25th Anniversary cruise suggestions please

[anniedave]

We have done 2 cruises - 2020,2022.  both on Celeb in Aqua class, - Reflection to ABCs & Millenium to Eastern Carribean . We want to plan something different for our Silver wedding anniversary in early June 2024 . ( I know itinerarys aren't released yet) We like the idea of Alaska but also thinking about a B2B ( can be ship to ship) but don't want 2 Alaska cruises. We are from the England - but I have never been to Scotland or Ireland  and have visited some of Europe on land based holidays ( Spain, some of the Spanish & Greek Islands-)  but not all. ( never done Italy)  We love sea days so I was thinking about a transatlantic - husband not so sure.

We will be able to get about 23 days holiday from work which will need to include travelling time ! We  will start to save now so we can splurge a bit  - but don't have an unlimited budget 

Would love a holiday with lots of contrasts & would love  some suggestions from you seasoned cruisers with lots of experience. 

Thanks 

[emmas gran]

Hi how about Asia - Hong Kong to Singapore or similar, you get to do Vietnam and Thailand.

Transatlantic is OK if you like sea days (we have done 7) but I would do Asia in a heartbeat. Take a look at Edge for ideas on ports October 2023 starts in Rome and finishes in Australia, there is 52 night ?? but then broken down into segments Rome to Dubai --Dubai to Singapore etc (this leg you do a couple of Indian ports) Finally it gets to Australia where it will be based for a while.. Solstice and Millennium are doing Asia I think early 2024.

[emmas gran]

I have reread your post and if you want to cruise in June it is probably limited in itinerary 

[chemmo]

The fact you are cruising  in June rules out our favourite cruise ever which was a Trans Pacific from Hawaii to Sydney. Your time limit would be a bit short too as in addition to the long cruise you would want some time in Hawaii and Australia. Perhaps one to consider for the future, we did it as I retired.
 

When we cruised Alaska we combined it with a road trip of Washington State and a stay in Seattle. Fantastic part of the world. Seeing Mount St Helen’s had long been on our wish list. We did the tour first, followed by a couple of days in Seattle followed by the cruise. We seemed to pack so many experiences into the time. 
 

Also agree with emmas gran that the Far East is also fantastic. Cruising Hong Kong to Singapore gives you quality city breaks too.

 

You need to think about what you want from your cruise/holiday as well as the destinations you plan on visiting. For example, our Alaska/Washington state cruise was fairly hectic rather than relaxing.
 

As it is your anniversary cruise the Mediterranean can be hard to beat for romantic locations. Our favourite Med cruise was Barcelona/Barcelona calling in at Malta, Sicily, Santorini, Rhodes and a few other ports. A nice balance of things to see and do but you can avoid the hustle and bustle of long excursions by doing most things independently as you literally moor up in the main site seeing area, no coaches or taxis needed. If you are considering the Med I would browse a map first, look for places you really want to visit and then look for cruises that have some of them on. The beauty of a 10 night Mediterranean cruise in your time frame is that you can either fit in good city breaks at the start and end or simply add on a crash out quality resort break…
 

We have also made several Caribbean cruises special by adding on trips to the Gulf Coast, the Florida Keys and Disney. Generally these cruises are cheaper in our experience than when we have cruised from elsewhere in the world meaning you perhaps may choose to upgrade to a suite? Equinox has been Florida based all year for a few seasons. She usually has some 10 night itineraries.

 

In our experience there is no such thing as a bad cruise! Whatever you choose to do I am sure you will have a fantastic time! Sincere best wishes for a fantastic anniversary cruise, we spent our 40th anniversary in lockdown, we still enjoyed champagne but unfortunately on the patio rather than on a balcony!

 

 

[anniedave]

1 hour ago, emmas gran said:

I have reread your post and if you want to cruise in June it is probably limited in itinerary 

Thanks Emma..... ideally June but happy to have some flexibility  for the right trip!! - did husband's 60th birthday cruise in Feb this year- husbands 60th was Sept 2021. 

We have spoken about the far East- so that's an idea. 

The problem with Australia is we have 2 separate lots of old friends who live there who would be disappointed if we didn't visit them whilst there  & we don't want it to be about rushing around seeing people ! 

Some great ideas thanks.  

[anniedave]

28 minutes ago, chemmo said:

The fact you are cruising  in June rules out our favourite cruise ever which was a Trans Pacific from Hawaii to Sydney. Your time limit would be a bit short too as in addition to the long cruise you would want some time in Hawaii and Australia. Perhaps one to consider for the future, we did it as I retired.
 

When we cruised Alaska we combined it with a road trip of Washington State and a stay in Seattle. Fantastic part of the world. Seeing Mount St Helen’s had long been on our wish list. We did the tour first, followed by a couple of days in Seattle followed by the cruise. We seemed to pack so many experiences into the time. 
 

Also agree with emmas gran that the Far East is also fantastic. Cruising Hong Kong to Singapore gives you quality city breaks too.

 

You need to think about what you want from your cruise/holiday as well as the destinations you plan on visiting. For example, our Alaska/Washington state cruise was fairly hectic rather than relaxing.
 

As it is your anniversary cruise the Mediterranean can be hard to beat for romantic locations. Our favourite Med cruise was Barcelona/Barcelona calling in at Malta, Sicily, Santorini, Rhodes and a few other ports. A nice balance of things to see and do but you can avoid the hustle and bustle of long excursions by doing most things independently as you literally moor up in the main site seeing area, no coaches or taxis needed. If you are considering the Med I would browse a map first, look for places you really want to visit and then look for cruises that have some of them on. The beauty of a 10 night Mediterranean cruise in your time frame is that you can either fit in good city breaks at the start and end or simply add on a crash out quality resort break…
 

We have also made several Caribbean cruises special by adding on trips to the Gulf Coast, the Florida Keys and Disney. Generally these cruises are cheaper in our experience than when we have cruised from elsewhere in the world meaning you perhaps may choose to upgrade to a suite? Equinox has been Florida based all year for a few seasons. She usually has some 10 night itineraries.

 

In our experience there is no such thing as a bad cruise! Whatever you choose to do I am sure you will have a fantastic time! Sincere best wishes for a fantastic anniversary cruise, we spent our 40th anniversary in lockdown, we still enjoyed champagne but unfortunately on the patio rather than on a balcony!

 

 

Thanks Chemmo....we can have some flexibility in dates ...if we went a month earlier or later it wouldn't matter. 

Will prob want to mix hectic & relaxing .

We visit Barcelona every year for a music festival , did Malta for our honeymoon- husband disliked it !!! And have done several holidays to Rhodes.  Santorini is on my bucket list though and I def want to visit Italy.

We aren't Disney people as we don't like theme parks 🤣 but I do want to visit the keys & the gulf Coast.  Yes def thinking about a suite for our 25th !! . Thanks some great suggestions  hope you get to celebrate your 40th soon 

[zaxanon6]

1 hour ago, anniedave said:

We like the idea of Alaska but also thinking about a B2B ( can be ship to ship) but don't want 2 Alaska cruises.

It seems like Alaska got put on the back burner, but if you're looking for a longer trip without doing a second cruise, you could a cruise tour. The glass-dome train through the state is a fantastic experience. There's also a similar train in Canada to/from Vancouver.

[39august]

If you are thinking of a Caribbean cruise, then going to the Keys or Florida gulf coast. the only ship available during May to Oct. this year and thru' '23 is Equinox doing 6 and 8 night back to back cruises. That might work well for your allowed number of days/nights. Time to fly over here, 14 nights on the cruise, then a road trip in Florida.  The 8 night cruise currently has a very nice southern Caribbean schedule that includes, Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire. 

[TeeRick]

One of the most beautiful cruises we took in June was out of Venice on the Constellation a couple of years ago.  Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Naples, Capri, Sicily.  It was superb.  

[Ferry_Watcher]

Adding on to what @zaxanon6mentioned, a lot of Australians and New Zealanders will take the Canadian train trip  https://www.rockymountaineer.com/

After the train trip they will then do an Alaska cruise (you could leave from either Seattle or Vancouver).  They will usually end their trip in San Francisco.  All that is doable with in your time frame.

 

Another possibility is to take a repositioning cruise from Hawaii back to the mainland US.  As an example, Celebrity Eclipse has a 12 day cruise from Honolulu to Vancouver May 9, 2023.  The ship stops at a few of the Hawaiian Islands before  the 5 days at sea.  Once in Vancouver, you can do your Alaska cruise.  (I know that your anniversary is in 2024, but reading about the 2023 cruise can give you an idea of what is possible).

 

As a bonus, repositioning cruises are usually very budget friendly!  :  )

Edited March 25, 2022 by Ferry_Watcher

[the penguins]

7 hours ago, anniedave said:

Thanks Chemmo....we can have some flexibility in dates ...if we went a month earlier or later it wouldn't matter. 

Will prob want to mix hectic & relaxing .

We visit Barcelona every year for a music festival , did Malta for our honeymoon- husband disliked it !!! And have done several holidays to Rhodes.  Santorini is on my bucket list though and I def want to visit Italy.

We aren't Disney people as we don't like theme parks 🤣 but I do want to visit the keys & the gulf Coast.  Yes def thinking about a suite for our 25th !! . Thanks some great suggestions  hope you get to celebrate your 40th soon 

If you have flexibility on dates around South America is a great choice. Extend with a pre/post trip to Iguazu Falls.

Or have a back to back starting in Buenos Aires ( we had our Golden Anniversary there) and ending in San Diego.

Or Alaska followed by a drive down Highway 101 (the Pacific Coast to LA).

A personal view - suites are a poor use of the budget. Use the money for great experiences in as many ports as possible - book private guides (our preference is ToursbyLocals) share with one other couple (easily done on the Roll Call). You will remember the tours long after the memories of the cabin have faded. Geoff and the boss (Anita).

[chemmo]

31 minutes ago, the penguins said:

If you have flexibility on dates around South America is a great choice. Extend with a pre/post trip to Iguazu Falls.

Or have a back to back starting in Buenos Aires ( we had our Golden Anniversary there) and ending in San Diego.

Or Alaska followed by a drive down Highway 101 (the Pacific Coast to LA).

A personal view - suites are a poor use of the budget. Use the money for great experiences in as many ports as possible - book private guides (our preference is ToursbyLocals) share with one other couple (easily done on the Roll Call). You will remember the tours long after the memories of the cabin have faded. Geoff and the boss (Anita).

Hi there,

 

Totally agree it is wonderful to experience the best each port has to offer! Like you we loved driving down the Pacific Coast road….

 

However, in our experience, we have thoroughly enjoyed some of our suite experiences. Watching a shooting star from the M class PH takes some beating! We have some very sweet  suite memories.
 

As I mentioned to the OP in a previous post, it does all depend on what they want from their cruise. Whilst you might value your tours above your accommodation there are times and occasions where a nicer room, a bit of pampering, access to a suite deck and other perks can also be enjoyed and valued.

 

 

 

 

[kmtoner]

I have always been a big believer in anniversary celebrations, especially traditional themed gifts and milestone trips. For example, the traditional gift for a first anniversary is paper. So, I surprised my DW at her office with paper plane tickets, her packed bag, a card, and a whirlwind trip to NYC that began with cocktails atop the World Trade Center. <sigh> 

 

For milestone years, we've relaxed our rules to take our big trips anytime a year before, during, or following the big date. (If nothing else, the pandemic taught us to be flexible in our planning, eh?) For our 25th, we sailed about 9 months after the anniversary month from Iceland to the Faroes to Scotland, Ireland, and England. It was great.

 

We loved our 30th anniversary Alaska cruise in 2019, but we were not huge fans of the three ports we visited. They reminded us too much of Caribbean cruise ship stops. That said, the scenery in the Inland Passage was incredible and we love Vancouver. Plus, our sea day in and out of Glacier Bay was the highlight of the trip. Practically speaking, Glacier Bay can only be experienced from sea.

 

You might consider either (a) B2B sailings anywhere in the Mediterranean or (b) northern voyages to Norway and in the Baltic. Based on what CC is offering in 2023, I expect you'll have some great options in 2024. Those two beautiful areas will help keep your airfare costs down and allow you to spend more on the cabin, romantic excursions, and fun.  

 

We dream of celebrating our 40th milestone in Asia or Australia. It's such a far, time-consuming journey from the midwestern U.S., I expect we will keep putting off such a voyage until both of us retire.

 

Congratulations and happy planning!

[JeanieC,Aston]

Hi

Why don’t you find what ships are doing Renewal of Vows.

We renewed ours (25 yrs)years ago on the old Thomson Spirit,carried out by the Captain on the bridge with photos,cake,champagne and dinner with the Captain it was a day to remember.

Better still if you can cajole a few friends to come along.

East or West Med is good and won’t break the bank.

[MamaFej]

The last time we cruised in June (2019), we did an Ireland and Iceland cruise. It was delightful. We then spent several days visitng our daughter who was studying in Austria, then a Med cruise. It was ridiculously hot! Fantastic, but HOT, much hotter than the previous time in July! 

 

All this to say, you might want to consider weather. We will be cruising the Med again this year, but in early and mid May, and Iceland again in August. I told Hubby I'll gladly go to the Med again, but not during hot months. 

 

Our 25th anniversary was what got us hooked on cruising. That was the Baltic in July. The weather was amazing. Of course, the Baltic is rather iffy now. I'm glad SPB was canceled on this year's cruise there, but we've unfortunately lost Talinn and Helsinki as well. 

 

Whatever you do, I hope it's fantastic!

[George C]

We did a 12 day Mediterranean cruise for our 25th started with a couple of days in Barcelona then cruise in a rccl grand suite, problem with European cruises is they are port intensive, we had 5 ports in Italy, then Dubrovnik and Kotor , fantastic cruise, definitely recommend a suite to celebrate.

[chefchick]

9 hours ago, TeeRick said:

One of the most beautiful cruises we took in June was out of Venice on the Constellation a couple of years ago.  Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Naples, Capri, Sicily.  It was superb.  

I second the southern Italy itineraries and anytime spent on the Croatia coast is magical. Happy planning.

[the penguins]

13 hours ago, chemmo said:

Hi there,

 

Totally agree it is wonderful to experience the best each port has to offer! Like you we loved driving down the Pacific Coast road….

 

However, in our experience, we have thoroughly enjoyed some of our suite experiences. Watching a shooting star from the M class PH takes some beating! We have some very sweet  suite memories.
 

As I mentioned to the OP in a previous post, it does all depend on what they want from their cruise. Whilst you might value your tours above your accommodation there are times and occasions where a nicer room, a bit of pampering, access to a suite deck and other perks can also be enjoyed and valued.

 

 

 

 

Choices, always choices. If it's right for you book it.

We did an adventure cruise to the Antarctic with Hurtigruten which was only possible by having an inside cabin - an unbelievable experience which explains our Roll Call name.

A 90 day retirement trip including 60 days on Solstice (5 back to back) from Auckland to Seattle - only possible by doing the first 2 cruises, which had few sea days, in an inside then moved to a balcony.

If Covid has taught us anything it's not to keep putting things off. That way if health or other issues prevents you travelling later you will have memories and not regrets. Geoff and the boss (Anita).

[Luckiestmanonearth]

On 3/25/2022 at 4:24 AM, emmas gran said:

I have reread your post and if you want to cruise in June it is probably limited in itinerary 

We had the same situation (June anniversary ) and cruised in March the following year instead of June.  Our logic was that we were still in our 25th year so that’s all that mattered

 

We did extended Southern Caribbean

Edited March 26, 2022 by Luckiestmanonearth

[anniedave]

Thanks everyone we have some great suggestions and lots of ideas to think about 🙂

[C-Dragons]

On 3/25/2022 at 2:09 PM, chemmo said:

Hi there,

 

Totally agree it is wonderful to experience the best each port has to offer! Like you we loved driving down the Pacific Coast road….

 

However, in our experience, we have thoroughly enjoyed some of our suite experiences. Watching a shooting star from the M class PH takes some beating! We have some very sweet  suite memories.
 

As I mentioned to the OP in a previous post, it does all depend on what they want from their cruise. Whilst you might value your tours above your accommodation there are times and occasions where a nicer room, a bit of pampering, access to a suite deck and other perks can also be enjoyed and valued.

Well said. 👍

[2Long2NxtCrz]

There are almost an infinite number of options. We did a 12-day Med cruise out of Barcelona for our 30th anniversary. It was an amazing time. We were there late April, early May so before the crowds and we lucked into really good weather with only one "rough" day at sea when we rounded the boot of Italy. We didn't splurge on a suite, instead we booked private tours for Florence and Rome and that was the best thing. We were picked up at the port, almost literally at the end of the gangplank, and whisked away where everything we did was just for us and tailored to us. Well worth the money.

 

Plus we got to overnight in Venice and did that sailaway in formal attire and Venetian masks! Incredible. Kotor, Montenegro was gorgeous with a long mountain lined sail in/out.

 

For this year's 35th anniversary we're doing Hawaii to Vancouver. Again, no suite, but we booked this ages and ages ago (and it wasn't actually intended to be for our 35th, but COVID) so we got a Concierge Class up top on deck 12. I can't wait for the views. It's 11 days with four ports (two overnights) and then sea days. So a combination of both, plus we end up in Vancouver where we're taking a few extra days. Vancouver's wonderful and I look forward to visiting again. (The last time we were there was pre-kids and our youngest is 21.)

 

For hubby's 60th, I've booked a northbound Alaska cruise and am looking at a rail/land package for afterwards to get us to Fairbanks and all points in between. I booked this particular cruise because it leaves from Vancouver on his birthday.

 

And we're looking into the Panama Canal for my 60th. I'm leaning toward the Beyond because I have yet to do a cruise on an E class and the E class ships were the entire reason I started looking at Celebrity.

 

For us, we'd love to do other places particularly Asia or Australia or a river cruise but we're still working and both of our jobs are miserly on how many consecutive days we can take off. The travel time to anywhere else means that we'd want to extend our cruise before and after and we just can't do that. Yet. But since you're already "across the pond" I'd try Norway/Iceland/Ireland maybe a B2B that gets you Spain, too? Santorini is one of our "have to return" to places as we were there when I was pregnant with my oldest and it was magical. I have heard it is much more crowded now, so I fear I might be disappointed, but I'd still like to go again. Maybe Eastern Med and Greece? 

 

Truly you have so many options, I'm sure wherever you go and whatever you do, it'll be an amazing time!

 

[Londoncruising1971]

We did a cruise on Silhouette to the Canaries a few years ago.

These itineraries usually start in September

I would recommend this itinerary due to you liking sea days, and also because Suites are usually quite reasonable. Silver anniversary only comes once. Live a little 🙂 

[klfhngr]

Every 5 year (anniversary), we do an AI or nice cruise. For 30th, we did 10 day ABC islands. Next month, for our 35th, we're doing a 10 day out of Rome. Going to have to figure something out for 40th, probable Hawaii or Fiji cruise.

Edited April 4, 2022 by klfhngr

[Mark_K]

On 3/25/2022 at 5:32 PM, George C said:

We did a 12 day Mediterranean cruise for our 25th started with a couple of days in Barcelona then cruise in a rccl grand suite, problem with European cruises is they are port intensive, we had 5 ports in Italy, then Dubrovnik and Kotor , fantastic cruise, definitely recommend a suite to celebrate.

We did pretty much the same thing, except it was our 30th.