Choose a cruise. How?

Dear experienced cruisers & friends,

What is YOUR criteria and rationale for choosing "a particular cruise" and skipping/ignoring hundreds of others? Kindly rank the following criteria in order of importance (to you) and also add your own--

1) Ports visited and sightseeing available

2) the ship itself

3) Cost per day (including the cost of airfare, all visas, port fees & taxes)

4) Quality and quantity of activities, shows and entertainment onboard.

5) Convenient departure/ arrival at a nearby port (near your home).

6) the quality of food, drinks and service

7) the quality/size of the stateroom and it's amenities.

8) loyalty to a particular cruise line or the perks of your loyalty status.

9) the service by the crew and the way they treat you.

10) any other reason

What is YOUR criteria and rationale for choosing "a particular cruise" and skipping/ignoring hundreds of others? Kindly rank the following criteria in order of importance (to you) and also add your own--

1) Ports visited and sightseeing available

2) the ship itself

3) Cost per day (including the cost of airfare, all visas, port fees & taxes)

4) Quality and quantity of activities, shows and entertainment onboard.

5) Convenient departure/ arrival at a nearby port (near your home).

6) the quality of food, drinks and service

7) the quality/size of the stateroom and it's amenities.

8) loyalty to a particular cruise line or the perks of your loyalty status.

9) the service by the crew and the way they treat you.

10) any other reason

6 (Most important.)

2

9

7

1

4

8

3

5 (Least important.)

Thanks, very interesting!

You must be financially well off, if the per day cost of the cruise and convenience/cost of flying to the port are least important.

1) Ports to be visited

2) cost

3) Ship

4) number of days

5) activities onboard

and all the other stuff.

Since dh and I are retired we are more cost conscious. But the # 1 thing we look at is "where are we going". Then the cost. The ship is important though. We generally sail HAL as they have the longer cruises.

Itinerary is #1 for us

1. Hot / warm weather with beaches.

2. Ship. And this pretty much considers food, staff, activities, entertainment, and stateroom.

Little else matters.

1. Itinerary, ports visited.

2 Cost of cruise this usually decides which cruise line, since most of them offer similar itineraries

You must be financially well off, if the per day cost of the cruise and convenience/cost of flying to the port are least important.

No, we are not rich!

We don't cruise very often so when we cruise the cost isn't important. I have never picked a vacation because it's cheap. If I want cheap I can have a great vacation at home.

Dear experienced cruisers & friends,

What is YOUR criteria and rationale for choosing "a particular cruise" and skipping/ignoring hundreds of others? Kindly rank the following criteria in order of importance (to you) and also add your own--

1) Ports visited and sightseeing available

2) the ship itself

3) Cost per day (including the cost of airfare, all visas, port fees & taxes)

4) Quality and quantity of activities, shows and entertainment onboard.

5) Convenient departure/ arrival at a nearby port (near your home).

6) the quality of food, drinks and service

7) the quality/size of the stateroom and it's amenities.

8) loyalty to a particular cruise line or the perks of your loyalty status.

9) the service by the crew and the way they treat you.

10) any other reason

For us, #10 is the first on our list - what fits our schedule. We are mid 40's with two teens at home, so finding something that works for all of our schedules (plus Grandma & Grandpa to stay with the kids) is our first deciding factor.

Since we have driven to the port city on all but one cruise, #5 is second for us. Loyalty to a line is least (although perks can sway the decision).

Another factor for us I didn't see listed is the ease of website use. It may seem petty, but if I can't easily navigate researching my options and the line makes it hard for me to make an informed decision my decision becomes no.

We have a vacation budget for the year, so price is a factor.

Everything else we can make work/won't necessarily be consistent cruise to cruise anyway.

3) Cost per day (including the cost of airfare,all visas, port fees & taxes)

1) Ports visited and sightseeing available

2) the ship itself

7) the quality/size of the stateroom and it's amenities.

5) Convenient departure/ arrival at a nearby port (near your home).

9) the service by the crew and the way they treat you.

4) Quality and quantity of activities, shows and entertainment onboard.

6) the quality of food, drinks and service

8) loyalty to a particular cruise line or the perks of your loyalty status.

You left off our number one priority, sea days. The more the better. Our next 13 day transatlantic on Symphony of the seas has 1 port call on day 11, perfect.

This is honestly tougher to answer that I thought. I feel each of these needs would evolve for most people as time went on.

The most important to me currently is price, ports, and food. Get me to some different ports, with food, relaxation, nice weather, and even some things to do, and it's hard to say any cruise is a bad vacation. To me, broadway shows, over-the-top service, and lots of other things don't matter. They matter even less when I could do two cruises for the price of one with a bunch of unneeded extras.

You left off our number one priority, sea days. The more the better. Our next 13 day transatlantic on Symphony of the seas has 1 port call on day 11, perfect.

just curious ....

if there are 2 cruises ... (1) Symphony of the Seas 14-day B2B Western and Eastern Caribbean visiting the RCI favourite of Labadee, Falmouth etc., and (2) a 14-day transatlantic with only 2 ports and 12 sea days but on something like a Holland America Veendam, or if you have stay with RCI ... Vision of the Seas. Which one do you prefer?

The 14 night transatlantic cruise would be half the price of the 14 night B2B Caribbean cruise

The 14 night transatlantic cruise would be half the price of the 14 night B2B Caribbean cruise

Lets see here:

10. (OTHER) The dates - I'm a shoulder season/off season traveler who is forever single. Traveling on the off-peak periods means money saved. My next cruise is going across my birthday.

3. Cost per day - I typically budget $250 per day of my vacation, including departure and arrival. Since I'm traveling solo, I'm going to have to purchase an inside cave and pay double.

9. the service by the crew and the way they treat you - I was treated extremely well by Celebrity during the Alaska cruise

1. Ports Visited - I want to see new areas. I haven't traveled much as I was focused on getting my degree and eliminating my debts.

6. the quality of food, drinks and service - I want to try different meals that I don't ordinarily eat everyday. Also, I'm not a alcohol drinker, so a good non-alcoholic beverage package scores points with me.

2,6,9,3,5 then the rest in varying order depending on mood, time of year, whatever. Of course, depending upon my mood at the time, the order of the 2,6,9,3,5 is also subject to adjustment.

Lets see here:

 

10. (OTHER) The dates - I'm a shoulder season/off season traveler who is forever single. Traveling on the off-peak periods means money saved. My next cruise is going across my birthday.

I should have elaborated on this more under my price selection. I cannot agree with this more. April-May and Sept-Oct are some of my favorites. Gorgeous weather (if you miss the hurricanes later in the year) and great prices. I can do two vacations instead of one summer vacation.

Price, ports, ship, timing.

just curious ....

 

if there are 2 cruises ... (1) Symphony of the Seas 14-day B2B Western and Eastern Caribbean visiting the RCI favourite of Labadee, Falmouth etc., and (2) a 14-day transatlantic with only 2 ports and 12 sea days but on something like a Holland America Veendam, or if you have stay with RCI ... Vision of the Seas. Which one do you prefer?

Odd choices. A 14 day back to back on Symphony would have too many port stops and 2000 kids I would not like to be around. Vision of the seas is way to small of a ship for me to enjoy. That leaves Holland America Veendam, this ship at 57000 tons would be smaller then anything I would ever consider. The next cruise were looking at is the Oasis of the Seas transatlantic after it's drydock. We are both in our 60's and absolutely love the mega ships.

First and Foremost=Ports/Itinerary. I try to pick places my wife has never been to...and I never repeat an itinerary, or have yet to since first cruise.

Second=Ship

Third=Number of days...(10 is minimum)

Fourth=Cost

As far as some of your other factors...I have no idea how they are going to rate until I experience them...ie food, service, entertainment etc, so I don't factor those in at all.

BBL