Honeymoon/First Cruise question

[ThatBelle]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post on the boards, but I've already learned a lot just from reading others' posts.

I have been on one cruise (Mexico) 13 years ago, but my fiance has never cruised. We are traveling in November of this year, and we've decided we either want to go to Europe or Hawaii. I know....two drastically different areas.

 

Can anyone offer any suggestions of one over the other? Especially for my first time cruiser fiance?

 

To folks who have done both-which was your favorite?

 

Or if we were treating this as a "once in a lifetime" type trip, which one would be best?

 

The prices I'm finding thus far seem to indicate that there's more for the money in Europe, but I'm not sure if the cooler temperatures there in the fall are the best time to go?

 

Anyway, yeah....I have a ton of questions, sorry. I'd love to hear back from anyone who has any advice to offer about any or all of my questions. :p

 

Thanks!

[6rugrats]

What itinerary and what cruise line were you looking at for cruising in Europe in November?

 

And the same question for Hawaii - what cruise line?

[ThatBelle]

Haven't quite gotten that far yet. Seems that we're finding mostly NCL, Royal Carribean, and Costa in Europe in the fall. Our preference are places like Rome, Venice, Sicily, the French stops (the names of the cities escape me right now), Barcelona, etc.

[6rugrats]

I was curious because of a lot of cruise lines leave Europe, or at least the Med, around the end of October.

 

I have cruised the Med on Wind Star cruise lines a couple of times, but it was in the warmer months. I have never cruised in Hawaii, but have been there many times.

 

I guess it just depends what your expectations are for your honeymoon. Do you want quiet time together, or do you want to run around sightseeing?

[ThatBelle]

I was curious because of a lot of cruise lines leave Europe, or at least the Med, around the end of October.

?

 

Yeah, that's what I've been thinking was the case because they seem to stop sailing in Europe not long after our dates. I just wonder if that means it's getting too close to a bad time of year to be there?

 

Anyway, as far as expectations...I guess we want the best of both worlds! (How's that for a bad answer?) We do want quality time together, but we want to take advantage of the opportunity to see a part of the world that's new to us.

 

BTW, thanks for your responses!:D

[ThatBelle]

And the same question for Hawaii - what cruise line?

 

Oops...sorry, didn't intentionally ignore this part of your post.

 

As for Hawaii, what I'm finding there seem to be mostly NCL, RCCL, and um...Holland America, I think? Seems like I've heard good and bad about all the lines, so I haven't yet narrowed it down much yet.

[6rugrats]

The ships leave the Med to go down to the Caribbean and to Mexico.

Unless your heart is set on a cruise, you may want to consider a land based vacation. I am not a huge fan of Hawaii. The beaches, IMO are much better in the Caribbean, so I'd skip Hawaii. There also just is not that much of interest to see, especially compared to Europe.

 

I would choose an area or city I've always wanted to see in Europe. You mentioned Barcelona, which is a fabulous city. Lots of great Gaudi architecture to see and the countryside is wonderful with several wineries you could visit. It's really interesting.

 

When you were done with that, you can take the train (it's so easy) to Nice, and spend a couple days there. Then, take the train into Italy, to whatever city you would like to see. You could then fly back home out of that city.

 

I have really fond memories of taking the train from Nice to Milan and then to Zurich. It's really nicer to be able to spend a couple days at least in each area so you don't feel as if you are constantly on the go. Taking time to just sit and people watch is great.

 

Good luck to whatever you choose.

 

By the way, read the reviews of NCLA cruises in Hawaii. Seems as if no one likes them. I'd avoid this line.

[ThatBelle]

Thanks so much for your advice, I really appreciate you taking the time to do that!

 

We did talk about touring instead of cruising, just thought maybe it would be nice to not have to change hotel rooms every couple of nights...but there are merits to traveling that way, as well. Still lots to consider!

 

Thanks so much!