What is more important? Ship, Cruise Line, or Destination ports?

[wrxrob]

We are researching our very first cruise, looking at various 7 night cruises on a specific week.

 

We are 33/32 yrs old, and have only been to the Caribbean once, which was Punta Cana, DR on a lucky vacation that we won at a travel expo. Never been on a cruise though.

 

We're trying to figure out what is most important in a cruise, therefore what we should also research the most. I've heard a lot of good things about RCCL's Oasis of the Seas, and RCCL in general. I'm not sure if the ship makes much of a difference, but I'm sure the Oasis is top notch. We like the idea of NCL's "freestyle" experience allowing one to eat whenever they please and not have to wear a tuxedo to dinner, but have heard very mixed reviews about the cruise line in general.

 

Here is what we are looking at:

 

RCCL Adventure of the Seas:

Departs San Juan, PR, then visits Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, St. Lucia; St. John's, Antigua; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

(lady likes this because she's always wanted to see Barbados)

 

RCCL Oasis of the Seas:

Departs Fort Lauderdale, FL, then visits Labadee, Haiti; Costa Maya, Mexico; Cozumel, Mexico

(I like the sound of this ship, but the ports don't sound as attractive)

 

Norwegian Epic:

Departs Miami, then visits Costa Maya, Roatan, Cozumel

(I like this ship too, itinerary seems better, but I've heard mixed reviews of NCL)

 

Norwegian Dawn:

Departs Miami, then visits Grand Cayman, Cozumel

(short and cheap which is good, but I know nothing of the NCL Dawn, so this one's probably out)

 

Lastly, we are considering an inside cabin for the first trip, so I don't know if that makes a difference with the above cruises, but any insight is appreciated. :)

[paul929207]

For us the ship is the most important. We take longer cruises that have lots of sea days. We love the small Princess ships. We get to know the other passengers and the crew. We leave 30 seconds before something starts and we still are on time. I would sail anywhere on the Ocean Princess.

[tak81288]

If I have more then 2 or 3 sea days, I would say ship because you will be spending a lot of time on it...

 

However, since you are only traveling a 7 day and have never been to any of the ports, my order would be:

 

Ports

Ship

Cruise Line

 

My first cruise we barely spent time in the room and did an interior. It worked out great for us and we literally only slept, showered, and got dressed in the room. In my opinion, I would save $$ and book an interior for the 7 day (especially if you book the RCCL Adventure of the Seas with all those ports), unless you think you are going to spend a lot of time in the room.

 

Enjoy!

[KirkNC]

I voted for destinations but there are certain lines I will not cruise on. We look at four lines: HAL, X, Oceania and Princess and see which ones have the best itinerary and pricing for our desired destination. Good luck with your decision!

 

Kirk

[Aquahound]

It's tough to say. Sometimes I cruise for the ship, and other times for the ports. That said, when I'm looking at specific ports, I still seek out the cruise line that suits me best (RCI), then at what ships are offered. All that considered, since I'm always looking at the ships, I voted for the ship being most important.

 

I have cruised 2 of the ships/routes you are considering. The Southern route on the AOS is excellent. It is my favorite route. However, realize you stand a chance of getting a rowdy crowd on board due to the Puerto Rican embarkation. I've cruised it twice....One was excellent, and the second was not so good due to unruly passengers.

 

The Oasis is certainly a destination upon itself. The ship is like no other ship ever built and is a jaw dropper right up until the last day. The on board entertainment is unmatched. Labadee is a very nice stop. RCI has built zip-lines, a roller coaster, and several other amenities on the private island (actually peninsula).

 

Of all your choices, I would pick the Oasis. It's just such an awesome experience that it outweighs any other options.

 

Good luck. :)

[zookiebird]

My preference is southern over western caribbean cruises and the itinerary of Adventure of the Seas is terrific. That would be my choice, especially since your lady wants to visit Barbados.

 

Best of luck.

[wrxrob]

However, realize you stand a chance of getting a rowdy crowd on board due to the Puerto Rican embarkation. I've cruised it twice....One was excellent, and the second was not so good due to unruly passengers.

 

interesting. I didn't even think about the possibility of Puerto Rico natives boarding the ship.

 

Define "rowdy" and "unruly". Is this crowd the type to get in fights and try to steal your lady?:confused:

[zoncom]

I vote #1, one of the almost perfect itins. Other itins marginal at best in comparison. Remember one does not need an expensive cabin, esp. in Caribbean where you will be in port/off ship most of tome. Enjoy.

[operafan]

My preference is southern over western caribbean cruises and the itinerary of Adventure of the Seas is terrific. That would be my choice, especially since your lady wants to visit Barbados.

 

Best of luck.

 

Another vote for Adventure.of the Seas. We don't care for the western Caribbean at all.

[Essiesmom]

This is your first cruise. You have nothing to compare it to. I would go with the oldest, smallest ship in your possibilities...It is still going to seem HUGE to you. And yes, go for the inside cabin. Sit down with your husband and free-associate. Close your eyes and tell each other what you 'see' when you think of a cruise. Is it relaxing on a lounger by the pool with a drink in your hand? Eating in a fine restaurant? Seeing a Vegas style show, or laughing with a comedian? Is it visiting a different island every day?

Leave the big new ships for another time. If you discover that you like cruising, they will still be there, and maybe a bit less expensive when they are not the newest kids on the block. There is so much to do on the ships like Oasis that it is a shame to leave it to go into port. Leave it until you have already visited those ports, and can stay on the ship and enjoy what it has to offer. EM

[daldog]

This is a a hard question! I think I have a destination in mind first, so I guess I would answer ports first. And then I lean towards lines I prefer, but I can be talked into another ( to some extent) if the ship sounds nice.

 

Anyway, I am the lone voter so far on cabin type; now that I've been balcony I will never go back. Even if you're not in there all day, sitting out there before bed at night watching the moon and the sea go by, having coffee in the morning, the privacy away from the madhouse (the crowd, you just never know - it's the luck of the draw any cruise unless it's spring break.) To me, the balcony is well worth it.

 

RCCL would be my second to last choice in lines, but looking at your list, I'd be wanting to do AOS because of the ports. At that point, cost (and time) of getting to San Juan would factor in. And just another personal thing, I have zero interest in Epic - too big, too many people. And is Oasis that big? I think it might be (not so up on RCCL). They just seem TOO huge and take away that being at sea feeling. I think Essiesmom makes some good points. How do you see yourselves?

[William Dean]

And just another personal thing, I have zero interest in Epic - too big, too many people. And is Oasis that big? I think it might be (not so up on RCCL). They just seem TOO huge and take away that being at sea feeling. I think Essiesmom makes some good points. How do you see yourselves?

 

Oasis/Allure of the Seas are the current largest afloat at 220,000 grt.

 

For me, I'd avoid the Caribbean. It's somewhere to get through between the canal and New York.

 

But then I only sail on Cunard, so I'm not in a position to give advice.

 

WD.

[Aquahound]

Define "rowdy" and "unruly". Is this crowd the type to get in fights and try to steal your lady?:confused:

 

Usually when this subject comes up, someone is inevitably offended. To them, I apologize, but I just call it as I see it.

 

My second AOS cruise was a Quincinera cruise. It was announced there were 3000 Spanish speakers on board, so that was the prevelent language of announcements, etc. That wasn't such a big deal, but the behavior was. There was a fight in the Solarium that led to one of the window panes getting broken. One side of the Solarium had to be closed. Pushing and shoving on the Royal Promenade led to an entire liquor display getting knocked over. The Promenade was closed for over an hour for clean up. Cabins doors were knocked on by out of control kids all hours of the night. Elevator etiquette didn't exist. Line cutting was the norm.

 

There were entire groups of kids walking around the ship with their pants hnging down below their butts, like they wanted to be some sort of gang.

 

All this just cheapened what is supposed to be a somewhat nice experience.

 

Believe me, I understand this behavior can be found anywhere, and my experience does not represent every single PR cruise, but in this case, it was all Puerto Rican locals. This cruise was so bad, I vowed never again out of PR. I'm sure I will again eventually, but not any time soon.

[wrxrob]

^^thanks for the report on the PR cruise. Since this is our first cruise, the lady has agreed that we probably should at least depart from the U.S., as we are newbies to the whole check-in/boarding process. That will ensure there are no language barriers.

 

We'll be comfortable cruising from PR once we get our feet wet, so to speak.

 

Therefore, it looks like AOS is out for this cruise.

[sjcruiser]

We go for the ship, then itinerary (someplace we havent been before), then price, and/or departure port. These can change in order though, but we tend to stick to a newer or larger ship. The cruise date also has an affect, as we try to cruise between breaks in the school schedule (except spring break), or when a holiday minimized the school and work week.

[B'moreTraveler]

I am a first time cruiser, and my cruise selection was based on departure location. I live within commuting distance of Baltimore so I selected based on a Baltimore departure.

 

Not having to fly or drive a long distance not only reduces cost and travel time but also the stress level up front. And with all the hassle of flying these days, it made the cruise a much more tempting vacation.

 

For many of you, a convenient departure point may not be available but it was a no-brainer for my first cruise.

[zookiebird]

We've not had any problem leaving from San Juan but understand your concern since its your first cruise. Don't know why you dismissed the Norwegian Dawn though. We sailed her a few years ago and had a great time. BTW, the Dawn has what looks like a great southern caribbean itinerary, including Barbados, that departs from Miami. You might want to check it out.

[wrxrob]

I am a first time cruiser' date=' and my cruise selection was based on departure location. I live within commuting distance of Baltimore so I selected based on a Baltimore departure.

 

Not having to fly or drive a long distance not only reduces cost and travel time but also the stress level up front. And with all the hassle of flying these days, it made the cruise a much more tempting vacation.

 

For many of you, a convenient departure point may not be available but it was a no-brainer for my first cruise.[/quote']

 

We almost did the same thing, as Baltimore is only 40 miles from home :).

 

Don't know why you dismissed the Norwegian Dawn though. We sailed her a few years ago and had a great time. BTW, the Dawn has what looks like a great southern caribbean itinerary, including Barbados, that departs from Miami. You might want to check it out.

I wish we could take a full 14 day cruise, but we don't want to wipe out all of our vacation time off work in one swipe.

 

They also have a 9 day to Barbados, but that didn't fit our time schedule. Unfortunately, there's a specific week we need to take due to other obligations.

[cruiserbryce]

for us where we go is most important...I really like going places we havent been and if I need to try a different line or ship to get somewhere new then thats fine

[harryfat1]

I think typically people think of destination first and then the ship/cruise line.

 

Such that you typically tell people:

 

“We are going on a Caribbean Cruise”. Then people say, “Really, how nice, which cruise line?”

 

If you are really placing higher emphasis on the cruise line, you would instead say “We are going on a Royal Caribbean Cruise”. Then follow up question, “Really, how nice, where you going?”

 

Just so you know, there are some veterans cruisers on these boards that have been on the same cruise so many times that some never get off the ship or just skip the ports that do not interest them, so they solely cruise for the ship/cruise line.

 

For us, we cruise with as specific destination/region in mind and then pick the cruise line that fits our budget/vacation timing. However, I do want to point out somehow afterward, it’s the memory of the people/crew/ship that remains with us longer than what we saw/did while at the ports.

 

Final note is that if you add up all the hours on a 7 day cruise (7 days X 24 hours = 168 hours), you will be spending more hours on the ship than on shore (where a typical port stay is around 8 hours). So don’t just ignore the time you spend on board as it will be more than half of your cruise.

[chachi]

In the past the desitination has always been the most important factor, except when I am just looking for a cheap getaway. Then I go based on price.