Looking for recommendations

arielmt · March 9, 2010

Hi, I'm arielmt and I'm new here. I'm hoping I'm posting this query in the right place. If not, moderators should please move it appropriately.

My partner and I have recently starting looking at cruises for vacation options and I am looking for some ideas or recommendations about where to go, and on which cruise line. Between us, we've been plenty of places (England, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, various US states) but have never been on a cruise.

A little bit about us and our criteria:

My partner and I are in our mid-40's. I'm a computer geek and gamer (computer games and board games). She is a musician and into nature/animals. We're both foodies and into wine.
We'll go anywhere except places that are too cold or too hot. I have multiple sclerosis and am adversely affected by temperature extremes. This leaves out the Antarctic and equatorial locations in summer. Currently, we're not really interested in Alaska either. We're looking to go sometime between this September and next March.
We do not have kids, nor do we much like to be around them. (More about the parental control as opposed to the kids themselves, really.) So, we're not interested in any venue that has a ton of kids.
Live music of almost any kind is a plus and high on the preference list would be acoustic folk, Irish, bluegrass, etc., with strings and/or keyboards. Particularly in more intimate settings. We like lively but not raucous, as former 'partiers' we now enjoy cocktails to a giggle but not getting trashed. But yeah, we went to Woodstock '99 too. ;)
We do not want to be on a massive cruise boat. Because of the MS, my ability to walk distances unaided is variable and easily diminished by poor sleep, stress and other factors that can be encountered when traveling.
We may or may not avail ourselves of side trips while in port. Assuming it's something we want to see the biggest factor will be my mobility ability at the time vs. the available accommodation/comfort of the side trip. I will go if I can safely navigate it using a cane with the assistance of my partner. Or, if mobility aids like carts or wheelchairs can be obtained without major hassle.
From a budget perspective, we are middle of the road. Don't need to look for extremely cheap, though a deal is always nice, but can't go super high end or else we won't go anywhere again for a very long time.
One more thing about us: We are casual people that don't care to 'dress for dinner' - the best you'd ever get from us is business casual attire. Conversely, we don't wear torn, sloppy clothing either.

Some of the cruises that have caught my eye include:

A 'theme' cruise, in particular a genealogy cruise. This was very attractive to me because I've been doing genealogy research since age 13. Lectures while at sea and regular stuff while in port. (I don't believe that side trips were devoted to genealogy, specifically.) I'm thinking that this was somehow just a portion of the entire cruise boat and that truly not the entire cruise boat was filled with people attending for the genealogy activities. Example here: http://www.rootsmagic.com/Cruise/.
An MS cruise. Obviously, the advantage here is that accommodating the disabilities of the group will be the focus of the cruise line and I'm certain to be a little more comfortable knowing I won't have to seek out certain extras should I need them, they'll just be there. However, I'm just not sure I want my disease to be the central theme of my vacation. (In part, because I know there will be paraphernalia and activities sponsored by drug companies, and that kind of stuff makes me nuts.) Example here: http://www.msfocus.org/cruise-for-a-cause.aspx
A northern, partial river cruise. This leaves from NY or Boston, goes to various places on the St. Lawrence including the Thousand Islands. Also goes to Cape Breton. Saw this advertised in a cruising magazine, and it was recommended to do during fall to see foliage. Don't have a link at the moment. (A plus to this one is that we live in western NY, so getting a flight to NYC or Boston is simple.)
Lindblad cruises. There was one to Galapagos and some others that looked pretty amazing too. These might be out of reach for now, however.

Phew! If you're still with me, I appreciate it. I'm looking forward to any and all recommendations on locations, cruise lines, and specific tips for first-timers like us. Thanks so much for your time and experience.

arielmt

Longboysfan · March 9, 2010

Maybe a trans canal cruise would be nice.

Upscale - small ship Azamara Journey - December

Middle - larger ship - Radiance of the Seas - September

Noregian Star - December / January

Medium Ship - Mercury - October

And on and on.....

You can go to a trave site like Orbitz and just put in Panama Canal and find then cruises.

Why... Canal is spectacular - they have a train ride to show it all and you can also cruise through.

Starts in west and goes through to east or reverse.

The extended cruise length takes kids out of the picture

murr · March 9, 2010

We do nothing but NY cruises. I know it limits up , but there is much to see from this area. You have Pier 92, Brooklyn and NJ for cruise ships. We do mostly Carnival. Have done Bermuda on the Carnival Miracle and am going to the Bahamas on the same ship in May. The Miracle is a very easy ship to get around on.. It's not to big. It does a one time trip to Bermuda in April, and then rotates the eastern and western carribean until the fall. Another ship usually shows up around June and does the East coast to Nova Scotia(our Favorite).

Royal Carribean does similiar routes but we haven't gotten over the Hudson river yet.

We're working on Carnival for a while due to the laid back atmosphere and the fun.

Norwegian cruise lines also does cruises to Canada. They do a trip to Florida and the Bahamas, a co-worker is going on that one April 3. I didn't like NCL for the reason of having to pay for so many extras. There are extras on all ships but NCL really nickels you.

Hope this has helped.

coloradocruisers · March 9, 2010

Hi Arielmt. You've come to the right place, and I know you will get lots of advice. I've only been to Alaska and the Carribean, so I can't offer very much advice myself; but I wanted to say "Hi" and 'Welcome" and I hope you find the perfect cruise.

KeithnRita · March 9, 2010

Holland America might be a good fit for you two. Not many kids, especially on a fall foliage cruise to Canada from Boston. The Maasdam is one ship in particular. It holds less than 1300 passengers.

Also, welcome to

arielmt · March 9, 2010

I appreciate the suggestions! I predict a lot of research in my future. :wink2:

While I didn't mention length, and really we could probably go for as long as two or three weeks, I don't think we would want anything too much longer than a week for the first time out. While we don't have kids, we do have dogs and parrots. The dogs are easy enough to kennel but finding parrot care for longer periods of time can be very difficult.

I've also edited my original post to include another fact about us. I think another reason we'd stay away from very upscale cruises aside from the money is that we're casual people who wouldn't like to have to 'dress for dinner' and I imagine that might be expected on some of the pricier jaunts.

arielmt

murr · March 10, 2010

I appreciate the suggestions! I predict a lot of research in my future.
While I didn't mention length, and really we could probably go for as long as two or three weeks, I don't think we would want anything too much longer than a week for the first time out. While we don't have kids, we do have dogs and parrots. The dogs are easy enough to kennel but finding parrot care for longer periods of time can be very difficult.

I've also edited my original post to include another fact about us. I think another reason we'd stay away from very upscale cruises aside from the money is that we're casual people who wouldn't like to have to 'dress for dinner' and I imagine that might be expected on some of the pricier jaunts.

arielmt

Since you like the laid back idea, as we do, then look into Carnival or NCL. We also have 2 parrots ,2 guinea pigs and a cat. If my wifes parents don't take care of them ,we are thinking of a professional pet person. They come over before you leave and meet the animals. They will do anything you need them to. Search your area for this. The one on Long Island came very highly recommended.

DebbieandJerry · March 11, 2010

Welcome. So glad you found us.

We took Celebrity from San Diego to Hawaii and back last March. They had a naturalist on the ship who provided free lectures twice a day. He was awesome. Sometimes the cruise line will advertise if it's educational (or not).

My immediate reaction to your requests re: smaller lines, not as formal, etc., etc. was Azamara (which is a part of the Celebrity chain). They are smaller ships that can get to places that the larger ships cannot.

My next reaction was Panama Canal. Yes, you will have heat, but what an amazing adverture it was cruising the canal (we did that on Carnival in 2007)

Nowadays, you don't have to dress fancy because of all of the dinner options that the ships offer (including room service). I think the higher end lines require "dinner attire", but I can't afford those ships so I don't know for sure.

Have you thought about contacting a University to see if they are putting together any alumni tours? These tend to attract an older crowd and there is always something educational. You don't have to be an alum to partake. I'm sure any University would welcome your $$$

When I am looking for cruises, I use vacationstogo.com. I plug in desired dates and approximate length of time. I then start selecting places that I'd like to see. Once something hits my eye, I then look at ship size, cost, etc.

Keep asking questions. I know you will find the right vacation!