Would you rather?

[melissamg30]

Having a hard time deciding. Do I book on a brand new ship which is going to the same ports of call we have been to already...or Do I book an older ship we have been on already with never been to ports of call?? Hubby is no help..tells me to book whatever:\ Havent been on vacation since 2009 so anything would be nice. Does anyone have a preference?? Help!! Lol.

[sail7seas]

What are the ports?

[crystalspin]

New ports! (Unless you *loved* the places you have been so much you just want to go back...)

 

I book by itinerary and not ship, though... with (usually) a measure of bang-for-buck thrown in.

[paul929207]

I cruise for the ports

[sail7seas]

In Caribbean, ports matter less to me than ship. In Europe, the opposite.

Canada/NE ports and ship about equal.

Edited January 18, 2015 by sail7seas

[Mary Ellen]

All that matters is what is more important to you. It's your cruise. :D

[Karysa]

I would need the names of the ports and the ships before giving an opinion on this.

[Warm Breezes]

Having a hard time deciding. Do I book on a brand new ship which is going to the same ports of call we have been to already...or Do I book an older ship we have been on already with never been to ports of call?? Hubby is no help..tells me to book whatever:\ Havent been on vacation since 2009 so anything would be nice. Does anyone have a preference?? Help!! Lol.

 

We've done both. It all depends on what you want more for this vacation.

[Velvetwater]

Old ship with new ports every time.

 

Most mainstream lines have a good product regardless of the ship. I see you have sailed with Carnival. If its them then I would choose the Fantasy going to new places over the Breeze going to the same places if that example helps some.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Velvetwater

[Lionesss]

We would opt for the newer ship.

 

Exploring the ship for us is half the fun.

 

Oh and we are probably in the minority of loving the Western Caribbean.

 

We seem to keep doing them over and over, and we like it.

 

Safe travels.

[SuiteTraveler]

Nowadays mainstream mass market cruising can be divided into 2 different types of cruises:

 

1. Cruise to experience the ship. These would be the cruises on the Mega-ships:

RCCL:

Oasis of the Seas

Allure of the Seas

Quantum of the Seas

 

NCL:

Epic

Getaway

Breakaway

Escape

 

Carnival:

Magic

 

2. Cruise for the ports of call. These tend to be on older ships, which are still very nice but don't include the extremely elaborate features found on the newer ships.

 

We do both types of cruising. We pick #1 when we just want to relax and #2 when we want to experience new places. Both types of cruises are equally valid, both are good in their own ways. It's really about what you want out of your cruise.

 

There is actually one additional type of cruising which is very interesting to experience and that is all inclusive cruising. This tends to be on smaller vessels. You get that on River cruises such as Uniworld, Viking, and some of the upscale ocean liners. The price may seem like a lot more at first, but if you figure out what you would have paid for wine, tours, and other extras, it usually comes out to a similar price to what you would be paying for less inclusive cruises.

 

ALL of these cruises have their pros and cons, but I really think that they are all really GREAT!

[Lerin]

I would need the names of the ports and the ships before giving an opinion on this.

Ditto. I've done ships twice and ports twice. Some I could do a dozen times, others I wouldn't care to ever see again.

[Friend100]

Nowadays mainstream mass market cruising can be divided into 2 different types of cruises:

 

1. Cruise to experience the ship. These would be the cruises on the Mega-ships:

RCCL:

Oasis of the Seas

Allure of the Seas

Quantum of the Seas

 

NCL:

Epic

Getaway

Breakaway

Escape

 

Carnival:

Magic

 

2. Cruise for the ports of call. These tend to be on older ships, which are still very nice but don't include the extremely elaborate features found on the newer ships.

 

We do both types of cruising. We pick #1 when we just want to relax and #2 when we want to experience new places. Both types of cruises are equally valid, both are good in their own ways. It's really about what you want out of your cruise.

 

There is a 3rd type. Sailings on an older or smaller ship without the bells and whistles but yet going to the same old ports. These are the ones most difficult to sell, but also its where values can be found.

[melissamg30]

Thank you to everyone who replied with their input. Sorry it took me awhile to reply we were having computer issues..

 

Soooo I'm guessing the Ship names and ports would have been helpful...DuH! LoL!

My husband and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary this year and wanted to do something exciting. What better way than to go on a new adventure...Right? Here goes...

 

The older ship we have been on already is the Carnival Liberty. She will be leaving out of Puerto Rico and visiting all new ports for us.. St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St Kitts and St. Maaten . As a bonus, since we have never been to P.R. leaving from there will also be a new experience. That makes a total of 6 new places to visit. Now I'm all about an adventure but maybe I 'am biting off more than we can chew on this one.. After all it is a vacation and maybe jus maybe its to many ports and we will need a vacation from our vacation...hahah!

 

The NEW ship would be NCL Getaway going to ports we have visited several times.. Great Stirrup Cay:), Ocho Rios:), Grand Caymen:) and Cozumel:D ! With Cozumel being our most favorite place EVER!! We love it there.

 

NCL also has the all NEW Escape (Inaugural season) sailings as well. Going to ST. Thomas, Tortola and Nassau...and outta those ports the only one that excites me is ST. Thomas......Am I wrong on this?

 

I'am still up in the air on this one. My husband really doesn't care. His only input was that he really don't care to go to Nassau. What a big help right! Gahh!

 

Any info or past experiences at ports would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance!!

[bobbycruiser]

Thank you to everyone who replied with their input. Sorry it took me awhile to reply we were having computer issues..

 

Soooo I'm guessing the Ship names and ports would have been helpful...DuH! LoL!

My husband and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary this year and wanted to do something exciting. What better way than to go on a new adventure...Right? Here goes...

 

The older ship we have been on already is the Carnival Liberty. She will be leaving out of Puerto Rico and visiting all new ports for us.. St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St Kitts and St. Maaten . As a bonus, since we have never been to P.R. leaving from there will also be a new experience. That makes a total of 6 new places to visit. Now I'm all about an adventure but maybe I 'am biting off more than we can chew on this one.. After all it is a vacation and maybe jus maybe its to many ports and we will need a vacation from our vacation...hahah!

 

The NEW ship would be NCL Getaway going to ports we have visited several times.. Great Stirrup Cay:), Ocho Rios:), Grand Caymen:) and Cozumel:D ! With Cozumel being our most favorite place EVER!! We love it there.

 

NCL also has the all NEW Escape (Inaugural season) sailings as well. Going to ST. Thomas, Tortola and Nassau...and outta those ports the only one that excites me is ST. Thomas......Am I wrong on this?

 

I'am still up in the air on this one. My husband really doesn't care. His only input was that he really don't care to go to Nassau. What a big help right! Gahh!

 

Any info or past experiences at ports would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance!!

 

With all that being said, I would probably go for the ports. The Mega ships are cool and extravagant and all, but that is a pretty awesome itinerary if you ask me.

[Woobstr112G]

Old ship with new ports every time.

 

Most mainstream lines have a good product regardless of the ship. I see you have sailed with Carnival. If its them then I would choose the Fantasy going to new places over the Breeze going to the same places if that example helps some.

 

Agreed.....:):):)

 

Bob

[crystalspin]

I would always choose a ship or line I was familiar with (assuming I didn't hate it!) and shiny new ports!

 

But then the mega-ships don't beckon to me. They are floating resorts; the ship is the attraction, if it attracts you...

[abcsteward]

I would pick old ship new ports...

 

The Liberty's Ports is the same one I went on The Victory for... St. Maarten is amazing... And the other islands are all nice... I like the Eastern MUCH better than Western... ;)

[Karysa]

I prefer Eastern and Southern to Western myself. I do like the Poolside bands and Caribbean music that they play on NCL far more than the gigantic noise spewing video screen that was on the Valor cruise in 2013 that I took from Puerto Ricco.

 

Since I have been to all of the Southern islands I would choose the Getaway over the Liberty. If I hadn't been to the islands I would make sure that I booked a balcony cabin and sail on the Liberty.

[Aquahound]

I also wanted to see the ports/ships before giving my opinion. Generally, I would say go for the new ports and now that I know the new ship is NCL, I definitely say go for the new ports on the older ship.

[NMLady]

Having a hard time deciding. Do I book on a brand new ship which is going to the same ports of call we have been to already...or Do I book an older ship we have been on already with never been to ports of call?? Hubby is no help..tells me to book whatever:\ Havent been on vacation since 2009 so anything would be nice. Does anyone have a preference?? Help!! Lol.

 

We cruise for the itinerary not the ship so we look for itineraries that have at least one port new to us.

 

However, we also prefer the smaller ships which are usually the older ones.

[biker@sea]

St. Thomas, St. Lucia , St. Kitt's , St. Marten and Barbados is the cruise I'd do. :D

[SuiteTraveler]

They are both really nice cruises. I do love the Southern Caribbean - those islands are fantastic, I'm only sorry that Curacao and Grenada are not included in the itinerary - those two islands added in would make for a perfect Southern Caribbean cruise for me!

 

I think if you want to experience these islands you have not been to, then you really ought to take the cruise out of Puerto Rico. That is not too many ports and I think you will enjoy them, especially

 

If you just want to chill out and go to the fabulous spa, not leave the ship so much as just enjoy the ship, see great shows, eat at different restaurants every night, then the Getaway is your ship.

 

But you seem really excited about seeing these islands you have not yet seen, so I think that Liberty is probably the cruise you should pick. The only other thing you might consider is if you can find a cruise through the Panama Canal or another Southern Caribbean cruise that includes Curacao and Grenada and St. Lucia. Of all the islands, these 3 are the most distinctive and interesting, IMO. My favorite island is St. Lucia for the drive through volcano, Pitons and great beaches and snorkeling, but I love visiting Grenada - the Spice Island - so very fascinating and I love to buy spices there. Curacao has a pontoon bridge and colonial Dutch style buildings - it's very different and really enjoyable. I'm afraid I may have left you with more questions than answers. But those are my 3 favorite islands so thought I would mention them. If you don't see them this time, there is always the future.

[LOVINCRUIZIN]

St. Thomas, St. Lucia , St. Kitt's , St. Marten and Barbados is the cruise I'd do. :D

 

 

This gets my vote, too :D

[zookiebird]

Another vote for older ship, new ports. Not a fan of NCL or the Western Caribbean. Haven't been on Carnival but the Southern itinerary on the Liberty is teriffic!!