Do You Do Repeat Cruising on Same RCI Ship?

I'll be sailing on Freedom in May 2016. I'm chatting with many who have been on her multiple times; they say it's one of the best ships in RCI's fleet. While I've done several RCI cruises, this will be my first on Freedom (and I'm really excited about it). What is it about this ship that makes people book it multiple times? Anybody sailed any of the other RCI ships several times?

We've sailed many of Royal's ships several times. What keeps us coming back is the excellent service by the crewmembers.

I am a fan of the smaller ships and will be cruising on Jewel of the Seas for the second time (in a row) this coming January. I've also sailed on Serenade, which is Jewel's sister.

I'll be sailing on Freedom in May 2016. I'm chatting with many who have been on her multiple times; they say it's one of the best ships in RCI's fleet. While I've done several RCI cruises, this will be my first on Freedom (and I'm really excited about it). What is it about this ship that makes people book it multiple times? Anybody sailed any of the other RCI ships several times?

Freedom, currently has a lot of repeat customers because she sails out of Port Canaveral (for now). But that by no means are her only loyal repeat passengers. I do like this class of ship and what it has to offer. I repeated on Freedom for the sole purpose of refreshing my memory of why I said for 8 years that she was my favorite. People who repeat more often can speak to the quality of the crew. I don't know if there was any repeat crew members from my 2008 cruise, but I did have excellent service both times.

I've done Allure twice and loved it and that was part of my going on Freedom again, so I could compare. That said, two new ships (for us) coming up.

Perhaps Ironically, the best service overall I had on a cruise was 2012 on Jewel, but it was no where near as good on my 2014 cruise.

yes

We have done that several times, most recently Naviagtor since it was very easy to get to port since we live in Texas and ship sails from there, Looking forward to Liberty which replace her in November.

We've not repeated any ship yet just because we want to try to get as many as we can. I'm actually a little disappointed that it looks like we may never get to go on Splendour before she's sold. Thus far we've also tried to steer clear of booking on the same class if we can help it, just to get a feel for what each class has to offer. We made an exception for Rhapsody because it and Grandeur aren't part of the same pair within the Vision class. Still have to hit up a Voyager and a Quantum!

I'll be sailing on Freedom in May 2016. I'm chatting with many who have been on her multiple times; they say it's one of the best ships in RCI's fleet. While I've done several RCI cruises, this will be my first on Freedom (and I'm really excited about it). What is it about this ship that makes people book it multiple times? Anybody sailed any of the other RCI ships several times?

Part of the reason is convenience. We can fly into Orlando non-stop on multiple airlines so we are usually able to find a lower fare. We find higher fares and not always non-stop into Fort Lauderdale.

We are creatures of habit and repeat a ship/itinerary quite often! That means there are a good number of ships in the fleet we haven't sailed on yet and some we have only sailed on once or twice...but that means a few have been repeated numerous times....sometimes 3 weeks in a row! Sometimes same ship 2 or 3 weeks in a row...2 or 3 times a year! However, Freedom nor Port Canaversl are in our usual list. While there are tons of folks out there that love FOS and PC....we have only done FOS one (out of FLL) and only dine PC twice on other ships. However, there are many folks that love other ships and repeat them quite often!

I've already taken Voyager 3 times, Radiance will sail it again next year.

The more varied the ship's IT, the more likely you will sail it again.. if it stays in one area all year round, then less likely you will do a repeat sailing unless you like the ship and won't mind visiting the same ports over and over again.

I would love to say it is the crew that keep me coming back to the same ship. But in the long run, if that same ship gets repositioned, I'm more than likely not going to be a regulare cruiser on it. So I guess the bottom line is location of the ship. I am more likely to be a "regular" if the ship sails from Tampa or Port Canaveral.

We have sailed on Radiance 2 times, Serenade 3 times and Grandeur 4 times, with a 5th coming up very soon! Going out of Baltimore for Grandeur (or Enchantment the year she was in Baltimore) is so easy as it's close to home! Love the smaller ships, but have sailed on all but Mariner in the Voyager class and on Freedom.

Not only have we sailed on the same ship, we stayed in the same cabin! We loved our Grand Suite on Navigator and so we booked the same cabin for our next cruise. Loved the location, the balcony and the decor.

Not only have we sailed on the same ship, we stayed in the same cabin! We loved our Grand Suite on Navigator and so we booked the same cabin for our next cruise. Loved the location, the balcony and the decor.

us too about 6 months apart. we sail based on embarkation port most of all so when we lived in Annapolis we sailed GR and EN several times.

the only reason we haven't sailed NAV multiple times is she's leaving Galveston before we were able to book another. Oh well maybe we will fall in love with LIB

Its often about the port for us. Over the years we have sailed all of the voyager class ships that were based out of Galveston, and have done as many as 3 sailings on a ship. It is so convenient to drive the 4 hours to Galveston and sail. No concerns about flying, or luggage limits. Easy to drive there same day and not have to go a day early. If it happens to be the same ship we sailed the previous time, that's fine with us. May get to see some of our RCI employee friends again.

That being said, we do mix it up and venture out to other ports on occasion like for our recent Alaskan cruise, or to try one of the big ships (Oasis this December). Been out of Florida a few other times as well. The Med, Europe and a Panama Canal cruise are on our to-do list, and we don't really care if its a repeat ship, or a new one if we are going for a specific itinerary like that.

It's about the departure port for us, too.

We travel to Puerto Rico fairly often, so most of our cruises are from there- which means we have a lot of trips on the Adventure.

But we've also repeated ships for totally different reasons- we were on the Rhapsody in Alaska in 2014, and in the Med just a few weeks ago- the itineraries were far more important than the ship.

A ship will feel different from sailing to sailing. If you were to do a B2B on the same ship, the 1st week would have a totally different "vibe" from the next week....it's the passengers who make the difference!

A ship will feel different from sailing to sailing. If you were to do a B2B on the same ship, the 1st week would have a totally different "vibe" from the next week....it's the passengers who make the difference!

Yep, I agree. The cruisers make the real difference.

I've sailed on the Liberty 3 times, Enchantment 2 times, and Jewel 2 times. For the most part they were all different itineraries:

Liberty 1- 7-day Eastern Caribbean

Liberty 2- 5-day Western Caribbean

Liberty 3- 5-day Western Caribbean

Enchantment 1- 5-day Western Caribbean

Enchantment 2- 3-day Bahamas

Jewel 1- 11-day Ultimate Caribbean & Panama

Jewel 2- 7-day California Coastal

As for the Liberty trips, the repeat 5 dayers were because the ship was sailing out of Fort Lauderdale (near home) and we wanted a get away for our anniversary without DH having to take much time off from work.

TO OP

We loved the Freedom, after all our cruises it remains the one in our heart, we have sailed her twice.

We have moved on to Oasis class, Allure and Oasis but still remember the great times we had on Freedom.

The port was easy to get to, cheaper flights and such for us anyway.

The perfect size of a ship and loved the western route, with Grand Cayman as one of our favorite stops.

Now, we sail on the Oasis class ships and after three cruises still havent seen it all.

One day we will.

Back to the Allure next summer.

Sea Ya

I try not to book the same ship

Yes if it takes us to the itinerary we like.

We have sailed more than once on several ships.

Like several have stated, it's really who you cruise with, not on what ship. ;)

It's about the departure port for us, too.

 

But we've also repeated ships for totally different reasons- we were on the Rhapsody in Alaska in 2014, and in the Med just a few weeks ago- the itineraries were far more important than the ship.

I totally agree about the Med. I am booked for my third Med cruise in May each cruise was a different ship. It is all about the itinerary, the timing and the price. I'm not partial to any cruise line yet.

Getting ready to leave on the AOS for the 4th time out of San Juan Love the ship , wonderful itinerary . Never have had a bad crew. Its our favorite ship by far.