Surprise cruise for fiancee

Last month the fiancee and I went on a cruise to the Bahama's. It was my first and her second. We both loved it, especially me, im hooked!!!! I've been looking around to whats out there. I've basically narrowed it to either Bermuda or the New England/Canada trip. But im not sure which line to go with? I didn't realize there are alot out there besides, royal/celebrity/NCL/Ca​rnival. I sailed with Royal when we went to the Bahama's and it was nice. Ship was the smallest and oldest but it didn't bother me. I really want to try to book on one of the larger ships (freedom of the seas) But realistically i can't afford that.

Basically what im looking for is for some feedback from other cruisers and what trips/lines they took?

And can anyone recommend the best place to purchase the tickets, besides expedia?

Check out cruisesonly.com or vacationstogo.com. I've booked cruises with both companies and they have better prices.

As far as which cruise line, I've cruised Carnival, Princess, Royal Caribbean and NCL. Carnival is more of a party boat, so if you're into that you may enjoy it. We had a bad experience with Princess, but I know other people like them so take that with a grain of salt. Royal Caribbean is fantastic (as you already know). But our last few cruises have been on NCL. The thing we like about Norwegian is the Free Style Cruising. You don't have to get all dressed up to go to the dining room and there are many different places you can go for dinner (some cost extra) other than the dining room or buffet. But... the food is good, but not quite up to the level of Royal Caribbean.

Hope that helps!

Royal would be my first choice. Best food by far. NCL is more laid back...Princess has slipped since their prime in the 80s...Carnival is mostly drunken teens...no desire to ever go with them again.

If you went with Royal before....join the Crown & Anchor Society...and get a Royal credit card....earn rewards for everyday purchases. And book your next cruise right from the Royal website....real easy to search...and bargains show up all the time. You can also look around for a local travel agency...I actually use an outfit out of Saratoga Springs, NY....http://cruise-holidays.com/

You can get great deals on cruises through AARP.

Royal caribbean is definitely a nice boat .. great food, parties .. i just went on that last year for my wedding and it was my first too and i was definitely hooked ! .. we sailed from NJ to Bermuda and i loved it !! .. the beaches, the food, the people ... and a snorkel tour that you can actually see 2 ships wrecks .. since it was the first for me, it was very weird to ask for food and not being asked for payment .. I LOVE IT !

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Im definiitely going to look at Royal again. We were on the Sovereign of the Seas. Small boat but to me was huge since it was my first trip. Its beeing retired at the end of the fall. And yes the food was pretty dam good, which shocked me. Was expecting typical HS type of buffet. It definitely ranks up there with Amtrak food which again was pretty dam good (dining car, not snack car)

NCL is looking good to with the Norwegian Dawn leaving out of NYC for the NE/Canada trip. Royal leaves out of Bayonne,NJ but its a tad bit more. I'll have to keep shopping around to find the best deal soon. I would like to book by the end of July for a fall trip before our wedding on 10/26 anytime after that I think would be way too cold to go up there. And we both dont want to goto Bermuda just yet.

As for the AARP, well maybe in 30 years. Im only 28 right now and dont want to think about aarp. LOL.

FYI, Royal Caribbean does not discount their prices thru travel agents. The only deals you will find are for extras such as insurance or onboard credits. RCCL does some early booking discounts on their own site as well as coupons for repeat customers

There are lots of online cruise resellers, but many of them are owned by several large companies. If you start shopping online you will start to see the same web site structure & exactly the same pricing.

Good luck. Cruises are great. My wife & I have been on over 20

Take a look at whatever Princess ships are cruising out of Australia. Completely different feel to cruising from the states

I think the Sun Princess is still going out of Sydney with the Dawn Princess soon to do ones out of Melbourne and or Perth.

Also, I dont know if it would be of any use to you but the best place to book cruises for the best prices for us is http://www.bestcruises​.com.au. I think people from overseas can book with them as well. Unless you know someone on the inside, you cant beat them for Australian based cruises.

We cruise with Princess cruise lines and go through BCAA(AAA for Americans) as our travel agent.

We are going again late November for the Caribbean for two seven day cruises.

I'd stay away from Norwegian, food and entertainment are not very good!

My wife uses ttp://boards.cruisecri​tic.com/ (INVALID EMAIL) to answer all the questions she has before we choose a new destination.