Thinking about an alternative of taking a cruise to the carribbean leaving from either Texas, Florida or New York. Any suggestions for fun cruises for an anniversary and any islands or destinations that are a must have on the trip. We have never been on a cruise before so any general tips would be appreciated too. Any preferences on cruise companies ?

From your question I’m not clear about what you want. An alternative to cruising in the Caribbean, or an alternative regarding what port you leave from? My favourite islands include St.Lucia, Grenada, and St.Kitts. Favourite cruise line is Celebrity but having tried most of them, they're all very good, just a bit different and a matter of preference.

I originally was thinking about going to Mexico but now a cruise might be an alternative

You can also cruise out of San Diego or Long Beach to Mexico.

Doug Ch yes the cruise that leaves San Diego and goes down the Coast of Mexico before it turns around and goes inside the gulf of California is a great cruise. Lots of stops

The Caribbean is always nice. Alaska is spectacular. Antarctica is adventurous. River cruises in Europe are first class. So many options! You should think about what you want in terms of experience. Then look at the type of cruise - family oriented? Getaway? Then look at what each line is geared towards (think Disney cruise vs European River Cruise). Then you can look at itineraries. Note the number of days at sea plus number of port calls. You may want more port time than sea time, or vice versa. Once you've narrowed down these details you can start looking at prices as per cruise operator sites and online cruise clearance sites like Cruise Connections. We've used both and had no problems. Happy planning!

hi heather you are a wealth of info
Can you send me a few names of good cruise deals u come across - cruise connections is one thx you - it’s a big new world cruising
Would love to find the adventurous deals much thx heather

Elaine Keenan cruise connections, cruisecanada are the two big discounters. I've hadno issues with either. They collect up all the cabins throughout the various lines and sell them, kind of like expedia does with airlines. Some companies like Viking don't use them so that would be a case of direct purchase. I'd also look.carefully at the ship and crew - sone of the smaller less expensive lines are ones I would avoid (such as the company that owned the ship that sank off the coast of Italy). The smaller more expensive ones like Windstar Cruises though are good to go.

I'd start with setting a time frame (1 week? 10 days? 2 weeks?) and a rough idea of "stars", like 4 star? 5 star? Small ship? Big ship?) then hit cruiseconnections etc to see what piques your interest.

We've left from Galveston and that was the only cruise we've ever been delayed in disembarking... Fog held us out in the gulf almost 6 extra hours. So...regardless of which port don't ever book your flight home for right after you think you're going to get off...late in the day or the next day is best. Rough waters in any port may not allow the boat to dock so be prepared to miss that port or return to one you've already been to. Cripes... there's so many tips I could pass along! Been on numerous cruises with three cruise lines...and liked each boat and itinerary for different reasons... Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and MSC. There are short cruises that are 3-4-5 days then there are others 7-8-9-10 days then others that are 12-14+ days. A quick trip from Florida to the Bahamas might be a good place to start. See how you do on a boat, learn that cabin life is way different than a hotel stay -depending on what type of cabin/suite you get there are different perks. Determine if you like a balcony or not, find out about all the activities available to take part in on the boat...from bingo to karaoke to hairy chest contests or who dunnit dinners! Sooo many variables you could encounter...just dive in and see how cruising suits you! (You MUST go to the safety briefing before departure and walk around the boat to get familiarized with everything...sometimes you'll find some secret little coves onboard that few others know about! Get a lanyard for your key...you use it alot and you cannot get on or off the boat without it!)

hi Mitchelle you really get me thinking I would love to try an adventitious type cruise and find the deals if possible you sound like a really strong reference
Do the nausea patches work without making you sleepy or is there a better option I should look for heading to NWT soon

Elaine Keenan I always take the gravol 12 hour pills...too nervous to try anything else! Lol We've done many adventures...the cruise ship is just an easy way to take in many places in a short time... then you can choose to go back and spend more time in a location you liked! We always do something in every port (except one port on our last Alaska cruise...we just walked around)...people try to save money by buying excursions not offered by the cruiseline but I like the cruise offerings as the vendors are vetted and if something goes wrong and you're late with the tour-the boat won't leave without you! I'm not much of a risk taker especially in really foreign countries like Italy or Greece! I've been to western Mexico 7day from LA, Mexico/Catalina from San Diego 5day, Alaska 7day x2 on diff cruiselines one from Seattle one from Vancouver, Bahamas x4 on 2 diff cruiselines from port Canaveral, eastern Mexico x2 7days on different cruiselines one from Galveston and one from fort Lauderdale, Eastern Canada from Boston 7days, New Zealand 10days from Sydney, Mediterranean 7days from Barcelona, Italy/Greece 7daya from Venice. We have two more back to back in December going to Bahamas again and a bunch of Carribean islands like St. Thomas etc. Then next year we have Panama canal from one of the Carolina's (drawing a blank which one) then from Germany to St Petersburg as well. Any questions just ask...I don't mind trying to answer. We've taken our kids on most cruises too...just not the last few trips to Eastern Mexico, Bahamas, New Zealand and last Alaska one a few months ago. They're both away in school now so we get to try and travel without them!

We just booked a cruise through Norwegian on the Encore ship. So much to do on the boat with go karts, laser tag with augmented reality, VR, waterslides, shows, casino, etc. They have a deal on right now that includes open bar, free wifi, specialty dining & excursion credits.
I’m no expert as we have only cruised once before. It was Royal Caribbean, and we were honestly bored waiting for our stops. So we picked a ship with ALOT more to do this time, plus we will be bringing teenagers with us.
Another thing you need to know (that we did not last time) if you are going to want to drink alcohol the package is something stupid like $100 per day per person, and you have to buy for the entire time (even the days your on excursion) I don’t know about you, but I can drink.. and there is NO WAY that’s worth it lol.. which is why we went with the free open bar. But even just pop & juices are an “extra package” on other ships.
We also prefer balcony rooms because if the ship gets too busy and you need quiet time, you can also go read a book on your own balcony. That’s just our personal preference.

Great feedback from everyone I will look into the alcohol fee and balcony option next trip
Is it easy to find an adventurous type cruise line I do not want to be bored
thx

Elaine Keenan once you get a balcony you'll never want anything else...except a suite! Lol You can buy individual drinks too if you're a little drinker...cripes one and I'm done so I just buy one at dinner.

Princess
Cruise
To western Caribbean was amazing!! So fantastic...you won’t be disappointed with them!! We went to Jamaica, Cayman Mexico and Belize! It was all great! No negative to say. The ship was just spectacular all around!!

And we had 30 people
Of all ages and no ONE was bored!! So much to do that honestly if anyone was hired that is their problem!! No many things to do! And the stoped were great! My only negative what that it wasn’t long enough!!

I've been on Norwegian, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. I found the Norwegian is the best for rooms and certainly food. Carnival was boring and the food was seriously bland. The others were good. Royal Caribbean was beautiful but felt a bit Nickle and dimed to death.
As for locations... St Lucia, Barbados, Aruba, St Maartens are some of my fave. Barbados had these caves that you take a train car through and its very unique and beautiful. It has waterfalls and cool caverns.

In st lucia

Gratuities included is important too From what I have read the Alaskan cruise is the besr.

Ethel if you're lucky and the weather cooperates - Alaska is beautiful. Seriously enjoyed both our journeys there! Boston to Eastern Canada was gorgeous too. Gratuities are usually included but they do offer envelopes if you want to make a special gift to someone.

Best...

We went on an 11 day MSC cruise to the carribean that departed from Miami (and tagged on a trip to Disney as well for fun). First cruise. It was okay. Msc is an Italian owned company so the Italian food buffets and all day pizza were great. The rest of the food was mediocre. Best places we stopped were hands down British Virgin Islands (first off) and Martinique (although expensive because Martinique is French hence in euros on the island). we liked Barbados as well and ended up staying there for a month after the cruise. We also went to Antigua, Bahamas, st Martin. On a separate note, we also visited Turks and Caicos for a month following the cruise (Turks then Barbados x 1 month each). My absolute hands down fav island that I’ve been to so far is Turks and Caicos. Go if you have a chance!!!!

Check out Cruise Critic site.

Maureen yes - this
. I’ve done several cruises and cruise critic is a great resource from ports to staterooms to reviews on ships and more

Take off from New Orleans and take a few days in New Orleans you Won’t regret it

Grenada!!!!!!

Get a balcony for sure! I prefer a larger ship for activities and amenities. Take something for seasickness with you and use it the first night even if you never get it. I grew up boating and the 20 foot swells the first night of my cruise were insane!
We took Norwegian out of Miami to the Bahamas and had a great week. They offered all inclusive drinks which was nice. Food was great!