What's more important - Ship or itinerary? Help needed for newbie!

[Sian230]

I've just seen all of your responses - thank you so much for taking the time to try and help me make my mind up.

 

After much, much Googling and pricing up etc, I trhink we are going to go for ... the Western Med cruise on 9th September on the Liberty.

 

I'm booking my own flights (with a saving of £100's compared to their quoted price) and have decided that, cabin isn't important and have gone for a guaranteed outside stateroom - my beleif is that we are guaranteed an outside window this way - albeit an obstructed view, but if there are better rooms available, then we are more than likely to get moved up to one of these - although, I may have understood that wrongly!

 

I'm v excited and have it all on hold and hope to be booking tomorrow - fingers crossed!

 

The ship looks great and, we plan on missing out on one of the ports and having a chill out day on the shipo instead, which i think makes it worth going for the bigger of the three.

 

Now, I just need to work out excursions and whether or not we should spend the £35pp a day for the all inc drinks package...

 

:)

[FLACRUISER99]

I've just seen all of your responses - thank you so much for taking the time to try and help me make my mind up.

 

After much, much Googling and pricing up etc, I trhink we are going to go for ... the Western Med cruise on 9th September on the Liberty.

 

I'm booking my own flights (with a saving of £100's compared to their quoted price) and have decided that, cabin isn't important and have gone for a guaranteed outside stateroom - my beleif is that we are guaranteed an outside window this way - albeit an obstructed view, but if there are better rooms available, then we are more than likely to get moved up to one of these - although, I may have understood that wrongly!

 

I'm v excited and have it all on hold and hope to be booking tomorrow - fingers crossed!

 

The ship looks great and, we plan on missing out on one of the ports and having a chill out day on the shipo instead, which i think makes it worth going for the bigger of the three.

 

Now, I just need to work out excursions and whether or not we should spend the £35pp a day for the all inc drinks package...

 

:)

Great choice, but be prepared to be WOWED!:D:D

[Sian230]

Am soo excited - just hope that nothing happens between now and tomorrow when I go to book!

[sky0000547]

Splendour was the very first ship that introduced me to cruising. Liberty is an excellent choice. You know you will be spoilt once you have been on A Freedom Class ship.

[Desert Cruizers]

When I am searching for cruises for my husband & I, I look over the itineraries, length of time in ports, then look at the ships offering that particular cruise. We prefer the Radiance Class Ships over the smaller Vision class but that is our preferance. I would look for anything in the Radiance Class up to Freedom Class and compare the itineraries of each.

[blueblock]

I've done both the Splendour and the Navigator, twice each, and I prefer the Spledour. More glass, more sense that you are actually at sea rather than in a shopping mall, and a somewhat more intimate feeling. But I've met people who felt the opposite. It's a very personal choice.

[m*u*g*]

It's a little of both for us. But some iteneraries may not have the class of ship you want. We like Freedom Class , then Oasis class.

 

Room availability can also change our ship and/or dates since we like a particular class of room-JS and they are limited.

 

Our favorite cruise to date was the Liberty Western Carribean. The size of the ship was just right. Plus loved all the stops. Oasis can't port at some locations.

[steveru621]

I give them equal weight, unless it's somewhere we haven't tried. We want to go to Alaska and Australia, the ship won't matter as much, or at all because there's only one ship. But there are more factors.

 

1. Itinerary

2. Ship class (not a particular ship)

3. Price per night

4. Number of nights

5. Port of embarkation

6. Airfare cost

7. Length of flight

8. Weather

9. Time of year

10. Sea Days

 

Flights are linked to number of nights. I'm not paying $1,000 and flying 8-10 hours to spend only 7 nights in Europe. 9-12 nights minimum.

[Moishegreenwall]

Hi All

I'm leaving for Barcelona this week and am excited about cruising on the new ship. We are 3 adults and 2 teenagers. Has anyone found a good guide or day trip for Toulon?

Thanks

Moshe

[Clarea]

Hi All

I'm leaving for Barcelona this week and am excited about cruising on the new ship. We are 3 adults and 2 teenagers. Has anyone found a good guide or day trip for Toulon?

Thanks

Moshe

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

It would probably be a good idea to also post your question in the French ports forum:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=593

[Wilda]

Congratulations on your choice! I think you will find Liberty to be a great ship for your active, antsy 28 year old boyfriend:) There is so much to do on that ship you will not be bored.

[Bookish Angel]

I am not big into games or shows, never sunbathe or sit in the bars, etc., but I am always up for a new destination. The cruise experience is a relaxing way for me to get to a new place to explore.

[Gonflyin777]

Hey all,

 

If you have decided to cruise, it's absolutely about the ship! If you want to see europe without the convenience of a ship to return to everyday, then don't cruse! Rent a car or use euro rail and do it your way, on your time, and for much less than a cruise!

If you have decided to cruise than hopefully you have decided its absolutely about the ship! And the one ship in the med that absolutely has it all is Norwegians EPIC! With the most specialty restaurants to choose from and definitely the best entertainment on any ship, EPIC has it all! Not to mention free style cruising, going to dinner when your hungry, not when RCCL decides your hungry!?

Check out Norwegian's EPIC, it sails from Barcelona all summer long with an itinerary that isn't for the faint of heart!

This is one cruisers point of view and I hope you find it helpful!

Happy cruising! :)

Gonflyin777

[palofmine]

FOR US, last year was SHIP and itenerary.. as we had never been to St Thomas and St Martin, and we had never been on Oasis. This year, we wanted to go back to Bermuda, the Grandeur was sailing out of Maryland, close to where in laws live, and they were watching our kids. Depends on both... cause Grandeur was smaller than other ships we had been on, and we wanted that quiet small ship.. but we were sad to not have as many activities. I would say if we sail RCI again, we will do Allure or Oasi, regardless of place of port.

 

Hi all,

 

I'm new to the World of cruising, bar one cruise that I took 12 years ago with my parents aboard the Thomson Emerald, so hoping for some help and advice…

 

After lots of indecisiveness about where to holiday this year, my boyfriend and I have decided to go for a last minute cruise, looking to leave anytime between the 1st and 10th of September (although if the deal warranted it, we could go a bit later during September).

 

When looking at holidays, we were trying to decide between Santorini, Mykinos, Croatia and Italy so wanted to choose a cruise along the lines of this itinerary, if possible. We came across a few, but after research have pushed them aside and believe that, the best line that we could go for with our money is Royal Caribbean, over MSC and NLC (we cannot spend more than £750 each inc flights) - but do correct me if you do not believe that to be true!

 

I have found 3 cruises with RCI which fit my criteria, and was hoping for some thoughts and opinions on which may suit us better.

 

We are a couple of 28, no children. My boyfriend doesn't seem to be able to sit still for more than 5 minutes, so we need a holiday which is fairly active, and we both enjoy a nice meal, drink and entertainment in the evenings - although aren't party animals!

 

With regards to itineraries, my favourite is that of the 7 Night Greek Isles & Turkey Cruise, which includes:

 

Venice, Italy

Split, Croatia

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

Mykonos, Greece

Argostoli, Greece

Venice, Italy

 

However, this is on the Splendour of the Seas, which I understand to be a smaller and older ship. Do you think that this would cater to our needs?

 

Or, are we better off on either the 7 Night Eastern Mediterranean Cruise or 7 Night Western Mediterranean Cruise on the Navigator and Liberty, respectively?

 

We aren't sure if we should put ship or itinerary first and, as it is my first recent cruise and my boyfriends first ever cruise, we want to be sure to make the right choice.

 

Apologies for the long post, but I look forward to your comments.

 

Regards,

Sian

[printingchick]

My cruise decisions are usually made based on, in this order:

 

1. Cruise Line (Cruise lines have different PERSONALITIES and appeal to different types of passengers, so the LINE - more than the SHIP - is a big consideration for me. However, cruise line COULD be trumped by itinerary)
   
2. Itinerary (sometimes #1)
   
3. Price
   
4. Cruise Date
   

 

My smallest RCL class ship was Radiance Class, but after Voyager Class and Freedom Class, I really expected to be disappointed by the smaller ships with fewer "WOW" features, but I really liked the ITINERARY. As it turns out, I preferred the smaller ship. One of the major draws of cruising for me is the whole aspect of being AT SEA. That's more of a focus on the smaller ships. The larger ships have become such huge floating resorts, it's easy to forget you're at sea.

 

If you were looking at a less port intensive cruise and you were focused on all those WOW features, the decision might be weighted differently. But it appears you're looking at a port intensive itinerary. You won't spend THAT much time on the ship. The ports are the focus.

 

I say go for itinerary!

[abridalmaven]

Both. I will no longer cruise on a ship smaller than Radiance Class. I like at what itinerary has what ships on the dates I can sail. I prefer larger ships. And my husband like the flow rider. So Radiance class disappoints him. Me too sort of. I love the Royal Promenade.

 

 

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[yolanda1]

When you are keeping within a budget, one additional point to consider is the price of flights and transfers. We always do a mock booking on the RCI website to see what the total price will be including flights and transfers, then go and check the prices of the same flights and transfers independently. The transfers themselves can be expensive, depending on the distance from port, but they are always included in the RCI package. We have found that sometimes (but not always) it's actually best to take the RCI Fly/Cruise package. It does mean you can't arrive a day early, but that has never been a problem for us.

[Sian230]

Hi all,

 

Quick update...we have our cruise booked and fly out to Barcelona on the 8th of September. Yup, we went for 7 nights aboard the Liberty on their Western Med cruise and we are very excited!

 

After spending many hours on the phone on Saturday, we booked what we thought to be the best deal, thought Cruise 1st. We booked an inside guarantee (Z category) and we have been allocated a inside cabin on Deck 9, aft, and not too far from the stairs/elevators - does this sound ok?

 

Unfortunately, Cruise1st have not delivered what they had orignally offered and despite the time i put in in getting the best deal that i could find, I now feel that we have paid more than others and still have transfers to pay on top - dissapointing considering that they are owned by RCI and should be able to offer the best deals :( but oh well, I shan't let this ruin my holiday!

 

Now to work out the itinerary trips, what we do and don't want to do, which restaurants to choose for a special anniversary meal, and the all important decision...do we get the drinks package or not?

 

Thank you all for your help and I look forward to my cruise! :)

 

Sian

[Sian230]

Hey all,

 

If you have decided to cruise, it's absolutely about the ship! If you want to see europe without the convenience of a ship to return to everyday, then don't cruse! Rent a car or use euro rail and do it your way, on your time, and for much less than a cruise!

If you have decided to cruise than hopefully you have decided its absolutely about the ship! And the one ship in the med that absolutely has it all is Norwegians EPIC! With the most specialty restaurants to choose from and definitely the best entertainment on any ship, EPIC has it all! Not to mention free style cruising, going to dinner when your hungry, not when RCCL decides your hungry!?

Check out Norwegian's EPIC, it sails from Barcelona all summer long with an itinerary that isn't for the faint of heart!

This is one cruisers point of view and I hope you find it helpful!

Happy cruising! :)

Gonflyin777

 

Have just seen the recent posts, i didn't get a notification so sorry for the delay in response.

 

The first ship we looked at was the EPIC and it looked amazing, but some of the reviews we read and tour operators that we spoke to said that RCI had the edge in terms of food and a few other factors too, so we decided to go with RCI. But I agree, EPIC does look, well...epic! Loved the Ice Bar. There did seem to be a lot of extra's to pay out for though with the Free Style dining, which also put us off.

[Sian230]

Hey all,

 

If you have decided to cruise, it's absolutely about the ship! If you want to see europe without the convenience of a ship to return to everyday, then don't cruse! Rent a car or use euro rail and do it your way, on your time, and for much less than a cruise!

If you have decided to cruise than hopefully you have decided its absolutely about the ship! And the one ship in the med that absolutely has it all is Norwegians EPIC! With the most specialty restaurants to choose from and definitely the best entertainment on any ship, EPIC has it all! Not to mention free style cruising, going to dinner when your hungry, not when RCCL decides your hungry!?

Check out Norwegian's EPIC, it sails from Barcelona all summer long with an itinerary that isn't for the faint of heart!

This is one cruisers point of view and I hope you find it helpful!

Happy cruising! :)

Gonflyin777

 

Have just seen the recent posts, i didn't get a notification so sorry for the delay in response.

 

The first ship we looked at was the EPIC and it looked amazing, but some of the reviews we read and tour operators that we spoke to said that RCI had the edge in terms of food and a few other factors too, so we decided to go with RCI. But I agree, EPIC does look, well...epic!

 

Loved the Ice Bar. There did seem to be a lot of extra's to pay out for though with the Free Style dining, which also put us off.

[pfm18]

I cruise for itinerary but refuse to go smaller than the Voyager class. I'm looking at the Serenade/NCL Jade but still unsure

[pfm18]

I give them equal weight, unless it's somewhere we haven't tried. We want to go to Alaska and Australia, the ship won't matter as much, or at all because there's only one ship. But there are more factors.

 

1. Itinerary

2. Ship class (not a particular ship)

3. Price per night

4. Number of nights

5. Port of embarkation

6. Airfare cost

7. Length of flight

8. Weather

9. Time of year

10. Sea Days

 

Flights are linked to number of nights. I'm not paying $1,000 and flying 8-10 hours to spend only 7 nights in Europe. 9-12 nights minimum.

 

 

Do you have to mention how tight fisted you are in every single post?

[steveru621]

Do you have to mention how tight fisted you are in every single post?

 

I do hope you are being sarcastic. :) Please help pay for my next cruise.

 

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[pfm18]

I do hope you are being sarcastic. :) Please help pay for my next cruise.

 

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100% unserious :p I wouldn't go to America unless it was

 

 

A) Back to back

B) A longer cruise

C) Tied in with land holiday

[steveru621]

100% unserious :p I wouldn't go to America unless it was

 

 

A) Back to back

B) A longer cruise

C) Tied in with land holiday

 

LOL good for you! A B2B would be nice anytime. ..

 

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