Travel

[Eileen in Virginia]

You’ve gotten lots of great advice already. When choosing the time of year you’ll take your cruise, just be aware that the Fall is prime hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean. Technically, it starts around June, but most hurricanes seem to strike in September and October. DH and I have been on several cruises and they’re a lot of fun. Enjoy!

[I am still oxox]

DH and I have cruised several times, some great and not so great experiences.

Great trip on a repositioning cruise on Celebrity, left from NY and return from San Juan, great people and ports.

Trip for my 50th birthday also on Celebrity, too many cigarettes smoke, I cam home with bronchitis.

Worst trip was on Carnival, the ports was great (Eastern Canada in early fall), people were were not so great,, we shared a table with people that wore the same T shirts to every meal, we will never cruise with them again

[NicksmomESQ]

@Annabellethecat66  I understand your concern about cruising alone but I think you should reconsider.When we went on our cruise in October we were surprised at the amount of single cruisers.There were atleast 5 of them. One was a young man in his 50’s the rest were in their 70’s & 80’s. DH & I became friends with 2 of them.They were a lot of fun to be around.

[Toot1920]

@Goodie2shoes, some great ideas. Norwegian has cabins for solo travelers, there might be others that are offering the same. I would agree that talking to a travel agent would be very helpful. You don’t get charged for using them, they get commissions from the cruise line. The good thing about using a travel agent is that if you’re having a problem, there’s someone who you can go to to handle it. 

Check the cruise lines websites. They usually have a section for first cruisers with answers to a lot of questions. I’ve only traveled on Norwegian and Carnival. They both had some good information on their websites. 

Cruising is is a great way to get a feel for traveling to different parts of the world without all of the stress of constant traveling (packing and unpacking from different hotels and airports). You’re not going to get an in depth feel of different places because of the timeframe, but it’s a great getaway. 

[CLHS68]

I would not go on a short 3 or 4 day cruise as they are party cruises. Lots of drunks & really not enough time to get a good idea what it is all about. Also the time & expense getting there & home for just a couple days is not worth it unless you live within driving distance. Get a good travel agent & discuss your options.

[bonnielu]

My favorite way to travel.  Only had one bad one in all the years I have cruised.  It was a new cruise line to the US and the crew and the other passengers were very unfriendly.  The ship was all mirrors and the walkways  and steps and elevators  were unsafe.  The food was "so-so" I  will never go back on that one.  But most long term cruise lines are wonderful and it is an awesome way to see the world. 

[dawg lover]

Go, go, go!  You will love it!  We are going on one this summer, and I cannot wait to get onboard and let them treat me like a queen!  I used a travel agent for my first cruise, and after that I was able to figure things out on my own.

[World Traveler]

I love to cruise. I have done several in the Caribbean, one to Alaska, a river cruise down the Volga River in Russia, etc.

My favorite was a cruise in the Baltic Sea where I visited seven countries (Estonia, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Poland, Latvia, and Finland).

I personally prefer the smaller ships, not the ones that usually go to the Caribbean. 

The most relaxing one was the river cruise. I used Viking Cruises for that. They had a lot of activities you could join in on, if you wanted. The best part for me was that they made many stops along the way from St. Petersburg to Moscow, and each of the towns I saw was straight out of the 50's, like time had passed them by.

For beauty, the Alaska cruise was superb!

I have never done a repositioning cruise, but I understand they are very budget-friendly.

I want to try the Panama Canal cruise, which would be a smaller ship. Think that would be relaxing. Also want to do a cruise in Norway.

Have fun!

[Goodie2shoes]

Thanks everyone, I read every post for as much information as possible. I will be looking into some cruise ship sites. My guy has been on a cruise to Alaska with his familly before we met but we are definitely going where it's warm. Since we are senior citizens, we are not interested in going with the spring breakers so thanks much for that info.

[Miss Shelly]

We are cruise addicted    Took our 1st, a 3 day Thurs-Sun from Port Canaveral, on the Carnival Fantasy to Nassau in 1994.   Since then we have cruised at least once a year.  We laugh that our daughters grew up on cruise ships and one even worked onboard Carnival for 2 years after graduating college.  In addition to Carnival we have sailed Norwegian, Royal Carribean, Disney, Celebrity,  Premier, and taking our 1st Princess cruise on 2/2.  

I always take our 1st timer friends on a 4 day Mon-Fri to get their feet wet.  People either love or hate cruising so this is enough to know where you stand.  Most 4 day visit the Western Carribean, either Cozumel or Costa Maya and either Nassau or Key West.  There is also a sea day where you enjoy the ship while sailing the whole day,  usually on the way home.  

Since you say you are Sr. Citizens, I recommend early May on a smaller ship such as Carnival Liberty or Paradise.  Royal Caribbean has some nice smaller ships also.  By this I mean no Imax, Roller Coasters, or other gimmicks enticing the younger, rowdier crowd.  

Spend time on the cruise line websites learning all you can.  There are deck plans for the ships, etc.  Enjoy the planning process.