Which would you choose?

[moesyk4]

Both are in very early 2016...both are looking at the Family Oceanview. Costs (when including travel expenses, gas, hotel stays, etc.) are essentially identical. We are a 66 year old, 33 year old, 32 year old, will be 6, 2, and 1 year old.

 

8 Day grandeur of the seas....out of Baltimore, stops in Port Canaveral, Key West, Nassau, Cococay. Less days on the road with the kids, more days on the ship (although I'm assuming 2 cold days), more ports. But like I said, colder days, older ship, less to do.

 

5 days on the Independence, stopping in Labadee and Falmouth. Bigger, better ship with more for the kids to do, can add a beach day or two to make the trip worthwhile. More travel time though, and less days on ship.

[Aquahound]

That's a tough call, but I'd have to opt for the longer cruise that has less travel time for you. Don't think too little of Grandeur. RCI has done a great job with the refurbishments and with the addition of the Centrum entertainment and new eateries, Vision Class really has a fresh start.

 

But curious...those are 2 very different cruises. Why only those 2? :confused:

[2004corvette]

i choose Grandeur......since same cost for more days asea......we have sailed on Grandeur out of Baltimore twice (August 2013 & August 2014) and our girls now ages 13 & 14 enjoyed the ship and loved the beach @ CocoCay....our itinerary also included Port Canaveral where we rented a car and drove to Disney which was another highlight of the cruise for the kids

Baltimore is the easiest port cruise from IMO.

happy sailing whichever cruise you choose...:)

Edited September 18, 2014 by 2004corvette

[KKMurphy2]

i choose Grandeur......since same cost for more days asea......we have sailed on Grandeur out of Baltimore twice (August 2013 & August 2014) and our girls now ages 13 & 14 enjoyed the ship and loved the beach @ CocoCay....our itinerary also included Port Canaveral where we rented a car and drove to Disney which was another highlight of the cruise for the kids

 

 

How did you manage to make Disney worthwhile? Did you go to a park? Which one? Thanks for the info.

[dacsmom]

I would also choose the Grandeur. Less travel time with young kids and a longer cruise.

[mattpro]

If costs are the same - Independence.

 

Major reason is that you will be in warm weather the entire cruise.

 

Going out of Baltimore means cool weather for a day and a half down and a day and a half back (no pool for kids). Which equates to 5 days in warm weather.

 

Now if a few days in FLL at the beach fits your budget it becomes a no brainer.

 

Freedom Class ships and their amenitities also adds to the value proposition.

[2004corvette]

i choose Grandeur......since same cost for more days asea......we have sailed on Grandeur out of Baltimore twice (August 2013 & August 2014) and our girls now ages 13 & 14 enjoyed the ship and loved the beach @ CocoCay....our itinerary also included Port Canaveral where we rented a car and drove to Disney which was another highlight of the cruise for the kids

 

 

How did you manage to make Disney worthwhile? Did you go to a park? Which one? Thanks for the info.

 

we had leftover unused Disney Park Hopper passes from our Easter (non-cruising) vacation to Disney where we visited all the parks except Animal Kingdom....during our August 8th, 2014 sailing we (2 adults/2 kids) arrived in Port Canaveral around 10:30am rented a car ($49.00 instead of the cruise bus excursion costing $38.00 X 4 = $152.00 from Payless Rental Car who picked us up in the cruise terminal parking lot.....after a 50 minute drive (no traffic) we arrived at Animal Kingdom around 11:45am which was not very crowded for a Sunday....enjoyed many rides and especially the Animal Safari (45 minute safari tour)...left Disney around 6:45pm again no traffic and dropped the rental car off at Payless @ 7:45pm....with the ship insight and a beautiful night upon us we chose to walk back to the ship which was a leisurely 15 minute walk instead of taking a cab/taxi that would have cost about $20+ for the 4 of us.

next time in Port Canaveral we again will rent a car and do our own exploring since rental car prices are so low compared to other cities.

[CRUISEBOY305]

Grandeur gets my vote

[Big_G]

Grandeur for the longer cruise.

[DonnaK]

If costs are the same - Independence.

 

Major reason is that you will be in warm weather the entire cruise.

 

Going out of Baltimore means cool weather for a day and a half down and a day and a half back (no pool for kids). Which equates to 5 days in warm weather.

 

Now if a few days in FLL at the beach fits your budget it becomes a no brainer.

 

Freedom Class ships and their amenitities also adds to the value proposition.

 

I agree with you!

 

We did Grandeur's itinerary on Explorer from NJ in the winter, and it was entirely an indoor cruise. Very cold pools, outdoor decks were closed on some of the days, etc. We couldn't tender at CocoCay, so we did an overnight in Nassau instead (where is was very windy, and very cool out). We made the best of it and still had fun, but not with little kids.

 

Independence has more to do on the ship and better ports. Do that, combined with a few days in FLL!

[moesyk4]

Those just happen to be the two cruises that still have family oceanviews available that fit in our price range..we are doing our 10 year anniversary cruise a few months before so we are on a pretty tight budget.