Is the ship or itinerary more important to you?

[lunagirl]

Itinerary, price, then ship...

 

If a port is on my hit list or my black list, that is most important to me.

 

The price is going to come in to play based on departure ports, length of cruise, dates. My travel dates are not unlimited. We are often coordinating multiple schedules and it limits our options.

 

The ship is the last consideration for us. I am not completely hung up on the 2.0 upgrades. I like port-heavy cruises, so the ship isn't as much of a deciding factor since I spend as much time as possible off of it.

[sjn911]

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.

 

Very sweet...I was a big dreamer with a friend who sold cruises with only 2 under my belt for a long time...

 

I suppose I am still a big dreamer...

 

But a simple little 4 day cruise where the fellow travelers were social sweet singles and families, a ship that had service all down pat and the decor that I found fun..made the cheapest 1A cabin on Empress deck on the Carnival Paradise my favorite cruise in so many ways..then on the west coast.

 

There are so many intangibles that each ship and cruise and itinerary can vary no matter how fancy.

 

Favorite ship so far Star Princess with old Holland America Westerdam close second...

 

Favorite cruise for ship and fun and R and R...the Paradise.

 

Favorite intenerary..Greece and Holy lands on old 50's ship...Epirotiki Appollon II.

 

I understand if one has cruised 3 times yearly the question boils down into this category more..but the answers are tough..the place and time and what is needed for budget can all vary so.

 

If things "work" on a ship and staff/passengers is/are mostly good..it goes a long way over the other things..

 

I still want the dream suite and service..but I bet that one Paradise cruise will always hold the standard...Sarah

Edited March 9, 2014 by sjn911

[RWolver672]

We usually pick itenerary first, then ship. After six cruises, we've found that even though we pick different iteneraries, we have wound up at St. Thomas and San Juan four times each. Some times you have to go to ports that you've been to in order to see ports that you haven't been to on a certain cruise.

[hattack]

If you do private music charters like I do...does not matter ship or ports...only the music:eek:

[Tapi]

On Carnival, port of departure and price. On other cruise lines, ship and itinerary. Sometimes we choose based on ship (like when we sailed on the Allure of the Seas and our upcoming cruise on the Royal Princess). Other times it's about the itinerary (like when we sailed on the Westerdam to Alaska last summer).

 

 

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[mpcaruth]

Itinerary! As my signature states, "I cruise for the ports, the ship is an added bonus".

 

After I have narrowed down the cruise list based first on itinerary, I then look at price and ships. I actually have a spreadsheet that ranks cruises and gives the highest weighted values to itinerary. The spreadsheet also considers homeport, cost/day/per person, cabin (this is important for a family of 4), and ship factor.

 

I would rather sail a new itinerary on a ship I have cruised on before, than sail an itinerary I have done before on a new ship.

[taylor1293]

We live in FL, so it's port, price, itinerary, ship. In that order.

 

 

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[Minoushka]

For me it is a great itinerary ona nice ship ,preferably getting a cheap flight and getting a balcony on a super price

Yes it does happen ...but Im still waiting for this years to come through

With all the unrest everywhere ....im hesitating to book anything in Europe or Med ...we shall see ..April and May should bring surprises

[iublondie25]

Price, ships and then itinerary. Since we live in Michigan it doesn't matter what port since we have to fly in anyway. Thank goodness I am a veteran otherwise cruising wouldn't be cost effective for us.

 

 

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Marcie and Jay

Five kiddos ages 2-15

Grand Rapids,

Michigan

 

Carnival fascination 2001

Disney fantasy 2011

RCCL Allure of the Seas 2013

Edited March 9, 2014 by iublondie25

[Aldeya]

Just looking at the water from my balcony, getting away from it all, just being on the cruise.

 

Well, it makes the SHIP most important I think:)

[cruisetrail]

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)

 

For us the ship is most important.

The itinerary and the departure posts are important but play a supportive role - to provide good weather and views (from the ship) and convenient access to the ship.

[Doug910]

As my signature states, "I cruise for the ports, the ship is an added bonus".

 

...That's funny, our "theory" is just the opposite. Because most of our time is spent on the ship, that is what is important to us. The Carribean islands, after a while, all start to look the same.

 

...There is definitely somewhat of a pattern to all the answers here. I've noticed that cruisers that are veteran cruisers seem to enjoy the ship more. Newer cruisers want to experience as many different islands as they can, so the itinerary appears to be more important to them.

[AmberTeka]

When we cruise just the two of us..............Port in Florida. First criteria. Second...newer ship. Clean. Food is edible. Casino for DH. Trivia for both. Southern Caribbean parts are our favorite. Cruise in "off" seasons for price...........and demographics. Which are older, like we are...........

 

When DD and family cruise with us....................Any ship during Spring Break, within few hours drive. ( Toddler). That is Jax. Port Canaveral. Tampa. So..............That is RCCI and Carnival. NCL out of Tampa. The Dream is newer. (2009). clean to a fault. Camp carnival. Food is good. Pizza, grill..MDR at Lunch and Breakfast. Trivia.

Ports on that week........our most unfavority. Western Caribbean. We don't snorket. We have been there many times. Scared sometimes. Belize. But that is where we are going....on the Dream........Saturday. It was the best choice of what of what we wanted.

 

Price was not that much better than Princess. HAL would have been better due to discounts (community workers discount..teachers) but drive to Ft. Lauderdale with toddler.......No. Not yet.

 

it depends. Since joining ancestry.com, and learning my DNA goes back to the Orkney Islands, I want to go there. That involves some serious saving, of which I am doing now. That will be totally if the ship goes there..............and other Scots Town which end in Wall...like Klingwall......or Dingwall....all connoting Scandinavian Viking ancestry. ( which most Scotch have. The Vikings did not raid all of the time......they had some "off" time too and left little Vikings all over the British Isles.)

 

The next cruise we have booked after this one.....goes to St. Croix and St. Barts. Never been to either. Also big promotion ..1.2.3 on Celebrity. Will have to drive to Ft. Lauderdale..but

Price matters. I can hop on a bargin quick. But I am retired and have time to do that now.

[cruisingbajan]

Right now for us it is iteniary and then ship as we want to visit many different ports as possible. Once we have accomplished that the ship will become the determining factor.

 

Price also plays a major part in our decision making process.:D

Edited March 9, 2014 by Bajan Keith

[pungo3]

I always sail for the ship. I've been to most of the ports Carnival sails to at least 3 times or more. The last four or five cruises, I never got off the ship. I love being able to go anywhere or do anything without a crowd. It's very peaceful when the ship is mostly empty.:D

[Mysticks1]

1. Itinerary - we like to visit different ports.
   
2. Port of Embarkation - we like to drive to the port rather than fly. We can use Galveston, New Orleans, Jacksonville and Port Canaveral within our 8-9 hour driving limit.
   
3. Ship - I like the bigger ships and what they have to offer.
   
4. Price
   

Edited March 9, 2014 by Mysticks1

[deborahjo]

The more we cruise the less we care where we go. We are starting to sail for what the ship can offer us.

[kimba6539]

It has always been itinerary for me. Having so many cruise under my belt, this next cruise was based on itinerary but ship was a deciding factor too. I can't wait to sail on the Breeze. Have heard many good things!

 

Kim

[Velvetwater]

Itinerary is everything.

 

We want to go all over the world so I pick routes we have not sailed yet.

 

I am not the type of person that repeats any of my holidays and I try not to visit the same place twice.

 

I do need a ship that keeps me occupied in a way though because the unusual routes I like can have many sea days.

[tanyaewa]

Departure port, price, timing. Itinerary and ship are relatively inconsequential.

Although we would try not to go back to the same ship or itinerary again.

We like to explore.

[Oppalopa]

I love the Brilliance so I will say the ship. Just wish they would drop the single supplement. Retired and living in Florida I do get great rates on a 90 day and less web site. :)

[1kaper]

I haven't sailed a ship that I haven't liked or bothered me enough to make a difference in my cruise. I do have ships I liked better than others, but not enough to make it my top priority when choosing.

 

Where the ship sails from is a factor only in price of getting there. As long as we can get a good price flight there, its all good.

 

Price and itinerary would be my two top priorities I'd say.

 

Timing played a factor this year. Although our time off is very flexible so its usually not a problem, booking the kennel for the dogs was not. It dictated which weeks we could go this year. :D

[sandij]

I have to say the itinerary, we've sailed on many different lines and basically they are the same, you get as much as you want to eat, you get a bed to sleep in, you get shows to watch, and a casino to lose your money in, a few stores to shop in and a lovely room stewart to clean up your mess. So the itinerary is the only thing that changes.

[pbsteve]

Port of embankment first I only go from Miami or Fort Lauderdale so I can stop in on my grandparents for dinner the night before and lunch the day back. They're 92 and I don't get to visit much living in frigid Wisconsin.

THEN the decisions begin. My wife and I only have a 6 week window for vacation so I'll narrow the search to that time.

From there I find the max price I'm willing to pay narrowing the options more.

After price comes the ship, I prefer freedom or newer (not newly refurbished but built) must have seaside theater. And I look at other options like waterworks and other fun stuff. Once the ship is chosen or at least narrowed down, I typically have 2 or 3 itineraries left. If they go to jamaca, I eliminate it (there's just nothing there we like, we prefer to walk around town trying to find local made souvineers, not China made to look local)

 

This last choice for our upcoming was chosen this way, we are on the breeze on Sept 21 it was between the breeze and freedom cruises leaving the same weekend.

 

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Edited March 10, 2014 by pbsteve

[Bigal1017]

Itinerary then ship

 

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