Romantic Honeymoon Cruise Ideas for First Time Cruisers?

[wes3607]

Couple of newbie questions:

 

1. I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas of something unique and romantic I could do to surprise my wife on our honeymoon cruise coming up next month. We will be on Millie for the Nov 22 sailing, and it's our first cruise. We have a nice C2 cabin with a triangular balcony (8045 - have read lots of good things about these triangular balcony cabins here), have 2 reservations to the Olympic, and I want to make this really special!

 

2. I have read many mixed reviews about Select dining and the level of service you receive. Would it be "safer" for us to choose early or late seating, or should we just try it out and see how we like it?

 

3. If you were new to cruising and had never been to any of the Caribbean islands yet, would you skip any and stay on the ship? If so, which of the following would be "skipable" and why: St Croix, St Kitts, Dominica, St Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Curacao, or Aruba

 

Any thoughts would be great to hear. We are getting really excited for this trip! Thanks in advance!

[joanne59]

Congrats on your wedding and your very first cruise. I can think of no better way to share a wonderful memory such as this, than at sea in the caribbean.

 

If you've never been on a cruise, almost everything you will be doing should be unique, and sharing it with your new bride will provide the romance. Check the website, I think they have a romance package with champagne and scattered rose petals for the cabin, if I'm not mistaken.

 

All those islands sound like a very busy itinerary for you both, do a bit of research on the port boards, then make up your mind which ones will suit your vacation needs. The listed excursions for each port may also be helpful in making decisions about now to spend your time. Sorry, having not been to very many of those islands, I can't make any sound recommendations. You could always stay on board and do a couple's spa day, they sometimes offer discounts on port days.

 

Happy cruising...Joanne.

[eandj]

Not sure you will need anything really special for your wife. The cruise is chock full of geat stops. If you were to skip a port, you might want to have breakfast in bed and pick a doubles massage or other spa treatment. Or just enjoy the much less crowded pool for the day. You will also be able to have your dinner on your verandah which can be very romantic.;)

 

I persoanlly would NOT skip Aruba, Curacao, Barbados or St. lucia. They are all different in their own way. Do a search on all the ports to find what each offers.

 

Stick with select dining if you want more flexability. If you want to see the shows, plan your dinners around show times.

 

Congratulations. :)

[mathgeek1978]

If you want a romantic dinner and a table for 2, you are better off with select dining. Based on our past experience, the later the better. If you like late dining, show up around 8:30 - 9:00PM and you will easily get a table for 2. If you ask, sometimes you get a nicer table since it's late and many tables are open. Twice we had a table by the window and it was wonderful.

 

If you have a CC cabin, be sure to have breakfast on the balcony at least once and order from the special CC menu.

[mathgeek1978]

Oh... I forgot to mention, be sure to watch the sunset at least once from your balcony, while enjoying your favorite drinks and some soft music... How romantic!

 

[luvstosail]

We were on a wonderful 14 day cruise for our honeymoon and this was one of the best little things I did for my husband everyday. Before we got on board,I purchased 14-20 greeting cards that were either blank or just "loving". Surprise your partner with one someplace different everyday. You can have your room steward place one on the pillow after your room is made up for the evening. I also had one under a plate that I gave to our waiter the night beforein a speciality restaurant. Have a drink ordered and have the same barservice waiter bring the card to her/himat the pool. It was also fun to have one waiting for him after a spa service. I would write the message either the night before or anytime you have a minute or two alone. Have a wonderful honeymoon, be creative and make sure you have flowers in your room and buy a plush robe on board that you will always have.

[WineDown17]

On our honeymoon on the Summit, our butler lined the room and the bed with rose petals....

 

Ask your steward for help doing this.....have a bottle of champage chilling and bring a special cd of your special songs....you can also often get chocolate covered strawberries....

 

I think that is terribly romantic!

 

Remember a nice tip for the help and the clean up that will be required...

[madelinerose]

For your first cruise, I wouldn't skip any ports.

 

Have a lovely honeymoon and a wonderful cruise! ;)

[WineDown17]

You have my blessing to skip ports..it is your honeymoon afterall!;)

 

Not to mention, an empty ship is a more private, romantic ship...you can always do another cruise and see a port another time.....

 

Do what feels right when you are on board.

[TraceyP]

Congratulations!!! I'm sure you're going to love your cruise. We'll be on the Millie on December 13 with almost the same itinerary. I've been to five of the eight islands on the trip. DON'T skip St Lucia--it is my favorite island and I've been to quite a few. It's gorgeous. In fact when I went to St Lucia last time, there was a couple we met on their honeymoon and they booked a private excursion with Cosol on St Lucia (they went with his cousin Yellow Bird and we were with a larger group with Cosol). It was a wonderful tour and they seemed to really like having the private excursion--they got to do a little extra since it was just the two of them.

 

You picked a port intensive itinerary--which is my kind of trip. I'm not much of one for laying out in the sun for hours, or the like. I prefer to get off the ship and do things. So I've planned things to do at each port. 4 islands we have non-cruiseline excursions already booked, and the remaining four we have plans for and may book another excrusion or two as it gets closer.

 

But it all depends on what you and the Mrs. to be enjoy about vacations. Do you like to just relax, or get some sun? Do you like beach days, or snorkeling? Do you like hiking? Do you like thrill type excursions (zipline / parasailing) or want some of each?? Go from there. Each island has different options. Some are best for snorkeling and beach, while others offer history and nature tours. St Kitt's has hiking to Mt Liamuiga for the super fit.

 

My recommendation is decide how much you want to do, and then look and see what the options are. Then plan from there. You can do a lot of things on a shoe string budget if you're more adventurous, or if not $$ is not a big worry--there are a lot of great options!!! I know you're new to cruising, but non-cruiseline excursions are the way to go IMO. Just do your research here on CC. You won't be sorry.

[TraceyP]

Oh--I forgot to address select dining. We did select dining on the Millie in May. It hasn't been offered for that long so there were a few kinks, but nothing I minded.

 

I enjoyed it a lot. The service was not as good as you will probably get in traditional seating because in traditional the waiters really get to know you and what you like. I've always had great service on Celebrity--although my first cruise on Constellation was the best. I still fondly remember our waiter Adolfo--he was GREAT!

 

Select was interesting in that most nights on our 13 night Alaskan cruise we had tables for two. It was a little cramped but not bad. A couple of nights we joined others which can be interesting. (In traditional you're always at the same table with the same people. Can be great or not so. I know more sociable types who meet lifelong friends. Celebrity tries to match people up with similar ages and things but it's no guarantee especially if you're younger. Also, if you're at a large table in traditional it can be really slow as you wait for everyone to get through multiple courses.)

 

Select is great in that you get to be more flexible with when you go to dinner, and believe me some nights you'll appreciate not having to be at dinner by 6:30 after being out on an island all day. And for me 8:30 was too late to eat--I'm hungry earlier.

 

One potential negative is that the main shows in theater are scheduled with the traditional dinner times. So if shows are important and you do Select--plan to go to dinner based on the show times, and let your waiter know when you sit down. They hurried us through dinner a bit faster on a couple nights when we wanted to get to the show.

 

So again--it depends on what is important to you. For the true cruise experience and best service go traditional. If you like to keep your own schedule and don't want to have to go to dinner at a specific time each night, and service isn't as important (it will still be good!), go Select.

[We're The Groupnors]

Congratulations!

 

On one of our first cruises my husband surprised me with flowers delivered to the room and a bottle of Champagne. We saved the champagne for a moonlit night, then took the extra blanket from our room and found a secluded part of the top deck with a view of the ocean and the moon. We snuggled on the blanket, talked and drank champagne for two hours. It was heavenly!

[Irishwhiskey]

Check out all of the islands that you will be visiting and read the many suggestions that previous cruisers have experienced.My favorite is taking a catameran.There are many to choose from on each island.John