Need advice for 50th wedding annv. cruise

[MLP]

Hi:

First let me say hello. I am new and this is my first post here, so I am hoping I am addressing this question on the correct forum.

My in-laws have cruised many times and are going to be celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary in two years. My husbands & his siblings (5 in total) would like to surprise them with a cruise for their anniversary. Seeing that none of us have ever cruised before, I need some advice. This is what we want to do for them (and I don't even know where to begin to research but here)...

We want to send them on a 7 or longer day cruise with a upper end line. We want to keep it to about $1000-$1500 a couple...so that would be a price range of $5000-$7500 including all expenses. We would like to send them somewhere they haven't been (they have been to the Caribbean and Alaska on cruises). Also, would like to be able to get the most for our money, like a suite with a balcony. I don't think it will matter to them what time of year they travel, so we could do an off season type time to get more for our buck. Would love to send them to Europe maybe.

I really appreicate any help you guys can give me. I was nominated the "family travel agent" in charge of researching this and so far, I am bewildered. There are so many places to go and so many lines, etc...I am just confused out of my mind. Thanks

[DFritz]

First let me welcome you to the message boards.

Second- I want to be sure that I understand what you are saying regarding price. Am I to understand that there will be several of you traveling and that you don't want to spend more than $1500 for two people -OR- do I understand that each of the siblings wishes to donate $1000 to $1500 each to provide about $7500 for this cruise?? I was a little confused by what you were saying.

Third- As to a cruise line that would fit the desires of a couple that cruises often and are in their 70"s I would say either Holland America, Celebrity Cruise Line or Royal Caribbean International.

Four- You may want to start checking in to reposition cruises. Many of them start overseas and end in the states. There is really lots to choose from in the way of cruises.

You might want to quiz the folks in a subtle way to find out what it is that they love so much about cruising in order to find out what is most important to them. Maybe fake them out by acting like you yourself might be considering a cruise but you want their advise . This will give you a chance to listen to all of the little things they say.

Ask others in your area if they know of a very good reputable cruise Travel Agent. This will give you a qualified person to assist you in all of the choices.

Good luck

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;12;04;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]
'Til my next cruise

[mii]

First of all I want to welcome you too to the board. First of all there are many cruise lines to pick from. Personally I like Princess. Of course it all depend on where you live with airfare and such but an idea would be to consider the Panama Canal cruise. We were just there last Feb on the Coral Princess on a 10 day partial transit cruise which goes part way into the canal. It goes through 1 set of locks then turns around and goes back out. If you wanted to see the whole works and go through all of the locks (there are 3) then you could take an excursion (extra cost). Our other stops were Costa Rica, Cozumel, grand Caymand and by the way this was a round trip out of Fort Lauderdale. The best thing to do is to find a good travel agent who can really help you. Even though they have been to Alaska, I have been there a couple of times and plan to go back next year again. Also there is a message board called Ports of Call Board that is a wealth of information when you decide where you want to go. Hope this helps. If you have any more questions please let this board know. We always try to help.


Marilyn

[serene56]

Me, too. welcome to the boards. You can get lots of information here.
What was your inlaws favorite cruise line?
I would go with that.
Hawaii is a nice destination. Some times the cruiselines have sales where the air is included in the price.

Going NOWHERE
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=000080&cdt=2004;10;22;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]


Miracle, February 13, 2005
Legend, October 22,2004
Voyager August 31,2003
Victory September 22,2002
Regal Empress,June 2001
Sensation,August 2000

[cwc]

How nice of you all!

Yes, send them to Europe or even Asia if they have not been there before. Also, with the price you guys are willing to pay, you can go for a luxury cruise line for them like Crystal, Radisson, Silversea and Seabourn. The best time to travel to Europe and Asia is around October. The weather will be better (cooler, but no rain yet) and much less tourist around.

Just remember to subtrace some money from the budget you had for them for the cruise and put it onto their ship account to do shore excursion.

Best of luck!

[MLP]

Thanks so much for the wealth of informaton and welcomes.

First, only my husbands' parents will be going. All the brothers/sisters are planing to put in $1000-$1500 each for the trip for his parents. I talked to my sister in law this morning and we may even try to get about $2000 each. We would like to put them on a cruise that they normally wouldn't dream of doing for themselves. They have passports, but have not traveled abroad very much. My FIL is a minister, so he may be retired by then. They will be in their very early 70s when they have their anniversary. I think they prefer the Holland America line, but I would love to get them a trip on like Radisson. I think my dilemia is that I want a very nice cruise line and an upper room, can I actually do that within what we can afford. I know we have a lot between us to work with, but I have to be able to get them airfare, etc in that money also. We would love to have some left over to give them for the tipping, any other onboard fees, and some port excursions or shopping. We don't want them to pay a cent while on this trip.

I hope this extra info helps and clarifys my needs enough. Thanks again for the help...I really appreciate it. I know you all here have tons of knowledge and experience, and that is what I need.

[CaptData]

If you do Europe make sure that you do a pre-cruise hotel. Book your own flights but check the flight with the cruise line first since this will problebly open jaw. If you want someting else Hawaii would be good. Your could get a mini suite gty. This is where all the perks start, but very expensive. You could pre-book their excursions, then pay it by call the line. They will charge your card for the amount and it will show as a credit on their account. Before they leave you can tell them what you did. If your parents don't mind flying chose one of the helo tours in Hawaii (about $300/person). You can also pre-order and bottle of wine for them to be delivered at dinner (this has a card which can say "Happy 50th from the kids".

Hopfully a Hawiian Cruise

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=4169e1&cdt=2006;12;5;11;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img] Until we sail away on the ocean blue



Navigator of the Seas Western Crib 08/03
Dawn Princess - Eastern Carb 01/03
Dawn Princess Panamal Canal 11/02

[luv2cruise450]

Hi MLP...welcome to these boards and what a lovely anniversary present! The above posters all have great suggestions...possibly another area of the world that you might consider for a 50th anniversary cruise would be a cruise to South America. Hopefully we'll be able to do one in the near future. A lot also depends on what your in-laws interests are. We loved our Western Mediterranean cruise...but do want to mention that European cruises are very port-intensive (and can be exhausting) and as wonderful as they are...it might be a consideration for your in-laws. Another area that I've heard great things about is a cruise that takes one to the Scandinavian ports and the Norwegian fjords. Or how about a cruise to the Greek isles?
Happy planning and post any questions that we might be able to help you with.

Victoria III 4/99 (Yangtze River)
Maasdam 5/00 (W.Med) & 11/01
Veendam 10/00
Zaandam 5/01 (Alaska cruisetour)
Millenium 12/01 & 10/03 (transatlantic)
Amsterdam 5/02 (transcanal)
NCL Star 12/02 (Hawaii)
CCL Paradise 3/03
Noordam 4/03 (transatlantic)
NCL Dawn 8/03
Regal Princess Elaine 3/04 (Yangtze River)

[MLP]

I think the more we all discuss this, the more we are leaning towards some type of European Cruise. I think that would be a wonderful trip for anyone, especially a surprise trip. Those that have taken cruises in Europe, which lines are the best? Are there different lines that service those areas that we don't hear about in the US that are good ones to look into. They have already done the Caribbean and Alaska, so we want to send them somewhere else. I thought the repositioning cruise from LA to Australia sounded fantastic, but was out of our budget. I am sure there is something that we can find. Also, where is the best place to find deals on cruises? Do you do better to book through an independent agent or the cruise line direct? And, is there a better time to book the trip? How do I go about finding the so called deals? Any information you can throw this way...I am writing this all down...LOL. So much to learn. I am sure I will know it all in the next two years. You all have helped so much in just two days. Thanks a million!

[cwc]

Hi MLP,

Question is, where do your in-laws live? East coast? West Coast?

If east coast, then Europe will be better, if west coast, either Asia or Australia will make more sense because of air travel time is very tiring. The jet lag recovery for old people takes longer than younger folks. Unless you are upgrading them to business or first class, the economic class seats are all very tight especially for >8hr flight time.

If you really want them to do Radisson, you don’t need to go for the upper suite to be special. The lowest catalog room on Radisson = suite on Holland. So I would suggest you to save money and go for the luxury line instead. Also, most luxury lines have their tips and drinks pay for already, so you don’t need to figure in extra for them to pay on the ship. (I just looked on-line Oct 18 7 night RSSC’s Voyager Istanbul to Venice 2500$ port & tax included)

As for which cruise line best in Europe, I would pick one that offer personal choice dining, that means they can eat any time they want and don’t need to go to the dinning room at certain time in order to get sit down service. The reason for this will allow them to have more time to spend in port to see and do as much as they can and not hurry to get back to the ship for meals.

Good luck!

[DFritz]

I think you've taken on a very tense adventure of planning this trip but it sounds like your sibling family is helping with the decision making .

I think I would go to a Travel Agent in your area and ask for cruise line brochures for all of the major cruise lines that offer cruises to the destination that you choose, or are considering choosing. You mentioned Holland America Line so you may want to consider their 10 day Russia/Scandanavia cruise or maybe something like the Mexican Riviera or Tahiti if they haven't done much cruising on the west coast.

I would then check with the major airlines to get some basic prices for round trips from their home city to the major port cities like LA, NYC, Miami in the event you travel from a port here in the states. I would also figure out the spending money you would like to give them, onboard credit, a base amount for excursions, other misc. like tips and gratuities, parking or taxi's , etc. and deduct all of these costs with airfare from the amount you have to start with and then you'll have a pretty good idea of how much you will have for the cruise ticket and insurance.

If you go to a basic site like Orbitz or icruise you may be able to do some different comparison pricing.

Just some ideas. Keep us posted as you make plans.

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;12;04;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]
'Til my next cruise

[MLP]

Ok, I hope I can remember everything I want to cover. First, they live in Atlanta, so Ft Lauderdale or Miami would be fantastic. Also, it isn't much to fly to NYC either. We got together today for Mother's Day and all the "girls"...sister & sils got together to discuss this. Everyone is very excited about doing this. The eldest child (SIL) and myself will do all the planning, paying, etc. We are going to establish an account that everyone's money will go into. Whatever is left after the "bills" are paid, will go to his parents for incidentals of whatever kind...ie shopping, etc. After a long talk, we think Europe would be nice. Any sites that have a good variety (besides this one) of cruiselines to look at. And, what is the best time to travel to Europe? They are all excited about the Radisson line also, so if we go over what we initially planned for, that is fine. It is for his parents and we have plenty of time to come up with extra money if we need it.

I agree that flying to the West Coast to take a trip would be difficult. We also talked about that, plus the jet lag to go to Europe, so we decided that we would get them to whatever city a few days early (and a few post cruise days) to let them relax and get their barings before the cruise.

My question now is which cities are most popular. They have only be overseas to go to the Holy Land several years ago, anything else would be new for them. I don't think they would have a preference, but I want to make this romantic also. Thanks again

[Flyer]

Our experience is on Princess and we loved the Scandinavian/Baltic and the Western Europe/Iberia cruises.

We Have booked the Transatlantic from Copenhagen to Ft. Lauderdale for 2005. We are excited about this one as the ports will be Dover, Falmouth,(been there) Dublin,(been there) Belfast, Greenock, Scotland, (been there) Iceland, Greenland, St John's Newfoundland, (been there) New York and Disembark in Ft. Lauderdale after 17 days. We will fly into Copenhagen one day early. There are eight sea days on this trip so this one should be more relaxing than the "port intensive" European cruises.

Everybody has given excellent suggestions but, choosing a cruise for yourself is difficult so you have a very difficult choice choosing for them.

I will say that the European cruises we have taken cost about $10,000 total for air, cruise, tips and excursions. This is normally the lowest balcony cabin. Add more if you want to upgrade above this.

As far as the flight to Europe...tiring, yes but fairly easy to adjust...especially if they fly in a day early.

Have fun planning. They will certainly have fun cruising wherever you choose.

BTW, do you want my kids addresses to send suggestions to? Our 43rd is coming up soon [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Flyer

[cwc]

Hi MLP,

3yrs ago Aug, we went on Radisson Diamond 7 nights cruise, 2 nights each pre and post-cruise hotel (Le Meridien in Nice and Bernini Bristol in Rome) all booked through the cruise line including air and the total was 7768$. (We flew from SFO and during high travel season). It was our honeymoon, so we didn’t have time or energy after planning for the wedding to shop for airfare deal or wait for the low season fare. Also, looking back at the brochure, flying from east coast was about 400-500$ cheaper per person.

Last May, we went on QE2 (C5 Cat.) to Canary Islands for 9nights and 2nights post-cruise in London Hilton. It cost us around 5000$ (+400$/person roundtrip SFO to London and free hotel stay in Hilton through my Hilton Honor program)

So if some of your sibling are traveler and have frequent flier miles or hotel reward program, put them to good use. By the way, all the cost I wrote included other expenses on the trip like shore excursion, drinks, tips, and stuff like that.

Best month travel to the Mediterranean is Oct (according to my Italian co-worker, temperature will be cooler, less humid and less tourist). But if you are going to the northern part of the Europe like Russia or Germany summer will be the warmest season and best time.

Romantic port will be Venice and Sorrento.

Yes, it is true that most Europe cruise are port intensive, but I assume they are adult enough to know their own strength and plan their trip wisely. For example, walking around the old town Nice is funnier than an hour drive to Eze and sees the cactus garden (yes, we did both and we know).

I hope you guys will give them minimum of 3 months in advance warning because sometime old people don’t take surprises that well. J

Have fun!

Cindy

[MLP]

Wow Cindy, that makes me feel great hearing that we could possibly do a Radisson within our budget. I have talked to a cruise travel agency and the lady there told us that Radisson was or is doing a deal to certain places, including free airfare into the cruise. That would be great if they are doing this when we book. Is this something that they do on a regular basis? Does anyone know?

We are definitely going to give them time before the cruise to get prepared for the trip. Also, we had thought about getting the money together and booking something last minute for a better deal...and letting them be in on the decision. That may be what we do also, we just haven't decided yet. I know we have a long time off to make these plans, I was just more concerned on what we would need to save for a really nice cruise.

All of your help has been so valueable to us...thank you so much for all the input and suggestions. It will be a long while until we actually book something, but it is good to know that I have a great resource for informaiton...like this site.

Thanks again

[snshn3]

RCCL has 7 day Mediterranean cruises for $650pp

[url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=1683059817&m=567105281&r=567105281#567105281"]Roll Call on Brilliance of the Seas 06/17/05[/url]

Enchantment of the Seas, RCCL, 11/01 - Eastern Caribbean
Tropicale, Carnival 08/99 - Western Caribbean

[blmanke]

On our 50th anniversary last May, we took a 10 day cruise to Hawaii. We left from Ensenada Mexico. We had a mini-suite and that was wonderful.
If they like to cruise......then probably anyplace will be great.
We were in Venice last August and it was so exciting to see both Princess ships and Royal Caribbean ships in port. We got so excited and said "someday" we want to do that.
In the mean time...we leave tomorrow morning on the new Princess Diamond, for Alaska. We just found out today that Princess upgraded (no additional cost) to a mini suite from a smaller cabin with balcony.
Once you start to cruise you just cannot stop.
I think the Scandinavian cruise would be great too.
Oh to have kids that would send us on a dream cruise. We are 70 and not slowing down much when it comes to sightseeing...
You need to book as soon as possible so you get what you know they will enjoy. Waiting to the last minute for a "deal" could be disappointing.
You pay a deposit at the time of booking and the balance a couple of months before the cruise. If you take out insurance (we always do) then it is fully refundable in case an emergency comes along.
Have a fantastic time planning for your folks. They will be thrilled for sure.

"BARB & JOHN"

SITMAR
PRINCESS
CUNARD
CARNIVAL
RCCL
To Alaska on DIAMOND
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=8b0000&cdt=2004;5;15;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]

[aqua]

I think you are great to plan a trip for your family. When you are planning your budget, please note that shore excursions can be very expensive, especially in Europe. For our Constellation Baltic cruise, a tour or Normandy is $150 per person, Berlin is $300 and Moscow is $675. We will be doing many of the ports on our own, but not everybody is comfortable doing that. And even that can be expensive (Our tours of St. Petersburg will be about $150 per person per day.) Good luck, I think planning is great fun!

[jerseygirl3]

MLB, Radisson cruises has some great pricing for early fall (both this year and next). Actually, I think that would be a great time of year to go. A friend is going on a Mediterranean cruise on Radisson with a balcony cabin early October 2005 and they are paying $3,400 pp including airfare. And Radisson is a very upscale line; in addition, wine is included in the price of the cruise. That would probably be one cruiseline that most people couldn't afford, and one that your in-laws would certainly appreciate! Go to radissoncruises.com to check it out.

[email="caribbeanqueen3@comcast.net"]caribbeanqueen3@comcast.net[/email]

[imsulin]

Europe and Mediterranean cruises will be less expensive in the spring and fall, as summer is the high season, and it can get very hot in the Mediterranean during that time. As a "mature" person, I'm very heat-sensitive, and avoid tours that involve a lot of walking. My goal is the B to B Tahitian Princess, as I'd love to see French Polynesia, and as long as I'm near water, the heat doesn't get to me too often. I would avoid any of the "mega" ships, and opt for the small ones. Your parents are going to have a wonderful time!

[Julie UpNorth]

We sailed the W. Med. this past Feb. for 11 days on the Costa Europa and got FREE round trip air to Milan on Expedia. The cruise itself was only $1199. I would not recommend Costa but I just want you to know that there are some great deals to be had due to the lower number of Americans traveling abroad. Do remember that the dollar is weak so things like excursions and such are more money. Longer cruises (over 7 days) and those in Europe often have older passengers so your parents will not be feeling like they are on a "party boat"
How wonderful of you and your family to be doing this for your parents. My grandparents celebrated their 76th anniversary just yesterday. I only hope I live that long....just think how many cruises I will be able to take!

UpNorth