Same ship, different itinerary vs. different ship, same itinerary

In January, my husband and I sailed on the Epic on the Eastern Caribbean itinerary (St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Nassau). We decided to look at a cruise for the upcoming winter. We want to sail out of Miami, so that basically narrows us down to the Epic doing the Western Caribbean (Ochos Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel) itinerary or the Getaway doing the same Eastern Caribbean itinerary we did in January.

Epic was our first cruise. We liked it and had no major complaints. I do not feel as if I did everything I wanted to do on the ship, so while some things would be repeated (the shows), other things would be brand new to us.

We are not snorkelers or really into other water sports, so that won't pull us in one direction, either. To give you an idea of what we did in January, in St. Maarten we did a private island tour, just wandered around a bit in St. Thomas and went to the Atlantis on our own and did a bit of shopping in Nassau.

A couple of other things are bouncing around in my head. I enjoyed sailing on the Epic and know this will be our last chance to sail her out of Miami (at least for a while). While I know the Getaway is the newest ship, the prices for comparable weeks are considerably higher. I also know that the Getaway will be around for a while so there is no hurry to sail on her.

I'm looking for general opinions on how the ports compare and what you would do if you were in my shoes!

Thanks!

If I were you, I'd do the Epic again with the different itinerary. (This is coming from someone who generally cruises for the ships!) I say this because like you said, you will have plenty of other chances to sail Getaway, but Epic is going away. Plus, you said you still have more to do on the ship, and also the ports will be fresh and new, and also it's less expensive. Can you think of specific things you just must do at the Eastern ports that you didn't do? If not, I'd go with Epic again for the reasons I stated.

Regardless, you are in a win/win situation with either! I absolutely love the Getaway, and I've been to all the mentioned ports in the past, and you can't go wrong either way.

If I were you, I'd do the Epic again with the different itinerary. (This is coming from someone who generally cruises for the ships!) I say this because like you said, you will have plenty of other chances to sail Getaway, but Epic is going away. Plus, you said you still have more to do on the ship, and also the ports will be fresh and new, and also it's less expensive. Can you think of specific things you just must do at the Eastern ports that you didn't do? If not, I'd go with Epic again for the reasons I stated.

 

Regardless, you are in a win/win situation with either! I absolutely love the Getaway, and I've been to all the mentioned ports in the past, and you can't go wrong either way.

I totally agree :)

I'd go with same ship, different itinerary.

The ship is just as much a part of the cruise as where you go. The EPIC is a unique ship. There are many folks that either love it, or hate it (or at least dislike, hate is too strong).

Most of the fleet is quite different than the EPIC. And of course the two newest are in a class by themselves.

I would lean to a different ship and the same or similar ports.

Hi Brookie! We were on the Epic sailing with you. Hope all is well with you and your DH. My thoughts are the same as yours. There was so much to do/see on the ship and we missed so much! I am leaning towards the Epic, last chance and all. The Getaway will be here for the following year. We've have done the Western Itinerary a few times before kids, and we had a blast so I am sure you and DH will as well. Maybe we'll see you again this winter, if we go it will be on the Jan 18th sailing. :D

Well, I prefer the E Caribbean much more than the W. Also wasn't a big fan of Epic, so I would choose Getaway. You liked Epic, and would like to visit new ports, so considering that along with it being a lower price I suppose Epic would be best. Tough choice, I know. Only solution, do both. I kid my friends if there is no easy decision, I will often say do both. LOL. You will enjoy either way. Happy sailing.

Many of our cruises have been booked because of the ship, not the itinerary. If you loved the Epic, I would go again. As you said, the Getaway will be there another time.

We cruise for the destination and if it happens to be on the same ship that is fine with us. We will be sailing on the Epic for the 2nd time. The first was St. Martin and St Thomas and the next will be the out of Rome.

Thanks everyone for your perspectives. At some point, I'll get the group together (or at least talk to everyone on the phone) and see what they would like to do. I am the "social director" so usually these decisions fall to me.

And Twinzma, nice to hear from you! I did price that week out. I liked the fact that I would have to take one less vacation day because of the MLK holiday, but would also like more time before Christmas and cruise. Also, it can be a long winter up here in the northeast, so having something to look forward to later in the winter can mean the world!

We'll be doing our first NCL cruise on the Getaway next May, last 6 have been on CCL. In looking at NCL itineraries I noticed that they keep the same ship on pretty much the same itinerary instead of flip flopping east and west like other lines do.

Anyone have a guess as to why they do this?

I too agree with one of the above posts. If you like the ship then same ship, different itinerary. Happy travels!

Definitely choose the Epic! We have been on both ships and much preferred the Epic. PLUS, you get to see new ports! :D