Travel Plans 2026

Jeff asked:

What's the cruise line and itinerary?

Carnival Sunshine. Leaving from Norfolk, VA.

Two days at sea.

Half Moon Cay

Grand Turk

Amber Cove- Dominican Republic.

Then two more days at sea to come back.

I don't know anything about how nice this cruise line or particular ship is, or the places we are visiting are, compared to others. I'm going with my cousins, who I vacation a lot with. I have been watching videos, and it looks really nice, but I don't know how nice compared to other cruises. For someone who has never done it, I expect it will be a good experience nonetheless.

(I know we aren't supposed to quote the previous comment, but this one started a new page, so to keep people from clicking around...)

Carnival is pretty basic, and it looks like that's a pretty old ship. They have a reputation for booze cruises, so I look forward to your take.

I've only done Carnival, in 2004 for my honeymoon and then in 2005 with a group of scuba divers. Obviously I can't compare it to other lines but I'm sure it's on the lower end. That said, not having done a cruise before that time (or since), it was a great experience. I was also in my early 30s, so...yeah. I'm sure that if I tried one of the more upscale lines like RC, Disney, or Princess, it'd be hard to go back, but Carnival for what it was, was great, at least back then.

LostKause:

Amber Cove- Dominican Republic.

See if you can do an excursion to the Damajagua Waterfalls. There are something like 28 waterfalls, but most will hike up for an hour or so, then you traverse 7 of them on the way back down. Some are like waterslides, some you need to jump off and freefall 30-some feet down. It's a really cool experience.

Have not been to the two Bahamas spots. One is their private island, I think? I've only done RC and NCL.

For some reason we just can’t pull the trigger on a cruise. Neither of us has ever been on one, and we consider ourselves “traveled”. Hubs thinks an Alaskan cruise would be his choice and as an ulterior motive, Alaska would be his last state. I’m leaning toward Viking river cruises- they seem more relaxed, are smaller, are strictly adult, and the world-wide destinations seem perfect with so many choices.

My parents and I pulled the trigger on a Hollander America land and sea cruise to Alaska summer 2027. It will be our last state and our first cruise. I’m glad it’s on a smaller ship and HA itineraries in Alaska are hard to beat. Set sail from Vancouver, inner passage, Katichikan, Skagway, Glacier Bay and Seward. Land portion includes Anchorage, Homer, glass roof train to Denali, and finishing in Fairbanks. Plan to spend a few days in Vancouver before the trip to see Whistler and Victoria Island.

I guess since they kinda count, I'm doing the Disney Destiny, the new heroes/villains themed ship next month. It's five nights, to Cozumel and Castaway Cay. Don't really care about the ports. The highlights I expect will be the Hercules stage show, which has great reviews, the Lion King dinner show, and the DeVille's piano bar. This one also has the Haunted Mansion bar, which I've seen on the Treasure. That's an achievement in themed environments. We also do adult brunch at Palo, and at least one mixology class.

Disney has decided that their passenger capacity is high enough in this new batch of ships, with two that will even be smaller (they're speculated to replace the Magic and Wonder, which are 25+ years old). One of the things that they do well is distribute people so you rarely feel the crowds. There are two dinner periods at night, where they're split across three dining rooms and the theater. So in a perfect world, 1/12th of passengers are having dinner with you, about 430 if they have 3,600. Every bed would have to be filled to hit 4k, which never happens.

RCMAC:

I’m leaning toward Viking river cruises- they seem more relaxed, are smaller, are strictly adult, and the world-wide destinations seem perfect with so many choices.

My ex took the (adult) kids on one of Viking's Christmas Market itineraries a few years ago. They all had great things to say about it.

kpjb:

Bahamas spots. One is their private island, I think?

Half Moon Cay is Carnival's private island. I've heard that it is very nice.

I'll take a look at going on the waterfall hike. Sounds like fun.

RCMAC:
Hubs thinks an Alaskan cruise would be his choice

This is slowly becoming one of my bucket list items. Maybe after going on my first cruise, it'll seem less intimidating and more doable.

Cruising is the most efficient way to see Alaska, and if you're nervous about the open sea, you're never that far from land.

Brian Noble:
one of Viking's Christmas Market itineraries

Which is one of my top picks, especially if a winter cruise is in order. I also like the one that includes Vienna (Prater, anyone?) and France is a bucket list item for me. Friends just came back from Vietnam and Cambodia on their, like , eighth Viking cruise. They also did Egypt and hell they been everywhere. They love it.

RCMAC:

I’m leaning toward Viking river cruises- they seem more relaxed, are smaller, are strictly adult, and the world-wide destinations seem perfect with so many choices.

They do advertise as the "Thinking Person's Cruise", which also sounds appealing to me as well.

kpjb:
Cruising is the most efficient way to see Alaska, and if you're nervous about the open sea, you're never that far from land.

I second this. I don't do well with the choppiness of open water. Outside of one day on our seven day cruise from Vancouver to Whittier, the water was smooth as glass. It was such a cool experience sitting on the balcony taking in the scenery every morning. It goes without saying, but if you book an Alaskan cruise, make sure you book a room facing east.

Much of the Alaskan cruising is also through inland fjords and channels, so you can't even feel the ship move. Also, it's not even practical to go somewhere like Skagway by any means other than ship. (Do the train up into the Yukon... it's amazing.)

I absolutely loved the train from Skagway into the Yukon! Did you get to do the sled dog excursion at Carcross?

The train was my favorite excursion but whale watching in Juneau was a close second. We saw a pod of Orcas that were way too close for comfort. The weather took a turn for the worse with some heavy drizzle as we neared a group of Humpbacks. I was determined to get a picture of a fluke. It's not the greatest picture, but I succeeded.

I only had about eight hours in Skagway on my cruise, so the train took most of that time in the middle. Still, one of the most brilliant travel days ever. I did see some whales on a cruise somewhere between Ireland and Iceland though. Another epic use of cruising. I can say that I've been inside the arctic circle.