Does anybody NOT care about the ship?

[time4u2go]

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.

 

Is there anyone else out there with similar thoughts?

 

Yes. For us, the ship is mostly just the method of transportation.

[Philly Steve]

The ship is a close second to the itinerary. :)

[NancyIL]

I almost always choose cruises by itinerary, price, then ship - in that order. I do like cruising with Disney, and that is for the ship. I don't do it very often because of the price and lack of good itineraries.

[mek]

The only thing I really care about on a ship is an outdoor movie screen in the fall so I can watch football and free Princess internet so I can keep up with my Fantasy Football team! :D The rest of the year, I'm not very particular about which ship I'm on.

[joyride21]

While I do have a preference to class of ship (love Radiance, don't care for Freedom)-I agree with the OP. Ports are most important! Next month I'll be straying from RCL for the first time, hubby wanted to do Hawaii and we will maximize our port time by going with NCL. I hear PoA is not that great of a ship, but we don't care in the slightest.

[compman9]

I have booked a ship. I have booked an itinerary. And most recently I have booked an opportunity to jump up to diamond level by staying in a Grand Suite on a transatlantic, which is something we haven't tried before.

 

It is however, on a ship we have been on, and going to ports we have visited. I don't therefore know which category I would fit into.

[Pickels]

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?

 

If I was to cruise on one of those mega ships, I,d feel like I was vacationing in a grand hotel, not cruising on a ship.

[jackretired]

The other consideration is Home port.

Baltimore is near my son.

New Orleans is close to home & is NOLA.

FLL & PC are close to a friend in FL.

 

Ports of call are important. So is the ship. Also price and length of cruise. Availability of handicap cabin. Time of year also comes into consideration.

 

It is a mix of all of these things.

[bradpole]

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. :)

 

I'm the same way!

 

Although recently I've begun to appreciate a port intensive cruise (in the caribbean) filled with ports that I've either been to or have no interest in visiting, I love having the ship to myself all day while everyone is off exploring!

[seaofwonder]

When cruising a new region, the ship doesn't matter. It's all about itinerary. When doing the boring 'ole Caribbean, we choose for the ship.

 

Trying to avoid the Caribbean like the plague, so we haven't cared about the ship lately.

[daboyz1223]

to me the most important thing is the time frame we have to fit our cruise in to, after that, then we just try to find the best price we can find. then we have a basic assumption the crew will be top notch, and the food and entertainment will be plenty. so i guess the ship and itinerary are just bonuses, cause after all, we're away from work, and all the normal hustle and bustle of "real life" so it's awesome.

[blueblock]

I care only about the ports. For me, the ship is just a convenient way to get from port to port. I eat and sleep there, and have occasionally been known to drop by a trivia game or take a dip in the pool, but for the most part the other amenities on the ship are wasted on me.

[Karma5]

Destination and the ship are what matters to me. Also, the time of year and the length of the cruise.

[Desert Cruizers]

We are not able to cruise often, so when we do book, we look for the area that is at the top of the to do list, and since I do the major planning, I look to see which cruise line is offering us the best itinerary and price and from that cruise line, the ship we would prefer to go on. We love the Radiance Class the best. We did sail our first Freedom Class, with the LOS and her size didn't bother us at all, but prefer the layout of the Radiance Class. Presently RCL is doing the best for us with the price on our cruises. We ahve sailed with Princess, but their prices have stopped us from doing our recent cruises with them.

[yancycruiser]

Great thread with lots of interesting thoughts. Here is mine. We (DW &I married 48 years and retired), love a ten day cruise with at least four days at sea or more. The ports are the least of our concerns. It is being out in the open seas and doing as much or as little as we want each day. We prefer modern ships regardless of the size or cruiseline.

 

In our view, nothing beats boarding the ship and being at sea.

[Quasar1011]

For instance, I am going to Hawaii next year and NCL is the only cruise line cruises out of Honolulu for a week. Despite mixed reviews on Pride of America, I am going on it because it is the best price for a floating hotel of the islands, without burning thru sea days that my DH hates. I will have realisitc expectations and my trip will be awesome!

 

Same thing with hopefully the British isles in 2013... if Royal or Celebrity doesn't have the itinerary I wamt, off to Princess I go! :D

 

It seems those of us who place more priority on the ports, than the ship, are less inclined to be loyal to just 1 cruise line. My last was with NCL; next is RCI.

[Desert Cruizers]

Shooraq, depending on your dates, friends of ours are doing Hawaii next year also on the Pride of America and in April if I recall..

[Quasar1011]

to me the most important thing is the time frame we have to fit our cruise in to

Well, this also is key. I chose my upcoming cruise to celebrate my wife's birthday. Upon comparing cruises, I discovered that there was one that would put her in South America for her birthday. That's the main reason I booked it. So yes, the time/place combo was more important to me, than what ship would get us there/then.

[beachnative]

By that I mean, I book my cruises for the itineraries........ 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?

 

I love to go to places that I have not been and, like you, are not overly concerned about the ship I'm on (if it's a Royal Caribbean one).

 

However, having cruised to many of the places on my "bucket list" I am no longer driven to cruise to new ports. If I do I do...I'm most interested in being on a ship...I'm happy visiting ports and I'm happy on sea days. (I'm still working on expanding my bucket list:):)). Maybe this comes from getting old:eek::eek::eek:

[DRWhit]

I'd say I enjoy the shipboard part and the port part about equally, which means I love them both. But I am not overly concerned with cruise ship or which cruise line, as so far I find them all to be pretty similar (not interested in the mega ships). And to some extent, its the same with the ports. Love to swim and snorkel, so you can do that well in most Caribbean ports. But so far I haven't been on too many cruises, so I still try to hit new ports when I can.

[travelplus]

My opinion is the ship is like a floating resort. I must say the itinerary is as important as where your going to stay. The same on land. If I booked a Motel 6 on St.Martin as opposed to a Luxury resort my vacation would lack charm, resort amenities etc.

 

The same goes for the cruise if I'm on a large ship I would not visit the ports as much as if I were on a mid-sized ship. If I really wanted a vacation I would book a cruise to meaningless ports where I may get off and go to the beach or stay on board and relax.

 

If I go with a mid-sized ship to good ports and there are enough at sea days and ports then I would take it.

 

It all depends on who is going with you, what action you are looking for etc.

 

If you care less about the ship you could set yourself up for major disappointments. This is why I read forums online about the different ships and make my decision that way . I don't let a travel agent choose my ship just because he or she gets more commission. I make an educated decision and weigh in the number of port days to the number of at sea days. About 50/50 is good for me because each port there is so much to do and see.

 

Now it would be nice if cruise lines would offer a few nights at St. Maartin, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, Aruba etc. and you would stay at resorts when on land and there would be 4-5 sea days for you to enjoy the ship. You could stay on the ship if you wanted.

[Paulxyz2004]

To me it´s always the whole package of itinerary, ship, schedule and price.

[Paulxyz2004]

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

 

I´m impressed. While I´ve started cruising in my 20´s and take a couple every year since then, I´ll probably not come to the point to claim to have seen most of the ports. :eek:

[Paulxyz2004]

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.

 

Well I agree on greece relying on the tourism, but they got more than enough money from me already. My next cruise will take me to Greece and that´s where I will stay onboard and not spend a cent in there. Let them finally go bankrupt and stop sending them money.