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My husband and I have never taken a cruise before. Our travel experience has consisted of many trips to Cancun in the past few years and are growing tired of that. We are in our mid 40's and would like to take a "fun" cruise. We are not formal people. My
husband is a doctor and works very long hours and needs to get away from it all and be entertained. There seems to be alot of people on this board with vast knowledge of cruises. Please would you share your experiences with me and make your recommendations? Thank you!!!
Do you like to "party all night" or are you more into "being pampered." Do you like Las Vegas glitz or classical beauty? Knowing these things would help us give you an answer. BTW - welciome aboard!
Dear CV:
To date I have only sailed with Celebrity. I began my cruising life for my 40th birthday. Celebrity is not a "Party Cruiseline", but there is so much to do and enjoy. The food, service and accomodations are absolutely wonderful.
You have begun your search in the best possible manner, I believe. Read, read, read. That is how I decided what cruise I wanted to take. Another suggestion would be for you to join us in the chatroom weeknights beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. You will find many, many experienced cruisers there who would love to help you out.
Let us know what you decide.
Mary Lou
Thursday Chat Host
I'm CruiseMates First Time Cruisers Hostess and will try to answer any questions you may have. If you look in the blue box at the top of the home page you will see a box for First Time Cruisers.
Sounds to me like you have a little Carnival Cruise Line coming! <VBG> Paradise may be a good fit if you don't smoke. Not a bunch of drunks and idiots like some think, just lots of nice folks having a great time.
Jim
Community Staff Leader
Have to agree with a few posters here and say RCCL or Princess. Both have some great ships, many to choose from. We just had a wonderful time on Explorer, this ships has tons of things to do, so you can be as busy as you like, or just relax :-)
Here is a link to some great info on "first cruises", hope it will help, but you still have to pick out a ship :-)
<http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/cruiseguide/first-time/index.cfm>
On your first cruise, the line/ship you choose is not overly important, since you have nothing to compare it too.... Our first cruise, many years and cruises ago, was on Carnival At the time, we thought nothing could be better. Booked our 2nd cruise as soon as we got bcak, and have been cruise-addicts ever since.
While each line has a slightly different approach to food, activities, entertainment, etc; they all are sinilar in most ways.
I disagree that the ship and line are unimportant for first time cruisers. So what if they don't have anything to compare it to. If they hate it, they may never cruise again. My first cruise was on Carnival back in college. I thought it was tacky, glitzy, and cheap. I wasn't amused by the drink fest or rousing. For that reason, I didn't cruise again for 6 years. It left a VERY bad impression on me & a complete disregard for this type of vacationing.
There are as many cruise lines as there are types of people, CV. You & your husband are in your 40s, do you want to sail with 20 year olds? Do you want to sail on a ship with tons of children? Are you into Vegas glitz or do you prefer string quartets, jazz bands? Only you know these things. Do you detest large crowds? Some of these mega ships have over 3,000 people. That may not seem so bad considering that resorts can have that many quests. But, you aren't trapped with them out on the ocean somewhere. Are you old fashioned, foot loose & fancy free? Your husband is a doctor working long hours, how carefree do you want your vacation? People will suggest their favorite lines or one close to what they percieve about you from your post. Carnival is mentioned a lot because you said "fun" cruise & that's their motto. I suggest picking up a copy of the Unofficial Guide to Cruises and read it through. Compare the cruise line reviews to the ones you'll see on the boards. (not reviews of individual people's cruise experience) Consider carefully what you want (more interesting ports & shore excursions, 24 hour non stop activitiy on board, stressless/relaxing, etc) Only you can answer these questions. When you know more, please post more specific questions. Don't forget to email Pamda! Good luck
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