Itinerary or Ship???

[amyoscar]

I could really use some help. Which is more important, the ports you visit or the ship that takes you there. My husband and I are pretty new to cruises. We were just on the Sea Cloud II from St. Petersburg to Copenhagen and had an amazing time. The shore portion of the trip (arranged by Academic Arrangements Abroad) on behalf of the National Trust for Historic Preservation was top notch. It was pure luxury all the way. This got us psyched to try another cruise at the same "luxury" level but without the super organized shore excursions. I soon focused on Sea Dream and Sea Bourne but SB did not have an intinerary which included places we had not already seen. They had a number of interesting itineraries but since we would want to spend a few days on both ends of the trip at the places of embarkation and debarkation, we wanted to go to places we had never been. SD has its drawbacks but its Athens - Naples trip in October really appealed to us. I have never been to either city and my husband has never been to Naples and would love to revisit Greece.

 

So I guess the question is, as cruisers who are obviously more knowledgeable about this kind of touring than we are, which is more important, the ship or the places? Thanks so much for our help.

[DisneyJen]

Amyoscar,

 

First a little history on our cruising experience ... DH and I have been cruising for the last 15 years. We have done mass market mainstream lines (HAL, RCCL, Disney, Princess). Last year was our first "luxury" cruise on SD. We did the Caribbean and we are scheduled to do a repositioning cruise (West Palm to St. Thomas) in November of this year on SD.

 

We have traditionally narrowed down the geographic area that we want to visit. I then research the cruiselines that go to that area ... first looking at the lines that we like and then looking at the ports. Final decision almost always come down to ports with the ship being the tie-breaker.

 

DH and I are to point where we cruise based on his calendar availability and then the cruiseline. When we planned this upcoming trip the itinerary was the last thing I looked at since I had a two-week window and we knew we wanted to cruise SD again.

 

With that said ... When we do Europe we look at the ports we want to visit and the length of time in those ports. I really don't think you can go wrong with SD or SB. DH and I rarely do organized shore excurisons. I think our day-to-day life is so heavily structured/organized that we like the ability to explore on our own.

 

Sorry for the long answer.

 

Good luck!

[amyoscar]

Dear DisneyJen,

 

Please don't apologize for the long answer. I want to soak up as much information as I can. Are there small ships out there that spend more than a day at most ports? How long a trip would you need to go on for that to happen? If you don't do the shore excursions, do you just take a trip into town and explore on your own? Have you ever done a private tour? Thanks so much for responding to my post. This is my first foray into cruise critic and all friendly advice is welcome.

[DisneyJen]

Welcome aboard Amyoscar!

 

One of the reasons that we really liked SD and its itineraries is that you spend a lot of time in ports. We overnighted in St. Barts and Jost Van Dyke. The smaller ships give you that flexibility. Our trip was 7 nights. The nice thing about the way that SD schedules the ports is that you are in port for a long period of time to see the sights.

 

I usually research the ports via the internet, Fodor's and of course the destination section of Cruise Critic. We have adventured on our own and done private tours. We usually just go off on our. One of the nice thing about SD is that the crew will be able to give you wonderful advice on things to see and do in port ... and I suspect it is the same on SB.

 

I also like to take a look at the excursions that the line is offering and if it something that sound really appealing we will go that route. Or we plot a similar route on our own. A lot of the European ports offer wonderful walking tours.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Edited to correct typo

[amyoscar]

Thanks DisneyJen,

 

I am very much looking forward to our first SD cruise. A long way off (Oct 06) but that will give me time to do tons of research and make all arrangements. We thought we would fly to Paris and spend a week or so, then Easy Jet to Berlin for a couple of days. Easy Jet flies direct to Athens so we'll spend two or three days (or maybe 4?) there pre-cruise and then a few days when we dock in Naples. Have you ever been to any of these cities? Any recommendations (except for Paris where we live part time and know really well)? Thanks!!

[DisneyJen]

Glad to me of help Amyoscar ... Actually the only city that you mention that I might have been helpful about is Paris:p And I suspect your knowledge base is much broader than mine;)

 

You might find some thoughts from folks who know those cities on the Ports section of this board.

 

Never too early to start planning in my book.

[wripro]

amyoscar,

 

i have to say that for me its a combination of the ship and the itinerary. i only select trips that have a few days at sea as well as the ports im interested in because i love being on certain ships and enjoying what they have to offer. otherwise id just do a land trip and visit the places i want.i doo this as well. ive never cruised on sea dream, though hear its great. ive done lots of silversea and am leaving for 28 days on seabourn this week. obviously i like small intimate ships with great food and service. if you find an itinerary you prefer on any of these lines i dont think you can go wrong. bon voyage!!!

[amyoscar]

Thanks Wripro,

 

Your point is well taken about using a land tour to visit the places you realy want to go and that the ship is important. SD really has the best itinerary for us for 06. We'll see what happens in 07. Silversea is a new name for me (but then we are so new to cruising that almost every name is new to me) I'm going on the web to check them out. Thanks for the tip.

[frequent traveler]

One more point of view.

 

My husband really enjoys the ports while I tend to enjoy the rest and relaxation on board. The Sea Dream is excellent for usually giving you a full day in a port and sometimes a night (I say "usually" because weather conditions in a particular port may change docking/tendering times and locations)

 

We've found that in many of the small ports, a day is enought for us - so we look at stops for the 2nd or 3rd cruise/return trip, but the line is of paramount importance to us.

 

If language is of issue, I would recommend the organized shore excursions. Notwithstanding critics in other threads --our experience with the Sea Dream sponsored excursions are have been for the majority excellent values for the expense and as opposed to those sponsored by larger ships -- much more "local" in flavor and detail. There is always a chance of weather not cooperating, the local agent making a mistake, other booked passengers showing up late or being jerks (the time for our last snorkel adventure in St. Bart's on SeaDream was changed after we left the ship so I spent an hour on a hot deck waiting for a non-existent trip - I waited because we had to wait on almost every excursion for a family group that was always late)

 

Also, don't assume that the purse or other hospitality desk has the best recommendations. As Disney Jen notes, some of the best recommendations we received were from long time staff members who had made numerous stops to the port.

 

Have fun. :)

 

FT

[amyoscar]

Thanks Frequent Traveler,

 

I appreciate your input. We have decided to book the SD for their Oct 21, 06 cruise from Athens to Naples. I am so excited!! I am going to post to see if anyone else has booked for that trip so we can see if there is any interest in sharing private tours.

 

Thanks again,

 

Amyoscar

[Jim Avery]

Hi Amyoscar:

Interesting thread you started. I have gone back and forth analyzing what is most important to us. Having started on passenger ships exclusively on Transatlantics (16 on 4 Cunard Queens) I immediately thought "its the ship" as we do, like Wripro and Frequent Traveler, enjoy the sea days immensely. With experience on cruise ships now at 7 cruises including 2 on SeaDream, we have come to really enjoy some of the places we never saw before. We do try to pick places we have not been to before but timing sometimes means repeats. This makes the ship the most important to us as we find it very nice to stay aboard sometimes in port. Especially on SD, this means pampering to the max. Have a great voyage and be sure to post a review when you return. One small warning though and you will find this elsewhere on these posts, you will probably never be able to return to the big ships after SD. Never waiting and never signing tickets for things really makes this luxury.

All the best.

Jim.

[DisneyJen]

We too have been know to stay onboard when we are in a port that we have visited before. Some of our best days (other than those wonderful and restful days at sea) have been poolside while we are in port. I can't remember the last time we ventured off the ship in ports like Nassau or Puerto Rico.

 

I agree with FT that one of the many nice things about SD and the ports that it visits is the ability to tour some in the morning and early afternoon and then head back to the ship to enjoy the "yachting" atmosphere.

 

Jim is right on the money as well about this type of cruising ... the only way I will get DH back onto one of the mainstream/larger lines will be a family cruise with DD (who is 12) and my folks. Actually I have raised the idea of a family cruise in early '06 and he isn't ready to talk yet as he is counting down to our SD cruise in November.

[amyoscar]

I can't thank all of you enough for taking the time to send me your thoughts. It really never occurred to me to try a mainstream line but I am more convinced than ever that SD will be the right choice for us. I have never posted on cruise critic before and I am overwhelmed by how nice and helpful people are. I hope some of you will end up on the Athens-Naples cruise in Oct 06. I CAN'T WAIT!! How many days?

 

Thanks again.

 

amyoscar