Expert: Linda - 9/29/2002

Question
Hello! My parents are going to celebrate their twentieth anniversary in March and my father wants to go on a cruise to the Carribean. It would just be the two of them, and they really just want to relax in the sun for about a week. Dining and entertainment are priorities, and the budget is medium-high. Could you recomend a cruise for them?

Answer
They will have a wonderful time, a cruise is relaxing AND romantic.  I would choose either Princess Cruise Lines or RCCL.  Food and entertainment are tops on both these lines.  I would choose the Eastern Caribbean as there are more "sun" things to do in port.  St. Thomas is incredible and the snorkeling and sightseeing is fantastic.  Or the trip over to St. John's, the beach over there is rated # 3 in the world.  The Voyager class ships on RCCL are large, lots to do with a real feel of a plush resort.  Princess lines, the Sun,Sea are a bit smaller than RCCL, if you want a large ship on Princess, opt for the Grand.
Be sure to choose a TA who is with a cruise only agency, you will get the best prices.  I would suggest a balcony cabin.  They can order room service in the morning, sit on the balcony and watch the sun come up...or in the evening, watch the sun go down.  March is before the ships go to Alaska, so they are many more choices than if they were leaving in May-Sept.  There is another site to go and look at it's Cruisecritic.com.  From there you can check on any of the cruise lines you want, scan the message boards, check out the ports of call and ships reviews.  Each of the lines RCCL and Princess also have websites.  With Princess from their web page you can take a look at their ship cam and see where the ship is and what the area looks like.  You can also order videos from either RCCL or Princess cruises and see the inside of the ship.  If you have any other questions, please let me know.

Linda