Canceling our cruise for August :(

[saileeney]

Because of a back problem I am having and will need surgery for soon my, husband and I have decided we need to cancel or cruise we have scheduled for August :( (Thank god we bought the insurance!!)

 

But, the good news is we get to plan a new cruise for February 2010!! We live in Maine so we want to do something warm. Can anyone recommend a cruise for us? We are in our early thirties, very active people, not big into drinking or partying. We want something pretty low key and relaxing, maybe some snorkling or whale watching.... lots of beach time and frosty drinks.

 

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks!

~A

[Gingee]

I would say any of the Carribbean ports would feel good at that time of the year.

[CruisnGram]

Be sure to book a ship that goes to the Caribbean, not just the Bahama's. I know it's tempting to book out of NY since you live in Maine and could drive there, but usually sailings out of NY don't get deep into the Caribbean. The Bahama's are nice, but they are not very warm in the winter months..similar to FL. We were in Nassau in January and the water was very, very chilly.

 

Have fun planning!

 

CG

[goodml]

Sorry to hear about the surgery and cancellation. Here's hoping you'll have a speedy recovery.:)

[Mooder]

So sorry, A, that you have to cancel. I can imagine the disappointment. I hope your surgery goes smoothly and you can full enjoy planning the next cruise. I agree that the Caribbean is your best bet. This is a gross generalization, but I'd say W. Caribb is more adventurous and E. Caribb is more "Americanized," just sit on the beach and shop. But that's just a way to get you thinking about what you want - you have lots of time to research and determine the itinerary for you.

[thecatsmeow]

You could always do the Mexican Riviera. Decent temps and alot to do. I realize you are on the east coast but its an idea.

[Lvteks]

I vote for a So. Caribb. to the Aruba, Bonaire,(Incredible snorkling per DD) Curacao area, Dominica, (Whale Watching)even San Juan if you don't have to leave from that port. The deeper South you go the more balmy the breezes. The thrill of feeling the chill disolve into warm friendly air is my kind of winter. So. Caribb is usually 10 days but worth the time.

 

If you do Western Caribb., anything that includes Roatan (Honduras.)

 

Blessings,

 

Gail

[lhall85917]

I'd recommend the 9 day S. Caribbean. We've done this on the Pearl (in Feb. it will be the Dawn), the extra 2 days are nice and each of the ports have great beaches and snorkeling.

[lambs2]

I'd recommend the 9 day S. Caribbean. We've done this on the Pearl (in Feb. it will be the Dawn), the extra 2 days are nice and each of the ports have great beaches and snorkeling.

 

I second the above. We did this itinerary on the Jewel and it was AWESOME! :)

[Budget Queen]

Wonderful itineraries in your timeframe also include Hawaii, and Australia/New Zealand, :) There are some excellent package deals that I took advantage the last two years. In Jan, I picked up a 14 day Australia/New Zealand cruise with air from NYC for $2000pp, three weeks prior.

[DocJohnB]

I'd recommend the 9 day S. Caribbean. We've done this on the Pearl (in Feb. it will be the Dawn), the extra 2 days are nice and each of the ports have great beaches and snorkeling.

 

 

Being a fellow Maineiac, I would agree. If you can take the time, this would be the one. Lots of sun, warm weather and great cruising. Not sure about whale watching though.

 

The only downer I can see to it is that it will end and you will still have another 2-5 months of winter :D:D:D.

[Cruise Raider]

Because of a back problem I am having and will need surgery for soon my, husband and I have decided we need to cancel or cruise we have scheduled for August :( (Thank god we bought the insurance!!)

 

But, the good news is we get to plan a new cruise for February 2010!! We live in Maine so we want to do something warm. Can anyone recommend a cruise for us? We are in our early thirties, very active people, not big into drinking or partying. We want something pretty low key and relaxing, maybe some snorkling or whale watching.... lots of beach time and frosty drinks.

 

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks!

~A

 

Might I suggest that if you like whale watching, Hawaii (especially in Maui) or the Mexican Riviera (especially around Cabo) might be right up your alley. The Hawaii cruise might be a bit less party, party than Mexico. Both will have temps in the 80's or so (could be a bit cooler though) but February is a good time to go. Depending on the length of your cruise, spring break starts in February for some school districts. We did a Mexican Riviera cruise in late Feb last year and choose a Tues to Wed itinerary (8 nights) thinking we could avoid the spring break atmosphere. We were very pleased as there were no drunken chaotic spring breakers on the cruise but still had over 200 children onboard.

good luck with the surgery. I think a cruise in feb will be just what the doctor ordered.

[Surfgirl]

I know you were asking about the cruise, but I wanted to address your back. Please be very careful about back surgery.

 

If you're doing it because of a herniated disc and don't have loss of sensation or if you don't have weakness, then you should probably consider some intensive physical therapy instead. Back surgery WILL NOT take away the pain... and may make it worse.

 

The pain from a herniated disc ends up being myofascial syndrome, and has little to do with the initial herniated disc injury. Please try everything BEFORE you have surgery. Once you have surgery, you can never go back.

 

A good place to check out for intensive PT for back is:

http://www.rosomoffpaincenter.com/

 

(I have no connection to them other than having had tremendous results after a failed back surgery elsewhere -- which they tell me I should never have done in the first place!)

 

We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread. :)

[saileeney]

Thank you so much to everyone who responded!! I knew I could count on you for some great advice. :)

Right now I'm leaning towards the 9 day s. Carribbean on the Dawn. I'll have to do a little research on the Dawn. I've been focusing on the Gem for so long now I know nothing about any of the other ships.

Someone also recommended the Mexican Riviera for this time or year. That would mean flying to California instead of Florida but since we're in Maine I don't think it would make much of a difference. The cruises to Mexico also seem a little cheaper right now compared to other cruises. Is that because of the whole "swine flu" thing? If anyone has done this cruise I would love to hear about it.

There's so much to think about! I have to say planning the trip and the anticipation is so fun and exciting. Especially now that I've learned so much about cruising from everyone on the boards. Thanks again!!

 

Surfgirl: Thank you so much for your concern. I really appreciate your advice. I'm not sure if I will have surgery yet, tomorrow I will have an MRI and that will give the doctors an idea on where to go next. I have had several steroid injections, physical therapy, yoga, chiropractors, accupuncture, Pretty much everything you could think of, I have tried. Unfortunatly degenerative disc disese runs in my family (my mom just has spinal fusion 6 months ago on her lower back). Beleive me, I don't want surgery, it is a last resort for me. But at this point I am in so much pain I can't do any of the things I used to do. I am normally a very active person, I love to work out and play with my kids (I have three very busy little girls) but I can barely stand long enough to take a shower at this point. My quality of life is severly compromised by my back pain, as well as my husband and children's lives.

What kind of surgery did you have on your back? What kind of issues did you have before surgery and after? I would love to hear about your experiences if you have time to share. (My email is saileeney at yahoo dot com)

~A

[fin]

Wonderful itineraries in your timeframe also include Hawaii, and Australia/New Zealand, :) There are some excellent package deals that I took advantage the last two years. In Jan, I picked up a 14 day Australia/New Zealand cruise with air from NYC for $2000pp, three weeks prior.

 

Not that ...... is awesome.

[lhall85917]

Thank you so much to everyone who responded!! I knew I could count on you for some great advice. :)

Right now I'm leaning towards the 9 day s. Carribbean on the Dawn. I'll have to do a little research on the Dawn. I've been focusing on the Gem for so long now I know nothing about any of the other ships.

Someone also recommended the Mexican Riviera for this time or year. That would mean flying to California instead of Florida but since we're in Maine I don't think it would make much of a difference. The cruises to Mexico also seem a little cheaper right now compared to other cruises. Is that because of the whole "swine flu" thing? If anyone has done this cruise I would love to hear about it.

There's so much to think about! I have to say planning the trip and the anticipation is so fun and exciting. Especially now that I've learned so much about cruising from everyone on the boards. Thanks again!!

 

 

~A

Planning is half the fun, isn't it??!! One thing to consider with the Mexican Riviera is that it may not necessarily be very warm leaving from LA in February. We did this in early April and the first 2 days of our cruise and last 2 days we were quite chilly (not pool weather). We loved Cabo and the other ports but they were very similar in some ways, of course this may have just been because of what we decided to do at each stop. Each of the S. Caribbean islands has a different flavor to them. I believe that there is whale watching in Samana in February which is something you mentioned.

 

Whatever you pick, I'm sure you will have a great time!!

[Jrabbit128]

The hubby and I went on a Bahamas cruise last February and let me tell you...it was just as cold there as it was in NY!!!! We arrived in Orlando, and it was 32 degrees!!!! When we go to Nassau, it was a little below 50, and since we already prebooked our shore excursion to do a Sea Lion encounter, we were in the freezing cold water!!! When we go to the private island, the sun would peak out from behind the clouds and for about 10 minutes, it felt like it was above 60. And don't get me started on the temp at night!!! The whole time I wore jeans and a sweater!

I would recommend you do something as south as possible, to avoid the chilly weather. The Caribbean is beautiful during that time of year. The South-er you are, the better!

[FLAHAM]

We are...not big into drinking. We want lots of...frosty drinks.

~A

 

 

Root beer, perhaps? Best wishes for rapid and total recovery of your back problems.

[Ms belp]

Because of a back problem I am having and will need surgery for soon my, husband and I have decided we need to cancel or cruise we have scheduled for August :( (Thank god we bought the insurance!!)

 

But, the good news is we get to plan a new cruise for February 2010!! We live in Maine so we want to do something warm. Can anyone recommend a cruise for us? We are in our early thirties, very active people, not big into drinking or partying. We want something pretty low key and relaxing, maybe some snorkling or whale watching.... lots of beach time and frosty drinks.

 

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks!

~A

 

We loved our 9 day Southern Caribbean cruise last year. We found it much more relaxing and low key that the 7 day ones we have done. I highly recommend it. We were on the Jewel which I love as well. Good luck with your back surgery!:)

[saileeney]

Root beer, perhaps? Best wishes for rapid and total recovery of your back problems.

 

Okay, I'm not a big drinker, but I do enjoy a pina colada or margarita every once in a while. ;)

~A

[thecatsmeow]

Okay, I'm not a big drinker, but I do enjoy a pina colada or margarita every once in a while. ;)

~A

I am with you on that. :) I have to say we really loved our Mexican Riviera cruise last Sept. So much that we are doing it at the end of Jan 2010 again. Whale watching season for that area. Mexico at that time of year is usually high 70's low 80's and not much rain. Sometimes LA can be chilly (60's) but add a few frothy drinks and who cares. :)

 

Joyce

[WinnieinWA]

If you want to swim, snorkel or just laze on the beach I recommend the Caribbean over Mexico. The water is really bluer and warmer and the people on most of the islands speak very good English. Good luck with the surgery.:)

[Lvteks]

Hi Again,

 

We did great whale watching in Dominica. Since your ports are along the same area I would think you might have some sort of whale opportunity. Back? What back?? See how concentrating on a cruise helps ....for a while anyway :)

 

Blessings,

 

Gail

[wahine56]

You can always join us on the Gem for 10 days in the caribbean. This will bbe our first time there. Have to say out of all the places mentioned, I loved Hawaii, hope to go back in the future, for now I'm just checking out all the beaches I haven't been to.

 

Pat

[floridacruiser63]

I'd recommend the 9 day S. Caribbean. We've done this on the Pearl (in Feb. it will be the Dawn), the extra 2 days are nice and each of the ports have great beaches and snorkeling.

 

 

I second this recommendation. We did the Southern on the Jewel this past April. Beautiful ports of call, the extra two days are very relaxing and come in very handy. I believe the Dawn will be doing the route we did on the Jewel starting sometime in October or November, out of Miami.