Cruises

[LL_Moderator_ks]

For sophisticated travelers with discerning tastes, luxury cruises provide an unparalleled option for discovering the world's most incredible destinations. Luxury cruises invite guests to indulge in life's finer things and experience superior comfort as they take in marvelous panoramas of natural, historical and cultural splendor sailing by. And, by keeping guest counts low and remarkable itineraries full of exhilarating sites, each unforgettable experience remains intimate and inspiring.

We are interested in hearing about your cruise experiences! Have you traveled this way before? What was your experience like? Any cruise plans for the future?

Let us know!

http://www.luxurylink.com/fivestar/luxury-cruises/best

[jsattapr2]

katie, maybe it's just me, but I feel as though I have not aged enough to do the cruise thing yet! Maybe in another 20 years or so.

[bonniejoy03]

We did a very small "cruise" years ago on "The Temptress." I believe it is now owned by National Geographic. The Temptress was for about 60 people. I really enjoyed the small size. I think I would cruise again only on a small ship. I like the Galapagos Island trips on the small yachts. That is more of my interest. Also, The Moorings has shared accommodations on their boats. Guess I am not into the HUGE ships.

[kyshel]

We've had it with large vessels, too. I dislike the class distinction they encourage these days. If you aren't elite, you're "steerage". All the upcharges for dining, etc, make me avoid all the mass lines.

We're very interested in AMA Waterways--for Zambezi and Mekong Rivers.
I still have my connection to the Nour El Nil (nourelnil.com)--4 dahabiyas in Egypt) and I am hoping someday to cruise in a panoramic cabin. Bucket list!!
We'd do the Europe river cruises, too, once Boss retires in 4 yrs (Happy Birthday to him!)
I have seen much younger pax on the boats in EU.

[Mountie]

NO, I repeat NO cruises for me.

I love the water and I love being aboard one of my boats, when I am the CAPTAIN.

As for spending time aboard a cruise vessel, not my cup of tea.

[omegaet]

We are not into (or have not yet adjusted to) large cruise ship experiences and even most river itineraries have not inspired us....as yet.

Exceptions would be:

Amazon Cruises, Amazon River Cruises, Peru; Luxury Travel Vacations
which was offered briefly as a Luxury Link auction package, but we procrastinated and missed a great opportunity.....maybe, just maybe one day the package will reappear and we can swoop down and steal it.

we have sailed aboard the Via Australis, but the main purpose was to see the sights inside the Beagle Channel and visit Cape Horn as well as a number of daily shore excursions
Cruceros Australis - Expeditions Cruises - Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego & Cape Horn

we have sailed aboard the Galapagos Explorer II, but the main purpose was to explore the outer islands of the Galapagos, many of which are not included in shorter duration cruises and/or not accessible to larger boats
M/V Galapagos Explorer II

We can see more cruise time in the future, but not the immediate future!

[LL_Travelfan]

We have done a few cruises. One out of necessity when Island had the outbreak of its volcano. We got on to the MSC Poesia which left NYC and got us to Hamburg for the summer. We had a balcony stateroom which was ok. We are going again this Summer. This time from Hamburg on a Baltic Sea cruise to St. Petersburg. Got a Balcony suite on the top deck. We are looking forward to the experience.
Windjammer cruises in the Caribbean Islands might be a possibility. Would love to go on a Nile cruise once the situation in Egypt stabilizes.

[ngallag]

I have done a few big ship cruises--Bahamas, Mexico, Alaska--I did not like the packed quarters and the fact that most of the Caribbean cruises have about a billion partiers going all hours. I did like my Alaskan cruise for its differences--instead of parties around the pool, there were animal spotting lectures while you could drink hot chocolate on deck.

I have enjoyed river cruising in Europe--one year after college I spent all summer traveling around Europe this way. It's a very relaxed (read, SLOW) way to travel.

I'm also looking forward to a Nile or Amazon cruise one day.

[jmbklj]

I've been on several cruises. Big ship cruises were Panama Canal (twice), Alaska (twice), Mexico, Western, Eastern and Southern Caribbean. Loved the Alaska experience! Some of the big ship cruise lines are better than others. I would not do a Carnival cruise.

I've been on a couple river cruises - Yangtze River in China and a small 18 passenger river barge in France. I thoroughly enjoyed the river cruises and would be interested in others for the future.

I'd like to go on a Douro River cruise in Portugal, a Russia cruise, the Danube, the Amazon and the Nile once the political climate is improved.

And VERY high on my Bucket List is a Galapagos islands cruise.

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I like small ships - we did a cruise for our honeymoon (many, many moons ago) on the old Sitmar line (I think it has since been purchased by Princess) - nice small ship, the old fashioned teak decks that go all the way around the ship - the way a ship is supposed to be. Did one Carnival cruise - never again!!!! Celebrity to Bermuda a few times from Philly - nice cruise.
Would love to do a Nile & Galapagos. We did a very small ship on the Napo River in the Ecuadorian amazon - that was great!