jill

First researched South Carribean on Adventure, which looked good to us because of the luxury of the ship for our family w/ 2 teens. The air from Calif. to San Juan is about $740, in which case should we just go to the Mediterranean(Barcelona, Italy, etc) since the kids would like to see Europe for their first time, the air will end up costing the same, and the cruise itself is cheaper in Europe. Can't decide, what's your opinion?

Paul Therault

Hi Jill,<BR><BR>Although the Adventure is a "destination" ship as well as RCCL's Voyager and Explorer (all 3 absolutely fabulous) you should choose Europe first if you have the opportunity and save the Adventure for the future. The price will reduce when the newness wears off.<BR><BR>Paul

Hiho

I would also sugggest Europe - but if you are going to SEE it, I wouldn't go on a cruise but on a land-based vacation.

John

Jill-<BR>We've done both and have two teenage daughters. While you certainly can't really "see" Europe on a seven day cruise, you can sample it. We did the Western and all of us really enjoyed it. Its completely different than the Caribbean and knowing that beforehand helped. We did a lot of research on the itinerary and organized all of our excursions ourselves. That way we maximized our time onshore doing what we wanted to do, not a blend of some things we liked and some we didn't at the whim of a tour operator.<BR><BR>We spent very little time on the ship other than to eat breakfast and dinner and then, of course, sleep. We took a lot of trains and as a result, experienced a more closeness to the people and their daily lives than you would get riding a tour bus. We skipped a lot of the museums and churches as those things don't interest us. We emphasized sampling the different foods, visiting the popular tourist places (coleseum, forun, Capri, Monte Carlo Palace/Casino, and then soaking in the scenery (especially on Capri where we took a two hour hike up into the wilds).<BR><BR>I almost hate to agree with Paul, but he's right in that you can always do the Caribbean, but Europe is going to continue to be cheap this year because of 9/11, so take advantage of it. The nice thing about sampling Europe with a cruise is the ease of mind knowing that each evening you will return to your "home away from home" where English is spoken and your waiter knows what you want to eat/drink and you don't have to pack/unpack.<BR><BR>Another observation - we took advantage of already being in Europe to add four days on the end of the cruise and went to the island of Mallorca to just unwind and do the "beach" thing - turned out to be exactly what we needed after the busy cruise week.

Adele

Hi,<BR><BR>I'm struggling with the same decision between a Southern or Western Caribbean cruise and a Mediterranean cruise as a surprise for my husband to celebrate our 10th anniversary.<BR><BR>We have traveled to both the Caribbean and to Europe (Paris and London) several times and have always made our own arrangements and independent itinerary. However, lots of folks we know rave about cruises and we're wondering if we might like the luxury aspect of cruising and enjoy not having to make all of the choices like where to stay and which restaurants to reserve, etc.<BR><BR>Any feedback on particular cruise lines and/or ships would be welcome. As an aside, I have heard wonderful things about Mallorca.......would you recommend a long weekend getaway there as another anniversary alternative??<BR><BR>Thanks!<BR>Adele

John

Adele - Mallorca is a beautiful island full of sun, sand and georgeous scenery (the northern coast is full of rugged coast line). There may be a lot more to it than what I know, but remember, I was there to simply relax. We stayed at the Marriott in Llucmajor, a great five star resort, but off the beaten track secluded in the olive groves and away from the beaches. We rented a car and drove the southwestern coast stopping at three great beaches over the three days we were there. Driving was easy and the people are great.<BR><BR>The only negative I know of about Mallorca is that the college kids take over the Palma de Mallorca beaches during the summer and there is a lot of hell raising going on - not the kind of place I'd want to be. This starts around the middle of June and goes thru August. We were there the first week of June and everything was fine.<BR><BR>As far as the ships doing the Western Med - I know of two. The RCCL Splendor which is a sister ship to the Grandeur that we took sails round trip out of Barcelona. I've seen specials for this ship starting at $650 for an inside. I also know that the new Celebrity ship the Constellation is doing a couple of 7 day round trips from Barcelona in late May because an employee of mine is booked on her. He got a rate of $700 for an inside.

Kris

Jill, my personal preference would be to hit Europe. I just didn't think the cruise we took in the Caribbean was all that great. The ports all seemed similar so for much less money I wished we would have just picked one destination in the Caribbean and stayed for a week. The European itineraries are usually pretty varied and you get a nice taste of Europe although you rarely get to spend enough time in each port.<BR><BR>Adele, we also usually travel on land and independently but have chosen to cruise on several occasions because the itineraries include destinations that we probably wouldn't do on a land tour (eg Malta, Corsica or Sicily), we don't have to pack and repack, and we don't have to figure out transportation between the different cities.<BR><BR>You can still travel independently in most of the ports with a little advance planning. We didn't take any shore excursions on the Baltic cruise and only one on the Med. cruise.<BR><BR>Cruise lines differ in the amount of days at sea and run from casual to luxurious. We tend to pick cruises for the itinerary, not the amenities. Orient Lines is a bit more casual, no formal nights, and I like their itineraries and the amount of time in port the best. They usually add a couple of days in the starting and ending ports along with the cruise.<BR><BR>You can also find a shorter cruise (7 days)and if you have extra time extend your stay for several days. We did that in Barcelona and were really glad we gave ourselves the extra time.

Andy

Jill-- HANDS DOWN--take the kids to EUOPE on a cruise- first, you only have to unpack ONCE- and a cruise gives you a terrifc overview for when you want to return a 2nd time--<BR>Our first trip to Europe was England ( land pkg) as I was scared as I couldn't speak any foreign language-<BR>Our 2nd trip to Europe was a driving trip from GERMANY THRU ITALY- with a couple who COULD SPEAK GERMAN AND ITALIAN fluently.SO we encountered no problems and got our feet wet , so to speak.<BR><BR>Our 3rd trip was a MED CRUISE to go to different countries and cities--IT WAS FABULOUS. Where else could we see 5 countries and 9 cities in 12 days and LOVE every minute of it!<BR><BR>GO FOR THE EUROPE CRUISE!<BR><BR>Adele--for your 10th anniversary, I would definitely do a MED cruise on the WINDSURF --we did it last MAY and it was THE most ROMANTIC cruise of my life--5 masted sailing yacht, Casual upscale,5 star dining and way smaller ports than the larger ships use....OUTSTANDING!<BR><BR>Both of you enjoy whatever choice you make!

Kat

My husband and I are taking our 2 sons on the Mediterranean cruise 7/7 thru 7/14 on Splendor of the Seas. Did you decide on Mediterranean or Carribean?<BR><BR>Kat

jill

Because we got other couples to go, we gave way to their preference of Carribean, but after some research, they are now saying Alaska because it's hurricane season in the carribeans in august, Alaska here we come.

kathy

Please tell us you are kidding. Not going to the Caribbean due to hurricans is like not going to TX cuz of tornados or not going to CA due to earthquaks. I've done all three of the cruises you've mentioned and my vote is definitely Europe. THe variety would be the greatest. The difference between the cities is enormous unlike the Caribbean. I loved Alaska however, once was enough whereas a European cruise can encompass so many different cities that one is never enough. I do agree with the poster who stated a land trip to Europe is better, but a cruise would be a wonderful experience also.