Excitement Level: Ship vs Itinerary decision

[BoozinCroozin]

Would you write of a ship because you are not thrilled about the itinerary?

 

I am of the belief now that cruising will not happen this year. I am hoping they do, but reality is setting in. There are 3 options we can take if either or both of our cruises are canceled this year. We are looking to book for April 2022. The deposits can roll from the canceled cruises to the new booking if they do get canceled.

 

1. Mardi Gras - we are booked for July this year already. We want to experience the ship, but the itinerary is not too exciting. It is Amber Cove, Old San Juan, and Grand Turks. Amber cove is not exciting to us. Old San Juan we would do out own self walking tour (if we are permitted). Grand Turks we would go to the Baths to experience it.
2. Magic - We are booked over Thanksgiving. We are more confident this may sail than our July Mardi Gras cruise. The problem is if November sails, our April 2022 is the same exact itinerary (St Maarten, St Kitts, OSJ, Grand Turk). We like this itinerary and could do a few different things or the same ones if they were great. The only issue with this one is that it is the same itinerary.
3. Vista - This one goes to Belize, Roatan, and Cozumel. I love the itinerary for beach day and snorkeling. All 3 have great snorkeling opportunities for excursions or even beach days (Roatan). 

 

 

[1025cruise]

I book first based on the itinerary, then select the ship that meets the requirements.

[pe4all]

We cruise mostly for itinerary - not the ship.  In fact, we have been leaning away from the larger, newer ships because they are too "big" for us - too many passengers - even before covid hit.  We love the Magic because it has everything we want or need on a ship.  Perfect size for us.  

[stellarose]

family chose ship this time.  It will be a high school graduation gift for DD. so Mardi Gras it is.

[Jamesatgsu]

I don't think I'd want to do the same itinerary back to back. That has been part of our problem booking because we want to go somewhere new each time. 

 

Unfortunately the Magic was the 1st of our 3 cancelled cruises last year.

[BoozinCroozin]

Thanks for the information. So most so far choose itinerary over the ship. That eliminates one. I was never keen on the Mardi Gras itinerary when we looked at dates. There are a few other options for the Belize/Roatan/Cozumel route (Vista, NCL Breakaway, NCL Encore or Joy). We do like the Western for snorkeling purposes. Can't find or fit a Southern Caribbean for that time frame.

[bumorgan]

We usually book for both ship and itinerary. We really lucked out by booking Celebration for Dec 2022 because we have never been on a ship which was less than 5 years old and it has a decent itinerary also. 

[asalligo]

Easy choice for me #3 to Cozumel. I have now done almost all of the Caribbean ports. I used to think  what must places like St Kitts, St Thomas, Grenada, and Aruba be like since everyone wants to go there more than Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Well they can keep them. I think Cozumel and Grand Cayman are the best ports for snorkeling and diving and the water is so clear. Roatan is my favorite land activities port with that awesome chair lift. 

[Essiesmom]

We usually book for itinerary or if it’s a bargain and we really want to just GO!  But we have booked two for the ship:  QE2 because she was a one off, a classic, and retiring.  Itinerary wasn’t bad, either - Iceland and Norway.  Second was to be Celebrity Edge, but it was the first of our four to be cancelled- 36 hours from sailing.       

[Salem615]

I do a little of both.  I want to go where we have not been but I want a decent ship too. 

[ontheweb]

We pick the itinerary, and then see what is available in our time frame.

 

We even once had our TA try to talk us out of a cruise because it was an older ship without bells and whistles. We booked despite that and enjoyed not only the itinerary, but also the liveliness of the small 
Fascination out of San Juan.

[sid_9169]

Since they're trying to impose all these new rules about going out on your own, I would cruise just for the ship itself... I refuse to book Carnival excursions, and be herded like cattle somewhere... 

[Theosprey247]

Just now, sid_9169 said:

Since they're trying to impose all these new rules about going out on your own, I would cruise just for the ship itself... I refuse to book Carnival excursions, and be herded like cattle somewhere... 

I agree. If cruising under the “new rules” I would pick the ship.  Otherwise, It’s all about the ports with us.

 

JBet

[Indytraveler83]

For us port/itinerary are the biggest priority (at least in the past without the possible COVID rules) 

 

That said, there's a few ships I actively avoid and a few I steer toward. So the ship can certainly change what cruise I'm considering. 

[naxer]

We always go with the ship first.  With the exception of Alaska (and maybe Hawaii--that one got cancelled) we find ports and their activities very similar to one another. 

[JerseyGirlJen]

I book with close to an equal balance of both ship and itinerary.  However, all things equal I'd choose ship because weather or other issues could always prevent you from going to a certain port.  Itinerary is certainly important, but I also enjoy exploring a new ship, and if you're not thrilled with the ports you can spend more time on board doing activities and enjoying while everyone else is in port.  If you cruise enough eventually you're going to duplicate ports.  You can always do different excursions in each port than you did the time before.  

 

[jsglow]

We're generally itinerary folks as it pertains to Carnival.  That said, right now they could sail pretty much anywhere and we'd be happy! Well, maybe not New Jersey!  🤪

[Saint Greg]

Depends on the cruise. When I go on Mardi Gras and Celebration it’ll be for the ships. When I go to Alaska or Aruba it’ll be for the ports.

[joeyancho]

Usually for itinerary.  Like to go to new places.   But I also want to take my 7yo grandson on the Panorama for the water fun. 

[firefly333]

I choose by which port I can drive to 9 times out of 10. Exceptions being special, alaska, hawaii etc

 

If sept goes, twice in a row on vista. When I booked it was the only 7 day choice out of Galveston. It wouldnt be my first choice, but it was my only choice since there was no choice other than dream 6 and 8 days. Crossing my fingers. I'm tired of rescheduling. 

[BoozinCroozin]

Thank you for all the feedback. We can only cruise/vacation at very specific times of the year...school breaks. Unfortunately, cost comes into play during those times so some ships/itineraries are not available. Because we have a feeling April 2022 may wind up being our first cruise, we may be looking at NCL as well out of New Orleans (same Roatan, Belize, Cozumel itinerary). The cruises listed are the ones we can afford and now the NCL one as well. I would really love to do the Magic cruise, but if Nov does go, then we would be on the same ship/itinerary for our first 2 cruises.

[elklemi]

Minor note but the Baths are in Virgin Gorda not Grand Turk, still nice beaches to visit in Grand Turk.

[LoungingMcCoy]

I always book for itinerary.  As long as the ship has Guy's Burgers, trivia, games, and alcohol, and our room has a balcony, I'll be happy.

 

We just applied our FCC to a January 2022 cruise on the Mardi Gras.  (Fingers crossed!)  The huge, mega ship with a roller coaster almost made me look at other options, but it was the itinerary that I wanted.

 

I know we're relatively new to the cruising scene, but I'm not burnt out on any port yet.  For the upcoming cruise we're going back to Roatan (second time) and Cozumel (third time).  Our first time in Roatan nobody (my parents and wife) wanted to go to the sloth preserve so I went along with the excursion they chose.  I planned our 2021 family cruise, that was cancelled, trying to keep everyone happy, but it wasn't an itinerary that I was thrilled with.  I made it clear that our 2022 cruise was going to include sloth holding!  lol  Hopefully we'll be able to go back to West Bay as well.  In Cozumel I've never really seen the port.  Just meeting for our excursion and running to the taxis.  That's going to be a port day.

 

I like getting on the Carnival website and looking at the cruises and excursions.  There are so many things I want to do and see, even in the ports we've already visited.  Some of our experiences were so fun the first time I wouldn't mind to do them again.

Edited February 10, 2021 by LoungingMcCoy
added info

[keywest1]

Price and home port first, then itinerary, then ship.

[broberts]

If you like beach and snorkeling, Grand Turk is an excellent stop.