Newbie planning 25th wedding anniversay cruise

[Marknga]

Just found this site and forum and I believe that it going to be most helpful. My wife and I will be celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary next July and I would like to celebrate with a cruise. We have never taken a honey moon or private vacation together. All of our vacations have been with family, inlaws and with kids so some quiet time together would be ....

would be different.

 

We live in Middle Georgia so I would think that leaving out of Florida is our main choice. Destination: So many people, family and friends have recommended Aruba.

 

Any suggestions or observations would be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Mark

[deepnite10]

check out the many ship s and itinearies in the southern

caribbean..below are many forum s by destination s, cruiselines,

ship s..

 

you ve got a way s to go now..you ll need to decide if you want

to go thru the cruiseline, *my perferance*, a TA or a online

TA..

 

but, do your research..even after making your cruise plan s, and

booking your cruise..you ll still be spending alot of time online

ironing out any question s you may have..or just studying the

various ports of call..

 

i just wish there was such a site when i booked my first cruise..

[FUN33]

Just found this site and forum and I believe that it going to be most helpful. My wife and I will be celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary next July and I would like to celebrate with a cruise. We have never taken a honey moon or private vacation together. All of our vacations have been with family, inlaws and with kids so some quiet time together would be ....

would be different.

 

We live in Middle Georgia so I would think that leaving out of Florida is our main choice. Destination: So many people, family and friends have recommended Aruba.

 

Any suggestions or observations would be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Mark

Consider driving to Port Canaveral and going on the Freedom of the Seas next July. They offer 2 itineraries on 7 week cruises. If you have the time & the budget, consider doing a back to back cruise and stay in the same cabin for 2 weeks.

[vmom]

You may also want to consider celebrating early or late rather than in July. You can go in July but the prices are high, there are fewer ships sailing and there tend to be alot of families. We prefer going while school is in session to celebrate our anniversary. Just a thought.

[Travalerie]

I would look at Holland America or Princess. My husband and I celebrated an anniversary on Princess and had a great time. I think you should do at least 7 night cruise to get the best experience. A lot depends on what you want to do. I would also get a travel agent as others have suggested.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

[Janan]

I think the Southern Caribbeanis a great idea....(Aruba etal) But you would probably have to fly out to San Juan....spirit air has deals from Orlano and most of the time Ft Lauderdale (We live right outside of ATL and this is what we do (last time for the 2 of us round trip it was $250) We have been on several occasions great port, but don't forget the B and c of the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) all 3 are Fantastic and different (although Bonaire is alot like Aruba was years and years ago)

 

I think the Idea of a Back to Back is a great one, but if you have to choose I would fly to San Juan and leave from there for a Southern Caribbean cruise because you'll get more Bang from your Cruise buck (More Ports, less time ay sea....unless that what you want).

 

Do your research of the ports and what you would like to do and then try to find a cruise that fits you you have some time a good idea might be to go to youtube and type in (let's say Aruba or any Island for that matter) and take a sort of mini tour of the Island with someone who is on Vacation and you'll get to see what it may be like.

You can also type the Island name into a search engine and get sites to investigate and get an idea of what you might be in for (Aruba has some great sites

http://www.abc-aruba.com/

http://www.arubatourism.com/

http://www.aruba.com/about/vrtour.php

 

here are just a few

I hope I've helped...HAPPY 25th ANNIVERSARY; in advance!:D Whatever cruise you decide on....Have a great one!:D

 

Andy

[Marknga]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. We will probably be going in June (our teenage daughters will be in Germany on a Student Exchange trip) and we will be limited to 7 days. I know have plenty of time but that is what is appealing as I've always "been last minute".

 

It has been 30 years since I went on a cruise (actually a High School Senior Trip that ended up being a 3 day drunk) so I quess I've never really

experienced one. My wife has been with the folks from her dental office and really enjoyed cruising. I can't wait.

 

Again thanks for the welcome and the great advice.

 

Mark

[Roz]

You can visit Aruba and Curacao on Holland America. There are some 7-day cruises that leave from Ft. Lauderdale. Personally I didn't care for Aruba. I don't understand what all the buzz is about. It's flat, dirty, and full of cacti. On the other hand, I loved Curacao with its Dutch architecture, blue liqueur, and swinging bridge.

 

One thing though...HAL doesn't have ships in the Caribbean in July.

 

Roz

[138east]

For a first cruise to the Caribbean I would look at cruises that would include some of these islands - St. Thomas, St. Martin, Barbados, Antigua, and St. Lucia. I also was underwhelmed by Aruba - very desertlike - no lush tropical vegetation. Perhaps it's the gambling that's the big attraction, but of course you can do that on the ship.

[suezyq50]

Living in Rome, GA, we like to drive to Cape Canaveral. It takes us about 9 hrs. We drive down the day before, spend the night and on the ship by 11:00 and have lunch. There are hotels that have free parking available. Lots of info in the departure thread.

Our first cruise was for our 30th anniversary. We took a Western Caribbean. We have aslo done an Eastern. As mentioned, you probably would need to fly to go to Aruba.

[Roz]

Not sure why you need to fly to Aruba. Numerous cruise lines sail there.

 

Roz

[SheilaNC]

Hi, Welcome to Cruise Critic. As I recently posted for another new cruiser, we had a board for First Time Cruisers that might be helpful to you...just search through the posts and you'll likely find questions similar to yours with lots of answers http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=97

 

Also...if you decide you want to go to Aruba as one of your ports and want to avoid the high air fare costs...look for cruises that go there from ports within driving distance for you. In doing your calculations, don't forget to include parking costs (usually about $10-15/day) and a stay the night before you cruise - to avoid having to deal with traffic delays the day of cruising. I wish you well and look forward to your continued messages on Cruise Critic. And Happy Anniversary next year :)