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Do you cruise more to enjoy the ship or more for the ports?


cmoose
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I had no idea I would be SO obsessed with knowing everything about the ship and our cabin, I really just can't get enough.

I'm thrilled we are going to Bermuda, but haven't really even thought about what we will do there as I am so loving researching the ship.

We aren't going until June and I'm sure as the trip gets closer I will get a game plan together. I am a planner and it's just my 14 year old dd and I so I want to be sure we have fun things to do.

I really was just wondering if others were as OCD about knowing everything about the ship as I am??

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I don't think I'm OCD about the ship but more about knowing what I'm doing or where I'm going. I guess I'm not a fly by the seat of my pants type of person. We're sailing on the Epic 3/2. I booked it sort of last minute (for me) - booked on 2/14, usually I book a year out & excursions are decided as early as possible also. I just like knowing what I'm doing & where I'm going because I have to get out of cold New England :eek: in the winter.

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1) embarkation port

 

2) price (usually break it down per day by cabin class)

 

3) ports of call

 

4) ship (more for pax to space ratio than amenities)

 

5) length

 

1) We prefer to drive to the embarkation port, so Charleston, Jax, Port Canaveral and Tampa are easy drives, so we frequent them the most.

(Tried driving to Fort Lauderdale once and that was just too long and made the first couple of days, like jet lagged)

 

2) Price is always a high priority.

Usually through research we can affor 2 cruises per year, versus 1 overpriced, with the same itinerary as another (or many) ships.

 

3) Like to try new ports when we can find them for the right price.

But LOVE to hit favorites (like Cozumel, Grand Cayman, etc.. whenever we can, even on shorter cruises.)

 

4) Prefer smaller class ships like the Dawn or Carnival's Legend, which have preferable passenger to space ratios.

The newer ships have nicer amenities and alot of rock walls and surfriders we will never use.

But when the cruiselines hit the perfect ratio (IMHO) they jettisoned them almost immediately to cram as many cabins and people on ships.

I will always take a ship with shorter lines, EVERYWHERE, over a brand new ship with bells and whistles, but longer lines all over the ship.

 

Sadly we frequently have to do the larger ships, simply because they have the longer itineraries, while the smaller ships get dumped on the Bahamas short runs.

 

5) I like the 7 day cruises, but they frequently don't match up with our preferred ship sizes.

I'd frequently choose 5 day cruises to ports I love (like Cozumel and Grand Cayman) over a 7 day with extra ports I never want to go to again. (Belize, Ocho Rios)

 

I'm sure I'm forgetting some other criteria, but those are the main ones..

 

There are some things that I read others in here fretting about, like who the CD is, that make absolutely zero bearing on our decision.

 

It all depends on what order your wants are.

Edited by bguppies
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For me it is the ship first and everything else second. I have just sailed on The Getaway from Southampton to New York City- no ports of calls, a 10 day cruise. Beautiful ship, fantastic staff, great fun. I can not wait until the Fall of 2015 go back to Southampton and bring The Escape across the Atlantic on Her Maiden Adventure.

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The overall experience for us - mainly from the ship. We've been to the same ports several times, and always have fun at each stop, but it's the relaxation, the sound of the ship's wake from our aft balcony, and overall experience on the ship that has us hooked.

 

Sent from my XT1080 using Forums mobile app

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Definitely more for the ports! We have always been on Carnival, but will hopefully book NCL for 2015 because of the port selection. We like as many 'never-before visited' ports as possible with as less sea days as possible. We are looking at a 14-day cruise with only 4 sea days and visiting 10 places - 2 of which will be repeats for us.

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I had no idea I would be SO obsessed with knowing everything about the ship and our cabin, I really just can't get enough.

I'm thrilled we are going to Bermuda, but haven't really even thought about what we will do there as I am so loving researching the ship.

We aren't going until June and I'm sure as the trip gets closer I will get a game plan together. I am a planner and it's just my 14 year old dd and I so I want to be sure we have fun things to do.

I really was just wondering if others were as OCD about knowing everything about the ship as I am??

 

Yes, I am. We book most times a year or more out and by the time we cruise, I know about everything I need to know. I choose our cabin near the area were we will spend a good amount of time, such as the adults pool, etc. Our last two cruises on the Oasis and Allure were for the ship. Those two ships are destinations on their own. Our next is for both the ship and the ports which we have not been to. Sometimes, it is for the ports such as on a Alaska cruise. That is where the ship is second to the ports and amount of time in each. Our friends that cruise with us just hand me their credit card after I do all the research.

Bermuda is beautiful and you can research to your hearts content on the Bermuda board. ;)

Edited by janetz
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Both.

Don't overthink or over research either one.

You will end up overwhelmed.

Be spontaneous and go for it.

The best times are never planned.

 

My first two cruises I did zero research and had the time of our lives.

 

My next cruise I found CC and have been reading everything about both my ship and my port. I am afraid that when I board my ship and get to my destination I will feel like I've experienced everything already through other peoples eyes.

 

Been to Bermuda on a land vaca years and years ago. Still looking forward to visiting again and going to different beaches.

 

Never been on a brand new ship like the Breakaway. But that's part of the reason we booked it. Cruising out of NYC is a must for us.

 

Happy Cruising!!

 

 

Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

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I mainly cruise for the ship. The ports are just an extra for us. This will be our third cruise, all with the same ports. We only plan on leaving the ship for Great Stirrup Cay. If our daughter insists, we will go on a horse and buggy ride around Nassau. We are really looking forward to exploring the Breakaway most of all.

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I love to visit new places as well as find cruises that visit ports that we loved on prior cruises. If I had my way, I would love to have a different port to visit every day with no sea days.

 

My DW however loves the days at sea. She would rather have more days at sea than days in port.

 

We are about to go on our 9th cruise and have been on a different ship every time except two that were on Majesty.

 

Our main decision is price. We always look at all of the cruises that are available when we want to go. We then narrow it down by price. (We include price of airfare or car to embarkation port). Once we have that, the ship and destinations are pretty equal. If there is a ship that we've wanted to try, we would book that or if there was a destination that we were interested in, we may try that.

 

The one thing that has been constant since our third cruise, we get a balcony. Both of us love to spend time out there to wind down at the end of the night. I always enjoy getting out there in the morning to watch the sunrise. While we are pretty frugal we think that getting a balcony is well worth the extra money. The way we see it is that we have very few vices and try to save for a cruise each year or two, so we deserve to spend the extra for the balcony. :)

 

As far as cruise lines are concerned, we have loved RCCL. We had a bad experience on Princess so would not sail on them again. We liked the staff on Celebrity Summit and the ship itself, however we felt like we were one of the younger couples on the ship and we're in our 40s. In 2 weeks we will be on the Norwegian Dawn - our first time on any Norwegian ship. The main reason for this was the price we got was great. We would have liked to have gone RCCL again but it was several hundred dollar more for a very similar itinerary. I am happy that 3 of the 4 ports of call are new to us. My DW is happy that she can relax the first and last day since they are sea days.

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I cruise for the ocean.

 

My priorities are:

1. Ocean

2. Ship (prefer smaller/less pax)

3. Sea days vs ports

 

I have been to most of the ports on the American "routes" and some on the European routes. When I go to Europe, I prefer a landbased vacation. Preferably by the ocean. :)

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We sailed on the Jade on two Med cruises, and the Star on the Baltics. How can you not be overwhelmed visiting places such as Istanbul, Jerusalem, and St. Petersburg? Yes, it isn't the same as flying to a city and spending a week there but how many people have the opportunity to sample such amazing cultures if even for a day or two? Our first Jade voyage stopped in Rome for a day, and it was pretty incredible how much we saw in 8 hours during the off season. Our second voyage went in and out of Rome so we had a change to see other places including Florence.

 

Closer to home, the ship is also great especially if doing the same voyage (i.e. Alaska) again.

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DD and I totally cruise for the ship. DS and DH cruise for the ports so that they can dive. For them, I have to book a cruise that has at least 2 good diving ports.

 

To be honest, I have to put my hand up as a card carrying member of the cruise ship obsessed. I research every aspect of the ship - from deck plans, to menus, to the bar, and to the entertainment. I love it! :D

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I'm a total ship geek and so would have to side with those who cruise mainly for the ship. My idea of fun is making BTB Transatlantic crossings in January on Cunard.

 

Having said that, I also thoroughly enjoy NCL's Boston to Bermuda cruises and have done that twice (well, the second time we never made it to Bermuda thanks to Hurricane Igor!).

 

Just being on board any ship anywhere beats being stuck at home!

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