Curious - how do you decide where you go next?

[helen haywood]

Wherever Reflection is sailing.

[FireEater]

Location, Location, Location.

 

Cruise lines are only 3 hots and a cot taxi ride to us. Most are equal in shows, cabins, and food, so it does not matter to me which line we use. As you can see below my sig, we have tried many cruise lines and have 4 different ones booked for the locations/destinations.

 

Also a deciding factor is logistics. Since we are within very reasonable driving time to Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, and Jacksonville, we have a great choice to choose from....After our 2016 cruise, we will have to look at expanding our departing port though as we got 99.9% of destinations seen.

 

I also try to see at least 1 country that I have not been to, or 1 different island, just to check it out IF or when I win the lotto and can have a 2nd or 3rd home there...:)

Edited September 28, 2014 by FireEater

[cruise kitty]

For myself, I narrow down by time of year first, I'll only go in the shoulder or off season, don't like heat, crowds or the kiddies. ;)

 

Because we live on the W. Coast, we have long, expensive flights to contend with, getting to Rome is pretty much a two day adventure, with the 15+ hour flight + the 9 hour time difference, so we need to make if worth our while & add a land trip to our cruise trip.

 

I really would like a fijjord or Black Sea cruise, but they seem to take place only in the summer, which I just won't do. Panama canal is high on the bucket list, but I'm waiting until the S class can fit thru.

 

In May I did a solo land trip france & the UK, 2 weeks on a variety of trains & buses, which opened my eyes quite a bit! We use the ship as a floating hotel, but I think we will probably be taking more land trips now, unless Celebrity expands their Fall European cruise options. I'm also considering the early spring cruises to Europe, but with Celebrity's new pricing structure, land trips might just make more sense for us.

 

I'm currently booked on a TA for next year, but that might morph into a land based Bavaria/Germany trip....

[FloatSomeMore]

Great topic! We use to cruise based on where we were on business. If in Ireland, we would find out what cruises were in the area or close by and book with that cruise line. As mentioned by another poster earlier, would not book with just any line but were willing to try different lines. We put a lot of trust in our travel agent to help with that decision. Now we are more itinerary driven. Always wanted to go to Tahiti, Bora Bora, south Pacific; that trip is now booked. Going back to Sydney (which we fell in love with) and traveling to Vancouver which we saw only from the pier to the airport but were very impressed. We'll see more of both locations on this trip. Looking to go to Venice - have been to Italy several times, land and cruise, but never to Venice. We are hoping for a Tuesday special next summer or will book while on our upcoming TA.

[dani negreanu]

I was always self-employed and DH had 5-6 weeks of paid vacation per year, so we took long land vacations, and we have Europe more or less covered, including St. Petersburg Hermitage :)

But, even if DH likes to drive, I tired of packing and unpacking everyday, and, since we didn't like to plan ahead and "played by the ear", to start looking for a suitable accomodation in the early afternoon.

5 years ago I found the "solution" - cruising. Flying out of Israel is expensive and loooong, so I choose very carefully the itinerary (and THEN the ship - if the itineraries are similar, I choose the ship with the highest level of satisfaction from CC).

I wanted to "sample" the Caribbean and DH the Panama Canal - check.

I wanted Galapagos - DH said "no way I'll travel half a world to see some turtles..." My dear cousin went with me...

Norwegian Fjords (amazing) - check.

Alaska - check.

Some Greek islands - check, with Equinox to booth.

Next ? Thinking of the Canarian Islands with Lisbon included.

I'd like very much to see Hawai, S. Africa, Australia and N.Z. - only by cruising, but thinking of the looong flights to just get there, don't know if it's going to happen :mad:

[SPacificbound]

So I am pondering where I'll go in 2015. It got me to wondering - how does everyone else decide where they are going?

Our wish list is long with sort of an order to it, but not really. :)

 

Do you do the same cruise every year? Definitely not, the only place we go every year is Las Vegas. :D

Do you like to stay in the same general area? No.

Do you go at the same time each year? Spring & Fall for sure +

Do you like to avoid flying? I wish. Flying is inevitable.

 

Etc.

 

I'm finding myself at a loss as to what to zone in on. I have a list of places I'd like to go - but - I'm always open to suggestions :-)

 

For me - I do prefer the S Class ships (sorry Ms!). That said, my next cruise is on the Summit so, that doesn't totally drive my choice lol.

 

I do like to go where the weather is nice for whatever time of year it happens to be (most of my cruising has been in the fall).

 

So I just thought it would be fun to hear how everyone else decides on their next one. Is it completely on a whim? Is it because others are posting about certain places and your interest was piqued? Is it based on the current promotions?

 

I imagine I'm going to get many varied responses here, and I look forward to hearing each!

 

(That said my eye is currently on a Norwegian Fjords cruise or maybe Alaska but....who knows! lol).

 

How about you guys?!?!

 

We have the Norwegian Fjords down for Spring 2016. :D

Just waiting for the schedule to come out in Spring 2015.

[Rufferto]

So I am pondering where I'll go in 2015. It got me to wondering - how does everyone else decide where they are going?

 

 

Simple! The DW decides, and I go !:)

[srlafleur]

First and foremost, we try to hit places/ports we haven't been, so very few repeats in our history. Once we complete our partial transit canal cruise Nov. 2015, that'll pretty much be it for the Caribbean, unless something unique comes up.

The next consideration is price, though not so much if it's the cheapest as if it's a price I'm willing to pay at the time. (I'll admit to some sticker-shock at final payment sometimes, if there's been a low deposit :o)

Since one of the things I do when I'm bored at work is browse cruise info for future possibilities, it's possible we'll cruise less after retirement! While there are certainly places I still want to go, there are also so many places where touring only near the ports has just been a tease (Europe, primarily)

[Algebralovr]

Right now, my cruises consist of finding warmth in the middle of winter. Being from Missouri, we get some crazy winters. Since my goal is sunshine and warm weather, it means Caribbean. We've done 3 February cruises, and have 2 more booked. Love the S - class ships, and I no longer care what island we see.

 

One cruise I want to do is the Panama Canal, but timing is everything. Currently, Celebrity does not do the canal during my vacation window, and I refuse to sail on a line that allows smoking inside any public areas where I might have to smell it. As a result, I'm waiting to sail the Canal. Hopefully in a couple of years, either Celebrity will send a ship through when I can go, or another line will modernize their smoking regs. A friend keeps telling me that Princess is just as good, but yet they still allow smoking in the casino. I'm looking forward to seeing the next round of offerings.

 

Another consideration is our family. With 2 college-age children, we need to come up with a good idea to get them to join us. Even though it is the most expensive week of the year to cruise, we decided that new years in 2015-2016 would be worth it. There is nothing material they want, and memories are worth a lot. We've invited them to join us on a family cruise. The issue is that now we need to think about them bringing a SO.

[Isis2]

We look for itinerary first and then look around which cruise ships and doing what, this year had a fab cruise on the Baltic with Costa, the reason we picked Costa was their itinerary around that area was much better, e.g. more ports of call and neither Hubby or I have been up that area before so wanted to have a good look around.

 

Next year (2015) has been easy as we planned to visit Gallipoli for 100 years commemoration and Celebrity have a cruise going there, so that was sorted more or less after this years cruise was over (in fact saw it before we want away, but absolutely refused to book it until we had this years holiday over and done with).

 

So for us has to be itinerary, still got two cruises on the "bucket list" to do (1) Black Sea and (2) West Africa.

[7leagueboots]

I'm sure you will get lots of differing responses.

 

We sail first for itinerary, second for price. Ship is of no consequence as long as food/entertainment/facilities are decent. Never would cruise with the same cruise line constantly (we are closing in on 60 cruises on 8 lines).

 

Can only tell you to hone in on the destination(s) in which you have an interest, do some research and then go for it. That has always been our philosophy and we've cruised to all 7 continents with specific goals (not "bucket list" oriented in any way). 2 you mention (Norwegian fjords and Alaska) are both awesome. Anywhere in Europe. SE Asia. OZ and NZ. The world is waiting for you!

 

We use the same rational - itinerary and price - regardless of cruise line.

[iancal]

It is cold where we live. Especially in the winter.

 

So, extended winter vacations to warmer climes are at the top of our list. This winter is covered..not certain about the following winter.

[TN Vol Fan]

Where we live means we always have to fly to a port to cruise. It's just something we accept if we want to cruise.

We started yearly cruising in 2002 and have progressed to 2x or even 3xs a year. We try to go to the Caribbean every other year, but do a longer, more unusual itinerary in the alternate years. We've done Europe, both north & south, British Isles, Alaska, a trans Pacific from New Zealand to Hawaii and an Asian, China one. The exotic ones are the longer ones although we do like 10-14 day Caribbean ones also. We find we can budget better by alternating our trips. Not shopping as much in the Caribbean, but always saving for the others.

Other than gambling trips, cruising is our vacation choice. We're hooked!! We don't do regular land trips anymore.

We do stay with X as we really like their style. But the price is key on the Caribbean ones and the itinerary guides us on the other ones. Still hoping to add South America and a circumnavigation of Australia in the coming years.

No matter how you pick your cruises, they will be an adventure.

Edited September 30, 2014 by TN Vol Fan
Adding info