Originally Posted by
carsnoceans
Background - Trying to book a cruise for my parents (in their mid to late 60's) and 40th anniversary coming up so would like to make it special. They have done 3-4 cruises in their lifetime (garden variety types - Princess, Carnival etc) but nothing luxury or exotic like Galapagos or Seabourn Caribbean cruises.
The big cruise lines only seem to stop around major ports and that leaves a lot to be desired. I was hoping to get some ideas on mid to small size cruise lines that travel to either smaller islands of Caribbean or to Costa Rica/ Galapagos/ or some other coastal cities of South America.
Restrictions - Ideally port of departure is within USA (anywhere). But Caribbean or latin america might work too. Cruise length between 7 to 10 days.
Timeframe - April 2020. I might be able to work late March dates as well.
Not looking for very luxurious boats but I understand small or midsize vessels will be higher priced compared to big ships. At this point, I know very little about reputable cruise lines and their offered itineraries.... so any starting points would be much appreciated.
Very nice of you to do this for your parents!
Smaller ships mean more options regarding ports of call and experiences once anchored. I know Silverseas has a new Galapogos purpose-built ship, the Silver Orginin:
https://www.silversea.com/brochures....agos-(en).html
Regarding other smaller cruise lines plying the Carribean and South America area, Seabourn has excellent options.
Some of us on FT have been with a particular travel agent that offers a real 10% off on advertised fares. I have used her for Seabourn and Silverseas. She will even get price reductions off previously booked fares if the price goes down. She just saved me $9000 a few days ago when my Seabourn Antarctica trip had a price reduction. If you are interested in her contact, just PM me.