomer has been going on and on about the Panama Canal for our next cruise. Based on the responses above, it seems to have been a favorite with many. Can somebody please tell me what makes it so fascinating? In my mind all I see is a canal...no palm trees, no warm sea breezes as we do enjoy our sea days. I need someone to sell me on the allure of the canal.

 

Do your best.....boomer has his fingers crossed.:D

[Juanita462]

It has to be on the Zaandam - Florida to Vancouver through the canal under the old HAL management before the takeover - it was perfection in every way. We are going again next week on the Veendam, I know it won't be quite the same but enjoyable just the same.

[bruceh4]

Thats a tough question. So far without a doubt my favorite was my recently completed 62 day Pacific cruise. After that the Amazon, then around the tip of South America, then the Med. I am also looking forward to my upcoming 35 day North Atlantic cruise. This may change the order of favorites after taking it. Alot depends on how much time you have to cruise. Not everyone can take 62 days. If I had less time I have always enjoyed the Panama Canal repositioning cruise and have been on several. For a shorter amount of time you cant beat the 14 day or so southern caribbean. Again how much time do you have. If you only have 7 days then it is a toss up. Once you have seen a few caribbean ports they all look the same:D

[dolls4sell]

After being on about 25 cruises I think it would have to be the 2 week Panama

Canal cruise on the O'dam in 2004. How interesting it was.