50th wedding anniversary trip for in-laws?

Hi! Trying to find a cruise for my in-laws for next fall 2015. They have cruised over 10 times on carnival, but I see they don't go there. They are fine with a inside cabin and we would be paying up to $2000 a person. They want to do both Australia and New Zealand. What cruise line or cruise would you recommend? Thanks!

We sailed on the Celebrity Solstice last December from Auckland to Sydney.

I highly recommend this ship & itinerary.

When you say fall, do you mean your fall, our our autumn? Probably better to give the months you are interested in?

NZ can be a bit cooler around Sept/Oct and March, but in general it is quite a mild climate there and we have done 3 NZ cruises and find port days very comfortable most of the time. It depends if you want a warmer trip at sea for swimming etc.

If you are happy with Carnival, then I would say you would be happy with Royal Caribbean, Princess and Holland American lines also. We have done Celebrity Solstice also and would recommend it too. There are a lot of cruises doing NZ itineraries and I am sure you would love the trip. I would have thought there was some Carnival cruises around NZ also? Or are they not in the months you are looking at?

50th requires something special.Solstice an exact fit.

Princess is having a 50th Anniversary sale on and you could get a better price with them, nothing like comparing prices

We have done HAL Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart then round New Zealand to Auckland, it was a good itinerary and longer than what Celebrity do. Unless you get the Diamond Princess, the Princess ships that go round New Zealand are our Australian Princess ships and are smaller and older, people love them but they are not as upmarket. If they don't mind smaller older ships Australian Princess runs a good selection throughout the year.

Celebrity Solstice does a great one from Auckland all the way along the bottom of Australia but it books out early and is done in February.

Royal Caribbean tend to do shorter trips so to see both Australia and New Zealand you might have to do a back to back, if there are available itineraries. I understand that Carnival does not do New Zealand.

Also March/April and October are the end and beginning of our cruising season for international ships (eg HAL, Celebrity) so the available trips are more limited.

We did Celebrity Solstice Auckland to Sydney last month, highly recommended! We loved this ship and have booked her again. They are also still offering the 123GO special which includes free beverage package, gratuities or on board credit, a great deal.

For a 50th Anniversary trip, couldn't go past PRINCESS!

A stay over in Sydney or Melbourne pre and post and a return cruise to New Zealand...PERFECT!

Go Celebrity every time!!!! Have done both Princess & Celebrity, you want special go Celebrity. Sorry, but if my kids were trying to do something special - Celebrity would tick all the boxes. Some posters have only done Princess, other posters don't say in their history (like me) and so you have to pick and choose what is best out of these opinions. Good luck! :D