What would you do? Help me pick a destination.

So this is a long way off and I'm just starting to look. So this will be very vague and general. If you've been to any of these places or have any opinions please do let me know.

I'm looking to book something for 2017 to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. Our budget is limited but we will try to make it work because what is life without great experiences?

So my question. We're tossing around an Alaskan cruise, a Southern Caribbean cruise or a European cruise (probably leaving from England is best).

Opinions? Have you done any of these and loved them? Best trip of your lives etc. Help us pick what we should do. We can go pretty much at any time of the year.

About us:

We're Canadian. So our dollar is completely tanked right now and price is an issue. We can fly out of Toronto, Buffalo NY or Detroit. So lots of options there.

Early 30's. Not in great shape but we do love to do activities like snorkelling and we would love to try scuba. We also love bus tours because apparently we fit in great with the older crowd as well. We like to do once in a lifetime excursions. Not big drinkers at all. We don't stay up late. We love comedy shows and food.

My brother lives in Whitehorse, Yukon which is right near Alaska. If we do the Alaskan cruise we would probably work in a little side trip to visit him as we've never been there before.

As you can see we've been on Carnival and NCL. We'd happily go on either again. Would LOVE to give Royal Caribbean a try and we're not ruling out any cruise line. We like newer ships with lots of things to do. We're the type that get board easily so the more options, the better. We are both wanting to try one of the brand new mega ships just to see what they are all about but that can also be saved for another time.

So please tell me why I should pick one destination over the others? What sounds like it would suit us best? We want the best 10th Anniversary cruise we can find! Help!

We love Alaska and have celebrated two anniversaries on Alaska cruises. As you can see below, we have another anniversary cruise booked for next year.

We have also cruised the Caribbean on our anniversary. We haven't cruised in Europe since we used to live there, but we may do a Med cruise in the near future.

Do some price checking and comparisons on the itineraries that appeal to both of you. Make yourself a chart. Include airfare, etc. then make your decision.

You might enjoy viewing my wife's website. The slideshows may give you some ideas.

Happy cruising. It's a great way to celebrate.

We have done all of the destinations that you are looking at. Alaska is awesome especially when you add in the pre cruise train thru the Canadian rockies. Once on the cruise there is so much to do in every port. You just have to pick what tickles your fancy. We have done, train rides, horseback riding, ice climbing, hiking, deadliest catch boat rides, crab fishing, helicopter rides, float plane rides and more.

Southern Caribbean is great if you want more time at sea and the beach life. WE have done the 10 day out of FLL and really enjoyed the 10 days on the ship. Great shore excursions also. This is by far the cheapest price for the cruise itself and the shore excursions.

British isles was absolutely amazing. There was so much to do in every port and it was all great. This was a very port intensive trip and we loved the days at sea to just relax.

All of our cruises to these ports have been on Princess and we think they are great. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Debbie

Well, I'm going to suggest something out of your box. How about a full transit of the Panama Canal? I've been to the Carribean several times, plus Alaska - spectacular, however seeing one of the man-made wonders of the world is pretty spectacular in and of itself. Plus the different countries going down and then coming back up. I.e. Aruba and Cartegna Columbia, then through the canal, then Punta Arenas (sp) Costa Rica, then a couple stops in Mexico, and ending up somewhere in California. My trip began in Ft Lauderdale and ended in San Francisco. Think what spending a few days visiting beautiful San Francisco for your anniversity! Of course you could begin in California and end up in Florida - then it's a relatively quick flight home.

Very important, how much time will you have?

We love Alaska and have celebrated two anniversaries on Alaska cruises. As you can see below, we have another anniversary cruise booked for next year.

 

We have also cruised the Caribbean on our anniversary. We haven't cruised in Europe since we used to live there, but we may do a Med cruise in the near future.

 

Do some price checking and comparisons on the itineraries that appeal to both of you. Make yourself a chart. Include airfare, etc. then make your decision.

 

You might enjoy viewing my wife's website. The slideshows may give you some ideas.

 

Happy cruising. It's a great way to celebrate.

Heading over to her website now! Thank you!

Well, I'm going to suggest something out of your box. How about a full transit of the Panama Canal? I've been to the Carribean several times, plus Alaska - spectacular, however seeing one of the man-made wonders of the world is pretty spectacular in and of itself. Plus the different countries going down and then coming back up. I.e. Aruba and Cartegna Columbia, then through the canal, then Punta Arenas (sp) Costa Rica, then a couple stops in Mexico, and ending up somewhere in California. My trip began in Ft Lauderdale and ended in San Francisco. Think what spending a few days visiting beautiful San Francisco for your anniversity! Of course you could begin in California and end up in Florida - then it's a relatively quick flight home.

Oh that does sound absolutely lovely! Aruba and Costa Rica are both on my list of places to see as well as obviously the Panama Canal. And I'd love to see San Fran as well. Hmm... So much to think about.

Very important, how much time will you have?

I think we can probably only do 7-10 days comfortably. 14 is doable but would be pushing it.

We have done all of the destinations that you are looking at. Alaska is awesome especially when you add in the pre cruise train thru the Canadian rockies. Once on the cruise there is so much to do in every port. You just have to pick what tickles your fancy. We have done, train rides, horseback riding, ice climbing, hiking, deadliest catch boat rides, crab fishing, helicopter rides, float plane rides and more.

Southern Caribbean is great if you want more time at sea and the beach life. WE have done the 10 day out of FLL and really enjoyed the 10 days on the ship. Great shore excursions also. This is by far the cheapest price for the cruise itself and the shore excursions.

British isles was absolutely amazing. There was so much to do in every port and it was all great. This was a very port intensive trip and we loved the days at sea to just relax.

 

All of our cruises to these ports have been on Princess and we think they are great. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Debbie

You've just reminded me why I want to do ALL of these places! haha

If only I had all the time and money in the world. I'd never stop travelling. Which place was your favourite?

Not sure if i had one favorite cruise. We also liked the Med cruise but i would not be going there right now. We are going on a Northern Europe cruise this May on the Regal Princess and cannot wait.

The things to help you make the decision are:

How long can you be away from home for?

How much do you want to spend on the cruise?

How much is the air fare? This is the killer for us.

Do you want to relax or go non stop?

Do you want warm weather or colder weather?

I am sure there is something that i am missing, but this is a start.

Debbie

I have two more suggestions for you.

Southern Caribbean Cruise out of San Juan. Royal Caribbean would be my choice now as the Carnival ship offered there now is a much smaller older ship. You will be visiting several ports that you have not been to yet - St Kitts, Barbados, and St Lucia. Loved St Lucia. This is also a relatively easy connecting flights out of Toronto. Actually cheaper than out of Buffalo or Detroit. Make sure you stay in San Juan a few days before or after the cruise. Lots to see and do.

Bermuda on the NCL Breakaway out of New York. Great newer ship, lots to do.

Absolutely loved Bermuda.

Med cruises are very nice too, but not really one where you do a lot of beaches and snorkeling. However, we really enjoyed our med cruise, especially staying in Rome for 5 days before our cruise.

Alaska. Consider Princess.

I think we can probably only do 7-10 days comfortably. 14 is doable but would be pushing it.

Well that might cut out the Canal cruise. Those, full transit, is 15 days. Ah, but what a trip it was!

We've done Caribbean, Alaska and Europe. I'd happily do all again but Alaska was the special one. It was fantastic. If you do that I would highly recommend getting a balcony. It's so worth it. Seeing humpback whales while getting ready for dinner is not something that happens every day. We went with celebrity which would probably suit you. Not including airfare, our Alaska cruise was the cheapest we have done.

Alaska is truly something special, and that would be my first pick. Of course, I've never met a day in the blue Caribbean that I did not love... :) If you choose Alaska grab an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay. It's quite an experience.

I think budget and time are going to drive your decision.

I've done Alaska and loved it but you really need to splurge for a balcony. We actually skipped dinner a couple of times just to watch the whales and sea lions frolic! We did a 10 day cruisetour and started in Fairbanks and sailed from Seward to Vancouver. We were wiped by the end because we DID stuff in every port. Since you have family around there though you might want to do that another time.

I'd love to do a Southern Caribbean and second going out of San Juan vs Florida. You'd use so much of your time just getting down there from Florida you wouldn't have as many islands. Much more relaxing though. And I love San Juan and would second spending some time there!

We are doing the Med this May and I will tell you it is starting to be one of the most expensive trips we've ever taken! Between flights and all the excursions, yikes! But it will be so worth it. We are doing the Grand Med and the cruise alone is 12 days plus a day before and 2 days after. We did get a balcony just because we get claustrophobic but the inside for our boys is about the cost for 1 of us in a balcony so you can get a cheaper cabin. Airfare is killer though.

Good luck!

Budget is going to be a HUGE factor for us and is very limited. Would you say that a southern caribbean leaving from San Juan is our most budget friendly option?

As much as I would love to do Alaska and have a balcony, that is so far out of the budget it's not even funny. Well I suppose it kinda is a little funny. Maybe we should wait until we can fully enjoy an Alaskan vacation and afford to upgrade to the balcony. Thoughts?

So much to think about.

You have to realize that flights to SJU are not cheap, at least not from here in DEN. So we would have to look at southern caribean out of FLL on a 10 day on Princess. But just remembered that you want to go in the summer that leaves Princess out of it.

I would look at Alaska and see what you can get for 2017. You can book a cruise and put a deposit down and see what sales come up later on. They almost always have a sale. Just make sure that the deposit is refundable.

I am partial to Princess so see what they have out there.

Let us know what you decide or if you any other questions,

Debbie

Princess relocates down to Caribbean and back to Canada each year.Spring and Fall. Been on way over 50 cruises but not this one. 14-15 nights and currently the Oct 22 on Caribbean Princess is $1699, should come down more. Interesting itin, look it up.Stay away from Europe for now. I know I am in minority but Alaska just does not excite me. Probably because I live in beautiful Colorado Rockies.But never seem to tire of S.Caribbean. Nice cruise there is Celebritys Reflection or Silhoutte 7N.

As suggested I made myself a little spread sheet to compare pricing by cruise line and itinerary. I think Europe is out for now. It's a tad more than we can afford.

Still looking at both Southern Caribbean and Alaska on a number of different cruise lines. Hopefully our dollar bounces back soon or we may just have to stay in Canada.

Haven't looked into Bermuda at all yet but that's next on my list of things to do.

Panama Canal would be my pick....our cruise was 13 days through it. Some cruise lines also do partial transits where you go through one lock and back.

By the way, it is better to sail from Spain/Italy to get to more parts of the Med (East and West) than from the UK. A UK start will get you to the Med but you will spend a lot of sea days at the start and these cruises are longer. If you do want to sail from the UK my family love Portugal/Spain cruises along the Atlantic and I can also personally and highly recommend a Baltic cruise as you get many interesting ports.

I know you would rather do around 10 days but if you are celebrating/travelling far the longer cruises do have a certain special aspect.

Budget is going to be a HUGE factor for us and is very limited. Would you say that a southern caribbean leaving from San Juan is our most budget friendly option?

 

As much as I would love to do Alaska and have a balcony, that is so far out of the budget it's not even funny. Well I suppose it kinda is a little funny. Maybe we should wait until we can fully enjoy an Alaskan vacation and afford to upgrade to the balcony. Thoughts?

 

So much to think about.

We have done two cruises out of San Juan, both on Carnival. One on the Valor, and the second on the Liberty.

For some unknown reason, Carnival has repositioned the Fascination into San Juan for the Southern Caribbean route. Nice older ship, but very few amenities.

Adventure of the Seas, not not that new, has a lot more to offer.

Someone said airfare to San Juan is expensive. We flew out of Toronto (cheapest at the time) for about $550 CDN per person. This was last October.

Not bad, keep in mind our weak dollar, and you are in the air for over 5 hours.

Where are you located? You may consider just driving to New York for a Bermuda cruise. Much cheaper than airfare.

Overall, both cruises will cost about the same. Caribbean, cheaper cruise, but extra cost of airfare. Bermuda, more expensive cruise, they also have much higher port taxes, but you save on the fact that you could drive to your port.

We have done both, live in southwestern ontario. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

We have done two cruises out of San Juan, both on Carnival. One on the Valor, and the second on the Liberty.

For some unknown reason, Carnival has repositioned the Fascination into San Juan for the Southern Caribbean route. Nice older ship, but very few amenities.

Adventure of the Seas, not not that new, has a lot more to offer.

 

Someone said airfare to San Juan is expensive. We flew out of Toronto (cheapest at the time) for about $550 CDN per person. This was last October.

Not bad, keep in mind our weak dollar, and you are in the air for over 5 hours.

 

Where are you located? You may consider just driving to New York for a Bermuda cruise. Much cheaper than airfare.

 

Overall, both cruises will cost about the same. Caribbean, cheaper cruise, but extra cost of airfare. Bermuda, more expensive cruise, they also have much higher port taxes, but you save on the fact that you could drive to your port.

 

We have done both, live in southwestern ontario. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

That's a really smart idea. We're also in southwestern Ontario. I don't know why this didn't pop into my head. We've driven to Florida to save money multiple times. Might make it more economical to check out Bermuda this time. I did toss around driving to New Orleans and spending a few days there as well. The itineraries weren't that appealing on Carnival though. I don't love going to back to ports I've been to before unless I really loved them. I think I'll check out some other lines. I love newer ships.

Alaska and Panama Canal cruises are expensive. You will get more for your $$ by finding a "Repositioning Cruise" where the ship is changing venue. We've done four fourteen day transatlantic cruises. Three were from Barcelona and one from England. Our best price equaled $41/night for each of us. We usually book an outside cabin which is much less expensive than a balcony. We don't recommend inside rooms. You visit some really neat ports in Spain, Portugal, the Canary Islands and the Azores. Airfare can be discounted to around $500 by using the Choice Air program offered by RCCL and Celebrity. You will have seven days at sea on the final leg of your repositioning trip but the ship increases the daily activity schedule to accommodate it. They also book people who give interesting lectures during sea days. Some were retired FBI Agent, a U.S. Ambassador and college professors. There are also repositioning cruises leaving from Quebec City heading to Florida and from Vancouver going south. Have fun researching.

Celebrity Summit does really affordable cruises, will soon be out of drydock. Does Bermuda out of Bayonne, NJ. S. Caribbean 7N alternating out of SanJuan. Do a B2B.I have seen the SanJuan runs under $500 for early bookings.