Which cruise would you choose?

[scooter90]

We sailed the Explorer out of Bayonne this past March on the same itinerary....although our cruise was 8 days and not 7. Weather in March was not great the whole trip. I had packed shorts thinking a couple days into the cruise it would be hot...NOT. Nassau was the only day I wore shorts. This cruise was a relaxing trip and it proved to be just that. We spent allot of time indoors (pools and hot tubs rarely used). Our day in Port Canaveral it was a whopping 54 degrees...so you gamble with the weather in March. We missed Coco Cay due to weather.

 

Now...having said all that, I would opt for the Quantum out of Bayonne in a heartbeat! Just watch the weather and pack accordingly....no matter what people tell you here that by the second day you are in shorts....it may not happen ;)

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

We sailed the Explorer out of Bayonne this past March on the same itinerary....although our cruise was 8 days and not 7. Weather in March was not great the whole trip. I had packed shorts thinking a couple days into the cruise it would be hot...NOT. Nassau was the only day I wore shorts. This cruise was a relaxing trip and it proved to be just that. We spent allot of time indoors (pools and hot tubs rarely used). Our day in Port Canaveral it was a whopping 54 degrees...so you gamble with the weather in March. We missed Coco Cay due to weather.

 

Now...having said all that, I would opt for the Quantum out of Bayonne in a heartbeat! Just watch the weather and pack accordingly....no matter what people tell you here that by the second day you are in shorts....it may not happen ;)

 

This is definitely a cruise for the ship and Quantum is built for the cold with an indoor pool so I'm not as worried about that. We were in Nassau in March 2013 and it was well over 90 degrees :cool:

[WinterEscape]

I would book the Quantum. I usually pick by itinerary, but neither are great, so I would pick based on the ship.

 

 

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[OCruisers]

Ouantum! It's wonderful not to have to fly! :D

LuLu

[magicolor_girl]

I'd choose the newer ship if it's in the same price range as other options. I've read good things about Vision lately but I'd say it's more about what kind of ship experience you're looking for on this trip. That being said, I liked sailing out of Tampa and recall that being one of our better embark/debark locations.

[EbayCruiser]

I'd choose the Quantum - we are sailing on her in March 2015 too! It's an eight day cruise!!

[Rogueperson]

I would choose Quantum because they are basing that in Asia after it leaves Bayonne. Obviously you will be paying a premium, but if you wait, you may miss out on this ship or have to pay thousands to fly to where she is to cruise on her.

 

You should not base your choice on the reviews. Quantum has no reviews, as it hasn't been reviewed by the public yet. It doesn't launch until later this year.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

I would choose Quantum because they are basing that in Asia after it leaves Bayonne. Obviously you will be paying a premium, but if you wait, you may miss out on this ship or have to pay thousands to fly to where she is to cruise on her.

 

You should not base your choice on the reviews. Quantum has no reviews, as it hasn't been reviewed by the public yet. It doesn't launch until later this year.

 

I hardly ever read reviews, but for some reason I kept seeing negativity about the vision, however, earlier today, I read a trip report that stated so many positive things about her.

 

Even though Quantum has premium prices, when you factor in air to Tampa, it comes out to almost equal.

 

And yes I know Quantum has no reviews, and one of the reasons I'm considering the Quantum cruise is because she will be less than a year old! ;)

Edited August 19, 2014 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

I'd choose the Quantum - we are sailing on her in March 2015 too! It's an eight day cruise!!

 

The one I'm considering is a 7 Night on Mar 29th. I see by your countdown clock that you are sailing on the Mar 13th. Have a great cruise! :)

[Justmekaren918]

Anything that you are on Brilliance or Radiance class ships! Luv!!!

[MisterBill99]

I think I'm leaning towards Quantum. She's brand new and I'd love to experience that. I checked the website and Vision is doing the same itinerary through spring 2016, so I think I'll save that for next time.

I would definitely do Quantum. If what they say is true, it's designed to be an all-weather ship and cold weather when you leave won't be an issue in finding stuff to do. And unless you really like the older ships, there's going to be much more stuff do than on Vision. With Quantum, the ship's the destination. And you won't have to fly.

 

On the other hand the Vision itinerary is WAY better. We did the Quantum itinerary on Explorer last year and the times in port are terrible, as you mentioned in your first post.

 

You do realize that you're not getting any of the promotions for sailing on Quantum, right? If you do find a way to get one, please let me because I was under the impression that both Quantum and Anthem are excluded from all of the offers. So I wonder if the prices will really be comparable, even with airfare.

Edited August 20, 2014 by MisterBill99

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

I would definitely do Quantum. If what they say is true, it's designed to be an all-weather ship and cold weather when you leave won't be an issue in finding stuff to do. And unless you really like the older ships, there's going to be much more stuff do than on Vision. With Quantum, the ship's the destination. And you won't have to fly.

 

On the other hand the Vision itinerary is WAY better. We did the Quantum itinerary on Explorer last year and the times in port are terrible, as you mentioned in your first post.

 

You do realize that you're not getting any of the promotions for sailing on Quantum, right? If you do find a way to get one, please let me because I was under the impression that both Quantum and Anthem are excluded from all of the offers. So I wonder if the prices will really be comparable, even with airfare.

 

Yes, I know Quantum and anthem are excluded from discounts. The reason I know the prices are comparable are through dumby bookings. I've done comparisons on price and when paying for air for three people from Philly to Tampa it ends up being almost $1000 just for that.. The prices are definitely close enough (in my opinion) to not sway our decision.

[notsomadhatter]

I'd do Quantum now, while you have the chance, and put a sailing out of Tampa on "to do" list for later.

[MisterBill99]

I'd do Quantum now, while you have the chance, and put a sailing out of Tampa on "to do" list for later.

On the other hand Quantum and Anthem are going to be pretty much identical, so it's not like they won't be able to do Anthem next year instead.

[cruzsnooze]

I would sail on the vision. Better itinerary and I don't like the freestyle dining concept that the Quantum has to offer. I like a traditional dining time with the same table and servers every night.

[notsomadhatter]

On the other hand Quantum and Anthem are going to be pretty much identical, so it's not like they won't be able to do Anthem next year instead.

 

Only concern about that is that the prices seem to have risen quite a bit for those sailings. A Tampa sailing isn't necessarily going to skyrocket in price in the way that Q/A have.

 

No one can tell the OP anything about the experience of the two new ships, so it's a bit of a gamble.

[sky0000547]

I will find it hard nowadays personally to book a cruise more than 3/4 nights on a Sovereign or Vision class ships.

 

I can see the temptations of better ports on an older/smaller ship over a bigger/newer one.

 

Because Quantum being so new I would personally go on that over Vision. Besides Coco Cay is very nice.

[Clarea]

I would sail on the vision. Better itinerary and I don't like the freestyle dining concept that the Quantum has to offer. I like a traditional dining time with the same table and servers every night.

Nor do I want to have to plan every day on the cruise months in advance.

[CRUISEBOY305]

I would sail on the vision. Better itinerary and I don't like the freestyle dining concept that the Quantum has to offer. I like a traditional dining time with the same table and servers every night.

 

Nor do I want to have to plan every day on the cruise months in advance.

 

so true. I think that's ridiculous.

[MisterBill99]

Only concern about that is that the prices seem to have risen quite a bit for those sailings. A Tampa sailing isn't necessarily going to skyrocket in price in the way that Q/A have.

That ship has already sailed (pardon the pun). I really wanted to do the 12 night on Quantum out of NJ but the prices seemed high when reservations opened up, and they only went up from there. Thus I booked Anthem when it opened for reservations. It's still expensive (probably more than Quantum was originally) but not quite as bad as Quantum and thanks to getting over the sticker shock it doesn't seem as bad as it did when I first saw it on Q. I haven't compared the prices for the 7/8 night cruises but I wouldn't be surprised if the same was true.

[Joe12]

If you have kids coming along or just really want to experience a new ship do Quantum.

I am not interested in Quantum but it is much better than Vision which in my opinion is

"an old Grannies ship" suited to seniors better.

[serious sealeggs]

I go with ship's itinerary in mind:

 

More days at sea - Bigger ship with more to do onboard

More days in port - Smaller ship and lower stateroom class because you will spend less time onboard

[cruiseapril]

Hi- As for Nassau- we have been several times and have always found

good excursions.

 

In March, we went to the Melia resort on Cable Beach and then to the

Blue Lagoon. Very nice places. They have websites.

[MisterBill99]

Hi- As for Nassau- we have been several times and have always found

good excursions.

 

In March, we went to the Melia resort on Cable Beach and then to the

Blue Lagoon. Very nice places. They have websites.

 

The problem is that on the 7 night cruise, you only get into Nassau at 2pm which is too late to go to a resort. When we did this itinerary on Explorer we took a jitney to the Daq Shack (which I recall is near Cable Beach) and had daiquiris, then went back to the market in town. The ship is in port until midnight but what good does that do you?

 

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[RCI Cruisers 004]

We would definitely go with cruise # 2. We would never sail out of NY/NJ, don't care what the ship is ! What are you doing in Port Canaveral ? Probably take a trip up to Orlando, and see Disney or Universal. If you are in Tampa, you can make the drive over. Forget about stopping at Coco Cay, the ocean will be to choppy to stop, so that will be a cruise day, and you aren't at Nassau long enough to enjoy it ! Sorry for the negative post but # 2 sounds better.