Does anybody NOT care about the ship?

[Quasar1011]

By that I mean, I book my cruises for the itineraries. To me, the ship is a conveyance between ports, and the ports are the highlights of the trip. The sea days are the low points. Now, I enjoy the ship's amenities; but my attitude is, I will take whatever the ship has to offer, just so I can go to the ports I want. It also means that I will accomodate myself to whomever is onboard the ship, even if the other passengers are foreign to me. Whether or not the ship has an ice skating rink, multiple formal nights, free room service, etc., is just not as important to me as what I'll be doing on land. I like exploring other places and cultures; the ship and its amenities are of secondary concern.

Is there anyone else out there with similar thoughts?

[MikeNJ1109]

Don't care about the ship ... don't care about the itinerary ...

All we care about is being on the open water. Is the cabin clean? Is the food decent and *NOT* suck? Is the service acceptable? Is the bar stocked with appropriate libations? Are we able to be as busy or as quiet as we want to be? If the answer to these questions are "Yes", than we're happy.

Otherwise, all we need is a tall ship and star to sail her by...

Michael and Silke

[Artemis908]

I base my pick off of multiple things. I start with figuring out where I want to go, then a time frame of when, then cheapest. I know with Royal Caribbean I'll probably be happy with whatever ship and I stick with Royal Caribbean since out of all of the cruise lines I have been, I've enjoyed it most and it's in my price range.

If I really wanted to go somewhere that Royal Caribbean didn't offer, I would go with a different cruise line or not a cruise at all. But if I can go to where I want to go on let's say Oasis or Allure, why not? At least I know I won't be too bored when at sea!

There are so many choices when you cruise. Itineraries, cruise lines, price ranges, cruise ships. So I try to choose one where I'll get the most for my money and wherever I think I will enjoy myself most (even at sea).

[Whitnee1]

I really try and stay away from all of the mega ships and their mega crowds. If I really needed water slides, rock walls, ice skating, wave runners I would go to a theme park. Give me a medium sized clean ship with a good crew and nice itineraries and I am happy.

[Jetdriver787]

I am the opposite. The ship is the destination and the ports are just interludes. To be honest, I think the time in port is simply too short to get much more than a basic glimpse of somewhere. Everything is just too whistlestop. It is nice to have a great room in a floating resort where the world just arrives outside your window each morning, but if I wanted to really visit a destination, I would definitely fly and stay.

[cb at sea]

I consider the ports to be a bonus...not the reason for the cruise, as ports can be (and are) missed on occassion!
We generally pick by timeframe, and type of cabin available....

[dmwnc1959]

My last cruise was 10-nights and I booked it specifically for the ship and no other reason. I didn't care where it went, sure didn't care about the ports of call, and the four full sea days where a huge plus.

To me the ports of call are a distraction. I'd glady cruise on a ship that departed from a US east coast port, steamed around in a slow giant circle, and returned to the same port a week or so later.

That would be just fine by me.

[golf43]

We are going for the ship this time. Last year we went on the Oasis and loved it. Now we are going on the Allure. We love the mega ships and all they offer. Plenty of things to do for everyone.

[MikeNJ1109]

Originally Posted by Whitnee1

I really try and stay away from all of the mega ships and their mega crowds. If I really needed water slides, rock walls, ice skating, wave runners I would go to a theme park. Give me a medium sized clean ship with a good crew and nice itineraries and I am happy.

Our first cruise was the Explorer (RCL), a Voyageur class ... we then went on our honeymoon on the Brilliance (Jewel class), a smaller ship ... have been on Voyageur class, Freedom class and the NCL Dawn since then. Each ship was incredible in its own right, with plenty of nooks, cranny's, bells and whistles to make us happy.

The thrill of being within nose-shot of the salty air ... seeing the wake of the ship ... to be served by an attentive staff ... and, most importantly, to finally catch up and enjoy quality time on LIFE with the woman I love ... what else does a guy need?

Michael

[longwood]

Out of the Caribbean the ship is our destination with minor interruptions for beaches . Although we haven't sailed our of Europe or the Pacific Rim, I'm sure that the ports will our driving factor.

We love the open water and the whoosh sound as the ship glides to the next destination.

[Daghis]

Originally Posted by Jetdriver787

I am the opposite. The ship is the destination and the ports are just interludes. To be honest, I think the time in port is simply too short to get much more than a basic glimpse of somewhere. Everything is just too whistlestop. It is nice to have a great room in a floating resort where the world just arrives outside your window each morning, but if I wanted to really visit a destination, I would definitely fly and stay.

I think I agree with just about all of this completely.

I'm drawn in by the ship's amenities and find that the ports are a bonus. That said, I don't think I'd want a 7-night cruise-to-nowhere... I do want the diversion from shipboard activities, but I don't think they're my primary focus when cruising these days.

[TonyFred]

The ship IS the destination for me. Ports are secondary once you have seen most of em.

[MikeNJ1109]

Originally Posted by Daghis

I think I agree with just about all of this completely.

I'm drawn in by the ship's amenities and find that the ports are a bonus. That said, I don't think I'd want a 7-night cruise-to-nowhere... I do want the diversion from shipboard activities, but I don't think they're my primary focus when cruising these days.

The most interesting cruise we took was an 8 night Repo trip on the Voyageur, leaving Miami and stopping in Aruba & Labadee with the rest of the days being "at sea" (ending up in Bayonne). "Quiet" and "peaceful" was the order of the day ... while we participated in *SOME* shipboard actiivties, we gotta admit that sitting on our balcony whilst reading and enjoying the "nothing happening" atmosphere was TERRIRIC.

Michael and Silke

[sailingawaysoon]

The ship is also our destination. I don't care so much about the ports. I guess if I was more interested in the ports, I'd just fly there and save the money it costs to cruise. We love the excitement of the ship! Everyone is different.

[Quasar1011]

Well, by my OP, what I meant was, "I want to go to A, B and C. Whatever ship will take me there is fine."

I just looked at an eastern Med itinerary out of Venice. It goes to Split and Dubrovnik in Croatia- great! It goes to Izmir, Turkey- interesting! It also goes to Piraeus/Athens- would love to go there but what about the riots? I want to wait until things quiet down over there first. But whichever ship will take me there, is not that important to me.

Having said that, I don't want to do Disney or Costa.

[jdc2204]

For us it is the destinations. We plan most of yours trips when the new schedules come out. Each ship has it's on charm, But it is the smell of the ocean and the ship cutting it's way to ports that I have yet to explore that gets me everytime. I can hang on a handrail for hours and look out into the vast distance and wonder what the next port will have to offer.
I am stuck somewhere between wander-lust and cruise-lust
jdc2204

[Tim Cruise]

The gal and I are sailing on the fabulaus Allure of the seas June 3. I'm debating even getting off the ship. We stop in Jamaica, Haiti and Cozumel. I've been to Jamaica and Cozumel several times. I wondering why would I want to leave luxury to hang out in poverty. Maybe just to check out the shops quick and have a margarita then get my butt back to luxury.

[peteukmcr]

The ship is the destination for me when sailing out of Florida these days as we've done the eastern and western Caribbean itineraries. Even on a port intensive Mediterranean sailing, the ship is still very important.

The ship was also very important when doing a 14 night transatlantic crossing which comprised of 7 sea days, which we did last year.

If the cost of getting to departure ports further away was reasonable, which these days with the UK government air taxes it isn't, we'd like to try the 'southern Caribbean ports' so the ship would be less important. To be honest the cost of even getting to the US departure ports is becoming prohibitive with these additional taxes.

[Kew Gardens Cruiser]

We sailed on the Allure last May and I think that it has spoiled us. I went on the Carnival Miracle a few months later and while the destination was great ( Bermuda) it was a little disappointing being on a smaller, older ship after being on the Oasis class. Now I am more concerned about the ship and as long as the ports of call are somewhere warm I am happy

[peteukmcr]

Originally Posted by Quasar1011

Well, by my OP, what I meant was, "I want to go to A, B and C. Whatever ship will take me there is fine."

I just looked at an eastern Med itinerary out of Venice. It goes to Split and Dubrovnik in Croatia- great! It goes to Izmir, Turkey- interesting! It also goes to Piraeus/Athens- would love to go there but what about the riots? I want to wait until things quiet down over there first. But whichever ship will take me there, is not that important to me.

Having said that, I don't want to do Disney or Costa.

Unfortunately with the latest austerity measures imposed on Greece so that they don't go bust next month, they are in for a tough time for the next 10 years, so especially after the elections in April 2012, depending on the new government, things could get even more tense.

However, I am convinced that no cruise company would take passengers to any port were they could be in a dangerous situation and Greece relies heavily on the tourism industry so I'd go and visit.