<p>Thank you all again. I really, really appreciate all of your feedback! </p>
<p>Gos, I do not have airline miles but I just signed up for Delta airmiles because I can just link my existing Visa card. Do other airlines do this, too? I just don’t want to open a new credit line right now. I have been accumulating cash points for quite some time on one credit card and will be cashing those in. It should cover both of our tickets if we go domestic, one if we go abroad. </p>
<p>mask, what do you mean they cater more towards Brits? </p>
<p>hayden, you actually bring up a really good point. We both really, really want to see Italy and I’m wondering if we’d be better off doing a walking tour at some point later on. </p>
<p>I will definitely check out the other cruise site. </p>
<p>My impression is - after living in England for two years - that the Brits expect slightly different things out of travel. Mostly it’s subtle - a bit more prepackaged and probably less extravagant and over the top. Not so different that it that you could change anything you do.</p>
<p>We have seen a lot of Europe the last two years, and out time in Greece and our Greek Island cruise is probably our favorite as a family. Loved, loved, loved Santorini. One of the few places I would mark for a return when we win the lottery.</p>
<p>Cruises of less than a week tend to attract the party-hearty crowd. Carnival, aka “The fun ship”, departs out of numerous ports throughout the U.S. My kids love Carnival and for that reason we have cruised with them a few times when the whole family is together. Personally, however, not my cup of tea and I would not recommend going on a honeymoon with them. Royal Caribbean offers good value but I find far too many kids for my liking. If you want good value with the least amount of kids, Holland America (HAL) is for you! I’m not a fan of the Caribbean in the heat of summer. Have you considered a 1-week Alaskan cruise out of Seattle? If so, I would do Princess or HAL.</p>
<p>romani, I don’t think you have to worry about the job. My husband and I were hired by the SAME company, and we told them we needed some time off a couple of months later to go to my BIL’s wedding. It was no problem. That’s probably the easiest time to ask for time off, before you even start the job.</p>
<p>ML, thank you. That’s very comforting. I tend to over-worry about things. </p>
<p>Jshain, we have both done Carnival cruises and while the price is nice, it’s not particularly our cup of tea. Even though we’re quite young, neither of us enjoy party and bar scenes. We’re both kind of quiet introverts. I in particular was quite annoyed by how LOUD the pool part of the ship was on the cruise. I just wanted to relax, not feel like I was swimming on a club floor! </p>
<p>We have considered Alaska but I’m looking forward to warm weather (he’d vacation in Iceland if given the choice!). My concern with that is that it’ll be quite cold. (I have never even been to the PNW let alone Alaska so all I can go by are stereotypes… feel free to correct me!)</p>
<p>I’ve been on lots of cruises-Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Holland America, Celebrity,Disney, Cunard. Haven’t been on any of the smaller more expensive lines. For a young couple, I think Royal Caribbean may be a good one to look at. </p>
<p>Alaska in the summer can be very nice… 50s to 70s. Another cruise line to consider is Celebrity. Great all-around and solid value for the money. I love San Juan, particularly Old San Juan. </p>
<p>Summer in the northwest is gorgeous, ( but dont tell ANYONE).
Today it is 64f but feels warmer, Ive been working in the yard in a tank top & shorts.
Alaska is also amazing ( Ive heard- Ive never been, but I know many who have done that run) in the summer.
Summer in Alaska is probably like in Seattle today. Mid60-'s, but for instance on the summer solstice, they will have 22 hrs of functional daylight.
<a href=“Long Daylight | Visit Anchorage”>http://www.anchorage.net/articles/land-midnight-sun</a></p>
<p>We went to Alaska in June from Seattle on Celebrity. The weather was not bad at all. Not cold. Great trip. If your fiancee likes the idea of Iceland, you could always fly Icelandair to your Med cruise and get a free stopover in Iceland. I’d love to do that someday.</p>
<p>romani, I have not done the cruise (it is on my to do list - I even used to work just a block from HAL building), but have been to Alaska in August. It is not bad weather wise, and the views and the nature are to die for. Seriously, where else could you see a mama moose and her baby while you are running a marathon on the city park trail! Besides, you will have the boat with its comforts to hide from the elements if it gets bad! Seattle in the summer is very lovely, especially in August when the weather is great and Seafair events are happening all over the city.</p>
<p>On a side note, did anyone know you could swim with pigs in the Bahamas? I want to do this so bad! I didn’t particularly enjoy our Bahamas experience last time, but the pigs are extremely tempting. (I want a pet pig so bad. They’re just such wonderful creatures.) </p>
<p>I did a 7 day Western med crusie on Royal Carribbean last June, was terrified it would be the same as one I’d done 40 years prior, and it was AMAZING! LPanning to go again, and this time spend even more than the 2 days I did in Barcelona before departing. My advice would be plan some excursions, but don’t try to go to far at most ports of call.</p>
<p>I believe we used AAA and Crucon, and reserved almost a year in advance. </p>
<p>And crusie critic was almost as good as CC!</p>
<p>Has anyone tried the Viking River Cruises ? We have been intrigued by the commercials on tv. They seem like they would be very interesting. We are NOT the kind of people to sit on lounge chairs while floating on large bodies of water. There is one that cruises through Budapest, Nuremberg, Vienna that looks wonderful . My husband and I took a very spontaneous , quick trip to Europe a few weeks ago for business and took a quick detour through Nuremberg. I really want to go back , but I have to admit, I like having the freedom to go at our own pace with a car</p>
<p>Lje62, Viking is the largest and most recognized in the U.S. but check out a brand new company that just launched this Spring called Emerald Waterways. Similar to Viking, Uniworld, and others it includes daily guided excursions, beer/wine at lunch and dinner, transfers, etc. etc. Prices for 1-week including Nuremberg starting at $2230-- that’s a great price.</p>
<p>Edit: We tried to book a Viking river cruise a little over a year in advance and the only deck level available was deck 1, which is right at or below the water line. Book far, far in advance to get the best cabins. Deck 1 will block your view when other boats are docked beside you. </p>
<p>I’ve always wanted to go on a European River cruise, but have been a little turned off by hearing that the passengers as a group are quite elderly. We are very active, are fine with hanging out with people older than us, but a little diversity would be good. One guy I worked with (in his sixties) said he took his mom, and was the youngest person on the boat. I don’t know if certain cruise lines particularly cater to elderly, and others have more diversity in age, as far as the river cruises. I’d heard Holland America definitely has an older crowd. But as far as avoiding kids (always a good thing in my book), with a cruise to Europe, I don’t think you have to worry about too many kids on any boat.</p>
<p>Another vote for cruise critic. Besides all the info you want, it is great to start talking to people online before you even go on the cruise. On our eastern Med cruise, we were able to jump on to two excursions that someone else had arranged, and they were cheaper and better than what the cruise line offered, plus we asked several questions and got all sorts of great intel. We felt like we knew people onboard, as we met the group the first day, went on excursions with the same people we had chatted with online. Then when we saw people we knew on the boat, we had drinks, hung out together. It was nice to already have friends onboard, we always miss that experience when we go cruising. Kind of like hanging out with people on cc that you’ve been talking to…except everyone is nice (well, you know what I mean)!</p>
<p>If we went on a cruise together, I suspect we’d all get along better than our little paragraphs on CC allow. Maybe we should think about it. Lots of good info on this thread. Thanks.</p>
<p>We did a 7 day cruise from Barcelona to Rome last year on Oceania. Great experience and fair value as it does include RT air which can easily run $1500/each from Seattle. Crowd is somewhat older with few kids which we liked. Also far more gentile educated crowd than the RC cruise we did last Fall in the Caribbean which we also liked. We are doing a longer Crystal trip next month from Venice to Barcelona so we can compare to Oceania. </p>
Besides, you will have the boat with its comforts to hide from the elements if it gets bad! 
Seattle in the summer is very lovely, especially in August when the weather is great and Seafair events are happening all over the city.</p>
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