Help choosing the right line...

We went on a cruise once 20 years ago - in our early 20s. We would like to try again for our 20th wedding anniversary. We would prefer to leave from the US. The cabin and condition of the ship will be important to us. As is the food. I think we will book a jr or mini suite w/balcony. In the little research I've done Celebrity looks appealing but they don't seem to depart from any US cities. I would love to leave from New Orleans but the ship choices there don't seem to have overwhelming reviews. Any and all suggestions are more than welcome.

We went on a cruise once 20 years ago - in our early 20s. We would like to try again for our 20th wedding anniversary. We would prefer to leave from the US. The cabin and condition of the ship will be important to us. As is the food. I think we will book a jr or mini suite w/balcony. In the little research I've done Celebrity looks appealing but they don't seem to depart from any US cities. I would love to leave from New Orleans but the ship choices there don't seem to have overwhelming reviews. Any and all suggestions are more than welcome.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Personally, I don't think that you can go wrong with Celebrity. Especially their Solstice class ships. While we have only cruised once with Celebrity, we definitely plan to cruise that line again. Balcony rooms are spacious and the decor is not overwhelming. Food was good and service was excellent. We cruised out of Ft. Lauderdale. Except for our Alaska cruise, we've always cruised out of east coast ports.

We usually try to choose a ship (not a cruise line) that we have not sailed on before and then look at the length of cruise and ports of call. We tend not to look at cruise reviews and trust our travel agent's advice when deciding to go on another cruise.

When are you planning on cruising? Celebrity doesn't do FL in the summer, but the Summit goes to Bermuda out of NJ.

We went on a cruise once 20 years ago - in our early 20s. We would like to try again for our 20th wedding anniversary. We would prefer to leave from the US. The cabin and condition of the ship will be important to us. As is the food. I think we will book a jr or mini suite w/balcony. In the little research I've done Celebrity looks appealing but they don't seem to depart from any US cities. I would love to leave from New Orleans but the ship choices there don't seem to have overwhelming reviews. Any and all suggestions are more than welcome.

If you'd like to cruise out of New Orleans, I'd recommend Royal Caribbean. They don't cruise out of NOLA all year round, but they are here from early Fall until Spring. I would say they are the nicest option out of New Orleans for an anniversary.

Otherwise, have you thought of trying Princess? They are very similar to Celebrity and cruise out of US cities.

You could also consider a full suite on NCL, if it is in the budget, out of NOLA. A suite would get you many perks on NCL...it is not the same atmosphere as Celebrity, better in some ways, lesser in others...always subjective. If you book an NCL suite 9+ months out and pay with AMEX, they offer a $500 OBC, so the cost may end up competitive with a jr suite on another line. edit...if you are foodies, leave some money in budget for some specialty restaurants if you select NCL for an anniversary cruise.

Unless you're cruising in summer or fall, Celebrity does sail out of US ports. Or, you could do an Alaska cruise on Celebrity out of Seattle. If food is important, look at Celebrity, HAL or Princess. They are known to have better food and service and are considered a bit better than other mass market lines.