How do you choose a ship?

[Limeia]

Now that I have taken my first cruise on the Carnival Victory (which by the way I did not choose this cruise). I wondered how do most of you choose. Do you choose a specific cruise line? Do you choose by price or by the itinerary?

The reason I ask is, the Victory was a nice ship but I've seen pictures from a friends cruise this past winter and the ship they were on (RCL) looked much more elegant. More like what I was expecting.

So is alot of research done on the decor of the ship or do most people just don't care :D?

Just curious now that we may be considering another cruise. Thanks.

[paul929207]

We have tried several lines and settled on Princess. So now, we look at itineraries. Princess has many great itineraries all over the world. The problem is narrowing it down to a doable number.

[JanineM]

When we selected our first cruise, I first decided which port I wanted to sail out of (Port Canaveral, because we live just down the road). Then I selected the week to sail (my university Spring Break). Then we debated either 4 night or 7 night, and finally decided on 7-night.

 

After that I found the ships that sailed from that port, and then read all of the reviews here at Cruise Critic. We decided to sail on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas. I looked at the comments - good and bad - and especially focused on those written by people like us (our age, our interest in activites).

 

In my opinion, the reviews here are invaluable. You'll see some from people who are real cheerleaders, and others from people who are constant complainers. But in general, they are well balanced and give you plenty of information.

 

Good luck with the choice of your next cruise!

[Janet Foster]

I generally look at the different ships, see how old they are and I use this website that really helps me compare the ships and I find out where they sail to.

 

http://www.cruisedeckplans.com/

 

There is a $13.00 lifetime membership fee to look at the cabins... people who post pictures of cabins on this site get a small bit of money for it.

 

So I look at the ship, what it has to offer, how old it is, what the cabins look like, the size of the cabins and then where the ship is sailing to. When the Liberty of the Seas came out two years ago, I saw it on the CBS Morning Show and I was hooked, I knew I had to go on a cruise on that ship. So we planned it two years ago.

 

I also like to take the total cost of the cruise and break it down by day just to see what the per day is looking like.

 

I remember our first cruise we had an oceanview cabin and I thought that was great until we had our first cabin.. now junior suite.. it just keeps getting better with each cruise.

 

Have fun searching!!!

[Aquahound]

Once you've been on a couple cruises, you just know what you like and dislike about cruise lines, ship classes, or individual ships. For me, the ship and the atmosphere on that ship are just as important as the itinerary.

[celbercrz333]

We chose by itinerary then see how many ships go to our location. Then we see which cruiseline gives you the most for your money.

[Limeia]

Wow! Thanks for all the fast replies. Lots of good ideas to research.

 

Like I said earlier - the Victory was very nice, but I just expected something more "elegant". I guess I had stuck in my mind what a cruise ship should look like from other pictures I've seen from t.v. and friends.

[amandaepperson21]

Here's how I pick-

 

1) Price.... I set my budget.... and since my budget is usually low I go for Carnival unless it's last minute and you can find some awesome deals on really good ships when booking last minute. I don't usually book last minute though.

 

2) Date... If I can save myself $50-100pp by going a couple of weeks to a month before/after whenever I originally wanted to, I'll change the date.

 

3) Itenerary.... I look at the long list of cruises that fall within my budget and date range, and find the cruise that has the most ports I'm interested in.

 

4) Home port.... Where's it leaving from? We're going on Carnival Legend soon leaving Tampa, visiting 4 ports.... the same 4 ports are available on Liberty I believe, leaving from Miami. Since we're driving and Miami is 2 more hours away, we chose the Legend leaving from Tampa.

 

The ship itself has never had anything to do with my selection. I could give a crap less if the theme is 50s, Roman, NYC, or Alice in Wonderland. The only thing that I invest much interest in is the amenities and size of the boat. BUT most of the ships within your budget range will have the same amenities and be about the same size (with the exception of the newer boats, and the difference isn't enough to steer me to them instead of one of the older ones, I could care less about having a water park or new fancy spa suites which I won't be using). The only way I'd consider the boat as a factor is if I were taking a shorter 5 day cruise and it was something like the Imagination vs. one of the newer boats.... hands-down I'd go with the newer boat even if it meant paying a good bit more (so long as it was within my budget).

[2Cruise4Ever]

Well our first cruise was 100% driven by price (RCCL Majesty of the Seas). Then, we decided to try different lines just to have a comparison. We now prefer NCL. So, we look at them first. But, we're still willing to sail other lines (and do!) if the price is right.

[cruiserbryce]

our first thing to pick is the itinerary and then go from there

[dna1990]

Size and Age are usually important ship factors for us. But itinerary is often the top of the list. Price is in there too of course.

[Colorado Kat]

Since I still have teens in high school, I consider the timing of a cruise - the earlier after vacation starts, the better. My girls like Carnival, so that is the only line we have done so far.

 

We fly from Colorado, and decided to try a back-to-back cruise this year. There were three possibilities out of Florida. I decided on Carnival Freedom, due to the Panama stop. We get to see the Panama Canal. This ship alternates between two different itineraries, so not the same ports. The big movie screen by the pool was an attraction, as well.

 

My travel agent is a mom like me, and has kids of similar age, so I ask her what she would book for her family. We leave soon!

 

Kathy