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Do you tend to choose cruise based more on itinerary or ship.

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KmomChicago "Live from...." Rare

KmomChicago

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Life is full of choices and some of them are more important at different times.

 

March 2017: 

1. Dates - had to be school holiday. 

2. Price - spring break time frame was significantly cheaper than summer or Christmas.

3. Departure port within fairly easy drivable distance.

4/5. Itinerary and Ship were almost irrelevant once the other 3 factors fell into place.

 

January 2018:

1. Dates - had to be when we would already be down in Florida visiting family but before we had to be back for school.

2. Price - had to be bargain basement as it was optional within a 2+ week road trip. Not really the reason for the trip.

3. Departure port - within reasonable drive from central Florida.

4/5. Same as above, itinerary and ship didn't really matter.

 

March 2018:

1. Dates - again, school schedule.

2. Ship - DH itching to try Oasis class.

3. Itinerary - DH once did a six week construction job in San Juan and wanted to visit.

4. Price - still had to be reasonable or factors 1/2/3 would have been trumped.

 

August 2019, upcoming:

1. Dates - you guessed it: school break time frame.

2. Itinerary - family did not want to go to the Caribbean in the hot summer. Thought Canada would be more comfortable and sounded interesting to them.

3. Departure Port - my mother, who will not fly, is coming on this one so a shorter drive was preferred over a longer drive.

4. Ship - all things equal, DH preferred the larger, newer Oasis of the Seas over the old banged up Carnival Triumph and Sensation.  Adventure is smaller but still a large ship, very positively reviewed, seems to be in excellent, beautiful condition, has an indoor Royal Promenade which DH really likes, plus various RCI bells and whistles. 

5. Price was somewhat less of a factor this round as my mom is treating us this time and set a more generous budget for better accommodations than I do normally.

 

Edited by KmomChicago
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LuCruise

LuCruise

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1.  Dates (kids off school and/or can get work time off)

2.  Departure Port (Florida or New Jersey)

3.  Ship

4.  Price

5.  Itinerary

 

For the ship, its different considerations depending on who is coming. If its with our kids, then we would book a ship with lots of amenities (Oasis, Quantum, Freedom or Voyager class).  If just DH and I, then we would consider the other classes as well.

Edited by LuCruise
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kruise runner

kruise runner

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Cruising

   We usually look first at Timing , Length of cruise nothing under 7 nights,  Cruise lines, Ports of CALL and lastly Price. Since we cruise mostly the Caribbean in FEB  The longer the better. Flying in from the great white north of Canada. We also have our favorite ports we like to sale from. And book the day before and the day after to extend our vacation time.So far it has worked well for us. Happy cruising.

   kruise runner

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Judyrem

Judyrem

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I was looking to cruise the last week of Sept and saw the Allure had a jr suite for less than I paid for a Harmony balcony.

I saw the itinerary and thought it was ok but it had four days at sea and that is what I wanted on the big ships, plus it had Mamma Mia....sold!

 

My next cruise is on HAL for my big birthday in November and I picked the ship for an aft view Vista suite and music theme.

 

In Feb, I picked Adventure because of the ABC islands.

 

I think the criteria changes for what I want at the time.  Price is important, but so are other factors.

 

BTW, I cruised the Mediterranean once and will not cruise Europe, I prefer land based trips there.

 

I may try a Transatlantic cruise😉!

Edited by Judyrem
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vidsmart

vidsmart

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We tend to book based first on the ship. That thinking really paid off Christmas: took 7 comprised of grandkids, millennials and grandparents. Itinerary was fairly mediocre: left out of NY, with planned stops in FL (supposedly Disney area but not really); Coco Cay (pre-dock, and Perfect Day); and Nassau (ho-hum, been there a zillion times.) It got even worse when on Christmas morning we were told we had to skip Coco Cay due to winds preventing tendering. Sounds like a bummer. But everyone found the cruise to be an unforgettable experience. Sure, part of that was the family reunion aspect of it, but it was helped tremendously by there being so much to do on Anthem of the Seas.

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drrich2

drrich2

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Multi-factorial with the weight of a balance of factors deciding, and the weighting has changed over time. We've been blessed to go on several Royal Cruises and 1 Celebrity cruise; we're 2 7-day cruises from Diamond Status (barely!) and like the RC product, so naturally I pick that brand. Due to work, 7-day trips are optimal, so Caribbean region. We have a  6-year old kid, so big ships with plenty of space indoor & out and a range of activities are a big deal (Voyager class or higher - for the Royal Promenade, and Oasis class preferred - for the Boardwalk neighborhood and topside water play area). A departure port that's cheap to fly to (e.g.: Fort Lauderdale, with Southwest Airlines 'wanna-get-away' fares, 2 free checked bags/person) is a big deal. Gotta be budget - inside stateroom! When you bring a 3rd person, I notice room costs shoot up!

 

Early in our cruising, itinerary was big. We had no kid and I wanted to hit a large number of islands over time. We did the Celebrity cruise as an 11-night 'Ultimate Caribbean' cruise, and hit a number of new spots (including Colon, Panama and Cartagena, Columbia). Over time, having hit most of the mainstream Caribbean islands (east, west & south), itinerary became less important than the ship.

 

I want out kid to be 'well-traveled,' but at this point she's visited enough islands that just having fun on the ship is a bigger draw. 

 

So for us, right now, after region, available dates and price narrow it down, pick an RC ship, Voyager class or larger but prefer Oasis, and then try for a good itinerary.

 

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Sizzlechest

Sizzlechest

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Ship then itinerary. Keep in mind I leave from NY/NJ so itinerary for 7 day cruise is going to be either Florida/Nassau Bahamas or Bermuda. 8-10 day cruises are also pretty cookie cutter. Unless we're talking about private islands, the itinerary is going to be repetitive for a veteran cruiser, so less important.

 

Ships can matter maybe more than cruise line. A small ship on NCL is a very different experience than with a bigger new ship. Can't speak to RCL.

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GUEST71919

GUEST71919

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1. Combo of price (better, value) and dates (e.g., I have learned that I don’t want to travel to the new England and Canada route in mid-September, but the first week of June is perfect for me to visit Alaska).

2. Quality of and preferences (prefer small to mid-sized 75% of the time) regarding the ship.

3. Itinerary (variety and balance are important to us).

 #2 and #3 are at various times switched.

It’s a bit like juggling  🤹🏻‍♀️

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