After the emotionally exhausting experience of an engagement, wedding, and reception, many newlyweds choose a cruise as their honeymoon getaway. A sea voyage is a perfect way to escape the stresses of family and work, and a wonderful way to mark the fact that you as a couple are setting out on a new life together. Common honeymoon cruise destinations include Hawai'i, the Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean, all of which offer gorgeous tropical ports of call and plenty of opportunities for exotic romance. However, sportier or more adventuresome couples may choose to set their honeymoon cruise further off the beaten path, in locales as far-flung as Indonesia, Australia or South America.
The honeymoon marks the first time a newlywed couple greets the world as a unit, and a honeymoon cruise offers the perfect environment in which both bride and groom can relax and forget wedding stresses, revel in some well-deserved leisure time, and contemplate their future life together. Increasingly, cruise lines have begun to incorporate spa amenities into their packages, so these days a honeymoon cruise can be as much a spa vacation as an ocean voyage!
Popular Honeymoon Destinations
As mentioned above, tropical islands like Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Bart's and other Caribbean islands are popular and traditional honeymoon destinations. A cruise offers a perfect way to explore scattered islands without the hassle and inconvenience of island hopping via small plane. Most Caribbean cruises leave from Cape Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and other Florida cities, and can range in duration from a week to as long as 75 days, if cruisers choose a voyage cutting through the Caribbean and sailing around the Americas! Princess Cruises and Celebrity Cruises are just a few of the many lines who offer Caribbean packages.
The ports of Europe and North Africa are another popular honeymoon destination. One of the advantages of the Mediterranean is its easy accessibility, via Europe's many rivers, to the great cities of Western Europe. Start in Paris on Radisson Seven Seas' cruise and sail around Spain and Portugal, hitting Lisbon, Bilbao, Bordeaux and Barcelona before reaching Monte Carlo in the middle of the Cote d'Azur. Celebrity Cruises and Holland America lines are also notable purveyors of European cruises. Holland America offers a 26-day tour of European capitals that is a wonderful, relaxing introduction to Europe's history and range of cultures.
If you're keen to avoid cities, Greece's Aegean Islands, plus Corsica, Sardinia and Italy also make a wonderful, more rural cruise itinerary: sample Italian and Greek cultures and tour the cradles of two of the world's great empires in Rome and Athens. The Greek islands are known for their hospitality, gorgeous beaches and historic ruins, and offer a perfect mix of culture and weather for any traveler, honeymooner or not.
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