First timer - how should I cruise?
 

I've never been on a cruise before, and would like to try one sometime next year or the year after. The reason I've never tried one is I figured I'd be bored to tears. See, I don't like 'relaxing' on vacation, I like seeing things, discovering things, learning things. I love castles and landscapes, not beaches and pools.

Most of my vacations are to northern climes as I prefer cool weather to heat (I sweat a lot and already live in Florida - vacation means cooler places).

What sort of cruise, what location, what line would you think would be my best introduction to the world of cruising? I remember reading something about learning cruises, where you can learn languages or art or various things - that sounds fascinating!

Help me start some research in the right direction :)

Look into norther European cruises which center in the baltic. Its cooler and there are lots of castles and old churches. The port stops are amazing and typically include Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, fab St. Petersburg, Gdansk, maybe Germany (Berlin) and Oslo. Also consider the western Med. which focuses on western Italy and you will see some amazing, old sites.

An excellent website/resource with tons of info and very active message boards is cruisecritic.com

You might enjoy an Alaska Cruisetour which combines the cruise itself with a land tour (as you said you like landscapes). Check out the offerings from Princess.

My favorite cruise is the Caribbean in the winter as I live in the north and DO like to relax and do nothing while shipboard. I'm quite sure you'd hate it.

I don't think the major cruislines do "learning" cruises - sure, they all offer little 1-hour seminars on this and that, but it would not be enough to fill your time. Do check out cruisecritic.com --- if someone does offer an educational cruise, you will be sure to find out about it there.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions! I'll check out cruisecritic :)

If you think you can be bored on a cruise, pick one with less days at sea.