Quantum/Oasis/Radiance classes - opinions wanted!

[Jasukkie]

The two big ships are more likely to be a hit with your kids. You sound like you don't really want to deal with the logistics of a lot of land based travel in Europe and that's okay. One of the great things about cruising is the relaxation of not packing up between cities. I don't mind land-based if I'm going to be in one place and exploring from there. I would do the 7 nt Rome to Rome followed by the 15 nt Rome to Ft. Lauderdale. 

 

 

[Jimbo]

7 hours ago, topnole said:

No matter the TA you pick, I would recommend visiting a couple cities in Europe pre cruise.  So 3-4 days in Paris and 3-4 days in Rome and then do the TA.  

Think the budget may  be blown going this route. From my research hotels and food aren't cheap.

[topnole]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Think the budget may  be blown going this route. From my research hotels and food aren't cheap.

I don’t think Mediterranean cruises are either.  Maybe different right now, but historically I think they are more expensive than a cruise.  Either way this trip would be expensive.  
 

Might as well do part of it where you get to do more than spend just a few hours barely scratching the surface of a city.  Since they are already doing a two week cruise, why not do something a little different the other week.  I’ve visited European cities on a cruise and more so via traditional travel.  A cruise stop is hardly even a visit and in my opinion it is a night and day difference.  You need at least a few days in a decent size European city to get any feel for it.  Just my opinion.  

[Jimbo]

35 minutes ago, topnole said:

I don’t think Mediterranean cruises are either.  Maybe different right now, but historically I think they are more expensive than a cruise.  Either way this trip would be expensive.  
 

Might as well do part of it where you get to do more than spend just a few hours barely scratching the surface of a city.  Since they are already doing a two week cruise, why not do something a little different the other week.  I’ve visited European cities on a cruise and more so via traditional travel.  A cruise stop is hardly even a visit and in my opinion it is a night and day difference.  You need at least a few days in a decent size European city to get any feel for it.  Just my opinion.  

I agree if money was no object I would do a tour like this and skip the cruise all together. But first time in Europe and on a budget they may not be able to do a land tour of any kind this trip.

 

https://www.tauck.com/tours/italy-small-group-tour

 

 

 

....

 

[topnole]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

I agree if money was no object I would do a tour like this and skip the cruise all together. But first time in Europe and on a budget they may not be able to do a land tour of any kind this trip.

 

https://www.tauck.com/tours/italy-small-group-tour

 

 

 

....

 

No need for tour expense.  Just book a hotel and visit some of the key places.  Download some Rick Steve’s audio tours and books and you’ll be set.  It really isn’t hard even for total newbies.   Technology makes it so much easier nowadays.  

[losfp]

Thanks all for your opinions. These are all valuable discussions and we're tossing up ideas right now. I think the main focus of the trip will be that 2 week TA cruise on Odyssey. The question is what to do before or after.

 

BEFORE:

 

Another cruise (7n Symphony):

Pros: get to see both big classes of ship that we've been keen to try. No need to worry about food, entertainment, language, might be an easier sell to the kids

Cons: You don't really get to see the ports, not really. Is 3 weeks on a cruise ship simply too long?

 

Land based visits (say, 3n Paris, 3n Rome):

Pros: Chance to see Disneyland Paris, which is on our list (have already done Hong Kong, Tokyo, Anaheim and Orlando).  You get to experience more of the actual local culture and cuisine

Cons: More stressful with language barriers and having to organise activities. Would involve another flight. Would miss out on some ports (Marseilles, Barcelona, Naples, Mallorca)

 

If it was just my wife and I, absolutely would do the land based. But it's more complicated with kids in tow.

 

AFTER:

 

I think it comes down to:

5n Anaheim: We love Disneyland. Haven't been since 2017 so there's a lot of new stuff to check out. It is winding the timezone back so the last trip back home to sydney is only 16 hours.

5n New York: Never been to New York. Would love to visit. We have family there who we might be able to stay with for a few days to reduce costs. However that last trip home would be a total punish.

Edited April 16, 2022 by losfp

[losfp]

On 4/16/2022 at 11:52 PM, Sunshine3601 said:

If you book Odyssey before they disappear, cabins 8510. 8110, 9510. 9110 would be perfect for your family.   They are priced as spacious OV but are much larger than others, these couple of cabins are about 300 Sq compared to 212 Sq.     I just did mock booking and price would be $4328 for 4 people.    If you booked 2 interiors at 165 sq' each that would be $4482 with tax and port fees.

 

 

I sometimes get excited when people quote mock booking prices on international forums but then I realise that if I book on the Australian site, it'll show me AUD and automatically include gratuities so this one ends up being around $9500 AUD for me.  That still translates to about $7000 USD though so there's something going weird somewhere. Maybe I should talk to my travel agent and figure out if there's a way to get discounts or something.

[Sunshine3601]

34 minutes ago, losfp said:

 

I sometimes get excited when people quote mock booking prices on international forums but then I realise that if I book on the Australian site, it'll show me AUD and automatically include gratuities so this one ends up being around $9500 AUD for me.  That still translates to about $7000 USD though so there's something going weird somewhere. Maybe I should talk to my travel agent and figure out if there's a way to get discounts or something.

That is odd the price would be approximately $2000 usd more after adding in tips to the price I got on US site.   Doesn't hurt to ask your TA especially for that amount of money.

 

Good Luck and let us know what you Decide on.

[Biker19]

15 hours ago, losfp said:

That still translates to about $7000 USD though so there's something going weird somewhere.

You are comparing prices in two different markets - while the Aussie site sorta tracks US pricing, differences do happen and this is likely one of them. If you want that lower price, book with a US TA - that will get you better flexibility as well.

[losfp]

7 hours ago, Biker19 said:

You are comparing prices in two different markets - while the Aussie site sorta tracks US pricing, differences do happen and this is likely one of them. If you want that lower price, book with a US TA - that will get you better flexibility as well.

Yeah it might just be a regional difference, which is frustrating. My TA is going to have a look. If it's a massive difference, I might have to book that cruise separately and get her to book the other cruise for me + flights etc.

[Sunshine3601]

7 minutes ago, losfp said:

Yeah it might just be a regional difference, which is frustrating. My TA is going to have a look. If it's a massive difference, I might have to book that cruise separately and get her to book the other cruise for me + flights etc.

Make sure you check out this Air2Sea for flight options as they usually offer some great pricing for one way international flights.   

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/flights/bookFlights

 

[kochleffel]

I had a great time on the Serenade of the Seas for a Baltic cruise in 2019, but that's a port-intensive itinerary. For a cruise with many sea days, I could understand wanting the additional features of one of the really large ships, although they wouldn't matter much to me.

 

For myself, I would choose first according to the itinerary, second according to the shipboard activities. That led me to book a Barcelona-Ft. Lauderdale cruise on Holland America, but that's my taste and, to some extent, travel history. All the ports of call will be new to me and I can have a few days in Madrid, also new, before taking the train to Barcelona.

[Biker19]

22 minutes ago, losfp said:

Yeah it might just be a regional difference, which is frustrating.

You should see the complaints

from UK based posters. 

[losfp]

We're a bit closer - our agent has put a tentative hold on 8110 on Odyssey - one of the corner spacious oceanview staterooms.  She just has to confirm the pricing with her rep at RCI. I'm hopefully but not confident that we can get the sale price applied. 

 

At this stage we're leaning towards doing a few days on land first. Our current thinking is 4n Paris, 1n Venice, 2n Florence, 4n Rome, then the cruise.

[losfp]

For those playing along... an update 🙂 
 

We had a big win today. Originally we booked the cruise at $9618 AUD for our family of four - they wouldn't apply the 30% off promo for us even though it appeared that our cruise qualified for it in the terms and conditions.  We booked it anyway because we really wanted to do it.

 

So of course, a few weeks later, they've finally applied the promo to this cruise. When I spotted the discrepancy, I asked our agent to rebook it, understanding that we would probably lose our non refundable deposit.  She called them up and harrassed them into honouring the new price AND keeping our original deposit as well, so now we will be saving around $3300 AUD. 

 

Not a bad outcome, and a perfect example of the benefits of having a good travel agent in your corner!!

 

To be fair, RCI are going to get that extra money in the form of dining and excursions that we might have skipped with the original pricing!

We are also sailing on Explorer of the Seas beforehand, a 7n cruise to the Greek Isles, then 5 days for us to get to Rome to sail on Odyssey.