How do you spend your cruise dollar?

[sunshine 229]

I've been finding it quiet around here lately too so I decided to post a question I've been wondering about for a while.

 

When it is time for you to cruise how do you decide what kind of cruise to look for? It the itinerary you consider first? The ship?

 

Do you prefer to spend your dollars going on a newer or more expensive ship even if that means an inside cabin or do you insist on an oceanview or balcony even if it means you have to go on an older ship?

 

And about age of ship, do you like to be one of the first, on the maiden voyage or as soon after as possible or do you prefer to wait till the ship has been up and running for a while so all the bugs are worked out?

 

What about length of cruise? Do you take longer cruises or do you prefer to take shorter cruises but in more luxourious cabins?

 

I know it is a broad topic but feel free to answer as many of the questions as you want. I'm just interested in knowing what goes into cruise selection for most people.

 

If you are one of the fortunate few who for whom money is not a consideration and you just book whatever accomodation you want whenever you want, feel free to post too, but I am warning you that you will be the object of much envy, from me at least!:)

[kenandlaura06]

Due lack of flexibility in work schedules, the most important thing is when the cruise happens. Second is itinerary, and third is ship.

[awm]

The itinerary is my first concern, then the ship, then the dates.

[dougp26364]

Inenerary, price, embarkation port, dates third and then finally the ship. An example would be our upcoming Alaska cruise and our Bermuda cruise.

 

For Alaska the dates and price worked well on any ship but, the itenerary was a change of pace sailing on Vision and we prefer Seattle as our embarkation port. For Bermuda I'd prefer Voyager over Granduer but Balitmore works out better as an embarkation port since this will be only a portion of a two week vacation. The ship, while it does come into consideration, is really about the last thing I consider. Which is probably close to reverse of many people that cruise.

[sunshine 229]

So far it seems that the itinerary is one of the main things for those who have replied. For me the first thing I usually decide on is the time when I can get away. Then the area ( Caribbean, Hawaii, Europe etc.) then I start looking to see what is available in that area within that time frame. At that point I'll start to consider things like the ship and the price. Usually I have a budget in mind and factor in the type of accomodation we could afford on the different ships.

 

I try not to focus too much on the specifics of the itinerary because as most of us have learned that can easily change, so picking a cruise because you want to go to one particular port can be disappointing. In general (and hurricanes aside) I figure if you chose a Caribbean cruise you should get to go somewhere south even if not to the exact islands you expected.

 

Thanks to those who have answered so far. No one has commented yet on whether they prefer to book on a new ship or a more established one. Maybe becuause that is not very important to anyone. Also so far no one has mentioned anything about preferring one size of ship to another.

[cpa2be]

We like to cruise every October for our anniversary. We prefer the Voyager class ships and the itinerary is important. We have cruised out of Miami several times without incident and find there is comfort in the familiar.

 

However, I am in the planning stages for our 10/06 cruise and looking at the Mariner. Port Canaveral has more challenges in getting to the port than Miami. This may be a factor for us. The other option is the Freedom, but it only doing the Western. That would make it 3 westerns in a row for us. :rolleyes:

 

Since October pricing is quite good, we've been spoiled by the lower rates. I'd have sticker shock if we tried to cruise during the summer. Don't know how some of you do it!:eek:

[SJS]

My first consideration in picking a cruise is price, price and price! :o We love to cruise so really don't care where it is going or what size ship or which month. We only go to the caribbean and the Eastern is our favorite and if it happens to be going to Labadee and St. Thomas we are thrilled! We also like to have 7 days, 4 days is just not enough. However, while price is the most important thing we will also only sail on RCCL. We tried Carnival twice due to price and agreed never again. I think everything is just a little nicer on RCCL.

[Schplinky]

We like to try new things so I would have to say the ship have been our big decisions so far. We chose Navigator as our first cruise because it seemed big and exciting. Now, we will try Celebrity's Constellation to try that line's fabled service and food. Next, we will try Freedom of the Seas. I guess that confirms that for us, ship is most important. Then, we find the time and take the cheapest week of an itinerary we like.

[cruizinmimi]

It's definitely the price for us. We like to cruise at least 2x's a year and I look for the price of a 7-night. Never anything shorter. It's too much trouble for us to go on a shorter cruise. Maybe when we retire then we can go on shorter ones.

 

Love to cruise.

Linda :D

[cruise wizard]

My wife and I have set a goal to cruise at least once on each RCCL ship - have done 10 with a bunch more to go. We like to go on the newest ship during its first year of operation - we are booked on the Freedom for 12/3/06. My wife loves the balcony - so guess what - we book them (except last June we had an ocean view on the Majesty).

 

Someday we will try a back-to-back when we retire - but so far it has generally been 7 days except for a 12 day Mediterranian (30th anniversary) and a 10 day New England trip on Jewel last October. Our 35th will be a 12 day Baltic - only 3 more years to wait!!!

[madforcruising]

I've been finding it quiet around here lately too so I decided to post a question I've been wondering about for a while.

 

When it is time for you to cruise how do you decide what kind of cruise to look for? It the itinerary you consider first? The ship?

 

First priority for me is the time. I can´t get away from work any time. We have a vacation schedule which is usually set up around November for the entire next year, with almost no alternations can be made as this would screw the schedule of 30 co-workers. So I any cruise will have to fit into this schedule. Second I would say is Itinerary and very close to that but slightly behind ship. Of course after all these decision the price could still be the knock out decision as I´m not lucky enough to not have to think about money.

 

 

 

Do you prefer to spend your dollars going on a newer or more expensive ship even if that means an inside cabin or do you insist on an oceanview or balcony even if it means you have to go on an older ship?

Age of ship is not necessarily a criteria.

 

And about age of ship, do you like to be one of the first, on the maiden voyage or as soon after as possible or do you prefer to wait till the ship has been up and running for a while so all the bugs are worked out?

Have been on the Legend in it´s inaugural season and on the Jewel on one of the first voyages. It is great to be on such a new ship however I would not run for the maiden voyage as I think there are always some kinks to be worked out and a little later will make a much smoother cruise. I.e. I have been on the Jewel on voyage 8, 19 and 50. Voyage 8 has been great already but there have ben some points I thought that could be improoved and 3 month later on voyage 19 many of these had been eliminated.

 

What about length of cruise? Do you take longer cruises or do you prefer to take shorter cruises but in more luxourious cabins?

 

Length of cruise is very important for me and I look for at least 10 days, better 12 or 14 days. Unfortunately they are not that easy to be found.

It should be balcony at least. If the decision would be no balcony but outside or not going on a cruise I might consider the outside. If it were inside or no cruise I would decide not to cruise.

 

To me better only one cruise per year but a longer one in a nice cabin, than many short ones. But this has for sure also to do with my location as there is almost always a flight necessary and most of the time a long distance one, so this would´nt be sufficient for just a short getaway.

[groovy gran]

we choose on how long they are first as we are from uk and the short ones dont seem worthwhile after long flight

then the itinery we usually do the carribean

then the price which determines which cabin we have

lhopefully at least an outside

:D

[fungirl28]

It depends. The first thing I consider is destination. From there the type of ship and then I'll search all the dates. If it's kind of pricey, I'll pick a later sail date and and put down my deposit. Because it's first come, first serve for vacation time at my job I never have to worry about time. If I book in advance I could affor to go on a cruise by myself for 7 days. No kids yet:D

[Twaincruisers]

I am over half way to my goal of visiting 100 countries so I continue to choose mostly on the basis of itinerary. However, we have taken repeat intineraries in order to try different cruiselines and ships. No matter what the itinerary, price is important. We would rather cruise several times a year in an inside than only once a year in a balcony or suite.

[sunshine 229]

So many different answers, I guess that is why the lines offer so many different ships and itineraries.

 

I would for sure not turn down a cruise because it is in an inside cabin but since I am still working and can't take unlimited time off it is easier for me to book only a seven day cruise in a nicer cabin rather than a 12 or 14 day in an inside.

 

Can't wait till I have more time and can look for those longer cruises! Just hope that when that day comes I'll still be able to afford the longer ones.:)

[Nliedel]

We work out a budget for the trip first and then look at a cruise that will fit our family budget. We also work out who is going. For example if it is just Gene and I we are looking for different things than if the boys are coming along too. It is just a broad mix. I prefer an outside cabin but would not forgo a family vacation to have it.

[Past it]

It was the ship that was my first goal,then someone to go with,didn't care where it went or when or how much!I just want to see this ship.First I was going to America and do the Caribbean,then I heard about the transatlantic crossing to England and thought great,then relatives whom I had previously mentioned wanting to go on this ship, rang and said they would come with me when it was in the Med.I didn't have the heart to refuse them.So its definately the Med now. Were booked and its Final!!! Still don't know how I am going to drag myself to get off in the ports.I can't wait for this trip,it is a long way off yet,but I think some of the fun is in the planning.Its turned into not just a cruise to sort out,there's the stopover destination,places in UK to visit,few days in Barcelona after the cruise and all the ports to sort out.Phew! I think I will need over a year! :eek:

[familycruises]

Our criteria:

#1 Ship must go out of Florida (so we can drive to port)

#2 The itinerary--we try to go to different places

#3 Must be a newer ship with rock climbing, minature golf, etc---we get bored too easily on sea days and love the newer ships

#4 We MUST have a balcony

#5 We generally plan a year in advance so we can budget accordingly and get the most out of our vacation.

[curiousjly]

This is my first cruise, so I hope it counts.

 

 

First thing I looked at were the cruiselines. What they offered, age group that seemed to prefer, RCI seemed to be more in the middle area. If hubby and me, either Princess or Celebrity. My daughter is 24, so she needed something that was geared for her age. No way Carnival, seem to much of a party ship.

 

Next was a combination of price and ports of call, my daughter wanted Jamacia or Porto Rico. I am paying for this with a student loan, will be paying it back after I finish college (four to five long years from now).

Number of days was affected by price. Three seemed to few of days, and the 7 was too many, with price too high. Saw four and five days, and the five was were we wanted to go with Enchantment as the ship, so Enchantment it was.

 

Date didn't matter to some extent. For me, as a college student (working on doctorate) I can work around the class schedule, so long as it wasn't at beginning or end of term. I don't work at present. For my daughter's sake, I wanted it soon, she needs a break from the kids and hubby needs to have an idea of what it is like to take care of three kids under the age five and two of them ADHD.

 

This cruise is mainly for my daughter. So that was guideline of choices.

 

If/when another cruise is taken, it will be hubby and me, and a whole different ballgame in order. :D

Jly