Couple in their 30s looking for Luxury Cruise for Honeymoon

Hi Everyone! We're looking for a luxury cruise for our honeymoon and would appreciate your fantastic advice. We're in our mid-thirties and are getting married next May. We've cruised many times before (7+) on Royal Caribbean, Cunard and Celebrity and want to make our honeymoon cruise extra special with the smaller ship, all inclusive fares and high-end food and service.

We've been checking out Seabourn and Silversea. What are your impressions of them? I also checked out SeaDream, but since no cabins have verandas, that's a deal breaker for us (we spend too much time lounging on it).

We're expecting these ships to have older passengers, which is fine, but we'd like a little reassurance that there are some younger folk to hang out with after dinner. We're not big on shows, our typical evening on board is drinks before dinner, dinner, drinks after dinner and then hit the casino.

Any advice would be appreciated to help make our honeymoon special and memorable! :-))

J

Hi - I also just found a sailing on Regent Seven Seas Mariner that could work. I'd love to hear thoughts on that ship as well. Thanks!

It's funny I would have said consider Sea Dream. It has a younger crowd than you may see on the other luxury lines and you can be outside in a matter of seconds and you can also sleep outside if you care to. Remember the ships are small.

I would recommend reading the boards for each cruise line to get a sense for what they offer and what people like about them.

I would look at all of them and that includes Seabourn, Silversea, Regent, Sea Dream and also Crystal.

Also, go to their respective web sites to read about them and to also study the ships and what they offer.

Remember, some of the experience will vary also by ship as some have ships of various sizes.

Then I would come back with some specific questions about them.

Also, try to find a travel agent who specializes in the luxury cruise arena and who has sailed on many of the luxury cruise lines. Ask friends, colleagues and family members who have taken luxury lines if they have a good agent to recommend.

Keith

Without hesitation, I would say the Paul Gauguin cruises to Tahiti. This was our first luxury cruise and will remain forever in our hearts.

I would definitely think again about SeaDream. We were on it 2 yrs ago, and usually had the entire top deck to ourselves during the day. The food is outstanding, and you don't have to dress up if you don't want to. I don't think you'd miss a balcony.

and top deck on SeaDream,,did not make up for privacy with your own,,,have been on Regent,,but just got off Seabourn Sojourn,,and in 15 cruises,,,one the the best,,,,,but age range is mostly 60s,,,,a few younger,,but everyone fits in well,,,and it IS your honeymoon,,,how much socializing will you do,,,hahaha???and table for 2 easily available.....we did Norway and absolutely incredible scenery....but lots of choices..congrats,,and let us know...:D

My wife and I are in our early thirties and have cruised Seabourn, Regent, and Seadream...

If you're doing the Carribean, then without hesitation I recommend Seadream. The multitude of outdoor activities available are excellent for the younger crowd. Things that will always bring me back to Seadream:

- "yacht casual". I know it sounds silly but I appreciate a more laid back atmosphere. Not bring a jacket is definitely a plus

- Excellent spa- thai massages are grea!

- Mountain bikes available in port to use; hikes lead by the captain

- The marina was a plus. Nothing like pulling in to St. Bart's for a sunset swim. The available watercraft and watersports were nice too. Of note this is far better than Seabourn's similar offering.

- Beach BBQ/caviar splash- I think that this is ripped off from Seabourn but this is also quite nice.

The amount of space available on the ship is excellent for the number of passengers. Numerous outdoor areas as well. Excellent crew. We've had balconies in the past and I much preferred Seadream's outdoor areas.

One of the negatives for Seadream is the lack of proper room service. We loved taking breakfast in the room on other lines. The food, otherwise, is excellent.

I'm not a huge fan of Med cruises (because I feel that they are quite port intensive) but we've done both on Seabourn and Regent. Here are my thoughts:

- I think that the cabins on Regent are excellent, some of the best at sea (and that's really the basic ones!). Lots of space, nice bathrooms. I've only been on one of the small triplets for Seabourn; while nice, not quite as large. The small triplets suffer from "french balconies" and not proper balconies.

- In addition, the pool area is quite depressing on the Seabourn triplets. I think that this has been remedied on the newer triplets. Regent gets the nod towards this.

- The food on Seabourn is amazing. Regent it is just good.

- Service is better on Seabourn. The ships are smaller, the staff more intimate.

Just my thoughts. For a honeymoon I would go with Seadream, no questions asked.

CDW

I'm currently deployed in Afghanistan and am trying to plan my honeymoon for my return to the States in 2012. My fiance an I are in our late 20's and live in DC.

It seems as though for luxury lines during May/June you're limited to Med/Alaska/Europe and then the PG in Tahiti.

The important aspects:

-The food and wine levels of quality (alcohol inclusive)

-Balcony

-Service

What is not important:

-Theater shows

-On board activities

One strange aspect from my perspective is cost. Currently it would seem as though the $12,000 price mark is standard. Although it would seem that some people find some ridiculous deals and I'm just wondering what the standard price tag is for a luxury 7-10 day cruise in May/June a year out?

Also wondering how people would rate Regent's food quality in the main dinning areas vice their specialty dinning and how people would rate the Paul Gauguin dinning?

Understandably, I doubt one could go completely wrong, I would just like to be as right as possible after spending a year in Afghanistan. (not anything like "Three Cups of Tea")

Finally, I am wondering if anyone has an opinion on a Med or a Tahiti cruise for a honeymoon?

Thanks for any advice or answers.

----------------------------------------------------------------

2004 - Eastern Caribbean - RCCL

2003 - Western Caribbean - Carnival

cost of cruise,,,you re looking at full brochure rate,,try using internet agencies,,,,then book early for discount,,also,,can get discount on some sites for being in military,,,,I just took Seabourn,,,and rate published was $7,000 for 9 day cruise in Norway,,,did a lot of checking,,,and got it for $3999...\

Re..Regent food,,,very good,,,esp..in Signatures,,,and Prime 7,,,but service in main dining room can be slow,,,and hard to get table for 2,,unless you eat early,,and on honeymoon,,may want to be alone??Found ,,out of 15 cruises,,,Seabourn the top of the line,,,so do some internet searching and congrats on marriage...Good luck....

Also,,use referral thread,,under ea.cruiseline,,to get on board credits,,prior to booking...Regent,,$200 and Seabourn $400...if you contact me,,,wmclay@cfl.rr.com...can give you either one,,,and name of agenices I ve used,,,,with good discounts.:)

I'm currently deployed in Afghanistan and am trying to plan my honeymoon for my return to the States in 2012. My fiance an I are in our late 20's and live in DC.

 

It seems as though for luxury lines during May/June you're limited to Med/Alaska/Europe and then the PG in Tahiti.

 

The important aspects:

-The food and wine levels of quality (alcohol inclusive)

-Balcony

-Service

 

What is not important:

-Theater shows

-On board activities

 

One strange aspect from my perspective is cost. Currently it would seem as though the $12,000 price mark is standard. Although it would seem that some people find some ridiculous deals and I'm just wondering what the standard price tag is for a luxury 7-10 day cruise in May/June a year out?

 

Also wondering how people would rate Regent's food quality in the main dinning areas vice their specialty dinning and how people would rate the Paul Gauguin dinning?

 

Understandably, I doubt one could go completely wrong, I would just like to be as right as possible after spending a year in Afghanistan. (not anything like "Three Cups of Tea")

 

Finally, I am wondering if anyone has an opinion on a Med or a Tahiti cruise for a honeymoon?

 

Thanks for any advice or answers.

----------------------------------------------------------------

2004 - Eastern Caribbean - RCCL

2003 - Western Caribbean - Carnival

I can't really comment on your questions specifically, but I do want to thank you for your service to our country. My bonus son has done 2 tours of duty in Afghanistan and 1 in Iraq, and I know what a sacrifice you are making.

As far as which I would recommend for a honeymoon, in my mind, nothing could possibly be more romantic than a cruise to Tahiti. The Med is fine, but as far as romance, go with Tahiti.

We did an 11 night Paul Gauguin cruise out of Tahiti. Their "norm" is a 7 night cruise starting at about $3,900 per person which includes air out of Los Angeles. This is a small (330 passenger) ship which visits the most spectacular areas in the South Pacific.

I would recommend their cruises highly.

Don't know if the OP has made a choice yet, but I also recommend the Paul Gauguin. It was also our first cruise, and we've been back 3 more times we love it so much. I would go every year if I could afford it.

We just went on our first Regent cruise and absolutely loved it BUT the crowd did skew a little older and the nightlife was non-existent after 11:00. We had the casino to ourselves one night which was actually a lot of fun - it's small and more like like Monte Carlo - not Vegas-y. We're in our forties and had a great time: we weren't looking for late nights though. The age of the crowd on this line wasn't an issue: everyone was entertaining and game for just about anything so we really enjoyed our fellow passengers. And no hideous bill at the end! All-inclusive. No kids. Perfect.

My DH and I are in our 30's and we have sailed on both Seabourn and SeaDream. We used to always cruise in balcony cabins on the larger ships but on the smaller ships we have found it to be fine to cruise without one. It honestly is a matter of how many people are onboard.

SeaDream definitely has a younger crowd and the marina is wonderful! The rooms on Seabourn were awesome and I thought the food and service were a tad better. But to be honest, I love them both! We are cruising on Seabourn again in February. Happy Cruising!

Nicole

Hi Everyone! We're looking for a luxury cruise for our honeymoon and would appreciate your fantastic advice. We're in our mid-thirties and are getting married next May...We're expecting these ships to have older passengers, which is fine, but we'd like a little reassurance that there are some younger folk to hang out with after dinner. We're not big on shows, our typical evening on board is drinks before dinner, dinner, drinks after dinner and then hit the casino.

 

Any advice would be appreciated to help make our honeymoon special and memorable! :-))

 

J

Hi J,

I would also highly recommend the French Polynesia Paul Gauguin Cruise. I just came back from their 10 day cruise and it was beyond incredible.

PG is an all-inclusive luxury cruise and I just love not having to worry about beverage/food/ tipping costs. It's all included!

On the PG, they have special packages for honeymooners, newly weds, or even to get hitched onboard! I believe a couple got hitched the Tahitian way onboard even! I think you also get champagne as part of this.

There seemed to be a good mix of 20 years old couples to some that were quite senior. I met up with some truly awesome couples from their mid 20's to 50's/60's, and we all had so much fun. It's also what made the cruise so memorable for me.

I'm not big on shows and stuff, so my usual evening/nightly routine on the cruise was drinks at La Palette (bar @ back of ship), followed by appetizers at 6:30pm (absolutely delicious!), then dinner, and then back to the bar for more drinks. Made it even better was that the crew after the 2nd or 3rd night, already knew my drinks/preferences and most of the time didn't even have to ask for it, they automatically bring my preferred drinks over!

I can share more about my cruise experience if you like, but I would HIGHLY recommend this cruise!

I'm currently deployed in Afghanistan and am trying to plan my honeymoon for my return to the States in 2012. My fiance an I are in our late 20's and live in DC.

 

It seems as though for luxury lines during May/June you're limited to Med/Alaska/Europe and then the PG in Tahiti.

 

The important aspects:

-The food and wine levels of quality (alcohol inclusive)

-Balcony

-Service

 

Hi remembermatt,

I’d like to offer my experiences onboard the PG based on my recent cruise on 8/10/11.

• Food & Wine:
  

There are 3 restaurants onboard: Le Grill, La Veranda, and L’etoile.

In my opinion, there is no such thing as bad food onboard. Breakfast and lunches are either on La Veranda or Le Grill and buffet style. You can also order specials that they have daily.

For dinners, Le Grill and La Veranda requires reservations.

La Veranda is French cuisine and the food there is absolutely delicious. I’ve had lots of seafood there. Even had escargots, and liked it!

The wine choices seem to change every day. But if there was a particular wine I liked from previous days, the crew would not hesitate to pour me some.

I seem to notice a lot of the wines are French, but I’ve had California wines too.

• Balcony:
  

I got a stateroom with a balcony. I thought it nice for my first cruise, but honestly, I spent more time outside of my stateroom so I didn’t use the balcony much. It was enough room to fit 2 chairs and a small table. I used the balcony mostly to dry my swim-wear!

One cool thing was that I got to see the crew lower the tender on most mornings. That was neat to watch from the comforts of my balcony.

• Service:
  

Absolutely the best! What surprised me was that the service crew takes pride in providing the best service possible and it shows. They are very friendly, polite, cordial, and they remember my name, and knew my preferences!

Example, I drink decaf every morning and don’t like ice in my water. After the 2nd or 3rd day, seems they all remember that. It was awesome!

They simply make you feel welcome and pampered!

During dinner, you can ask the service crew for most anything and they’ll do it – example: I had them combine various different entrée courses together b/c I wanted to taste, and it was never an issue.

Also, there was a special sampling menu at La Veranda and I wanted to taste everything on that menu…no problem!

They even (sometimes) take your plate full of food from the buffet area to your table.

The Hotel Director and Food/Beverage Manager are incredible friendly and awesome! Made me feel so welcome and part of the family!

Hope you will consider PG cruise! I’m already planning for my next one for 2012! Can’t wait!

Hey all,

Thought I should probably respond. Indeed did book the PG June 2, 2012 7 day. Currently trying to set up an "affordable" 5 nights pre-cruise stay. The PG direct booked me cabin 767, the mid-Aft, pretty excited about that. My days in my current location are long 7 days a week and the actually equivalent to ground hog day in a desert valley environment. So the whole thought of this cruise is keeping me sane.

Again, thanks for the advice and descriptions they've been helpful and also a needed couple of minutes to think about something else.

-Matt

on cruise,,and wedding,,,hope you really have a good time,,you deserve it.:D:D

You will have a great time on the PG. You may want to look at my long review from last summer. We did 5 nights precruise on Moorea at the Hilton in an overwater bungalow. Spectacular.

IMHO I would suggest you consider "downsizing" to a cabin on level 4 (no balcony) and spend the $$ on an overwater bungalow. Most cabins on the ship have the same interior dimensions. You will find little use for the balcony as there is great outdoor space, tons of lounge chairs, and only about 300 passengers.

We are booked for their 17 night cruise this January from Australia back to Tahiti.