[Greg Nelson]

looking for one week trip April 1st..never done a cruise..help!

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Greg Nelson

looking for one week trip April 1st..never done a cruise..help!

There are many websites to help you chose a cruise line and destination.
Try these.

Cruise Reviews, Cruise Deals and Cruises - Cruise Critic

Discount Cruises, Last Minute Cruises, Cruise, Cruise Line, Cruise Vacation

[MikeV]

Try Royal Caribbean or Carnival Cruises. They leave Port Canaveral with cruises of 3 to 8 days.

[KayakerNC]

Check out the cruises from Puerto Rico.
The taxi from the San Juan airport to the cruise port is an adventure in itself!
DW and I have been on 2 cruises on Adventure of the Seas (Royal Caribbean).

[2newyorkers]

We love cruising and a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean is a good way to start. Take into account your personality to help you decide what ship. Go to cruisecritic.com and read, read, read.

[wholman66]

We went on the RCL eastern Caribbean cruise for the first time in April, really enjoyed it, we were on Freedom of the Seas. This is not an advertisement, but we went to Teresa Ruud
Ocala Travel Cruise & Tour 352-753-9969, she did a great job for us.

[Bonny]

Cruises are awesome. Hubby & I have been on 58. We mostly cruise Celebrity & Royal Caribbean. Same company but much different. Great service on both and lots to do. We tend to like the bigger ships. Allure of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas & Freedom of the Seas.
Eastern Caribbean is a great cruise for a first timer. That's where we went the first time.
Cruise Critic is a great place to get info. Do some homework on the differences of cruise lines. A good travel agent can help you on that.

[Greg Nelson]

Thanks all! We are snorkel /water people. Prefer smaller boat. not party animals. Could go from Ft. Lauderdale

[tuccillo]

If you like to be in the water, get together with a few other couples and rent a crewed (captain and chef) sailboat (40-50 feet in length) in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). You will not want to come home. The crew will have to call the police to drag you off the boat at the end of your trip ;-)

Originally Posted by Greg Nelson

Thanks all! We are snorkel /water people. Prefer smaller boat. not party animals. Could go from Ft. Lauderdale

[chuckinca]

Originally Posted by Greg Nelson

Thanks all! We are snorkel /water people. Prefer smaller boat. not party animals. Could go from Ft. Lauderdale

Bigger boat doesn't make it a party boat.

Be sure to plan what you want to do at each stop - you only get 6 or 7 hours there.

.

[tomwed]

What's your budget?
I really enjoy a balcony.
New ships or I guess remodeled older ships I think are worth it.
If you are going to be in miami or ft lauderdale then that's a good reason to leave from there, otherwise Tampa or Cape Canaveral sounds better to me. It's cheaper and less of a hassle.
I haven't been very pleased with excursions but I do tend to go with the less expensive ones.
Any excursion that includes a stop at a gift shop annoys me.
I like having a waiter and will always eat in a restaurant not the cafeteria.
I know it's wrong but I will order more than I can eat and try the oddest things on the menu.
I bring many audiobooks and sound stifling headphones with me.
On a cruise, where someone else drags the luggage around I don't think it matters if you overpack. Pay a couple of extra bucks and have the porter in the parking lot load your bags.
Before you agree to a cabin go to a ship blog and see if the room is over a disco. We had a room under a jazz bar and felt lucky that it didn't turn out to be so loud.
[BTW---about 10 minutes ago I was no longer posting a QUICK reply]

This looks like a great deal if your dates are flexible 6 Night Eastern Caribbean on Carnival Fascination - CheapCruises.com

[Carl in Tampa]

1. Cruise Critic website is an outstanding place to gather information.
2. Eastern Caribbean is a fine place to start cruising.
3. I don't go Western Caribbean anymore because most cruises there stop in Mexico; I refuse to set foot in Mexico.
4. Most cruises from Tampa or Port Canaveral are Western Caribbean.
5. Don't try to crowd too much activity into a one week cruise. It can be exhausting.
6. I tend to do two week cruises, and move at a slower pace in order to both enjoy the trip and to relax.
7. If your budget can handle it, a two week trip to Alaska with one week on land and one week cruising is an outstanding experience. Princess Line has facilities on land and for the cruise. Hard to beat.
8. Enjoy your cruise.

[chuckinca]

Originally Posted by Carl in Tampa

3. I don't go Western Caribbean anymore because most cruises there stop in Mexico; I refuse to set foot in Mexico.

IMHO; I'll take Cozumel, Mexico any day over Jamaica.

.

[Greg Nelson]

Well folks..my lovely tells me no cruise after 5 months in Florida. Sooo...we will do a few Del Webb 2 day stays instead..starting with Naples in the south...

[CathyandSteveG]

Originally Posted by Bonny

Cruises are awesome. Hubby & I have been on 58. We mostly cruise Celebrity & Royal Caribbean. Same company but much different. Great service on both and lots to do. We tend to like the bigger ships. Allure of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas & Freedom of the Seas.
Eastern Caribbean is a great cruise for a first timer. That's where we went the first time.
Cruise Critic is a great place to get info. Do some homework on the differences of cruise lines. A good travel agent can help you on that.

OMG Bonny!!!!! that's amazing! We vacation a lot and we have started cruising in the last couple of years but man....i have a lot of catching up to do!!!!

I bow down to the cruising QUEEN!!! (I am so jealous!)