As a puertorrican who has cruised a lot, I must add this one: low priced Caribbean, short (4-5 days) Summer cruises, if you want to avoid rowdy teenagers and drunk young adults. Those are party cruises, if you want relaxation and peace, not your cruise). Thanks for the tips! ❤
My cousin lives in Juneau and she thinks cruising in October or late September is crazy. The locals often leave for warmer climates, closing stores. The days are so much shorter - it gets dark early shortening viewing time . Its colder and she sees many miserable tourists fighting the cold and rain. Great video. Thank you
Another cruise to avoid, whether you have kids or not, is any that has a "Kids Sail Free" promotion. RUN! Run away fast!. If you have kids, you'll find the kid programs very full and crazy. If you would prefer to not have double the normal number of kids running thru halls, trashing beverage stations, hogging elevators and pushing every button, these are not for you. The problem is that the crusie lines can announce these promotions after you booked thinking you were getting a "normal" cruise. Overall, I agree with your comments, but....we've done many September cruises (low rates, kids in school, family birthday) and only once had bad hurricane issues when our 7 night cruise became a 4 night. Yes, we've had cruises where ports were altered, but we considered these to be an adventure and visited some new ports that we might not have seen otherwise. We did the second to last Alaska cruise one season and the weather was not cold. We never eve wore our warm coats. Things vary from year to year. Totally agree that heading west on crossings is easier than east. However, I have a trick. We LOVE the long cruises and often book both a spring and a fall crossing. This has allowed me to book round trip air for the crossing portion, saving a lot of money. Worse than the inaugural cruise on a new ship is the maiden voyage of a new cruise line. I will spare you the details. DO NOT do this!
@@tessabutlergarageyourbike6048 OK how I do it....Assuming MIA to BCN in April, the reverse in October. That means I need to fly from my home to MIA in April and from BCN to my home city after the cruise. I book one way on SW for the domestic portion, so that is easy. You can only book 330 days in advance, so you'll need to wait until 330 days before your fall flight. I book BCN to LAX in May (the end of the first cruise), and book a return of LAX to BCN in the fall. If I'm not planning to stay in Europe, I'll book the spring for one day after my ship docks and the fall to arrive 2 days early (just for safety...in case of issues). It usually costs about the same for the round trip as for a one way; sometimes even less! I could also book LA to MIA in the spring/MIA to LA in the fall, but we like SW and I don't see any need to book that as a round trip. You can also do an "open gatch" if your return cruise is not from the same port (in my example BCN). I looked at a fall cruise from Rome to MIA, but decided on both from BCN.
We just did back to back repositioning cruises....Seattle to Japan in October and Lisbon to NYC in November. Had a great time and many fewer folks on the cruise. We've also done Alaska cruises in October. Loved them because there were no families with kids on the cruise. To each his own I guess.
One other option for very few kids is to take longer than 7 day cruises. We have done Journeys cruises on Carnival that had only a handful of kids because they can't get away from school for that many days.
We love Carnival Journeys cruises and usually those under 18 years of age amount to less than a 20 individuals out of a 4000+ passenger ship. Rarely see children.
We had a cruise booked on an NCL ship out of Port Canaveral Florida when hurricane Ian blew through. Driving from Canada, and nearing Cincinnati, we got notice finally from NCL that they cancelled the cruise. They would not cancel the night prior when we called. So we got 100% refunded and we called Carnival and got on Carnival Glory out of New Orleans instead. Stopped by Graceland in Memphis with the extra day we now had to make it there and then ended up on a fantastic cruise in the western Caribbean with smooth sailing and warm temps. We had never cruised out of New Orleans so this ended up being a treat and we got to experience a bit of NOLA as well for the first time. Great trip!
We've found out the hard way that "last " cruises before a ship is to be retired or refitted are a bad idea too. Somehow we've made that mistake several times now without realizing it in advance. Need to figure out how to avoid that!
We've done six transatlantic crossings so far - as round trip sailings on QM2, not 'repositioning' cruises. We have found that we are adjusted to our destination time on eastbound sailings - but do like getting the five hours back on the return crossing.
Totally agree with you regarding inaugural cruises. We don't go on inaugural cruises, just like the fact that we don't buy a brand new make and model car for the first 3 years that comes out
We purposely went to Alaska the second week of May last year to avoid rain and bugs. We started in Seattle on Sunday at 90° and didn’t have a high under 70° till we hit Victoria the following Saturday. Thursday was the high of the actual sailing at 80° in Skagway. We got very lucky. I told everyone that was why I specifically chose that week when booking the previous October.
Thank you Rob & Allie for all the wonderful videos on all your channels. I feel I'm such a blessed man because, I SEE THE WORLD THROUGH YOUR EYES. I watch all your videos over and over. May God continue to Bless you. Thank you so much Robert
There is another reason for avoiding an inaugural cruise. Often, neither the ship nor the crew is ready for prime time. Sometimes there’s still construction going on. Also, you often get a new and somewhat untrained crew, so you pay more for an uncompleted ship and a less than trained crew.
We’ve never had the issue you did with the eastbound Transatlantic cruise. We love them and find we have no jet lag when we get there. In addition we find the westbound flight home much easier than eastbound flights to Europe. I totally agree about inaugural cruises though primarily because the crew is all new and don’t know the vessel and are still working out the kinks. Like you we always avoid the holiday times partly to avoid crowds but also they tend to be more expensive. We were once in a cyclone between New Zealand and Australia. I loved the rough sea as did about 13 other people. Everyone else was miserable. Completely agree about Alaska which can be frigid.
I guess we were lucky on our Alaskan cruise in May. The weather was cool but nice, the tourist towns were very glad to see us after the long quiet winter, and best of all, the notorious Alaskan bug season had yet to arrive.
I would like to recommend acupuncture for sea sickness. I have suffered dearly from Sea Sickness, trust I had tried everything. Acupuncture is an amazing treatment with no side affects. Please think about it for future cruising.
Yep you can check those school calendars especially if you don't have children find out when they have their spring break, when they start their Thanksgiving break, when they start their Christmas break, and when their summer break begins as well. I would also avoid the week before the week of the week after 4th of July
This is a great video and you guys also look great. You both look so relaxed, and I watch a lot of your videos. I agree with you on everything you said, especially inaugural cruises. When I was very young, my mother loved to travel, and she always had to be on the inaugural cruise, we live in Florida, and even as a kid we lived in Florida, so I saw the cruise industry grow. I can’t tell you how many times we went on an inaugural cruises and the systems on board did not work, the food was cold, the crew was lost, and disoriented as the crew had never worked together as a team. Inaugural cruises are expensive, and in my opinion, and from my experience, simply not worth the money.
Allie and Rob, this video surprised me in so many ways. You were informative about time changes, sea sickness, hurricane seasons, and quite a few things that never occurred to me. I just love watching everything you do and say. Excellent. I’m off to find another. 😊
I just went on an Alaskan Cruise from October 20 - 30, and we had wonderful weather except one day it was icy and we walked on the street and not on the sidewalks. We really lucked out, and had a balcony, a must!
love me some hurricane cruising for the costs!!! no cheaper time and also the least amount of kids. the ship is the destination for me. just get some beefy insurance, dramamine and adjusted expectations.
We like sailing one of the last week Alaska cruises because all the shops have great sales because they want to get their merchandise sold before packing up and closing for winter .
These are such great tips. I have been planning on cruising either to or from Spain at one point in the future & the points you made are so helpful. Thank you.
Maybe I just got lucky, but I cruised the inside passage in Alaska the first week of May 2023. We flew into Seattle to 90 degree days. We spent the whole cruise in the pools drinking frozen margaritas, I came home with a tan.
We have done quite a few Transatlantics, including back to backs around the British Isles. We much prefer the eastbound, as we are early risers and we never get shiplagged when we arrive in Europe. The weather is usually great in the spring (no hurricanes.) Also we love the sea days at the start of the cruise, then the ports in Europe. Horses for courses, I guess.
I've never been on a cruise & the possibility exists I may end up on one in Europe. Could you recommend a cruise line please going from US to Europe? Thanks!
@@Lynn-kh5rsSeabourn offers a great itinerary in March from the Barbados, Martinique, and St Kitts to several ports in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and France, ending in Monte Carlo.
Great points! I agree the westbound cruises make more sense when you are on a vacation and gain the extra hour each day. I just came back from a Panama Canal Cruise full transit from LA to FLL and losing the one hour day over day especially on port days did not feel the best even though it was just a 3-hour change. With regards to Alaska cruises I love the shoulder cruises (beginning or end of season) actually. The fares are lower and never had extreme cold weather in May or Oct. I however do miss the salmon in May but the tons of whale sightings make up for it! Balcony for Alaska cruise is nice but not a must have in my opinion. The newer ships have such well designed common areas with great views of the outside that even an interior works great and helps you save some money for the expensive excursions at Alaskan ports.
We realized the time change thing after sailing Alaska from Vancouver to Seward. We live on the east coast and I should have chosen Seward as the starting point and sail down to Vancouver. It's why we chose to start in Barcelona and come back to the states. Thank you for affirming that
We took our children on many spring break cruises and never had any issues. Contrary to what many people think there are very few if any college age students on spring break cruises. There are however a lot of younger children onboard during spring break. But again we never had any issues.
Spring break isn't just for college age students, it's for students of all ages. Younger children make a ruckus on cruises too. I ended up being on a cruise during the same time as Canada's spring break and it was awful. Kids running around and parents not disciplining their kids.
Thanks for the tips. My 2nd cruise just happen to be during Spring Break. Because I don't have kids I didn't realize this was a thing when I booked it (solo cruiser on the Norwegian Escape). Even though I had a GREAT time, my goodness was the ship jammed with kids and teenagers. While the kids were, for the most part just being kids, the teenagers had this moody, obnoxious, entitled behavior that made being around them unbearable. I'm convinced even their parents wanted very little to do with them. Though I had a great time with employed and retired teachers (they know how to have a good time), I said "never again" to Spring Break cruises!
I got lucky with my NCL Bliss Mexican Riviera during spring break last year. One of the best onboard experiences I had and didn't not feel too jammed packed with kids or teenagers.
Our inaugural cruise for the Jubilee was canceled in November. But it worked out with future discounts, and we were able to book a back to back with money left over.
Yup got cancelled for the Sun Princess inaugural cruise... Princess did give us a bunch of future cruise credits in addition to the refund of cruise price. Have rebooked for a later cruise that actually is more costly than this cruise but only an additional day of cruising. Could have cost us some additional $$$ in hotel and airfare but sort of held off until last minute to purchase. Concur with you though, won't sign up for another inaugural cruise again.
Holland America is marketing to families with kids sail free. We were on the Niew Amsterdam in December 2023 before Christmas and it was full of kids so much so that the kids took over the main swimming pool. Princess is also doing the same thing.
We experienced the same last year in mid September on a cruise ex Amsterdam to Norway. September, you would expect kids to be at school. Well, not in the Netherlands! That age group totally took over the Hot tubs on the "Rotterdam" Also, there were lots of kids of young age on board - the noise level was something else! Never again without checking the school vacation times in the Netherlands !
Good point on TAs. We were docked in the same spot as where you took the photo at the “Rome” port, did a Holy Land & then a TA to Ft Lauderdale on the Odyssey.
I found the Transatlantic issue the complete opposite with sleep adjustment being more difficult Westbound than Eastbound (proves we are all different I guess). I think kids can be problematic on cruises because they are often bored out of their brains. I know the mega resort ships you find with RC have plenty to occupy them but a regular ship does not (eating, drinking, more eating, sunbathing, playing the slots, watching shows may appeal to a lot of adults but it’s deathly dull to most children and that’s when they start making a nuisance of themselves) hence I NEVER cruise during school holidays.
We always sail during hurricane season. Our kids get a fall break in October and cruise fairs are way cheaper. We've never had an issue. Ships just sail around any storms.
Went on the Norwegian Escape during Thanksgiving. Never again! The ship was completely full, even maxed out with many rooms with four passengers. There were lineups for everything, and far too many children running around.
Good video , thanks. I would, however, prefer a repositioning cruise from the US to Europe in the Spring and avoid the the Atlantic/Caribbean hurricane season. Most hurricanes never hit land but spin out spin out into the Atlantic Ocean. If you are unlucky you could have some very uncomfortable days onboard your ship.
That's the first thing I thought as well. .... I've never done a TA and don't intend to do one (work schedule and prefer port intensive cruises) but know that avoiding the Atlantic during hurricane season is wise especially when you are so far out sea.
Great video and everything is right on point. Only addition is that I don't think Viking is child friendly, but I have never sailed them. Saw children on an Alaska cruise on Holland America, but they were exceptionally well behaved (you never know, though).
I'd rather reposition E to W, US to Europe. I just hate that overnight US to Europe flight. It's too short to get a full night's sleep, even in lie-flat seats. Flying back to the US might be longer, but I'd rather be awake and able to occasionallly walk around. To each his own.
Another problem with an inaugural cruise is that it is the first time they are putting all systems aboard the ship to the full test. No fun not to have bathroom facilities while at sea for days because the ship was full and they had no parts to fix the problem.
We did a Viking River Cruise from Budapest toBucharest. FIrst one of the season, There was snow. However, it did make the face at the Iron Gate standout.
My husband and I did a 19 day transatlantic going from Puerto Rico to Lisbon and we didn't really feel the change in time zones on that trip at all. When we flew back over to London two weeks later to start a Spain and Portugal cruise we were useless for the first two days because of the time change.
Thanks for the great advice. I was debating whether we should cruise Transatlantic from Florida to Barcelona or vice versa. We’ll fly there and cruise back. Watching this made up my mind.
We book at least one Transatlantic crossing per year - for 2024 we already have 2 in the pipeline. For us it does not matter which way! We live in Europe, are retired and have the choice which part will be the flight, we decide on the air fare!
@@m.m.4645 for us, we are Canadian and not retired, next year, so we need all the time gain we can get. Usually we don’t have the best options for flights where we live. We always have to fly to a major city to get anywhere. The cost won’t be that much. Thank you for the great comment. I love hearing other people’s experiences.
@@colleens7641 Hi there fellow Canadians🙋! Where do you live? My husband grew up in Vancouver, Montreal and mainly Toronto before emigrating to Germany in the 80's. We still have relatives in the greater Toronto area and try to visit them at least every 2 years.
Considered an Antarctica cruise until I watched another RUclips blogger who detailed his cruise and realized that it just isn't for me. I can't handle rough seas and the Drake Passage is definitely rough!
Looking back, this is kind of embarrassing. I don't know what we were thinking. I think the cruise was a 10 day Caribbean. When we were leaving the north side of the DR, I noticed we were going the complete opposite direction. We had been on the cruise so long that a hurricane had popped up quickly and was smashing a nearby island. In our little bubble, we had no idea. Never heard anything about it. It was no big deal for the ship. We just went a different route to the planned port. In retrospect, we realized we had booked the peak DAYS of hurricane season- September 15 & 16. And we live on the gulf coast!! I think our excitement to cruise won over our better judgment. Also, the port of embarkation was only 45 minutes away. So we took the chance. Not again. We had zero issues and beautiful weather. But we were so close to danger...and blissfully unaware because of no cell signal. Next 14 day Caribbean cruise is in January...lol.
Advice. Always book a hotel for at least a night at the beginning of a cruise and a night afterwards. This relieves anxiety. Mind you - we are a bit odd. We spend a week in Ushai before out Antarctica Expedition ( not cruise) . It was great!
Innaugural Disney cruise: we did this twice only to discover we were on the 2nd of 5 weeks of so called Innaugural cruises. The ship was nice but under staffed and by 10PM they literally rolled up the sidewalks.... Several bars never opened including the piano bar.No Karaoke ever operated. After the cruise Disney claimed they were still figuring out what worked best.
Can’t agree re Alaska cruises at end of season. We went on our first cruise in 2010 late September last ship of the season, 7 nights Vancouver to Seward on Holland America followed by 5 days to Denali and it was the most amazing experience ever! It was quieter with less ships, sales were on in shops, and the weather was settled and fine the whole time. We saw Denali (Mt McKinley) for 5 days with a cloudless sky!! It was a little cool but I could not say cold, we are from NZ and it was like our autumn. We enjoyed it so much we’re going on our second Alaska cruise in September this year also Holland America. Experience of a lifetime!!!
I have to agree that a late season cruise to Alaska is not a good idea! I sailed on the last Alaska cruise of the season. Ports had closed and it was cold and windy. Not good.
Our first cruise was Alaska on Princess. It was in late June and had girls out at the pool in cut-off sweatsuits and bra tops. We commented that not very many people had swimsuits to one of the staff and they said two weeks ago they had an inch of snow of the decks.
Holland America is changing somewhat in that they are now encouraging families to cruise with them. One of the west coast cruises at Christmas had 400 children! Try not to go during any school vacation times.
Okay, I totally disagree with your comment regarding taking the transatlantic from the US to Europe. We took our second transatlantic in 2023. We are in our 70s. I found it a lot easier and totally acclimated to the time when we ended our trip in Italy and spent an additional two weeks I've been to Europe so many times in my lifetime and flying over there and trying to get adjusted to a 5, 6, 7 hour time zone change has always been awful.
A few of these have caveats though, like a cruise in the Caribbean in hurricane season might be discounted enough to take the risk. You can get some very good deals. Also the Alaska repositioning might go to more unique places than the standard fare up the inside passage, and by risking the cold weather on the shoulder season you also cut down on the crowds and kids. (And AK cruises tend to have a bunch of kids in the summer, even on HAL and Princess.) So some of these are weighed by what's important to you.
We got surprised by a spring break cruise. It was not spring break in our area, but it was for other areas! We were told there were 500 kids vs 150 for most spring breaks.
I went through five or six time changes coming back to the US. I did a back-to-back Southampton. The cruise dropped me in New York. I didn’t have to pay for a plane ticket 🎟️ back to the US.
Would like to do both take a trip to Europe and from Europe back to the US. Don't like to go on brand new ships. I like to let them go on a few trips first. Don't like Spring Break Cruises. Too many kids. Going during hurricane season is where you can get some good deals. Good thing I like to stay on the inside of a cruise ship.
I so wish I wasn't prone to motion sickness. On anything except inside passage cruises, the sea days are hard for me. I don't think I could do transatlantic.
The reasoning is flawed. A transatlantic cruise crosses only about 5 time zones, so it’s impossible to lose one whole day, whichever direction and however many days you cruise.
We went on a Celebrity cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale the beginning of December and I think there might have been 6 kids on the whole ship. Choose your date wisely and aLways avoid school vacation weeks on land or sea!
@Grounded Life Cruses: My husband surprised me the other day saying he wouldn't mind going on a Mediterranean cruise. As I don't like to fly I really appreciate your tips about transatlantic travel. Having never been on a cruise, what cruise line would you suggest to go from East coast U.S. to either London or Spain? TIA!
I favor the Queen Mary 2, myself. She has regular crossings between New York and Southampton. You can stay in the UK, or go on down to the Mediterranean. Sometimes she continues on to those ports.
As a puertorrican who has cruised a lot, I must add this one: low priced Caribbean, short (4-5 days) Summer cruises, if you want to avoid rowdy teenagers and drunk young adults. Those are party cruises, if you want relaxation and peace, not your cruise). Thanks for the tips! ❤
My cousin lives in Juneau and she thinks cruising in October or late September is crazy. The locals often leave for warmer climates, closing stores. The days are so much shorter - it gets dark early shortening viewing time . Its colder and she sees many miserable tourists fighting the cold and rain. Great video. Thank you
Another cruise to avoid, whether you have kids or not, is any that has a "Kids Sail Free" promotion. RUN! Run away fast!. If you have kids, you'll find the kid programs very full and crazy. If you would prefer to not have double the normal number of kids running thru halls, trashing beverage stations, hogging elevators and pushing every button, these are not for you. The problem is that the crusie lines can announce these promotions after you booked thinking you were getting a "normal" cruise.
Overall, I agree with your comments, but....we've done many September cruises (low rates, kids in school, family birthday) and only once had bad hurricane issues when our 7 night cruise became a 4 night. Yes, we've had cruises where ports were altered, but we considered these to be an adventure and visited some new ports that we might not have seen otherwise. We did the second to last Alaska cruise one season and the weather was not cold. We never eve wore our warm coats. Things vary from year to year. Totally agree that heading west on crossings is easier than east. However, I have a trick. We LOVE the long cruises and often book both a spring and a fall crossing. This has allowed me to book round trip air for the crossing portion, saving a lot of money.
Worse than the inaugural cruise on a new ship is the maiden voyage of a new cruise line. I will spare you the details. DO NOT do this!
How do I do your trick with the spring and fall crossing and round-trip airfare?
@@tessabutlergarageyourbike6048 OK how I do it....Assuming MIA to BCN in April, the reverse in October. That means I need to fly from my home to MIA in April and from BCN to my home city after the cruise. I book one way on SW for the domestic portion, so that is easy. You can only book 330 days in advance, so you'll need to wait until 330 days before your fall flight. I book BCN to LAX in May (the end of the first cruise), and book a return of LAX to BCN in the fall. If I'm not planning to stay in Europe, I'll book the spring for one day after my ship docks and the fall to arrive 2 days early (just for safety...in case of issues). It usually costs about the same for the round trip as for a one way; sometimes even less!
I could also book LA to MIA in the spring/MIA to LA in the fall, but we like SW and I don't see any need to book that as a round trip.
You can also do an "open gatch" if your return cruise is not from the same port (in my example BCN). I looked at a fall cruise from Rome to MIA, but decided on both from BCN.
We just did back to back repositioning cruises....Seattle to Japan in October and Lisbon to NYC in November. Had a great time and many fewer folks on the cruise. We've also done Alaska cruises in October. Loved them because there were no families with kids on the cruise. To each his own I guess.
One other option for very few kids is to take longer than 7 day cruises. We have done Journeys cruises on Carnival that had only a handful of kids because they can't get away from school for that many days.
Also cruises with itineraries that do not interest kids , ( fjords etc) and never Carnival
Also take cruises on smaller ships ,Seaborne , Crystal , , Azamara there’s nothing on them for kids
We love Carnival Journeys cruises and usually those under 18 years of age amount to less than a 20 individuals out of a 4000+ passenger ship. Rarely see children.
@@kevinmatthews365Thats been our experience too.,
Yep never go on holiday weekends 3-4 day deals typically have more kids then I would want to be around on a vacation cruise
I would have never thought about considering the direction of travel due to the time changes on the transatlantic or transpacific. Great tip!
We had a cruise booked on an NCL ship out of Port Canaveral Florida when hurricane Ian blew through. Driving from Canada, and nearing Cincinnati, we got notice finally from NCL that they cancelled the cruise. They would not cancel the night prior when we called. So we got 100% refunded and we called Carnival and got on Carnival Glory out of New Orleans instead. Stopped by Graceland in Memphis with the extra day we now had to make it there and then ended up on a fantastic cruise in the western Caribbean with smooth sailing and warm temps. We had never cruised out of New Orleans so this ended up being a treat and we got to experience a bit of NOLA as well for the first time. Great trip!
We've found out the hard way that "last " cruises before a ship is to be retired or refitted are a bad idea too. Somehow we've made that mistake several times now without realizing it in advance. Need to figure out how to avoid that!
We never wanted to go on an inaugural cruise. You’re so right about spring break. Right again, we never cruise between September & November.
We've done six transatlantic crossings so far - as round trip sailings on QM2, not 'repositioning' cruises. We have found that we are adjusted to our destination time on eastbound sailings - but do like getting the five hours back on the return crossing.
I did an Eastbound trans Atlantic a few years ago and they adjusted the time at noon rather than midnight. It made a big difference.
2:40 Agreed, I worked on an inaugural cruise and it was like working in a construction zone. I wouldn’t recommend it to passengers either.
Totally agree with you regarding inaugural cruises. We don't go on inaugural cruises, just like the fact that we don't buy a brand new make and model car for the first 3 years that comes out
I NEVER buy the 1ts of anything. They have to work the bugs out.
We purposely went to Alaska the second week of May last year to avoid rain and bugs. We started in Seattle on Sunday at 90° and didn’t have a high under 70° till we hit Victoria the following Saturday. Thursday was the high of the actual sailing at 80° in Skagway. We got very lucky. I told everyone that was why I specifically chose that week when booking the previous October.
Thank you Rob & Allie for all the wonderful videos on all your channels. I feel I'm such a blessed man because,
I SEE THE WORLD THROUGH YOUR EYES. I watch all your videos over and over.
May God continue to Bless you.
Thank you so much
Robert
Really good tips. Thanks.
There is another reason for avoiding an inaugural cruise. Often, neither the ship nor the crew is ready for prime time. Sometimes there’s still construction going on. Also, you often get a new and somewhat untrained crew, so you pay more for an uncompleted ship and a less than trained crew.
This was by far your most informative report. I've enjoyed all your comments, but this was the best.
We’ve never had the issue you did with the eastbound Transatlantic cruise. We love them and find we have no jet lag when we get there. In addition we find the westbound flight home much easier than eastbound flights to Europe. I totally agree about inaugural cruises though primarily because the crew is all new and don’t know the vessel and are still working out the kinks. Like you we always avoid the holiday times partly to avoid crowds but also they tend to be more expensive. We were once in a cyclone between New Zealand and Australia. I loved the rough sea as did about 13 other people. Everyone else was miserable. Completely agree about Alaska which can be frigid.
I guess we were lucky on our Alaskan cruise in May. The weather was cool but nice, the tourist towns were very glad to see us after the long quiet winter, and best of all, the notorious Alaskan bug season had yet to arrive.
I loved my Alaska cruise!!!
Excellent info from seasoned travelers. Thanks!!
I would like to recommend acupuncture for sea sickness. I have suffered dearly from Sea Sickness, trust I had tried everything. Acupuncture is an amazing treatment with no side affects. Please think about it for future cruising.
Thank you for the info! I love your channels ❤
Yep you can check those school calendars especially if you don't have children find out when they have their spring break, when they start their Thanksgiving break, when they start their Christmas break, and when their summer break begins as well. I would also avoid the week before the week of the week after 4th of July
Thank you for all the excellent tips!
This is a great video and you guys also look great. You both look so relaxed, and I watch a lot of your videos. I agree with you on everything you said, especially inaugural cruises. When I was very young, my mother loved to travel, and she always had to be on the inaugural cruise, we live in Florida, and even as a kid we lived in Florida, so I saw the cruise industry grow. I can’t tell you how many times we went on an inaugural cruises and the systems on board did not work, the food was cold, the crew was lost, and disoriented as the crew had never worked together as a team. Inaugural cruises are expensive, and in my opinion, and from my experience, simply not worth the money.
Allie and Rob, this video surprised me in so many ways. You were informative about time changes, sea sickness, hurricane seasons, and quite a few things that never occurred to me. I just love watching everything you do and say. Excellent. I’m off to find another. 😊
Great....i booked a May cruise for 14 days to alaska.
Im hoping for the best.
If you don't want a lot of children definitely do the transatlantic, or the repositioning between the state of Washington and the state of Florida
I just went on an Alaskan Cruise from October 20 - 30, and we had wonderful weather except one day it was icy and we walked on the street and not on the sidewalks. We really lucked out, and had a balcony, a must!
I love this video!!! I took a lot of notes and a lot of think about before I take my next cruise.
love me some hurricane cruising for the costs!!! no cheaper time and also the least amount of kids. the ship is the destination for me. just get some beefy insurance, dramamine and adjusted expectations.
Too late 🤦🏽♀️ booked a TA from Orlando to Rome 😂. I was blessed on my cruise to Alaska in October… it was wonderful.
Excellent advice. Thank you
Guys, thank you for providing us with this very useful information. Makes complete sense.
We like sailing one of the last week Alaska cruises because all the shops have great sales because they want to get their merchandise sold before packing up and closing for winter .
Thank you. This was an excellent video
Thank you so much great info
These are such great tips. I have been planning on cruising either to or from Spain at one point in the future & the points you made are so helpful. Thank you.
Maybe I just got lucky, but I cruised the inside passage in Alaska the first week of May 2023. We flew into Seattle to 90 degree days. We spent the whole cruise in the pools drinking frozen margaritas, I came home with a tan.
That was us too out of Vancouver.
We have done quite a few Transatlantics, including back to backs around the British Isles. We much prefer the eastbound, as we are early risers and we never get shiplagged when we arrive in Europe. The weather is usually great in the spring (no hurricanes.) Also we love the sea days at the start of the cruise, then the ports in Europe. Horses for courses, I guess.
I've never been on a cruise & the possibility exists I may end up on one in Europe. Could you recommend a cruise line please going from US to Europe? Thanks!
@@Lynn-kh5rs Cunard Queen Mary 2 is the ocean liner that goes back and forth from NYC to England.
@@Lynn-kh5rsSeabourn offers a great itinerary in March from the Barbados, Martinique, and St Kitts to several ports in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and France, ending in Monte Carlo.
Great points! I agree the westbound cruises make more sense when you are on a vacation and gain the extra hour each day. I just came back from a Panama Canal Cruise full transit from LA to FLL and losing the one hour day over day especially on port days did not feel the best even though it was just a 3-hour change.
With regards to Alaska cruises I love the shoulder cruises (beginning or end of season) actually. The fares are lower and never had extreme cold weather in May or Oct. I however do miss the salmon in May but the tons of whale sightings make up for it! Balcony for Alaska cruise is nice but not a must have in my opinion. The newer ships have such well designed common areas with great views of the outside that even an interior works great and helps you save some money for the expensive excursions at Alaskan ports.
We realized the time change thing after sailing Alaska from Vancouver to Seward. We live on the east coast and I should have chosen Seward as the starting point and sail down to Vancouver. It's why we chose to start in Barcelona and come back to the states. Thank you for affirming that
Cruising is my jam, thank you.
We took our children on many spring break cruises and never had any issues. Contrary to what many people think there are very few if any college age students on spring break cruises. There are however a lot of younger children onboard during spring break. But again we never had any issues.
Spring break isn't just for college age students, it's for students of all ages. Younger children make a ruckus on cruises too. I ended up being on a cruise during the same time as Canada's spring break and it was awful. Kids running around and parents not disciplining their kids.
Love listening to both of you such good points on the postional
Good information.
Thanks for the tips. My 2nd cruise just happen to be during Spring Break. Because I don't have kids I didn't realize this was a thing when I booked it (solo cruiser on the Norwegian Escape). Even though I had a GREAT time, my goodness was the ship jammed with kids and teenagers. While the kids were, for the most part just being kids, the teenagers had this moody, obnoxious, entitled behavior that made being around them unbearable. I'm convinced even their parents wanted very little to do with them. Though I had a great time with employed and retired teachers (they know how to have a good time), I said "never again" to Spring Break cruises!
I got lucky with my NCL Bliss Mexican Riviera during spring break last year. One of the best onboard experiences I had and didn't not feel too jammed packed with kids or teenagers.
Our inaugural cruise for the Jubilee was canceled in November. But it worked out with future discounts, and we were able to book a back to back with money left over.
Great video. I never thought about the time change so that tip was helpful. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing these cruise ships.😊
Yup got cancelled for the Sun Princess inaugural cruise... Princess did give us a bunch of future cruise credits in addition to the refund of cruise price. Have rebooked for a later cruise that actually is more costly than this cruise but only an additional day of cruising. Could have cost us some additional $$$ in hotel and airfare but sort of held off until last minute to purchase. Concur with you though, won't sign up for another inaugural cruise again.
Holland America is marketing to families with kids sail free. We were on the Niew Amsterdam in December 2023 before Christmas and it was full of kids so much so that the kids took over the main swimming pool. Princess is also doing the same thing.
We experienced the same last year in mid September on a cruise ex Amsterdam to Norway.
September, you would expect kids to be at school.
Well, not in the Netherlands! That age group totally took over the Hot tubs on the "Rotterdam"
Also, there were lots of kids of young age on board - the noise level was something else!
Never again without checking the school vacation times in the Netherlands !
very strange: no schoolvacation mid september in The Netherlands.
Good point on TAs. We were docked in the same spot as where you took the photo at the “Rome” port, did a Holy Land & then a TA to Ft Lauderdale on the Odyssey.
I found the Transatlantic issue the complete opposite with sleep adjustment being more difficult Westbound than Eastbound (proves we are all different I guess). I think kids can be problematic on cruises because they are often bored out of their brains. I know the mega resort ships you find with RC have plenty to occupy them but a regular ship does not (eating, drinking, more eating, sunbathing, playing the slots, watching shows may appeal to a lot of adults but it’s deathly dull to most children and that’s when they start making a nuisance of themselves) hence I NEVER cruise during school holidays.
Me too
We always sail during hurricane season. Our kids get a fall break in October and cruise fairs are way cheaper. We've never had an issue. Ships just sail around any storms.
Thanks for the tips. Especially about which way to book repositioning cruises..
Thanks for the tips.
Went on the Norwegian Escape during Thanksgiving. Never again! The ship was completely full, even maxed out with many rooms with four passengers. There were lineups for everything, and far too many children running around.
Was it a repositioning cruise?
@@BarbaraSchranz No. Western Caribbean.
Good video , thanks. I would, however, prefer a repositioning cruise from the US to Europe in the Spring and avoid the the Atlantic/Caribbean hurricane season. Most hurricanes never hit land but spin out spin out into the Atlantic Ocean. If you are unlucky you could have some very uncomfortable days onboard your ship.
That's the first thing I thought as well. .... I've never done a TA and don't intend to do one (work schedule and prefer port intensive cruises) but know that avoiding the Atlantic during hurricane season is wise especially when you are so far out sea.
..some good points.. We have loved all ours Transatlantic cruises (southernly routes) but your time change items are prudent to remember Thanks again!
Great video and everything is right on point. Only addition is that I don't think Viking is child friendly, but I have never sailed them. Saw children on an Alaska cruise on Holland America, but they were exceptionally well behaved (you never know, though).
Viking is 18+. No kids.
I'd rather reposition E to W, US to Europe. I just hate that overnight US to Europe flight. It's too short to get a full night's sleep, even in lie-flat seats. Flying back to the US might be longer, but I'd rather be awake and able to occasionallly walk around. To each his own.
Another problem with an inaugural cruise is that it is the first time they are putting all systems aboard the ship to the full test. No fun not to have bathroom facilities while at sea for days because the ship was full and they had no parts to fix the problem.
Fantastic advice guys! Thankyou 🙌🏻
My worst experience with children was on princess on a Caribbean cruise 4th of July week
we want from sydney to vancouver in april, and didnt have a single rough day!
Great Video!! who would have thought about losing an hour a day heading to Europe.
We did a Viking River Cruise from Budapest toBucharest. FIrst one of the season, There was snow. However, it did make the face at the Iron Gate standout.
Good advice
Very informative video! Thank you !
My husband and I did a 19 day transatlantic going from Puerto Rico to Lisbon and we didn't really feel the change in time zones on that trip at all. When we flew back over to London two weeks later to start a Spain and Portugal cruise we were useless for the first two days because of the time change.
Lovely beautiful couple, thank you, thank you very much.
Spring break cruises on Celebrity HAL and Princess are fine. RC Carnival Virgin and NCL Not!
Thanks for the great advice.
I was debating whether we should cruise Transatlantic from Florida to Barcelona or vice versa. We’ll fly there and cruise back. Watching this made up my mind.
We LOVE transatlantics, although I agree that Europe to the US is the better option.
It's nice to end the cruise in the states, relaxed, instead of facing a long plane ride.
We book at least one Transatlantic crossing per year - for 2024 we already have 2 in the pipeline.
For us it does not matter which way! We live in Europe, are retired and have the choice which part will be the flight, we decide on the air fare!
@@m.m.4645 for us, we are Canadian and not retired, next year, so we need all the time gain we can get. Usually we don’t have the best options for flights where we live. We always have to fly to a major city to get anywhere. The cost won’t be that much. Thank you for the great comment. I love hearing other people’s experiences.
@@colleens7641 Hi there fellow Canadians🙋! Where do you live?
My husband grew up in Vancouver, Montreal and mainly Toronto before emigrating to Germany in the 80's. We still have relatives in the greater Toronto area and try to visit them at least every 2 years.
For me, going through the Drake passage is a hard pass!
Considered an Antarctica cruise until I watched another RUclips blogger who detailed his cruise and realized that it just isn't for me. I can't handle rough seas and the Drake Passage is definitely rough!
Went to Alaska third week in May and had a great time.
Haha. Me and my wife are doing a 31-day from Australia to the US starting April 1st. We shall bear the odds! 😂😊
Looking back, this is kind of embarrassing. I don't know what we were thinking. I think the cruise was a 10 day Caribbean. When we were leaving the north side of the DR, I noticed we were going the complete opposite direction. We had been on the cruise so long that a hurricane had popped up quickly and was smashing a nearby island. In our little bubble, we had no idea. Never heard anything about it. It was no big deal for the ship. We just went a different route to the planned port. In retrospect, we realized we had booked the peak DAYS of hurricane season- September 15 & 16. And we live on the gulf coast!! I think our excitement to cruise won over our better judgment. Also, the port of embarkation was only 45 minutes away. So we took the chance. Not again. We had zero issues and beautiful weather. But we were so close to danger...and blissfully unaware because of no cell signal. Next 14 day Caribbean cruise is in January...lol.
Recent years has hurricane season running between very early July through to early November.
Advice. Always book a hotel for at least a night at the beginning of a cruise and a night afterwards. This relieves anxiety. Mind you - we are a bit odd. We spend a week in Ushai before out Antarctica Expedition ( not cruise) . It was great!
Innaugural Disney cruise: we did this twice only to discover we were on the 2nd of 5 weeks of so called Innaugural cruises. The ship was nice but under staffed and by 10PM they literally rolled up the sidewalks.... Several bars never opened including the piano bar.No Karaoke ever operated. After the cruise Disney claimed they were still figuring out what worked best.
Can’t agree re Alaska cruises at end of season. We went on our first cruise in 2010 late September last ship of the season, 7 nights Vancouver to Seward on Holland America followed by 5 days to Denali and it was the most amazing experience ever! It was quieter with less ships, sales were on in shops, and the weather was settled and fine the whole time. We saw Denali (Mt McKinley) for 5 days with a cloudless sky!! It was a little cool but I could not say cold, we are from NZ and it was like our autumn. We enjoyed it so much we’re going on our second Alaska cruise in September this year also Holland America. Experience of a lifetime!!!
I have to agree that a late season cruise to Alaska is not a good idea! I sailed on the last Alaska cruise of the season. Ports had closed and it was cold and windy. Not good.
Not just the first (inaugural), but also the next several are risky for cancellation (Queen Anne, for example).
Our first cruise was Alaska on Princess. It was in late June and had girls out at the pool in cut-off sweatsuits and bra tops. We commented that not very many people had swimsuits to one of the staff and they said two weeks ago they had an inch of snow of the decks.
Sometimes you can find a cruise over to Europe and one coming back a few days latter. It’s a lot better than flying
Holland America is changing somewhat in that they are now encouraging families to cruise with them. One of the west coast cruises at Christmas had 400 children! Try not to go during any school vacation times.
Okay, I totally disagree with your comment regarding taking the transatlantic from the US to Europe. We took our second transatlantic in 2023. We are in our 70s. I found it a lot easier and totally acclimated to the time when we ended our trip in Italy and spent an additional two weeks I've been to Europe so many times in my lifetime and flying over there and trying to get adjusted to a 5, 6, 7 hour time zone change has always been awful.
what about Hurricane season I the northeast?
A few of these have caveats though, like a cruise in the Caribbean in hurricane season might be discounted enough to take the risk. You can get some very good deals. Also the Alaska repositioning might go to more unique places than the standard fare up the inside passage, and by risking the cold weather on the shoulder season you also cut down on the crowds and kids. (And AK cruises tend to have a bunch of kids in the summer, even on HAL and Princess.) So some of these are weighed by what's important to you.
We got surprised by a spring break cruise. It was not spring break in our area, but it was for other areas! We were told there were 500 kids vs 150 for most spring breaks.
I went through five or six time changes coming back to the US. I did a back-to-back Southampton. The cruise dropped me in New York. I didn’t have to pay for a plane ticket 🎟️ back to the US.
Would like to do both take a trip to Europe and from Europe back to the US. Don't like to go on brand new ships. I like to let them go on a few trips first. Don't like Spring Break Cruises. Too many kids. Going during hurricane season is where you can get some good deals. Good thing I like to stay on the inside of a cruise ship.
I so wish I wasn't prone to motion sickness. On anything except inside passage cruises, the sea days are hard for me. I don't think I could do transatlantic.
The reasoning is flawed. A transatlantic cruise crosses only about 5 time zones, so it’s impossible to lose one whole day, whichever direction and however many days you cruise.
Inaugural cruises can have breaking in pains as everybody gets used to the new ship equipment.
We went on a Celebrity cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale the beginning of December and I think there might have been 6 kids on the whole ship. Choose your date wisely and aLways avoid school vacation weeks on land or sea!
I appreciate your content and sharing this info. I've been following your travel journey for quite a few years.Thank you.
@Grounded Life Cruses: My husband surprised me the other day saying he wouldn't mind going on a Mediterranean cruise. As I don't like to fly I really appreciate your tips about transatlantic travel. Having never been on a cruise, what cruise line would you suggest to go from East coast U.S. to either London or Spain? TIA!
I favor the Queen Mary 2, myself. She has regular crossings between New York and Southampton. You can stay in the UK, or go on down to the Mediterranean. Sometimes she continues on to those ports.