Thread: Where should I sail first?

I have not seen this question posed yet: How long and where should my first cruise be?

I want to sail to Hawaii first, but my mom said that is way too much time at sea and 15 nights is too long. She wants to sail to Alaska, but I am not willing to go where it is always cold. We both want to go to Italy, but there seems to be no such thing as a 7-night cruise in the Western Mediterranean. So I am wondering where in the world we should sail first if I can't talk her into sailing for two weeks. We can go whenever we want, but hate extreme temperatures. Any suggestions?

New England and Canada would be a good place to start. Sailing from New York, lots of beautiful ports to visit and a sea day or two just to see how you like them. Most of the major lines offer them as well so there is plenty of choice.

Unless you are from the North or the Central US in which case the Caribbean would be perfect. Something that you are not used to, warm islands and lots of sand.

Of course, for someone born and raised in Florida, I would suggest Alaska!

As someone who has been on a Hawaiian cruise twice (which has turned into my favorite itinerary, hubby's too), I wouldn't recommend it to you. It's not for those new to cruising as it is not a smooth water cruise (you cross a strong current which causes a lot of rough seas on most sailings).

Go for a shorter cruise (like three or four days) to see if you even like cruising. Go find a "cruise specialist" travel agent that you can ask about these kinds of short trial cruises. Usually to the Bahamas, or short Caribbean cruises.

Originally Posted by nealberk

Unless you are from the North or the Central US in which case the Caribbean would be perfect. Something that you are not used to, warm islands and lots of sand.

Of course, for someone born and raised in Florida, I would suggest Alaska!

I was born and raised in central Ohio, but will move to Jacksonville next year. So I don't know if I will be a good candidate for the Caribbean or not. If I sail there, I will avoid storm sesaon and kids by going in April or May. Right now those islands are not a top priority for me, but many times I have gone places I always thought I will never go.

Originally Posted by cruisin' chick

As someone who has been on a Hawaiian cruise twice (which has turned into my favorite itinerary, hubby's too), I wouldn't recommend it to you. It's not for those new to cruising as it is not a smooth water cruise (you cross a strong current which causes a lot of rough seas on most sailings).

Go for a shorter cruise (like three or four days) to see if you even like cruising. Go find a "cruise specialist" travel agent that you can ask about these kinds of short trial cruises. Usually to the Bahamas, or short Caribbean cruises.

That is surprising. I heard the Pacific Ocean was named after its lack of tropical storms (only East Asia and Hawaii seem to get them, as far as I can tell), so I always thought there is no rough water between California and Hawaii. Did that ocean get the wrong name?

Originally Posted by Smart Traveler

That is surprising. I heard the Pacific Ocean was named after its lack of tropical storms (only East Asia and Hawaii seem to get them, as far as I can tell), so I always thought there is no rough water between California and Hawaii. Did that ocean get the wrong name?

The Pacific ocean has hurricanes just like the Atlantic, however, the Pacific is normally calmer than most of the Atlantic on any given day.

The rough water that cruisin chick mentions is when you cross the current that flows in a N/S direction off the coast of California. The rough seas generally only last for the first day/night and if you are lucky you will be sleeping and be rocked like in a cradle during the passage across the current.

There was a hurricane in the Pacific off the coast of Mexico earlier this month.

Hurricane Adrian weakening rapidly

Mark Avery, Lead Meteorologist, The Weather Channel
Jun 11, 2011 5:07 am ET

HURRICANE ADRIAN
* Hurricane Adrian weakened throughout the day on Friday and has continued this weakening trend through the evening and overnight hours Friday night/Saturday morning after peaking in intensity early Friday morning as a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale with 140 mile per hour winds.

* As of 2 a.m. PDT Saturday, Adrian has weakened to a category 1 hurricane with 85 mile per hour winds.

* Adrian is expected to continue to weaken over the next couple of days, and could become a tropical storm later today and a tropical depression Sunday night into Monday.

* The center of Adrian is located (as of 2 a.m. PDT Saturday) about 495 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

* Rough surf, large swells, and dangerous rip currents are expected to impact parts of the west coast of Mexico through the weekend, otherwise Adrian poses no threat to land.

Andrea, I was born and raised in Jacksonville, my wife was raised on the coast of Texas. We much prefer non-beach locations since we were born near water. Give us New England or Europe or Alaska any day over a beach!

Most of my friends took the 5 day canadian cruise out of ny to see if they like it. It has a day at sea on each end so you can see if you like the days at sea. If you are not happy its only 5 days.

Originally Posted by kirkz

Most of my friends took the 5 day Canadian cruise out of ny to see if they like it. It has a day at sea on each end so you can see if you like the days at sea. If you are not happy its only 5 days.

Which cruise line offers a five day Canada/New England itinerary? The one by Princess is 7 days.

Nealberk, maybe you can tell me some things about Jacksonville to prepare me for my move there next year.