Anyone ever take a Mediterranean Cruise? Alaskan Cruise?

[RobynScott]

DH and I are thinking of taking a cruise (hopefully about 7 days) to either the Mediterranean (exploring Eastern and Western options) or Alaska - hopefully some time this summer.

Any tips or advice? recommendations? Places to find a great rate for cruises?

Thanks!

Robyn ;)

[Daisy]

DH and I took a 12 night Mediterrean cruise earlier this year (May to June) - it was absolutely fantastic. We went on Celebrity, from Venice to Barcelona. You'll probably find Celebrity's prices are the same everywhere you look. We booked with a cruise travel agent for a couple of reasons: we like her and want to give her our business, we get a wide array of cabin options (we're not just assigned one in our class), and she gave a huge on board credit.

We were a little worried that the cruise would be too port intensive and too long, but we were wrong. It was the perfect time to get to know people on the ship and to allow us to relax and get into vacation mode.

I'm sure you've read this elsewhere, but the Cruise Critic message boards are so great and full of valuable information - be sure to check them out, especially after you book your cruise.

Have fun!

[Vishenka69]

DH and I took an Alaskan cruise last summer. We went with HAL and booked through www.cruisedeals.com. We really loved the ship, the destination and the whole experience. HAL ships are not party ships, so definitely not for everyone, but we don't go on vacations to make friends, so the nice quiet (almost no kids) atmosphere was perfect for us.

I wrote a detailed review after we got back. It should be somewhere in the cruise thread. Let me know if you'd like to look for it.

Daisy, how did you like cruising with Celebrity? We're thinking of taking one of their Mediterranean cruises next year.

[Daisy]

Vishenka69 -

We loved it, it was by far one of the best vacations we've taken. The only other cruise line we've been on is Royal Caribbean - so that is my comparable. Celebrity has less people on board (less people per square foot) than RCCL and the majority of those onboard were adults. I didn't see any children and only a handful of teens (most of them were family traveling together). The food and service was fantastic. Because it is a longer cruise, we really got to know our dining table, the wait staff, and others on board. I was also really involved with Cruise Critic before I left and we booked many private excursions this way and we made great friends with many of the couples too (a few of which we still keep in touch with). We're actually going to take another mediterrean cruise this spring. :D

[southhavenjen]

We took an Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon on Royal Caribbean. It was nice; we LOVED the ports but the cruise itself was a little....subdued. We knew that going in, and are not big party or drinking people, but expected a bit more in the way of activities and fun aboard the ship.

[Vishenka69]

Thanks Daisy. Off to check prices and convince DH. :D