Itineraries

[judyfssw]

When people look to sail, they probably check their preferred cruise line first and then check the itineraries available. Many people comment about some Caribbean islands and why they don't like them while others comment about why they're glad the ship is stopping at a particular island. There have been many negative comments about two islands in the Caribbean that cruisers would prefer that Celebrity not stop at. However, Celebrity continues to stop there. As a matter of fact, the ship's itinerary continues to be the same year after year. Would it be better to change one to three of the stops every two to three years to keep a freshness in the itinerary?

I'm just wondering what others feel about the same itinerary for years on end.:confused:

[canderson]

When people look to sail, they probably check their preferred cruise line first and then check the itineraries available. Many people comment about some Caribbean islands and why they don't like them while others comment about why they're glad the ship is stopping at a particular island. There have been many negative comments about two islands in the Caribbean that cruisers would prefer that Celebrity not stop at. However, Celebrity continues to stop there. As a matter of fact, the ship's itinerary continues to be the same year after year. Would it be better to change one to three of the stops every two to three years to keep a freshness in the itinerary?

I'm just wondering what others feel about the same itinerary for years on end.:confused:

I assume we're talking about Celebrity in particular...

 

Unless you've got a thing for a particular ship (and even then, there are often A/B alternating itineraries), this hasn't been too much of a problem. There are half a dozen different itineraries available (E, W, S and Canal, with variations on each), and while some share a couple of ports, most are different. As a consequence, it's more a matter of picking the right ship and sail date to keep the experience varied. Of course, it's always nice to get someplace altogether new -- we were actually pleased to have Curacao in replacment for Grand Cayman on our Dec '04 cruise... someplace we'd never been and it allowed us a very nice, long, port stay in Aruba.

 

That said, with the removal of Summit from the Caribbean (and other changes), some of these options no longer exist, especially for longer cruises, narrowing the number of itineraries substantially. Some folks feel that Celebrity has assumed that its passengers will automatically move over to RCCL for those Caribbean cruises. Time will tell, but I think they may be in for a surprise. Longer cruises in southern latitudes are our preference for winter months, and unless we're really happy with our Galaxy experience (not exactly Caribbean, but that's OK) this coming winter, we'll be looking at another cruise line for the first time in several years.

[judyfssw]

We're locked in because of school vacations and while the Constellation has been our choice, some of our friends decided that they would like to look for a new itinerary. According to our onboard person, Antiqua, which has been a favorite is being exchanged, next year, for St. Kitts, but it's the lack of places to see on DR and Grenada that frustrate our friends.

Since I'm retiring, I planned to do a back to back since the Constellation will be switching itineraries between weeks and hoped to be with our friends from school the second week. Yes, that would work if we'd switch ships, but I'd like to stay in the same room for the two weeks. We'll just have to look for different people to go on our second week cruise.

[Steamboatin]

We choose the best itinerary amongst the cruise lines and than settle on a cruise line.

 

Thus our selection process is:

Itinerary

Cruise Line

Vessel

[superjerryw]

The ships go to the same places because there is no where else to go. Islands that are not visited lack docking facilities and the infrastructure to handle a large influx of tourists. In addtion, many islands while beautiful, offer nothing except nice beachs. There is also the question of location as ports need to be reasonably close so the ship can reach them given the limited time available. I have seen some itineraries that I think are ridiculous where the ship will arrive in San Juan at 5:00PM and leave at 11:00PM. To me that is a wasted port stop as there is no time to go ashore during the day.

[geoherb]

We look at the ship more than the itinerary. I agree about evening port calls in San Juan being a waste. We were on the Century for Christmas. We arrived in the morning and left at 11 p.m. That was long enough to let people do lots of things.

 

When the ship goes to an island we'd rather not experience again (such as Jamaica), we stay on the ship. It's great--almost like another day at sea, except not crowded around the pools.

[Susan-M]

When people look to sail, they probably check their preferred cruise line first and then check the itineraries available. :

 

I do the opposite & place more emphasis on the itinerary. Our vacations are based on where we will be visiting rather than on what ship. With so many great places to visit, I wouldn't settle for a port that didn't interest me if there was a better itinerary on another cruise line. Having said that, I am selective about which cruise line and ship as there are some that don't interest me, but do not feel strongly about loyalty to the ones that do.

[Bruin Steve]

I've never found this to be a major problem...

And I don't always pick cruises for the same reasons...

Sometimes I just want a nice relaxing time on a ship...

Other times I want to go somewhere and see something...

There are so many different available itineraries that there's no reason anyone has to repeat them all too often...over the past five years I've cruised, in order, Eastern Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Baltic, Mexican Riviera (didn't mind doing the same ports 2 years apart because I cruised it for easy relaxation), Mediterranean, Baja, Alaska...and next we do Southern Caribbean then British Isles/Norwegian Fjords...So, I don't repeat many ports...

 

...And, even when I do, I just look for new and different things to do...

And not every port has to be my favorite...I just have to find something fun or worthwhile to do while there...

 

And, frankly, what some people might find to be a simply awful port, others might think great...and vice versa...Everyone is looking for something different in a port...Some forls only care if the port has nice beaches, warm water and good snorkeling while others prefer history and culture...some might like ports that are very "American" with modern facilities and high class shopping...others like to experience exotic and foreign and find "third world" experiencesto be exciting and adventurous...You are simply NOT going to please everyone...

[BCHappyGal]

I always book our cruise based on

1 - Itinerary

2 - dates

3 - price

4 - cruiseline

 

As there are lots of great ships out t here it is easy to find a new itinerary if that is what you want. I have repeated some ports and don't mind that as we can always then do the things we did not have time for on the first visit.

 

Last 5 years we have cruised Southern Caribbean, Hawaii, Australia/New Zealand, partial transit Panama Canal, full transit Panama Canal, South America.

 

All cruises are good just some are better!

[katiel53]

We have booked our cruises based on the cruise line, the itinerary. We have booked Celebrity for years because we like the ports and the ships. When we decided that this November we wanted to go to Aruba, we found the Constellation was doing that, so we booked. There is one port I don't feel I need to see again, so I will just stay on the ship. Most people will be off the ship, so I will be able to sit by the pool with no chair hogs. I have never been to Margarita Island, so I am looking forward to that too. Next year, who knows what we will do? I love the M class and the Southern Caribbean, so we might end up doing the same trip again. It's just so relaxing to me to be on a ship and I don't feel as if I need to rush off at every port. We usually do get off, but if we don't, it's no big deal.

 

Katie

[judyfssw]

Katie,

Which week will you be sailing to Aruba?

[katiel53]

Judy,

We are going on the Constellation November 26, 2005. We ar so looking forward to the trip.

 

Katie

[judyfssw]

Katie,

Enjoy your cruise. My husband and I will be going to Aruba to our timeshare in less than two weeks. Can't wait. But, when we said the Constellation next year, we will finally see it from the water.