Nancy & Shawn Power sailing from Vancouver on their Wedding Day

My Top 9 Favorite Cruises

Almost 100% of the time when we tell someone that we love Cruising and that we’ve been on 27 of them now, we get the normal response of…

…”Which Cruise was your favorite?”

And we always reply back with “That’s tough to answer as so many of them have been awesome”.

And from there we tell them about two or three of our most memorable ones.

Now of course, when people ask us this question it’s so they can get some good ideas of where to go! πŸ™‚ But we know giving them the quick 1 or 2 Cruise answer won’t fill them with enough great ideas for their next trip so we want to change that…

Today, we’re going to tell you about our top 9 most memorable Cruises and why we loved them so it will give you some great ideas for your next Cruise Vacation!

So without further ado, in no particular order, here are our 9 Favorite Cruises… so far!
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12 Night “Christmas & New Years” Cruise onboard Oceania Marina

Nancy & Shawn Power onboard Oceania Marina
There we are enjoying one the many decorations for the Holidays that the “Marina” had onboard

This was one of our favorite Cruises ever for 2 reasons… first off, for us, doing a Cruise during the Holidays is simply awesome! It’s so great to get pampered during the Holiday Season, to get a little gift from “Santa” on Christmas Eve, to see the Beautiful Decorations all around the ship, to enjoy the festive food, to have a great party “at Sea” for New Years and overall, everyone is simply happier then usual! πŸ™‚

Now the 2nd reason we loved this Cruise was the ship, the Oceania Marina, was absolutely gorgeous and being an “Upper-Premium” Cruise-line the service & food on Oceania was simply excellent! Besides it not being “All-Inclusive” like the Luxury Cruise-lines, everything else about it was definitely luxurious. You can read our blog post about this Cruise & how we talk about it having the BEST food so far out of our 27 Cruises!

Click Here to see our pictures & videos from this Cruise

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15 Night Awe-Inspiring “Panama Canal” Transit from Florida to California

Nancy & Shawn Power at the Panama Canal
There we are making our way through one of the “Panama Canal’s” many locks

We loved this Cruise as the History of how the Canal was built is simply fascinating! You can read our blog post to get all the details but the bottom line is it took over 30 years to build, almost 30,000 lives were lost constructing it & it cost unheard of amounts of money back in those days… over 100 years ago. The bottom line is if you’re a serious “Cruiser”, or you simply love history & a good story, a Panama Canal Transit is a must!!

Click Here to see our pictures & videos from this Cruise

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7 “Suite” Nights on Norwegian Epic

Private Haven Pool on Norwegian Epic
There’s the Private “Haven” Pool on Norwegian Epic that is exclusive to “Suite” guests

Now if you’re wondering if there was pun intended above with the way we spelled “Suite”, absolutely! πŸ™‚ That’s why this Cruise is on our “favorites” list. We stayed in a “Spa Suite” when on the Epic and for everyone who stays in a suite on this ship you’ll have one of the most unique, private “Ship within a Ship” experiences at Sea. A Private Restaurant, Pool Grill, Lounge, Pool Bar, 2 Sun Deck areas, Gym, Pool, etc., etc. You’ll feel like a super special guest when staying in a suite on this Ship!

And the entertainment… unlike anything we’ve seen at Sea! Instead of typical “Broadway, Movie or Music Reviews” the Epic’s entertainment was Blue Man Group, Legends in Concert, Cirque Dreams, Howl at the Moon, Second City Comedy Troop, etc. Definitely the best entertainment that floats! πŸ™‚

So when staying in a Suite on this ship it ends up being perfect for someone who wants to enjoy the Luxurious things in life but doesn’t want to sail on a small Luxury liner with little “Nightlife”… it’s the perfect blend of Luxury with a ton of choices!

Oh ya, we sailed on this ship with around 20 of our friends & family… no wonder it’s on our favorites list! πŸ™‚

Click Here to see our pictures & videos from this Cruise

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12 Night Historic “Grand Mediterranean” Cruise

Nancy & Shawn Power in Pisa, Italy
There was one of the many amazing sites we saw during this Cruise, the “Leaning Tower of Pisa”

We visited Barcelona in Spain, Taromina in Sicily, Mykonos & Athens in Greece, Kusadasi & Ephesus in Turkey,Β Toulon in France and in Italy- Naples, Rome, Florence, Pisa, Pompei & the Amalfi Coast… no wonder it’s on our “Favorite Cruises” list! πŸ™‚

A Cruise to the Med is simply amazing… a perfect blend of Historic Cities, Beautiful Beaches, Fabulous Food & some of the most “Chic” Places in the World… and the best part about the Med… there are a bunch of unique itineraries there so you can go again & again & again and experience new things every time.

Oh ya, this was the first Cruise ever where we paid the extra for a Suite for ourselves (which came with a Butler & tons of amazing “perks”) and that made it even better… anytime you can afford this luxury, go for it, you’ll love it!! πŸ™‚

Click Here to see our pictures & videos from this Cruise

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3 Incredible Nights Exploring the World’s Largest Cruise Ship, the “Oasis of the Seas”

"Surfing" on Oasis of the Seas
“Surfing”, one of the tons of activities on Oasis of the Seas

Now in case you’re wondering, “3 Nights on a Cruise, really, this was one of your favorites?” No, it wasn’t one of those typical 3 day “Booze” Cruises that are dreadful… we were lucky enough to be invited onto this ship before it was launched to the public on a short “preview” Cruise… so that there made it a memorable one.

But the bigger reason why it was one of our favorites:

7 Neighborhoods, 25 Dining options, an Adults-Only Solarium, Surfing, Boogey Boarding, Zip-lining, a Rising/Moving Bar, real grass & trees, a working Carousel, an Aqua-Theatre, the Musical “Hairspray”, a “Shopping-Mall-Like” Promenade, an Ice Skating rink and it can fit over 6,000 of your closest friends onboard…

who wouldn’t enjoy floating around the Ocean in one of the coolest “Cities” in the World!! πŸ™‚

Click Here to see our pictures & videos from this Cruise

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12 Night “Baltic Sea” Cruise on Azamara where we visited Fascinating Northern Europe Cities

Nancy & Shawn Power at the "Hermitage" in St. Petersburg, Russia
There we are at the “Hermitage” in St. Petersburg, Russia

For starters, we loved this Cruise as we sailed with Azamara Cruiseline, an “Upper Premium” line that, like Oceania, besides not being “All-Inclusive” like the Luxury lines is Luxurious in every other waythe food, the service, the small-ship atmosphere, all to die for! πŸ™‚

But of course, the places we visited were even more impressive… Copenhagen in Denmark, Berlin in Germany, Helsinki in Finland, Tallinn in Estonia, Stockholm in Sweden & glorious St. Petersburg in Russia… WOW! If you like history, amazing architecture & Beautiful cities, this Cruise if for you!

Click Here to see our pictures & videos from this Cruise

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11 Night “Yangtze River” Cruise & Land Tour where we saw “Mystic” China’s Major Highlights

Nancy & Shawn Power with their Group at the "Great Wall of China" in Beijing
There we are with our Group at the “Great Wall of China” in Beijing

Ok, so if you put a gun to our heads and said we had to choose our favorite Cruise or it was over for us, this is the one that just might pop out of our mouths! πŸ™‚

Whether it’s our absolute favorite or not, it’s a close call, but what’s easy to say is we absolutely Loved our China River Cruise & Land Tour!!

First off, it was our first & only River Cruise so far and doing a River Cruise is an awesome way to travel!
You can read all the reasons why here but the summary of that blog post is River Cruises are way more immersive then an Ocean Cruise as all the tours to the top highlights are included so you simply get more in-depth in the Culture, Customs & Food of the place you’re visiting.

We spent time in amazing Shanghai. We sailed the “Mystic” Yangtze River which included passing through the impressive Three Gorges Dam & sailing the beautiful Lesser Three Gorges. We visited the Infamous Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi’an and we hit all the highlights in Beijing including the Great Wall of China, the Summer Palace, Tienanmen Square & the Forbidden City… it was simply an awesome, awesome Cruise & Tour!!

Oh ya, and will also did that Cruise with around 20 of our Friends & Family, so again, that added to the Fun of it all! πŸ™‚

Click Here to see our pictures & videos from this Cruise

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8 Nights on an “Ultra-Luxurious” Regent Cruise where we did our 1st Sailing to Alaska

"Calving" Ice at "Hubbard Glacier" in Alaska
There’s some “Calving” Ice at “Hubbard Glacier” in Alaska

Regent is hands down the most “All-Inclusive” Cruise-line in the World (they include airfare, tips, drinks, shore excursions, pre-hotel stay, etc.) and they’re one of the most Luxurious lines on top of that… the ship we sailed on… 100% of it’s accommodations are Suites & 100% of them have Balconies… is there any wonder we loved it! πŸ™‚

Seriously though, sailing
on a ship with 700 people
that a normal mainstream line would have 1,500 people on, all while experiencing great food & service & never having to sign for a drink, pay a tip, decide if you can afford an excursion or not… all make for a pretty amazing Cruise!

And on top of this Cruise being on Regent, it was our first ever Cruise to Alaska…Β  and as we’ve sailed there 3 times now it’s pretty obvious we think that it’s a pretty great destination! πŸ™‚

Click Here to see our pictures & videos from this Cruise

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9 Nights on the Beautiful “Pacific Princess” from Vancouver to Hawaii for our Honeymoon

Nancy & Shawn Power sailing from Vancouver on their Wedding Day
There we are sailing away from Vancouver to Hawaii on our Wedding Day

Now this Cruise of course was one of our favorites for several reasons… for one, as it said in the title, we went to Hawaiiwho doesn’t love going to Hawaii!! πŸ™‚ And in our opinion, Cruising Hawaii is pretty awesome if you’ve never been there before or are short on time as you get to see ALL the main islands.

Now another thing we loved about this Cruise was the ship… it’s a very Unique ship when it comes to a mainstream Cruiseline like Princess. Most of their ships for example accommodate thousands of people onboard but as this 680 passenger ship used to be owned by a Luxury line it gives you a totally different experience when sailing with Princess… no doubt you’ll notice better service, food and more unique itineraries then the other ships in their fleet.

But of course, and we know you guessed it, the main reason it was one of our favorite Cruises is because it was our Honeymoon! We literally got married at noon on Grouse Mountain in Vancouver & took a helicopter down to the port and were sailing away to Hawaii by 5pm… talk about memorable!

And you know what, we pretty much couldn’t afford that trip at the time but we knew it was worth doing whatever it took to make it happen as we knew it was a once in a lifetime thing & we’re glad we did. As we always say to people who are trying to figure out if thy can afford a Vacation or not… we have no idea all these years later what that Cruise cost us but we’ll certainly have the memories forever. Our recommendation is to always make sure to celebrate your special occasions, especially with a trip if you can… the memories will truly be with you for a lifetime!!

Click Here to see our pictures & videos from this Cruise

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So there you have it, our top 9 Favorite Cruises so far… and knowing us, there’ll be many more of these down the road so we’ll make sure to write a “Part 2” to this blog someday. πŸ™‚

And don’t forget, if any of these Cruises sound awesome to you & you’re ready to take your first, or next Cruise, get a hold of Shawn as it’d be his pleasure to help you plan & book it as he Loves helping people enjoy memorable Cruise Vacations!

We appreciate YOU!

Nancy & Shawn
Your Trusted Cruise Experts!

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