My husband and I would really like to take a cruise..7-10 days to Alaska, or the Caribbean.
We would prefer a cruise that caters to adults, rather than young families.
We have been looking into Oceania cruises which look particularly nice, 2 for 1 fares, free airfare, all inclusive.
I'm hoping some of you have cruised and will have some advice to share. Thanks.
;)

We recently went on an Alaskan cruise with Holland American. It was very nice. Definitely adult oriented.

Stear clear of Carnival in the Caribbean. I took a 4 day, 3 night cruise and it was full of kids and more kids. Folks were not very friendly and they pushed past me and my elderly mother to get on the elevator. The crew was worse. During the life jacket drill they yelled at both me and Mom for not having our life jackets done just so.

Holland America! The staff is fabulous, ditto food. They mostly only get kids during the holidays. They are mostly smaller ships which makes getting around easier.

I agree: Holland America! I have been on an Alaskan cruise (lovely and planning to go again next year), and the Grand Asia & Australia. Wonderful crew and staff on both ships. Always helpful. Definitely more adult clientele.

I have only been on the Royal Caribbean ship but I think price will be a big reason there would be more kids so if you can avoid the really rock bottom priced cruises then it would work to your advantage.
Our ship had a number of under 35's but not so many that it was a problem and we had a very nice crew and friendly shipmates!
Enjoy your cruise!

Cruised on Celebrity twice, loved it. Sailed Norwegian once, in our opinion, the Motel 6 of cruise lines.

Been on Royal Caribbean twice and plan to go again this winter! It was top notch for my taste!

Royal Carib and Holland Am are the best. Carnival was awful. Once for them was enough for us.

I go every year with Royal Caribbean, love them!!! I made a mistake once and went on Carnival, never again.

All four my cruises have been Holland America. Three were Carribean and one Alaskan ship/land tour. They know how to provide service.

We were booked into a Carnival with 3 other couples when my husband had open heart surgery, so we had to back out.

They came back to tell me I didnt miss much, they hated Carnival. Service wasnt so good and other problems.

Jean

I used to live in Ketchikan, AK and vouch for the HOlland America lines...very adult oriented, very classy, great food...we used to be able to have luncheons on them as part of the Coast Guard spouses club.

I have cruised Carnival many times. Mostly because of the price as they are lower. Kids and students are EVERYWHERE! I saw 3 girls take an elderly woman's scooteer while she was in the restroom. The (all 3) rode the scooter around the pool deck. Inconsiderate twerps! We cruised the next time on Royal Caribbean and it was awesome.

We've been on several cruiselines and for what you want, Holland America or Princess would be good. The service on Holland was amazing!

have fun on your cruise, never been to Alaska yet

I have done a Celebrity and Royal Caribeain- Freedom of the Seas, Celebrity - The Summit, was by far superior. Very Adult orientated, we did the Panamal Cannal 14 day, would do it again in a heartbeat!

Royal Caribean had many young adults and the entertainment was lacking in coordination, IMHO.

Have a great time!

We've cruised with Princess several times - all to Alaska - and have been very, very pleased. On our next cruise we'll definitely go with them again. Alaska seemed to be more adult-interest based.

We've taken a couple cruises on Norwegian in Hawaii and didn't have quite the same experiences. There were certainly fewer kids when we went in February than when we went in July, though.

I did the Alaskan cruise with Princess. Very pleased!

My husband and I used to cruise often. Holland America is absolutely fabulous in terms of ship decor and service. The cruises on H A were mainly adults. We also cruised on Royal Caribbean - another fantastic cruise line. We did see more families, but they must keep the kiddos pretty busy because there were never kids underfoot.

Do not, repeat, do not cruise on Carnival. The ship was very disappointing, the service non-existent, and we had to battle with crowds of rude people everywhere! There were a lot of young adults into clubbing and partying all night.

You will love cruising if you're smart about which cruise line you take.

We did a Princess cruise through the Panama Canal - good entertainment, food, shore excursions. No kids, but that might have been the destination. Cruised Norwegian to Alaska, the ship was set up to accommadate kids and there were lots of them.

Well, it looks as though I am the only one who has repeated going on the Carnival. I have booked each and every cruise with the same rep and I really have not been disappointed.......

I don't let someone else's kids bother me.......they are not mine so I can just ignore them and go about my cruising......
If they do eventually annoy me, the ship is large enough to find another area to enjoy away from them.......

I am going on my 17th cruise in February..and having the advantage of VIP embarkment and disembarkment makes for a pleasant time.....

My advice is to enjoy one's self and not worry about someone else's kids..........

those three that took someone's scooter should have been reported and I am sure that they would have been dealt with accordingly...rather that just watch them perform their meanness and get away with it.

With all that said, I wish you all happy cruising wherever you go and on whichever ship you choose.

Oh geez...all the bad news about Carnival! I leave in two weeks for a Carnival cruise (quilting cruise with Bonnie Hunter). This will be my first cruise and I am determined it will be wonderful!
I haven't had a vacation in 14 yrs.

I have cruised on Celebrity twice and it is definietly an Adult line. Less parties than Carnival and the service is wonderful.

It will be fine. They will be catering to Bonnie Hunter and all her guests since it is a special cruise.

Choose the time of year; fewer kids when school is in. Go for the specials,i.e. get a suite with a window or veranda. Check out the costs of trips and other "extras"; they can add a lot to the price. We went to Alaska on Norwegian in early May. The weather was better than friends experienced in August!

Went to Alaska on Holland , loved the trip flew to Vancouver and came back to Anchorage on the domed top train. I would suggest Holland first and then Princess but not Carnival. I have been on their cruises but that is more of a family cruise, nothing wrong with that, I just loved Holland and how we were treated.

I have been on MSC (Italian), Princess several times, and will be going on the queen Mary II very soon. Liked Princess a lot, not sure about MSC (Everyting was in 5 languages) and I have been told that QMII is the very best. Can't wait to find out.

I have taken a number of cruises on several cruise lines. My two favorites are Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Stay clear of Carnival!

MY First cruise ever was on Carnival we had a great time , nothing wrong with it. I also went in March on Carnival but that is a bad time because all the college kids are on and is very busy.Other wise I have no real complaints and if you do they will take care of you.Don't fret just go on and enjoy your cruise and make your own opinion, BON VOYAGE

Hello don't really know what to tell you... my husband and I are taking our first cruise in March of 12 , and we are going with another couple that have been on cruises before..they swear by Princess so we are all booked to go to the Western Caribbean on the Crown Princess... can't wait, it is going to be so much fun..... Good Luck on finding your cruise...

The cruise down the Rhine is a nice one...

Several years ago we took a Barefoot Cruise to the Caribbean. It was the best! Good food, very casual and only 55 on board including the crew. It was an old sailing ship build in the 1930s. Wonderful experience!

Depends on what type of cruising you want to do - we do not care for Carnival and definitely not Disney. My family is into the "old fashioned" dress up cruising, not the new relaxed, might as well stay at home, cruising. We have done several (4 Carib, 1 Mexico, 1 Alaska - NCL, Princess and Carnival.) We prefer Princess.

Other suggestion - don't book shore excursions ahead of time unless it is something you absolutely can't pass up! Don't fee as if you have to do ship activities at every port call. It is easy enough, usually, to get around the ports on your own, relax a little, and not spend quite so much money.

If your ship offers soda cards (I think they all do now,) and you are soda drinkers, buy one! Check to see if it covers juices. Some do, some don't.

Most cruise lines now cover your tips in your fare, make sure you find out. If not, and you leave tips, that will be a lot of extra money! Now, if you get exceptional service from someone, it would be nice to give a little extra, even if the normal tip is covered.

Have fun!!

We are taking a Royal Caribbean International - Voyager of the Seas cruise in February, I hope it is good! Never been on a cruise before and get very motion sick in all types of moving vehicles!! YIKES!!!

I live in south florida where many cruise lines are based. We often see/hear on the local news about ships returning with many (if not all) of the passengers sick ... there is a virus (flu-like) that spreads very quickly in such an environment... they "clean" the ship when it gets back to port only to have the next group come back sick also... so if you are going to the caribbean do some research on the cruise lines first... and then have lots of fun!

Antdebby1.......

Please read my above post.......

if I have returned to Carnival 17 times, it can't be bad........we have made lots of new friends...adults........and have enjoyed it each time as much as the time before.

I know that you will enjoy your cruise, especially since it is a quilting one........and one can always cold-shoulder the bad and enjoy the good............, have a wonderful trip.

Happy sailing and quilting........

AMEN! I've taken two on Carnival and never again. They have to be the worst. I've heard Norweigan is good but I've never been on it.

I live ten minutes away from the port in Fort Lauderdale Fl.We cruise twice a year and have been on many different ships including carnival.I have always been treated well on that line.The children have never bothered me. They have a separate pool and hot tub area for adults.If you dont like kids you probably wont like crusing.I have been on over 40 and have never been on a ship with out them.I would love to be on that cruise with you!Have fun.

We went on Carnival Cruise Line to the Caribbean...did not like it that much - too much noise and lots of kids.
We went to Alaska on the Princess Cruise Line and it was fabulous. There were very few kids and they were very well behaved. The whole cruise was a dream. We are going again in 2012 on Princess to Alaska. It was a vacation that is well worth repeating. Happy sailing!!

We like both Royal Carib and Princess. We took one NCL cruise and was not impressed with them. We also took one Azamara cruise and it was ok, but it was very small, some people like the smaller ships but we didn't.