Picture it: You and your spouse are 40 yrs old, no kids. You've got 2 weeks for a cruise at the end of January. You enjoy great food, meeting people around your age, and some gambling. Putting up with other people's kids is definitely NOT part of the agenda. Which cruise line would you use, and what cruise would you suggest?

Southern Caribbean cruise, spend one week on the cruise and one week in PR. Puerto Rico is where the cruise would leave from on the Southern itinerary. Cruise lines, Royal Carribean. We were on RC last Jan. and the children were scarce. The ships are so large you seldom see any. A very nice line, also Celebrity, Princess. I would avoid Carnival. Just my opinion.

Check out some of Radisson's 2-for-1 Caribbean cruises, e.g., a 10-day cruise on the Navigator leaving FL for SJ on 1/17. We were on Radisson's Paul Gauguin for a 14-day back-to-back cruise in French Polynesia in February and it was terrific. The accomodations are great and the food is fantastic. Be glad to tell you about our TA if you're interested. You might also check out Radisson's forum on CruiseCritic.

It's 15 days but I would do the Passage Thruogh Panama on the Crystal Serenity. It's Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles. Starting at Ft. Lauderdale to Aruba thru the Panama Canal to Puntarenas to Acapulco to Puerto Vallarta to Cabo San Lucas then to Los Angeles.www.crystalcruises.com


I think it is a shame to visit the caribbean by cruise. The islands are small enought to feel comfortable and safe for a vacation and to also experience the culture - you cannotdo that on a 3 hour tour of an island. A cruise IMHO should be something more exotic....like the best way to see something. The best way to see the Panama Canal or the Amazon River would be a cruise!

OR

The Amazon and Brazillian Beaches - 14 days on Seabourne Pride..You embark in Rio de Janeiro to Salvador de Bahia to Natal to Fortaleza, thru the North Breves Narrows, cruise the Amazon River....to Alter do Chao to Anavilhanas and end at Manaus, Brazil. That would aso be an amazing cruise.
www.seabourn.com

Both cruises are top 5 star rates, very luxurious and you will not find children on these cruise lines like you will on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or others. After booking these cruises (crystal and seabourn, you fill out a questionaire with all of your preferences so your cabin is stockes with your favorite flowers, liquors etc...) You are greeted with champagne and caviar....total lux!

If the suggestions so far are to pricey ... I would highly recommend Princess. My husband and I have been on Grand Princess several times and we love it. For our honeymoon we did 2 seven day cruises back to back on the Grand; eastern and western caribbean. We have never had a problem with kids on a Princess cruise ... they seem to have a great kid's program that keeps the kids happy and occupied.

We loved our trip to the southern caribbean with Celebrity.

As a 40 year who travels with her kids, 2 in fact,I suggest you go on Crystal, Radisson,Windstar,or Seabourne cruises. You will not see kids on these cruises but you definitely will on Celebrity , and Princess and needless to say all the other more popular lines.Personally even when we had no kids I was quite tolerant of others as really you will not see kids in the casino or bars and choose late dining as families will choose to eat at the first sitting. Nowadays with most people travelling with their kids from very young ages you are unlikely to find a kid free ship except in the first few that I mentioned. Celebrity has a good kids program as well so those of with kids often use it, howevre there are some sailings on Celebrity especially off school holidays that do not have a kids program.

Thanks for all the info. When I said "no kids", I meant that we have no kids, not that kids were to be invisible or anything -- but then again, I remember doing a quick out-and-back from Florida on a ship, and watching the teenagers powerdrink then puke the rest of the day away. Hmmmm, perhaps I should have said "no college kids", eh!

We went on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas and were never bothered by kids on board. The ship is amazing and the food and service were great. We went to as many shows as we could find time to. It was our first time on a cruise and are now recommending it to everyone we know. We loved our ship and the vacation. We went to the Western Caribbean.

I think you'd feel quite comnfortable on either Clebrity or Princess.

The longer the cruise, the less likely you are to encounter families or college kids, due to the cost.

Plus, the end of January isn't a school break time, which should help.