Book for the destination or the ship?

[zqvol]

On 9/18/2019 at 2:01 PM, MarahBee said:

HELP!!!!  I'm conflicted!  Carnival Destinations or Royal Caribbean Ships....... 

 

I have always cruised Carnival.  I have 7 cruises from 2010-2016.  I've taken a 3-year break and I have the itch again!  I would love to go to Turks & Caicos, but on a Carnival 4-5 day cruise it would be on the Sensation, which I have been on SO MANY TIMES.  UGHHHHH!

 

I am thinking of switching it up and going Royal Caribbean.  I have been curious about trying out one of their ships.  They look SO SO FUN!  But, I am not interested in their destinations much.

If you want Turks and Caicos, forget the cruise and fly. The cruise will go to Grand Turk, where you want to go is Provo, that is the island with the beautiful beaches and water.

[MarahBee]

Thank you for all of your advice.  We chose to book for the ship and try out something different with Royal Caribbean!!!!

[Aquahound]

42 minutes ago, MarahBee said:

Thank you for all of your advice.  We chose to book for the ship and try out something different with Royal Caribbean!!!!

 

Good choice.  So which one did you choose? 😊

[MarahBee]

Independence of the Seas - Haiti/Bahamas.  😀 

[leaveitallbehind]

Great ship and I think you will enjoy their private destination at Labadee (Haiti).

[Aquahound]

5 minutes ago, MarahBee said:

Independence of the Seas - Haiti/Bahamas.  😀 

 

3 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Great ship and I think you will enjoy their private destination at Labadee (Haiti).

 

Great choice!  Enjoy your cruise.  

[chipmaster]

On 9/18/2019 at 11:01 AM, MarahBee said:

HELP!!!!  I'm conflicted!  Carnival Destinations or Royal Caribbean Ships....... 

 

I have always cruised Carnival.  I have 7 cruises from 2010-2016.  I've taken a 3-year break and I have the itch again!  I would love to go to Turks & Caicos, but on a Carnival 4-5 day cruise it would be on the Sensation, which I have been on SO MANY TIMES.  UGHHHHH!

 

I am thinking of switching it up and going Royal Caribbean.  I have been curious about trying out one of their ships.  They look SO SO FUN!  But, I am not interested in their destinations much.

 

If the ship experience is what you look for then research the image, ship amenities and go for it.   Of course all the new ships are competing so show similar amenities and activities but clearly RCCL is a step above Carnival IMHO,  and even I'm intrigued to do a RCCL mega ship and make the ship the destination.     But for me personally it is always about the ports and the ship is the moving hotel.  Similar sometimes I stay at Le Meridien/Westin and many times Marriott, and all about the town the hotel is in, but nice hotel is always nice.  I personally would never take the best cruise line perceived ship with no port interest, no way.

[m*u*g*]

This answer is based on the title of the post.

 

We pick the location, say Carribean or Alaska, then pick the ship we want. We do this because if we really want to go on a particular ship like Ovation and she's in Australia, we're out of luck. We usually go with the newest one available or a ship we haven't been on before. If none of the ships are to our taste, we wait or look at other locations. The exact route doesn't matter that much, however, if one of the stops is one we really don't like, we pass and keep looking. Dates play a role in this, but we are usually flexible.

 

All that being said, if you don't care for the RCI locations, check out the Oasis class ships and pick the one with the most sea days. Yes there 6,000 passengers, but I never really feel cramped since there's so much to do. These ships are often the destination. It's my favorite class of ship by far.

[leaveitallbehind]

chipmaster and m*u*g the OP already indicated they have decided on RCI Independence of the Seas and are looking for a 4-5 day itinerary.