New & confused

My boyfriend and I are looking for a cruise late July to August for this year. We live in Massachusetts and we would lIke to go on a cruise to anywhere new, aside from your typical cruises to beachy islands. With that said..I am clueless to what state we should depart from to go on a cruise like that. Would it be cheaper to just fly out to Europe and go to one country? I am just extremely clueless as you can tell and would like some input..maybe a "beachy" cruise would be more ideal?

Welcome to Cruise Critic,

The choice between a beach cruise or a sightseeing one is really up to you. My wife and I choose the sightseeing ones and we have sailed all over the world. You might like a Med cruise, but it will be hot and crowded especially in August when Europeans traditionally take their vacations. If you go to Greece or the south of France you can do both sightseeing and get in some beach time.

Other choices would be the British Isles and/or the Baltic area. These are cooler than the Med.

Nothing is "cheaper" when you get involved in flying to Europe, but the current strong dollar does make Europe more affordable (at the moment). But your post is very open ended as you are ranging from "beachy" islands to Europe.

If you want to simply try a cruise, there are some good options right out of Boston that would save you lots of money in airfare. There are the very popular Canada/New England cruises and also ships that go to Bermuda.

Hank

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

A little confused on your goals. Whether it is cheaper to fly to Europe for a "one country" land tour?

If "beachy" is not your goal, how about Alaska? Fly roundtrip to Vancouver or Seattle. Cruise a 7 day round trip out of whichever (I would recommend Vancouver) city.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. The first suggestion you will get from many here is to go see a brick and mortar travel agent, who will assess your needs and options.

We don't know anything about you, except that you seem not to be beach people, and you want to go someplace different. And you are sick of the snow and are dreaming of being anyplace else. Thus, since you are from Mass., we assume you are not interested in a Canada/New England cruise.

How much time are you allowing, and what is your budget? Remember, unless you pick a port you can drive to (Boston, NYC, Baltimore) you must add airfare into the mix, and it can be pricey.

My first suggestion would be a cruise to Bermuda, which does have beaches, but that it not it's main attraction. The ship will overnight there, sometimes two nights, and you can explore the history, architecture, countryside, etc.

As far as Europe goes, July and August will be beastly hot, especially in the Eastern Med., so if you are considering Europe, I would do Norway or the Baltic, Iceland, British Isles... Alaska probably does not sound attractive right now, but it realy is a lovely change come July/August.

Go to http://www.cruisetimetables.com, and from the top list of ports (Departures) choose the US ports and then the time you want to travel, and it will show you who is sailing, and their itineraries.

If you are serious about Europe, get copies of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports and Rick Steves' Northern Europe Cruise Ports, read up on possible ports, and decide just what you would like to see. Then, on the same website, go to the second list of ports (destinations), plug in those ports and again, it will show you who is calling there, and their itineraries.

Happy researching! EM

My boyfriend and I are looking for a cruise late July to August for this year. We live in Massachusetts and we would lIke to go on a cruise to anywhere new, aside from your typical cruises to beachy islands. With that said..I am clueless to what state we should depart from to go on a cruise like that. Would it be cheaper to just fly out to Europe and go to one country? I am just extremely clueless as you can tell and would like some input..maybe a "beachy" cruise would be more ideal?

Do a California coastal cruise. Like so many other "nor'easters," you may find it so wonderful that you decide to stay.

I'm not "beachy", but I've enjoyed exploring the cultural, historic, and scenic aspects of the Caribbean. A cruise can be what you make it.

Roz

My boyfriend and I are looking for a cruise late July to August for this year. We live in Massachusetts and we would lIke to go on a cruise to anywhere new, aside from your typical cruises to beachy islands. With that said..I am clueless to what state we should depart from to go on a cruise like that. Would it be cheaper to just fly out to Europe and go to one country? I am just extremely clueless as you can tell and would like some input..maybe a "beachy" cruise would be more ideal?

First check cruises online with Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line), Princess and HAL (Holland American Line). Pretend to book, that way you will get to see the price. As long as you do not input a credit card the cruise line cannot charge you.

Then do the same with a fly and stay in Europe. That will provide you with the different prices. Make sure you include everything in each trip (so you will have to do the same mock bookings with the airlines and hotels). You can even check out the packages offered by the various online travel sites.

Next we look at where to go when you cruise. The summer in the Caribbean is hurricane season (basically June through November). As a result many ships leave the Caribbean during that time and head to Alaska or Europe. So you are basically going to be limited to one week or shorter cruises to either the western or eastern Caribbean (the southern Caribbean is another option during the winter months).

A typical Eastern Caribbean cruise will go to Nassau, Saint Thomas and Saint Maarten. Nassau doesn't have that much history. St. Thomas and St. Maarten do have some history, mostly dealing with pirates.

A typical western Caribbean cruise could include a private island (no history - very beachy), Jamaica (some history), Grand Cayman (some history - more beachy), Cozumel (some history), Belize (lots of history), Costa Maya (lots of history) or Progreso, Mexico (closest port to Chichen Itza).

Best of luck on your vacation hunt.

Yes sorry for being vague, we are still trying to decide of places! Thank you everyone for your input it is really helpful to us and we appreciate it!

Next we look at where to go when you cruise. The summer in the Caribbean is hurricane season (basically June through November). As a result many ships leave the Caribbean during that time and head to Alaska or Europe. So you are basically going to be limited to one week or shorter cruises to either the western or eastern Caribbean (the southern Caribbean is another option during the winter months).

This is a fallacy perpetuated by many people on these boards. Hurricane season has nothing to do with the movement of ships out of the Caribbean in the summer. If it did, the ships would not leave until June 1, and return on Dec. 1. Ships leave the Caribbean in the summer because there is more money to be made elsewhere. You can't cruise Alaska in the winter. Who would want to go there in winter? Certainly not enough people to fill a ship, and many places regularly visited would be inaccessible.

Although ships do cruise the Med. in the winter, it is not as desirable time to travel there. But lots of folks want to go there in the summer. EM

Welcome to Cruise Critic! :)

Have you considered going to Alaska?

LuLu

Next we look at where to go when you cruise. The summer in the Caribbean is hurricane season (basically June through November). As a result many ships leave the Caribbean during that time and head to Alaska or Europe. So you are basically going to be limited to one week or shorter cruises to either the western or eastern Caribbean (the southern Caribbean is another option during the winter months).

 

This is a fallacy perpetuated by many people on these boards. Hurricane season has nothing to do with the movement of ships out of the Caribbean in the summer. If it did, the ships would not leave until June 1, and return on Dec. 1. Ships leave the Caribbean in the summer because there is more money to be made elsewhere. You can't cruise Alaska in the winter. Who would want to go there in winter? Certainly not enough people to fill a ship, and many places regularly visited would be inaccessible.

Although ships do cruise the Med. in the winter, it is not as desirable time to travel there. But lots of folks want to go there in the summer. EM

The reason there is more money to be made in Europe and Alaska is because many people do not want to be in the Caribbean during hurricane season.

If you want "beachy" the best deals are going to be Caribbean cruises, possibly Bermuda depending on the time of year.

Your port of departure may vary. There are cruises that run out of Boston. I assume that living in Mass that will be the cheapest port for you. There are trips that leave from NYC & Baltimore too. You can possibly drive there or get reasonably cheap flights / Amtrak. If you can get a cheap air fare to Florida you are more likely that every day of your cruise will be warm & the seas will be calmer.

We are not beachy people either. But have been on 24 cruises since 2000.

A cruise could be a beach-- or it could be something totally different. Its what you want it to be.

Have you looked at cruises out of Boston. Think of the money you can save with no airfare? Some repositioning cruises-- and only one way airfare

also Bermuda or Canada cruises from Boston

OP should take advantage of the 7 night Bermuda Cruises that sail from Boston.

Bermuda is unlike any of the Caribbean/Bahamas beach islands.

Beaches, sure but lots of other things to see and do on this very upscale, very British, island.

Docking for a couple of nights with the ship as your hotel is nice.

newcruiser19 (the OP)

You would find it very helpful to discuss your wishes with a good travel agent who specializes in cruises. ;)

LuLu

Another non-beachy could include a Transatlantic crossing. I've never been to Southampton, so that would be new to me.

I second (or third) talking to a travel agent.

(If I lived near NYC or Boston, a Bermuda cruise would be something I'd look at.)

My boyfriend and I are looking for a cruise late July to August for this year. We live in Massachusetts and we would lIke to go on a cruise to anywhere new, aside from your typical cruises to beachy islands. With that said..I am clueless to what state we should depart from to go on a cruise like that. Would it be cheaper to just fly out to Europe and go to one country? I am just extremely clueless as you can tell and would like some input..maybe a "beachy" cruise would be more ideal?

Welcome! I see you are in Mass. There are some cruises that leave out of Boston which could be cheaper as it can save on airfare and you could possibly get a resident rate but depending on where you live in Mass, you'd still have to deal with driving and parking fees unless you are close and can get a ride or take a train. There's also cruises that leave out of NYC again, saving you time and possibly some $$. Non beachy cruises can include destinations like Alaska or Canada/New England. Both can be somewhat pricey during July-August. However you are in Mass and may not want to do a Canada/New England cruise. Not that I'm trying to discourage you from Europe but airfare to Europe can be more expensive than the actual cruise itself. It depends on time of year and which airline/airport you fly in/out out of. Another suggestion is a Pacific Coastal usually out of LA or San Francisco but I know there are other embark ports as well. You said non beach but these cruises can be very affordable and it's something a bit different than your standard "caribbean" beachy type places. In the end, only you and your boyfriend can ultimately decide where to go. Make a list of places you really want to see, budget, what's important and what isn't, timeframe and things you really want to do. That might help narrow down your decision. Just some suggestions. Best of luck! :)

Seems you need to first decide on a location (Europe, Med, Africa, Baltics, Alaska, Orient, Antartica, Panama, River cruise, lake...) Anywhere there is water there will be a cruise.

Anywhere there is water there will be a cruise.

Anywhere?

My husband and myself was planning to celebrate four 12th wedding anniversary on a cruise .last year. Finally we came to the know about a people friendly lake michigan cruise voyage through a travel trip advisor in Chicago. It was an 8 days long trip and it went to Holland, Beaver Island, The Buckingham fountain and many more. It was cost effective and reasonable for our budget. What I enjoyed the most was the food - seafood, baked bread and fresh fruits was always available and was so delicious. When we stopped at Beaver island we got to enjoy some traditional folk dances at night. Also at holland, we saw a 275 year old working windmill. So many historical buildings and sites were visited. The staff and captain were always available and attended to each of our needs. While browsing through this site I found another couple reviewing about the Blount ship. Its just amazing if you want to get out of the sea and try the lakes instead.