thanks!I'm more interested in food and culture though beaches and water sports sounds like a lot of

I'm a newbie here..Hmm. I've looked around, and found the neighborhood kinda interesting. See, I got a dilemma here. I've always wanted to travel and unwind. I don't know how to start planning for it. I don't even have any idea where to go. I mean, there's so many beautiful places! Should I book for a trip now? Where will I start?
Are you looking for a cruise as a first trip? Cruises are good for some things, not for others. What are some of your interests: food, art, history, architecture, beaches, water sports, hiking, dancing, partying, etc.,? What are some places you already think you want to see? Do you want to see lots of things, or kind of hang out some place?
I assume that you want cruise advice. For a first cruise I would recommend either the Caribbean or Alaska. The Caribbean southern caribbean cruise is fun. The islands don't have a lot to offer in sight seeing - as in Europe - but are beautiful and relaxing. Little pressure to be busy all the time. Also you have a lot of choice in cruise lines from rather sedate such as Celebrity or Holland southern caribbean cruise American southern caribbean cruise to the party ships such as Carnival, or Norwegian to in between such as Royal Caribbean.
Alaska is relaxing, but with more sight seeing opportunities. I loved the Alaska cruise. My favorites now are Europe. These are a bit less relaxing as there is a great deal to see and there is some pressure (self imposed) to see as much as possible.
The first place to start is make a bucket list of places you wanted to go. With the list, you start knowck off some easy ones taht is close to home, no langauge barrier, safe enviroment, and lower oost. Once you knowck off a few of thsoe, then you can start taking on the longer trips.
If you want to "relax", I would suggest avoding cruise lines that caters to a much younger crowd. For Mass Market Ships, Princess Celebrity would be good chocies. Smaller ships such as Azamara, and even smaller ones such as Windstar are better but more expensive.
thanks!I'm southern caribbean cruise more interested in food and culture though beaches and water sports sounds like a lot of fun too.I don't really have definite southern caribbean cruise plans yet.I'm kinda just asking around right now so I'll have an idea on how to make the most of my trip.
There are some deals to be had right now for 2012, epecailly for late August. Not sure what your budget is but for Alaska, I would higly recommend a balcony. It is never too early to look at 2013 either as we are alrady looking into 2013 August.
There are both advanatge and disadvantage on booking early compare to book late. If you can take advantage of last minute deals and can leave within 2 weeks, wait for last minute would be a good thing. Being a first time, book early so you have a lot of time to plan would be good but you will be paying higher prices.
Shore excursions booked from teh ship are typically more expensive but there are "quality assurance". If things goes really badly, southern caribbean cruise you are covered while booking on tours outside from the cruise company, you are on your own.
If I book outside of the cruise company's tour, I will deal with the tour operators directly southern caribbean cruise and do away the middleman. The cruise company is the middleman. A third party like shoreexecursion group is a middleman, so I don't see any difference between booking through them or the ship, except that they maybe cheaper (as they may take a smaller cut, or use a second tier or excess capacity operator)
Never get misled that the ship's food is 5 stars or even 3 stars. Typically ship's food is a slight cut above your typical Conevntion/Wedding plated food in your home town's better hotels. It is more than passable, and definetly better than most chain restaurant food.
Alaska offers a bit of different southern caribbean cruise culture if you get to Sitka, and Victoria (up to point). Carribbean is all beaches and most local culture (in my mind) is not all that exciting, with some exceptions.
We like history, so Mayan Ruins would be good for us in Cozumel. Visiting South America and Europe is definietly more of a cultural and food experience than Caribbean and Alaska, so you may want to start there.
The best cruise we have taken was on HAL from Venice to Split Athens, Istanbul, Mykonos, Ephesus, Santorini, Olympia southern caribbean cruise and back to Venice. Lots of new and exciting cultural experiences. Food was good and lots of opportunities for local food.