What Determines Which Cruise You Book?

[cruisin_bliss]

For us, coming in at the top of the list is price and port. Being in AZ we like being able to drive to CA rather than having the extra expense on flying.

 

Next would be Cruise Line/Ship, then schedule.

[mellon1]

IMO, you skipped the most important option: ship. That's how I pick a cruise.

 

We totally agree. WE love the grand class ships out of Ft. L to the Caribbean. We feel we only have 2 more left, as after that it will be just Royal Regal and not interested cause we like a suite aft big covered balcony. We will have to switch back to RCCL. We LOVE princess, but they have given us no other option

[ms.sunburn]

Price is tops - love a deal!

Ship is more important than cruise line.

Won't sail on the same ship twice.

Itinerary is more important than ship.

[Chief Vette]

1. Price on PCL mini cabin

2. February cruise

3. Cruise Director

[Getaway Girl 73]

Price is tops - love a deal!

Ship is more important than cruise line.

Won't sail on the same ship twice.

Itinerary is more important than ship.

 

Well said, Ms. Sunburn!!! I like that about not sailing the same ship twice--there's too many!

[Iamcruzin]

For me it would be:

 

1. Itinerary
   
2. Price
   
3. Time of year
   

I don't care about which ship but since Princess hasn't been able to meet my needs in terms of itinerary and timing I booked Celebrity for the last two cruises.

[geoherb]

For us, it's date first (due to DH's job at a community college and his restricted vacation schedule), then price, then cruise line and ship, followed by itinerary.

[skf]

All the OP's considerations, with departure port maybe in the lead. We can get to FLL easily by air, or as for this year we drove there thru Orlando where I have family.

When booking a transatlantic we far prefer from Europe to North America as the travel days are 25 hours long compared to eastbound's cursed 23-hour days which really screws up our internal clocks.

[BassettMom]

....

When booking a transatlantic we far prefer from Europe to North America as the travel days are 25 hours long compared to eastbound's cursed 23-hour days which really screws up our internal clocks.

 

I've been thinking about doing a TA, but thought the other way, North America to Europe would be better so I would arrive in Europe ready to do post cruise tours without the jet lag. I thought the gradual change would make it easier. Is the time change every day and is it the cumulative effect that leaves your internal clock still screwed up? If so, I may have to rethink it.

 

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[BassettMom]

Interesting what everyone prioritizes when booking a cruise.

 

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[pris993]

Basically we look at 4 cruise lines: Princess, HAL, Cunard, Celebrity, maybe NCL.

 

Check what they are doing in various cruises markets: TAs, Mediterranean, cruises out of SF, cruises visiting ports of interest.

 

Look at interesting cruises very carefully, time of year, day of week... like to avoid holidays, check whether ports of interests are on Sunday ... if so skip, how long ship in port, whether tender or not, etc. Consider air options and ease of getting to and from cruise and related costs.

 

Costs of cruise and other related costs.

[PamJack]

We are snowbirds and like to take our yearly cruise in early April to extend our time down south. So a Florida port is number 1. Next is length of cruise--7-8 days. Then, it would be price. After that, ship and itinerary are about equal, although number of sea days (the more, the better) would sway us.

[sparky-elpaso]

We're retired so time of year doesn't matter. And we're working on our "bucket list" so:

 

1. Itinerary

 

2. Cost

 

3. Cruise line and ship

 

We decide where we want to go and then check the different cruise lines to see who goes there.

 

Since we don't have to worry about the time element we like longer cruises. If we have to fly across the pond we look for a b2b with a TA back to the states.

[T.O.cruisers]

I still have a paying job so vacation time is first. Then, itinerary. Price is next and will ultimately determine the ship. Any ship is better than a land vacation.

[legaljen1969]

1. Schedule

a. if it is just my husband and I, we generally pick times when schools are not on vacation only b/c it tends to drive up the prices when the ships are in high demand for family vacations. We don't mind families and don't mind kids at all.

b. If it is cruising as a whole family, we look for times when my brother, sister in law and nieces DO have time off and can be away from school.

2. Price- same factors as before. We may spring for a larger/ more desirable cabin if we can get it at a good price at an off peak time. We tend to "relax" more when we cruise by ourselves. We enjoy the balcony and reading and having pre-dinner drinks out there. Otherwise, not in the room that much especially when we cruise with our nieces and will generally pick a smaller if it 's more affordable.

3. Costs of travel to get to port

4. Ship- We will generally pick the ship based on price and whether we like the itinerary.

[cruisemom42]

Itinerary -- including very detailed look at ports and how much time is spent in each one

 

Cruise line and ship -- there are several lines I won't consider and I much prefer a smaller ship to a larger one

 

Timing -- length of cruise and when it is offered (still working, so this is also important)

 

Lesser factors that may play a role -- Enrichment/lecturers on board, dining onboard, amount of solo supplement

 

 

I have to disagree that a cruise is always better than a land trip. Some places really lend themselves more to exploration by land -- including many European countries (exception of Greece), Israel, Turkey, China, etc. Other places are great for cruising -- Caribbean, Hawaii, Alaska, Norwegian Fjords, SE Asia, Tahiti, etc.

[maywell]

1. price of getting there (subway, airline, Amtrak, greyhound, etc)

 

2. Price of the fare and other related costs (DSC/tips/gratitiues, hotel, meals at ports, etc)

 

3. Does it fall on the week of my birthday? How long do I plan to be away for it, to squeeze in any last minute trips for the year?

 

4. The ship; it's overall amenities plus any known major issues that doesn't have a work around solution that can't be fixed with going at a off-peak time (like dinner), not using a service, or going elsewhere on the ship.

 

5. Itinerary and what I haven't done or don't mind doing again, to narrow down the choices. [emoji39]

 

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[cruiseapril]

1. Departure Port in Florida (we like to stay a few days pre or post cruise for the warmth)

 

2. Itinerary

 

3. Length of Cruise

 

4. Cruise Line & Price

[John Bull]

Itinerary & cost.

 

Some folk treat the ship as their vacation.

I can understand that, but I don't think they'd be happy with some of the rust-buckets we've sailed, due to our itinerary & price considerations. :D

 

I guess if you're happy with a particular cruise line there's a tendency to stick with the same line until they eventually wind you up just once too often. But we're not tempted by frequent-cruiser perks, and we like plenty of variety - even if a new experience is sometimes less-than-satisfactory.

 

Dates used to be paramount due to work commitments.

Retirement is a wonderful thing, and brings the opportunities of long cruises & late-booked bargains. You should try it sometime :)

 

I'll agree with a previous poster about price.

We don't look for cheapest, we look for best value - and those two things are very different.

Because every penny of our money is soiled by blood sweat & tears, we refuse to pay over-the-odds and give short-shrift to those who try to rip us off.

 

Bassettmom - on t/A's the clocks change incrementally, an hour at a time. You should feel no lag. :)

 

JB :)

[skf]

Is the time change every day and is it the cumulative effect that leaves your internal clock still screwed up? If so, I may have to rethink it.

Yeah, the cumulative effect of losing an hour each day is not great. (Once you reach the point where you start going north or south the hours do not change so quickly.) We find it better to fly east and deal with the jet lag all at once. Of course, we do go at least a day early. Next year's cruise in October is Rome to FLL and we will have 2+ days to see what we missed two years ago.

Steve

[Bizmark'sMom]

Itinerary

length (I need to be away for at least 2 weeks to make a long haul flight worthwhile. If cruising from a US port, shorter cruises are fine.)

Ship (I strongly prefer smaller ships)

Price

[bakersdozen12]

The best itinerary in my price range during the dates I want to sail.

Edited October 23, 2015 by bakersdozen12

[dorisis]

Saw this question asked on another board; how do you pick which cruise to book?

 

For me it would be:

1. Time of year

2. Cruise line

3. Price

4. Itinerary/ports

 

 

 

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By ship. I like smaller ships. I do not like to cruise in summer months. Price is always important.

[CAZephyr]

1 Mood) Getaway 7 - 10 days; or, site-seeing and/or TA 14-20 days.

2 Cost) Don't be afraid to ask for better deal on already booked trip.

3 Itinerary) Itinerary/cost is cyclical. We have several places we'd like...the right price comes along.

4 Ship) Rather than "Know what we like", "We like what we know." We really like new Princess ships.

[T.O.cruisers]

Itinerary -- including very detailed look at ports and how much time is spent in each one

 

 

I have to disagree that a cruise is always better than a land trip. Some places really lend themselves more to exploration by land -- including many European countries (exception of Greece), Israel, Turkey, China, etc. Other places are great for cruising -- Caribbean, Hawaii, Alaska, Norwegian Fjords, SE Asia, Tahiti, etc.

 

I should have rephrased that comment. I will never spend another week at an all inclusive resort in the Caribbean. Tried it and don't care for it. I agree with land trips in Europe and Israel. You can only see so much in a day and I would definitely love to spend some time exploring by car at some point. First I have to finish seeing all the cruise ports for the first time. I've been to Israel twice from top to bottom and most in between. Can't possibly see enough on a couple day trips from a ship. But I'm in love with the cruise experience.