Suggestions for Non Disney Cruises

Robinrs

DIS Veteran
Joined
Sep 7, 1999
My sister and her husband want to celebrate her retirement and their 40th anniversary by taking a cruise sometime this summer. Since I'm not a cruiser...did one and spent the whole five days either throwing up or feeling trapped.... can anyone suggest a good one?

The only one they've heard about is Carnival so they're leaning towards that. What's the best way to get a good deal, anyone know? Is Carnival a good choice????

Thanks so much in advance!
 
The various cruise lines have their own strengths and weaknesses, and even within a single cruise line, different ships and different itineraries will appeal to different people. Could you provide more information about their personal tastes and preferences?

We liked our Royal Caribbean cruises, to some extent, though we felt a little cooped up as well. I know that the cruise on which we had the larger cabin with the balcony was much more enjoyable, from that standpoint, than the cruise where we had the smaller cabin with no balcony. I suppose I would have been ill if we had a cabin without a window, but that's me, of course. It's hard to know how cabin size, window, and balcony will affect others.

Royal Caribbean had a good amount of active activities aboard ship, which is more to our taste. Carnival is pretty similar from what I understand. There are other cruise lines that offer the more traditional cruising experience: Princess, Celebrity and Holland American among them. Then there are specialty cruises.

And money is a big factor. We caught the tail end of a period of relatively cheap cruising. Cruises, as you can well-imagine, came down in price big-time after 9/11. For the first time, they were within our financial reach. However, the prices are rising again, and fast, and they're basically getting back to their pre-9/11 levels, so affordability is a big issue.
 
My sister and her husband are in their 60s but are, by many standards, YOUNGER than me, her baby sister! They love music, dancing, both work out regularly and love to socialize.

They are by no means poverty stricken, but both will be retired by the end of the year so they want to find the best deal. Also, they want to leave from a port near the east coast. Any suggestions?
 
Me & DH went on Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas. This was a surprise trip for my 40th. Birthday. I never thought about going on a cruise and really didn't think I would like it. It was probably one of the best vacations ever.

We had a room with a balcony which is great to sit out on when you are pulling out of a port or just at night. There was always something to do, we were never bored or looking for something to do.

There is a web site cruisecritic.com where you can get a ton of information. I was on this site all the time before we left.

We left out of Florida, we live in NJ, but now the ship leaves out of NJ.
 


I have been on many cruises, many different lines. My first chioce is always Royal Caribbean. We usually do Carnival for a quick weekend trip and save RCCL for the longer, better trips. I find that the food and entertainment is better and as others have posted the cabins are very nice.
Carnival is a great line and my kids love their camp, but this doesn't seem like a factor for your family. Carnival usually has the best price breaks.
Either way, I believe, just being on a cruise they will have fun!
 
I've been on Carnival and Royal Caribbean and loved them both. Two cruise boards that I use are cruisecritic.com and cruisemates.com. Both have tons of info and have great folks to answer lots of questions.

Elise
 
I can only speak about Carnival.We have had the best vacations on cruises and Carnival is the only cruise line we have been on.We have been on 2 4 day cruises and 1 7 day cruise and have another 7 day planned for October.We have a Wonderful travel agant that has gotten us Wonderful prices,so if you would like to PM me I can give you her name.

Misty
 


DH and I have been on 3 cruises, one Norwegian and two Royal Caribbean. I would say both are equal, excellent cruise lines.

Did seem that Norwegian caters to a slightly older group than the others, but there were still plenty of families and couples there of all ages.

What you plan totally depends on how the couple are. Are they active, do they like to lounge by the pool or read? Like bicker said, even the ships are different, depending on size and itineraries.

You have so many choices in front of you, figure out what the most important qualities are and go from there.
 
I just took my first cruise last month. We did Carnival out of New Orleans to Calica and Cozumel. We had a lot of fun especially at the ports!! :)
 
If they want to go this summer I would highly recommend Alaska on either Royal Caribbean (if they really want to be active and social) or Celebrity (a little more upscale).
 
I would recommend Celebrity for an Alaskan cruise as well. Gorgeous ships, great service, wonderful food. It is a more upscale, refined cruise experience.

Carnival is mass-market cruising with a party, party, party atmosphere. But they offer the best price incentives.

Royal Caribbean is a good balance between the two. Lots of fun, a little more mature environment than Carnival, not quite as formal as Celebrity.
 
Definitely head over to cruisecritic.com. It is a very helpful board for cruises equivalent to this one for Disney.

We've done 3 seven-day cruises on Carnival over the past 4 years and loved them all. Excellent food, very attentive staff, great ports, top-notch entertainment, everything you could possibly need.
 
disneysteve said:
Definitely head over to cruisecritic.com. It is a very helpful board for cruises equivalent to this one for Disney.

QUOTE]

ITA!!! Great board!! :sunny:
 
Kitty 34 said:
I just took my first cruise last month. We did Carnival out of New Orleans to Calica and Cozumel. We had a lot of fun especially at the ports!! :)

Good to know, since I just booked a Carnival Cruise out of New Orleans going to Cozumel for April on the Sensation! I can't wait!!!

To answer Robin's question...I think I was on the computer for a couple weeks, researching different cruise lines. The cruise I chose happened to sail the exact dates I'm off for Easter break.

My In-Laws just got back from a Royal Caribbean cruise and LOVED it. They are both in their early 70s. They sailed on the Explorer of the Seas, which is one of their biggest ships, I believe. They flew from Philly into Miami and cruised the Eastern Caribbean. They went to San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Nassau.

My MIL was worried that she would get sick, but she said she didn't even feel the ship moving at all.
 
Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions! You've even convinced me to go on one again!

The cruisecritic.com site is AWESOME! I sent her a link and I'm sure it's more info than she'll ever need! It's the equivalent of this one for Disney!

Thanks again! I always know where to go for the best information, right HERE! :cool1:
 
I also recommend cruisecritic.com. My mom is addicted to that board. But it is very dangerous. From reading threads over there she has been suckered into booking 30 day long cruises. LOL!

While I love Carnival, my parents love Holland America and Celebrity.I think I would be bored stiff on HAL and my parents may be terrified of Carnival. Different strokes for different folks. :)
 

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