navybankerteacher

No tin hat needed- but encouraging folks on a ship calling at Livorno to join perhaps a few thousand shipmates on a crowded trek to Florence, where getting to see almost anything people think they will see in Florence is likely to take at least a couple of hours in line at each site, is questionable. Sure, there is nothing really interesting to do/see in Livorno, but Pisa is just 20 minutes away. Hire a car with others if you really want to see Florence - but planning to spend a few hours travelling to spend a few hours in line to spend a few minutes seeing something really needs to be thought about.

Excellent points - Rome, Florence, etc. are not places which can be “done” in a short day. They ware worth a land stay - perhaps several days before, or after, or both, your cruise. It always amazes me to see people fly across the Atlantic for just a cruise.

There is no such thing as your “2x or 3x higher fare for those included dining options”. The total fare, in my comparison shopping experience, is well below 2x - and superior dining is hardly the only incentive. Consider included Wi-Fi, free laundry, no limit on liquor or wine you can bring in board for in cabin consumption, less crowded, more attractive facilities, better itineraries, etc., etc. By the time you spend your way up to a reasonably enjoyable experience on a mass market, 4,000 passenger floating mob scene, the price difference is a whole lot less. Yes, Oceania’s list prices are higher than Carnival’s, NCL’s, Royal Caribbean’s, etc. - but, as with any other purchase, in cruising you will only get what you are willing to pay for — and, because cruising is a non-essential luxury purchase, why always try to minimize spending? If that were my objective I would stay at home. And if you are interested in cruising you might consider seeing what is available rather only that which comes at the (apparent) lowest price.

Good responses - but I would add that a monocular just does not offer anywhere near as good a view of what you want to see.

Are you seriously talking about the included MDR and Lido offerings (as opposed to extra cost specialty restaurants) on Princess, Celebrity and RCCL?

All right, I won’t ask “why” ; I will simply suggest you modify your deal - a pick-up at JFK at any time is tough. Getting to and from between mid-afternoon and early evening on a Friday will be worse than tough.

Generally quality of food on smaller ships is distinctly better - on Oceania, for example, while there are “speciality” restaurants (at no extra charge), MDR and (uncrowded) Lido’s provide really enjoyable food well prepared and well served - as opposed to NCL (for example) if you want anything but the cheapest cuts of meat and narrow selections of everything else, you have to go to the extra-cost alternatives. Itineraries on the smaller ship lines are generally more interesting - not hitting the phony line-owned ports often offered on mass market line itineraries; and even hitting superior ports, like St. Barth’s, which do not accept large ships at all. Also coming into any port with a few hundred others, rather than several thousand, gives a much better chance to experience what is there. The hotel crew are generally better trained so the service is smoother. But entertainment on small ships does lack the big production flavor offered on larger ships, and there are no skating rinks, go karts, water rides, etc. so that aspect is generally missing — perhaps made up for by more accessible live music, and much uncrowded common space available.

Good thought - there is no value in trying to move a herd together from hotel to port.

The Times Square NYE craziness will be completely wrapped up by mid-morning Jan. 1. Location of Moxy is convenient - while staying near LGA strikes me as a dismal waste of an opportunity to see whatever part of the city attracts you.

Not when it comes to the essential differences between small (1,000 passengers or less) and the multi-thousand mega-ships. Hardly “artificially created niche marketing devices”.

Getting from CV to Rome on your own is certainly doable by train. I would suggest talking it up on your cruse’s roll call to possibly organize a shared van (RomeinLimo or other service) - we’ve done this several times to maximize time in Rome. Florence is a tougher concept - too much to see in too little time with huge crowds — consider taking train to Lucca, a lovely small walled city which you can do in a day — save Florence for a time when you can spend a couple of days there.

The connection is obvious: sailing on smaller ships is more expensive because those who know to make the choice are willing to pay more for quality. A 4,000+ passenger ship will be likely be cheaper because the fixed costs of operating a ship can be divided among more passengers. The operators of those smaller ships tend to know that they are dealing with people who have options —- if the experience is not up to their standards they will simply sail with other lines.

A few years ago HAL regularly gave out dark blue ceramic coffee mugs with white initials identifying the ship as trivia contest prizes - we have a good collection Z- Zuiderdam, P-Prinsendam, M-Maasdam, N-Noordam, W-Westerdam, O-Oosterdam, R-Ryndam, V-Veendam - several duplicates, so we have close to two dozen. Just one of the many nicieties (like the fresh OJ at breakfast, live music in the MDR at dinner, the ceramic Delft tiles left in your stateroom at check-in, etc. etc.) which HAL abandoned as they joined the mass market.

I’d see an overnight at St. Maarten in lieu of a call at St. Thomas as a great deal.

A lot of people book “purely on itinerary”. Folks who book transAtlantic repositionings, or QM2 straight shots between New York and Southampton, do it. Their purpose is to get across the Atlantic by means other than flying - and the itinerary is what does it for them.