Is the ship or itinerary more important to you?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

We are recently back from a wonderful cruise and are looking to plan another for this summer. What is most important to you when planning your cruise...the ship, the itinerary or the departure port?

 

We set a budget and then look based on departure ports (driving distance) and itineraries. Now I am wondering if I should book the next one based off of the ship. I have read the Breeze is a beautiful ship and I would love to try it. However, we could get an extra night for less money on the Legend. (Also looking at several other ships/itineraries at this point and haven't even set a firm budget yet...to many decisions)

[CeleBrat]

We live in FL, so it's important for us to be able to leave from a home-state port. After that criteria narrows it down, we look at price. We stay away from being on the same ship more than once, unless it's Disney. Carnival has so many ships, it's usually not a challenge to find one we haven't sailed on yet.

 

Itinerary is not-so-much important, as we've visited almost everywhere in the Caribbean!

 

CeleBrat

[LuckyZ]

Definitely Itinerary.

 

There are just some ports that I don't want to stop at, regardless of the ship (Jamaica, Bahamas, Progresso, Belize).

 

We did the Breeze last year and had a great itinerary and Liberty this June, also with a great itinerary (great ships)

Edited March 8, 2014 by LuckyZ

[KPfromCT]

All of the above:D:D

We got spoiled on the Breeze last year.....

So much so, that we HAD to book it again.

All we have to compare her to is the Sensation (1st cruise) and the Pride, two years ago. HATED the décor of the ship, but LOVED HMC:D

Great itinerary on the Breeze last year ( St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, and Nassau)

Better this year, Aruba, Curacao, Dominican, and Grand Turk.

 

Really a tough question, but I guess my final answer would be the ship.

I can't see myself ever going back on a ship that doesn't at least have the 2.0 upgrades.

Liberty is on my list, as she gets RAVE reviews. Also has the EA sports bar, and the Alchemy Bar. The Breeze does not.

[kona_wahine]

I'm all about the itinerary. Only been on Dream and Liberty, and going on Glory next. I love the ports. I love the different beaches. To me, the ships were sooooo similar.

[woody73]

Definitely itinerary.

 

Woody

[skyeman27]

Price, itinerary, and then ship...

[bluejay555]

Departure port is most important! We can drive reasonably to New Orleans, while everywhere else is just too far (in my opinion). After that factor, ship comes before ports (although I'm not usually left with many choices lol)

[mousey]

Price, itinerary, and then ship...

 

What gklow said!:D

[Havana Daydreamer]

Itinerary. In the end, I don't remember the differences in a ship, but I definitely remember the different ports of call! :D

[kruise runner]

Cruise time

 

For us we choose the time frame . We are limited in vacation time . Also living in Canada ,we want out in the winter. So we find the itineraries we want warm sunny beaches blue water and match the ship . The more days the better. Seas days or port days as long as it Cruising days.:D

kruise kat:)

[SMSACE6]

Given the two choices...it would be itinerary and then the ship.

 

But I make my choice based on, price, itinerary, departure port and ship, so the ship itself rates last for me. I havent been on a ship I didnt like so far, so I take my chances in that regard.:)

[GottaLuvCruising]

If I care about the itinerary (like Hawaii or Alaska), then the ship isn't so important. But if I don't care about the itinerary (Caribbean), then the ship is most important. So it depends...

[Kfoot]

Living in FL I only cruise from home ports. With that said, it's Itinerary, Price. The ship doesn't matter to me.

Preferably an itinerary with less sea days. Not much activity to do on The ship on sea days.

Edited March 9, 2014 by Kfoot

[OCruisers]

On Carnival ... The departure port (which must be a rather close drive) and finding one doing 7 Days from the close departure port is of most importance.

LuLu

~~~

[buddylover]

Itinerary definitely comes first for us, but ship is important too.....like the larger Conquest class so that does play a role for us too. As a matter of fact, due to the limited and repetitive CCL itineraries, we have been trying out other cruise lines that offer more exotic ports. We love cruising, but also like to see different places, so it has forced our hand to look to other lines.

[cruizinisthebest]

If I care about the itinerary (like Hawaii or Alaska), then the ship isn't so important. But if I don't care about the itinerary (Caribbean), then the ship is most important. So it depends...

 

I second this.

 

The port matters if I have to travel a distance. I prefer Port Canaveral if leaving out of Florida.

[CruisinChandler]

We're lucky enough to live in Florida with so many wonderful ports only a short drive away, so for us it's definitely itinerary, price, and then ship. Right now since we don't have that many cruises under our belts we're aiming for different itineraries and different ships. :)

Edited March 9, 2014 by CruisinChandler

[Not_Done_Living]

we asked the kids (14 and 16) what was important to them and they both responded "we are on a ship and having an adventure -- who cares about anything else!"

 

i love my guys ;)

 

i do wish there were closer departures for us though.

[belkin]

Even though we have been to most of the islands the itinerary is still the most important to us. We like some islands much better than others. I also consider the price and ship at some point.

[Budget Queen]

For me, it's always the itinerary first. Then it's price. :) I have been on 85 cruises, 3 already this year, getting on the Conquest tomorrow. Moving to the Glory the day we disembark. I can't remember much about the specific ships anyway. :)

[gelo7]

The ship.

[christmas]

Departure Port: very first thing I look at.

Ports: I try my best to find an itinerary without Belize and Progresso.

Ship: I like to try new ships if I can.

[apkpcruisers]

Some of both for us, it depends on the trip. For our last cruise it was our 20th anniversary so I splurged and got a balcony and the itinerary I always wanted. Our next trip is a bit more based on price and ship. We chose to drive the extra distance to not sail on a much older smaller ship and have a slightly better itinerary for a cheaper price.

 

 

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[Jenna1983]

Itinerary