Do you pick a cruise for itinerary or ship?

[chill6x6]

SO FAR….I've booked 100% for itinerary. Of course with two ships with the same itinerary I'll pick the ship I like best OR the one I haven't been on yet...

[trev71]

My last cruise this past May 2014, we booked for the ship, since we enjoyed the Oasis so much. Now our next one this May 2015 we picked based on intinerary on the Adventure. I am excited to do the 5 ports. I know there wont be too much down time which i am ok with.

[bouhunter]

Itinerary. Our first consideration is where we want to go. The ship is merely the means of transportation to get us there. Now, if two ships are offering the same itinerary, then we will consider the amenities and the cost differences and make our decision based on those factors. The bottom line is, itinerary is always our first consideration.

 

That sums it up for us. We get off at every port, can't imagine sitting on a ship and not getting off, no matter how great the ship is. Love cruising and love the ships, but the ports are a priority when making a decision.

[CT Sean]

This one:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/cruiseDetails/itineraryAndPricing.do?state=&packageCode=OA07E112&hasFireandPolice=&hasMilitary=&hasSenior=&date=201602&cruiseType=CO&sailDate=1160206

 

or this one:

 

http://www.carnival.com/itinerary/8-day-southern-caribbean-cruise/miami/breeze/8-days/sci/?numGuests=2&destination=caribbean&dest=C&datFrom=022016&datTo=022016&shipCode=BR&PastGuest=Y&Senior=Y&StateCode=NY

 

All of these ports are new to me.

 

Between those two, Carnival definitely has a more interesting itinerary. It also goes far enough south to have the best chance of "summery" weather. At the same time I probably wouldn't jump ship and take Carnival over RCI (see what I did there :) )

 

If it were me, I'd be looking at option #3. In even the cheapest stateroom you save 500 per person which should cover the difference in airfare unless you happen to be one of the lucky few who can drive to Port Everglades

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/cruiseDetails/itineraryAndPricing.do?state=&packageCode=AD07D150&hasFireandPolice=&hasMilitary=&hasSenior=&date=201602&cruiseType=CO&sailDate=1160206

[bouhunter]

We've done the Southern itinerary on Adventure of the Seas TWICE because we enjoyed is so much. Great ship and great ports. In our case...we went a bit later to take advantage of 80's weather instead of upper 60's and 70's common in February.

 

 

ENJOY!

 

If you do some research you'll find the southern Caribbean is in the 80's year round. There is no such thing as 60's and 70's being "common" there:rolleyes:. Rather that would be rare.

[screamin400]

Between those two, Carnival definitely has a more interesting itinerary. It also goes far enough south to have the best chance of "summery" weather. At the same time I probably wouldn't jump ship and take Carnival over RCI (see what I did there :) )

 

If it were me, I'd be looking at option #3. In even the cheapest stateroom you save 500 per person which should cover the difference in airfare unless you happen to be one of the lucky few who can drive to Port Everglades

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/cruiseDetails/itineraryAndPricing.do?state=&packageCode=AD07D150&hasFireandPolice=&hasMilitary=&hasSenior=&date=201602&cruiseType=CO&sailDate=1160206

 

That is the cruise we are doing this coming Feb.

[north29]

We are cruise travelers first and foremost... we have seen much of the world from a cruise, not our true preference but for the price and ease, you could not match it anywhere and if we really like an area of the world, we will go back on our own or with a tour group.

Having said that, we live in Florida, with, of course, easy access to 4 cruise ports so we take cruises just to get away, a weeks cruise booked at, sometimes pay me to take a cruise pricing is cheaper than South Beach, Key West, or Disney. It is funny we have done almost everything RC and X do in the Caribbean, but always find new things at MOST ports that we have not done and really enjoy, some paid or just on our own. For us buying a beer in a grocery store and setting on a bench in Falmouth(not port complex) and talking to anyone who will talk to us is FUN and entertaining and you can learn a lot.

[jules815]

If I remember correctly the dream was more than the Oasis but the dream is new and has a better itinerary. The Oasis is a monster ship. Would like to see it also.

 

If you can get on the Oasis for less than the Dream, I would do that in a heartbeat!

[MichaelCMTX]

Itinerary with ship as a tiebreaker, if needed; and we define "itinerary" as including the departure port.

[sross6019]

A little bit of both. Sometimes it depends on the homeport if it someplace we haven't been and want t osee.

[George C]

Port it leaves from and the price are my biggest keys. I would love some of the newer ships but rather have a suite on a older ship for about same price.

[Direwolves]

When we book at cruise we look at a combination of things, the itinerary, cost per day of the cruise, whether we can get the vacation time off for it and is there interesting things to do at our ports of call. The ship is the last thing we worry about.

 

 

*** Canadian Cruiser's EH!!! on FB ***

[tlatrice]

This one:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/cruiseDetails/itineraryAndPricing.do?state=&packageCode=OA07E112&hasFireandPolice=&hasMilitary=&hasSenior=&date=201602&cruiseType=CO&sailDate=1160206

 

or this one:

 

http://www.carnival.com/itinerary/8-day-southern-caribbean-cruise/miami/breeze/8-days/sci/?numGuests=2&destination=caribbean&dest=C&datFrom=022016&datTo=022016&shipCode=BR&PastGuest=Y&Senior=Y&StateCode=NY

 

All of these ports are new to me.

 

 

I SO want to do that Carnival Breeze itinerary. I would say go with that one!

 

I've only been on 2 with a 3rd coming up and so far itinerary has been my first choice. Now that I've learned more, ship is coming into play more and more.

[screamin400]

I SO want to do that Carnival Breeze itinerary. I would say go with that one!

 

I've only been on 2 with a 3rd coming up and so far itinerary has been my first choice. Now that I've learned more, ship is coming into play more and more.

 

You are in the same boat as myself. Two cruises so far one ready for Feb. Two ships, one i loved and one I hated. I think I am all about the itinerary until I have seen almost everything and then may lean more toward the ship.

[Desert Cruizers]

I check for itinerary first, then look at the price & ship. I also look at the length of time we will be in Port before selecting Tours and don't exceed a 4 hr tour. This gives us time to walk around the port a little before going back to the ship.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

If you do some research you'll find the southern Caribbean is in the 80's year round. There is no such thing as 60's and 70's being "common" there:rolleyes:. Rather that would be rare.

Having done it twice in 2 difference months...I'm not sure where those stats came from....my research back then and firsthand experience showed there are temp differences by as much as 20 degrees high to low in the February to May timeframe.

[printingchick]

Itinerary first. Ship Second.

 

And when I say ship second, I only mean that I might choose between two similar itineraries based on which ship I preferred. The opposite would never be true. I never choose the ship first.

 

Obviously the cruise line and cost is also important. I'm hoping to try Celebrity soon, now that my RCL Visa points can be applied to either line. In the past, it always ended up being so much less costly for me to cruise RCL, because I could get a discounted pricing using my points. In the future, that same savings will be available on Celebrity, which opens up some additional possibilities for me.

Edited November 7, 2014 by printingchick

[Direwolves]

I would like to add one thing to my previous post. The two ships we have been on have been roughly 110,000 and 113,000 tons. Our next ship is around 98,000. I would like to try one of the Oasis class ships that are twice as big as what I have been on.

 

 

*** Canadian Cruiser's EH!!! on FB ***

[bouhunter]

Having done it twice in 2 difference months...I'm not sure where those stats came from....my research back then and firsthand experience showed there are temp differences by as much as 20 degrees high to low in the February to May timeframe.

 

I'm sorry but that comment is just absurd and wrong.

 

Having done the Caribbean 15 times in the past 15 years I have no idea where your info comes from. "First Hand Experience" and REAL data show nothing whatsoever like a 20 degree difference from February to May.........:rolleyes:....... See this:

 

http://www.sint-maarten.net/St-Maarten-Weather/stmaarten_weather.html

 

It is absolutely ridiculous to state that February temperatures in the Caribbean vary on average 20 degrees from those in May. Unless you're talking about the Bahama's maybe, which are more like Florida. Temp's in the REAL Caribbean (St. Martin, Antiqua, Puerto Rico, etc and further south) DO NOT vary by 20 degrees on average. Anything is possible for a few days, but for the most part the Caribbean is in the 80's YEAR ROUND.

 

Average temperature in the Caribbean does NOT vary 20 degrees. It is pretty much mid-70's to mid-high 80's all the time. Period. Particularly in the Southern Caribbean which is where this thread was in regards to!

 

Here's some more data:

 

https://weatherspark.com/averages/33713/Saint-John-s-Antigua-Antigua-And-Barbuda-Antigua-and-Barbuda

 

Certainly doesn't look like a 20 degree difference. Pretty much warm and nice all year.

Edited November 7, 2014 by bouhunter

[dlbaqua]

I pick based on departure port, then itinerary, then price, then ship. We live within driving distance of Houston, Galveston and New Orleans so there's a lot of ships to chose from

[molsonschooner]

First up, timing. I have to be able to get vacation time .Next is price. For me, if the price is too much there is no sense looking any further. After that I like to pick an itinerary that includes 1 place we have not been too. Last, we have enjoyed all the ships we have been on so the ship doesn't matter so much

[cruiseapril]

We choose by itinerary, cruise line, and departure port.

[harryfat1]

I think the answer will be partly dependent on the experience level of the cruiser. If you read some of the reviews online, there are people that have been on the same itinerary often enough that they don’t even bother getting off the ship during port days. So clearly itinerary is not important to them.

 

For us, we typically cruise for itinerary first and then price/availability as we cruise as a family with kids so if the cost/timing doesn’t work out, no needs to look any further on availability cruise lines/ships.

 

Having said that, we will be on the Allure next month even though the choice pf ports is not I would have wanted. We clearly had to make an exception to our “itinerary first” preference because Oasis/Allure are limited on where they can go due to their size. I know on day 5 of the cruise, I will look over the horizon and wish we could be in Grand Caymans (like Freedom’s western itinerary) instead of being out in sea, but the flip side will be we have more time to experience the Allure.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

I'm sorry but that comment is just absurd and wrong.

Apparently the comment content of "high to low" was missed in your reading. That includes day and night (peak high to peak low) during that entire 4 month timeframe.

 

Translation = peak warmest day compared to coldest night during the 4 month period.

 

All it takes to achieve that is having one day hit 68 degrees at night in February and 88 degrees in May during the day. Hardly absurd.

Edited November 7, 2014 by CRUISEFAN0001

[Haber]

Since we're traveling with kids, we went with ship with all the cool toys (Oasis). But I was really torn about it, wanting the Adventure and the five ports. In the end, we decided 5 ports wouldn't give us much time to enjoy the ship itself (this is our first cruise) and that the kids would be exhausted from five excursions (because we'd feel the need of five excursions, even if a couple of them were just to the local beach).