1st time

[2ndtime20yrslater]

My fiance and I are getting married 9/28 and are looking to book the journey for 9/29 to Bermuda. It will be the first cruise for both of us, and the first time to Bermuda. We are in our early (very early!) 40's. Since we live in "jersey", the ship is just a limo ride away! It sounds wonderful, as all we really are looking to do is relax, have some quality down time, and do a little sightseeing. It sounds like Journey, with all its changes, etc. is the ship for us. Any recommendations as to cabin choice, things to see in Bermuda, the SPA, (my favorite!) etc? We are not golfers....and not looking to do any rock climbing, and are pleased that there won't be many, if any, children on the ship. (leaving my 2 at home!)

Advice is welcome!! This is my first experience cruising, I'm a true novice!!

[hcat]

No advice, but Congratulations! 9/28 is our anniv date l--always a challenge finding cruises that time of yr to Celebrate--have done Pacific NW & Quebec & this yr it will be the Medit...have a great time

[dkjretired]

My fiance and I are getting married 9/28 and are looking to book the journey for 9/29 to Bermuda. It will be the first cruise for both of us, and the first time to Bermuda. We are in our early (very early!) 40's. Since we live in "jersey", the ship is just a limo ride away! It sounds wonderful, as all we really are looking to do is relax, have some quality down time, and do a little sightseeing. It sounds like Journey, with all its changes, etc. is the ship for us. Any recommendations as to cabin choice, things to see in Bermuda, the SPA, (my favorite!) etc? We are not golfers....and not looking to do any rock climbing, and are pleased that there won't be many, if any, children on the ship. (leaving my 2 at home!)

Advice is welcome!! This is my first experience cruising, I'm a true novice!!

 

Welcome to the boards and congratulations on your marriage. I think for a honeymoon the Quest will be ideal and Bermuda is a great place to go. I always like the Bermuda trip because it was one day out and one day back and four days or so in Bermuda. You can relax getting there and getting back and do as much or as little as you want in Bermuda. All the kinks should be out of the ship by then so I would expect a good cruise. Another thing you can do is join the roll call for the particular cruise you are on and get tips from people who will actually be on your cruise.... Below is a link to the roll call....Good luck

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=513059

[2ndtime20yrslater]

another question, is it better to book online, either thru the cruise line or say, expedia or use a TA. I'm thinking a TA might be better. Plus, how do all these people seem to be getting upgraded? We are looking to book a room with a veranda, doesn't have to be a suite.

[JkyLovesRuss]

another question, is it better to book online, either thru the cruise line or say, expedia or use a TA. I'm thinking a TA might be better. Plus, how do all these people seem to be getting upgraded? We are looking to book a room with a veranda, doesn't have to be a suite.

 

Congratulations! We're in NJ AND we are also 2nd timers! :) We're getting married in August and are honeymooning on the Journey.

 

I would suggest using a TA, they work out any kinks for you if they have to. At least mine does! She's wonderful!

 

Good luck! Keep us posted!

[2ndtime20yrslater]

where is gateway, NJ? is that a real town? we are in union county, north central. is your ta near there? I think I want to go with a TA, like you said, they help smooth out the kinks. We're lucky we don't need to fly anywhere!

[JkyLovesRuss]

where is gateway, NJ? is that a real town? we are in union county, north central. is your ta near there? I think I want to go with a TA, like you said, they help smooth out the kinks. We're lucky we don't need to fly anywhere!

 

Yes, Gateway is the area of NJ (we) live in. I should have written Gateway Area. I'm also in Union County as is my TA! A hop, skip and jump! I also, like the fact that we're only a short drive away from Bayonne!

[2ndtime20yrslater]

That's so funny! I've lived in Union County all my life and have never heard of "gateway area"!! The only Gateway I've heard of is in Newark by the legal center. whadda ya know!

Anyway, would you be willing to refer your TA?? I haven't traveled much at all for vacation and haven't used one in 20 years!! (sad, I know). All my plane reservations for back and forth to San Fran to see my fiance, (til he moved back here) were done online with the airline. So, I'm new to cruising, new to TA's, new to Bermuda! I would like the personal touch of a human, and who knows, maybe an extra perk or two because we will be newlyweds(??;) )

[walker1887]

I think that it sounds like a great honeymoon. It seems like it will be a quiet and romantic cruise. There probably won't be many kids at all, since school only starts a few weeks before. We, my husband and I will be celebrating our 25th anniversary on the same cruise. I have cruised before, but never been to Bermuda. The spa sounds great, as well. Oh, and I just noticed, are you from Union County or Union itself? We live in Union.

[JkyLovesRuss]

That's so funny! I've lived in Union County all my life and have never heard of "gateway area"!! The only Gateway I've heard of is in Newark by the legal center. whadda ya know!

Anyway, would you be willing to refer your TA?? I haven't traveled much at all for vacation and haven't used one in 20 years!! (sad, I know). All my plane reservations for back and forth to San Fran to see my fiance, (til he moved back here) were done online with the airline. So, I'm new to cruising, new to TA's, new to Bermuda! I would like the personal touch of a human, and who knows, maybe an extra perk or two because we will be newlyweds(??;) )

 

LOL... look up New Jersey in wikipedia. you'll find information there on all of the regions in NJ. anywho, enough geography.. back to cruising!

 

I can refer her, she's been in the business for years and years. She's wonderful! email me at jkylovesruss@aol.com, I'll be more than happy to give you the information. I don't think we're allowed to advertise TAs on cruisecritic.

[dkjretired]

That's so funny! I've lived in Union County all my life and have never heard of "gateway area"!! The only Gateway I've heard of is in Newark by the legal center. whadda ya know!

Anyway, would you be willing to refer your TA?? I haven't traveled much at all for vacation and haven't used one in 20 years!! (sad, I know). All my plane reservations for back and forth to San Fran to see my fiance, (til he moved back here) were done online with the airline. So, I'm new to cruising, new to TA's, new to Bermuda! I would like the personal touch of a human, and who knows, maybe an extra perk or two because we will be newlyweds(??;) )

 

I lived in Northern Jersey most of my life and am a retired Police Officer from a town adjacent to Union and never heard that term used either. I checked the Wikepedia entry and I see its something the state uses for tourism. If your really from New Jersey, you use exit numbers....

[2ndtime20yrslater]

I am actually in Union. Been here for 7 years, and grew up in Cranford! Exit 140 (southbound), or 138 northbound!

We are really looking forward to this cruise, but we still haven't booked it. How bad is that? From the talk on the board, it doesn't seem like we need to worry, although, I'm sure the sooner we get this done, the better off we'll be. (we only booked the wedding 3 weeks ago! even tho we've been engaged for 18 months!) We just applied for our passports last week. I'm also interested in the spa so, any info on that and the casino would be great. (fiance likes the poker tables)

I'll send an email for the TA. thanks for the info.

[JkyLovesRuss]

I lived in Northern Jersey most of my life and am a retired Police Officer from a town adjacent to Union and never heard that term used either. I checked the Wikepedia entry and I see its something the state uses for tourism. If your really from New Jersey, you use exit numbers....

 

LOL.. that's exactly what i want it to sound like, TOURISTY! Being that this is a touristy site! My fiancee is a NJ State trooper.

 

Ditto on the exit! LOL... exit 137 here... LOL

 

Happy cruising everyone!

[ecslady]

I lived in Northern Jersey most of my life and am a retired Police Officer from a town adjacent to Union and never heard that term used either. I checked the Wikepedia entry and I see its something the state uses for tourism. If your really from New Jersey, you use exit numbers....

 

I've never heard of the term Gateway area either, but I do use exit numbers....so I must really be from NJ, too. I just had to laugh at your comment. :D:D (PS - I'm between exit 8A & 9 of the turnpike)

 

 

And to the happy couple, enjoy Bermuda! It's great sailing out of Cape Liberty.

[dkjretired]

LOL.. that's exactly what i want it to sound like, TOURISTY! Being that this is a touristy site! My fiancee is a NJ State trooper.

 

Ditto on the exit! LOL... exit 137 here... LOL

 

Happy cruising everyone!

 

Exit 117 here, tell your fiancee my wife was one of the first female Police Officers in the state and retired as a Lieutenant after 25 years..

 

For those people not from New Jersey we use exit numbers for the Garden State Parkway and NJ Turnpike, ecslady is on the Turnpike the rest of us are the Parkway....

[JkyLovesRuss]

Exit 117 here, tell your fiancee my wife was one of the first female Police Officers in the state and retired as a Lieutenant after 25 years..

 

Now that's an accomplishment! I will definately tell him. He only has 23 years to go until retirement :rolleyes:. We're not waiting 23 years to start cruising though. :p

 

Which cruiselines have you been on? We've been on Carnival and we're going on the Journey for our honeymoon. Which cruise lines do you suggest?

[dkjretired]

Now that's an accomplishment! I will definately tell him. He only has 23 years to go until retirement :rolleyes:. We're not waiting 23 years to start cruising though. :p

 

Which cruiselines have you been on? We've been on Carnival and we're going on the Journey for our honeymoon. Which cruise lines do you suggest?

 

I would like to try Azamara but we are building a new house right now so we can't get to cruising as of yet. We have been on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and a couple of defunct cruise lines years ago. I like Celebrity even when we cruised with the kids. We always had them with us for dinner, shore excursions and never left them on the ship by themselves. They loved the childrens programs and spent a lot of time there. Its hard to suggest a cruiseline without knowing your needs and what you like to do . I would just suggest doing your research with a good TA and of course these boards are great. I think you will enjoy the Journey and Bermuda for your honeymoon...

[luv2kruz]

Take a cab or bus to Elbow Beach and rent a chair and umbrella. Pretty beach with nice facilities. Cafes nearby.

 

Enjoy your Honeymoon!