Help finding a cruise

[ali07]

I'm hoping that you cruising veterans could suggest some cruiselines/cruiseships. After years of choosing cruises with our kids' enjoyment in mind, I'm looking for a cruise for just DH and myself. We don't especially like the Megaships (over 90,000 tons) but we don't really use the amenities that come with the giant ships either. We like good food, a nice quiet place to have a drink after dinner and or a good coffee, in a ship that reminds you that you are in a ship, not a resort hotel. Don't care about casino's, entertainment, or organized activities. Would love a ship that had a non-smoking lounge. We are interested in Caribbean itineraries. I would ask my TA but they don't seem to know very much about most cruiselines.

Thanks for any help that you can provide....

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

After 17 cruises , on all the majors except NCL, I suggest that you consider a Celebrity cruise. A Celebrity ship has a very appealing (to me at least) European ambiance, at a fair to very good price. While there is plenty to do in terms of entertainment and so on, you will find a Celebrity ship to be on the quieter side of the glitz/noise spectrum.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

Fred

[firefly333]

Ships that dont have much gambling are going to cost more of course, because that subsidizes the cruise as does the liquor.

 

Which port do you want to go out of? I see you are in Canada, can you drive to NY/NJ area? I like Royal Caribbean which is understated elegance and their ships are beautiful and love their dining rooms.

 

There is a nice 12 day that goes out of NJ on RCI which is the southern caribbean itinerary. If you have any other cruise credits for RCI its good because this counts as 2 credits. How many days do you want to cruise?

 

What kind of cabin are you looking at and price range.

 

RCI is nice if you can get to NJ

 

Here is a 8 day, do you like any of these ports?

 

Cape Liberty Cruise Port, New Jersey; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Labadee, Haiti; Cape Liberty Cruise Port, New Jersey

 

They also have a 9 day etc.

 

The 12 day starts at $999 which seems to be a good price to me for RCI.

 

Cape Liberty Cruise Port, New Jersey; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; St. Johns, Antigua; Roseau, Dominica; Bridgetown, Barbados; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Cape Liberty Cruise Port, New Jersey

 

PS as you probably know....longer cruises are quieter with more adults and less children on board.

[LHT28]

Have a look at Oceania

Limited smoking areas (2) , no children's programs(less children)

Small ships (30,000.) no formal nights

 

http://www.oceaniacruises.com/

[ali07]

Thanks Firefly333...we can and do drive to port on occasion...we have driven to Port Canaveral a couple of times. Its actually a nice drive, and I often thought it would be nice to drive to NJ (I can drive to Boston in 8 hours so I think it would be less to NJ).

 

We are really pretty flexible. We usually get a balcony (sometimes a suite but probably not just for two of us). We know we won't find a ship without a casino, its just we wouldn't use one so its not really important to us.

 

Pricewise, without the kids, we can go anytime of the year so we can target the slower times and get lower prices, however, we could handle and Oceana or Celebrity cruise as has been suggested.

 

Itinerary wise, we have been limited to the Caribbean but that is mostly for the kids (they are beach bunnies). Short term we are looking at Caribbean but perhaps to some of the other islands that aren't featured so regularly. Haven't been to Bermuda either and it looks interesting. A few years away, we will probably look at Europe but that is in further in the future.

 

Anyway, thanks all for your help...it gives me something to go on.:)

[ali07]

Thanks Fredr and LTH28!

LTH28, thanks for the link to Oceania, I had looked before but must have been spelling it wrong....:)

[bmccarthy]

I'm hoping that you cruising veterans could suggest some cruiselines/cruiseships. After years of choosing cruises with our kids' enjoyment in mind, I'm looking for a cruise for just DH and myself. We don't especially like the Megaships (over 90,000 tons) but we don't really use the amenities that come with the giant ships either. We like good food, a nice quiet place to have a drink after dinner and or a good coffee, in a ship that reminds you that you are in a ship, not a resort hotel. Don't care about casino's, entertainment, or organized activities. Would love a ship that had a non-smoking lounge. We are interested in Caribbean itineraries. I would ask my TA but they don't seem to know very much about most cruiselines.

Thanks for any help that you can provide....

 

You might want to check out the Radiance class ships. They are only 90,000 tons. They have a lot of wood and are beautifully designed. The Serenade offers a Southern itinerary out of San Juan.

[ali07]

Thanks for the suggestion, it is a good one. I've been on the Radiance class RCI ships and they are my favourite of the RCL line (so far anyway, I've only been on Voyager and Radiance class ships). They are really beautiful and I love the Solarium. The Radiance ships also have a nice library (the kids complain that we hang out at the library too much...:) ). Lattetudes on the Radiance ships is the best place for a coffee that I have encountered while cruising (so far). Nice big fat round porthole windows and comfy couches. We are doing the Serenade trip out of San Juan next march with DS. We've done that one before and really love the itinerary, San Juan, and the ship.

[serene56]

have you checked the cruise critic group boards? Lots of cruises happening for cheap too.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=24

 

 

 

.

[ali07]

Thanks Serene....

[yosh12]

Check out Celebrity's new spinoff, Azamara Journey to Bermuda. Once they work the kinks out, it sounds like it would fit your needs perfectly.