Adventure from Nassau or Vision from Bermuda?

[TexasBelle]

I was on a 15 day cruise on Vision OTS in 2017.  I think it had just been refurbished.  It's a fine ship and the captain was amazing.  I chose it because it is a small ship and it was a long cruise for my first solo cruise.  I normally pick my cruises for the ports and the dates.  

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I’m in the minority. I much prefer a ship to feel like a ship and not a shopping mall. If looking at Royal Caribbean I will not consider a sailing on Voyager, Freedom or Oasis classes for this reason. Did the Mariner once when she was new and was ready to get off by day 3 of a 7 day sailing. Very inward focused and little connection to the sea.  By contrast I have spent over 60 days on Radiance class ships and 20 days on Vision class.  So if I were to book it would be Vision without a bit of hesitation. 
 

Edited March 24, 2021 by AtlantaCruiser72

[TexasBelle]

1 minute ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

I’m in the minority. I much prefer a ship to feel like a ship and not a shopping mall. If looking at Royal Caribbean I will not consider a sailing on Voyager, Freedom or Oasis classes for this reason. Did the Mariner once when she was new and was ready to get off by day 3 of a 7 day sailing. Very inward focused and little connection to the sea.  By contrast I have spent over 60 days on Radiance class ships and 20 days on Vision class.  So if I were to book it would be Vision without a bit of hesitation. 
 

Yep, I prefer the smaller ships too.  You get to know more of the crew and passengers.  Small ships can go where larger ships can't also.

[TPCRUISER2]

Been on all classes of ships. And have been to both islands many times. Bermuda is my very favorite! So if I was going to spend the money it would be Bermuda All the way! Just my 2 cents.

[Charles4515]

1 minute ago, TPCRUISER2 said:

Been on all classes of ships. And have been to both islands many times. Bermuda is my very favorite! So if I was going to spend the money it would be Bermuda All the way! Just my 2 cents.

Why fly to Bermuda to cruise to Coco Cay? I was at Coco Cay in January 2020. A crowded beach day. I love Bermuda. Been there about 15 times.  If I was going to fly to Bermuda I would stay on the island. The Bermuda to private island itinerary makes little sense. 

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, TexasBelle said:

Yep, I prefer the smaller ships too.  You get to know more of the crew and passengers.  Small ships can go where larger ships can't also.

A smaller ship makes sense when you are going somewhere. There is no advantage to a smaller ship to go from Bermuda to Coco Cay.  Quantum class can do both Bermuda and Coco Cay.  There is a disadvantage to a smaller ship between Bermuda and the Bahamas. It is not the Caribbean. The Royal Caribbean press release is a lie. The ship is not sailing the Caribbean. The seas can be get pretty rough and stormy in the Atlantic Ocean. They will be sailing in the Bermuda Triangle. Surprised they don’t call those cruises Bermuda Triangle cruises. 

Edited March 24, 2021 by Charles4515

[RD64]

6 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

 

Yes, I remember seeing the smaller HAL ships in Hamilton. What a great location! Step off right into Hamilton! 

Holland America’s Veendam used to dock in Hamilton for three days, on a seven day cruise.

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by RD64
Includedquote

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, RD64 said:

Holland America’s Veendam used to dock in Hamilton for three days, on a seven day cruise.

 

 

I was on Veendam twice. Veendam was a small ship. Vision of the Seas is a smaller ship than Adventure of the Seas but Vision of the Seas is not a small ship. I have been on small ships and I have to chuckle at Vision being called a small ship. I have been on Vision class and I have been on Adventure of the Seas and I would not sail on either of these two cruises.

Edited March 24, 2021 by Charles4515

[fred30]

Bermuda's airport is small and there are not a lot of flights there each day.  I doubt there is much excess capacity.  1000 passengers is almost 5 full jets. 

 

[Charles4515]

38 minutes ago, fred30 said:

Bermuda's airport is small and there are not a lot of flights there each day.  I doubt there is much excess capacity.  1000 passengers is almost 5 full jets. 

 

A new increased capacity terminal has been completed.

https://airport-world.com/bermudas-new-airport-terminal-proves-popular-with-passengers/

[Booking It]

16 hours ago, Empehi said:

...Bermuda is very nice and safe (the complete opposite of Nassau)...

This is my exact hesitation for booking Adventure. You have to rely heavily on things like transportation, hotels, etc... to use that port for departure. I know we got fleeced at every turn the times we have been in Nassau, but you don't have a choice because there are no other options. I don't like being taken advantage of just because that's how things are there. 

 

Vision is too small/old for us, so we may wait to see what the other options are, but spending so much time in Bermuda is tempting...

[fred30]

30 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

A new increased capacity terminal has been completed.

https://airport-world.com/bermudas-new-airport-terminal-proves-popular-with-passengers/

Still doesn't matter.  With larger ships this would make a huge one way demand before and after each cruise to and from different airports in the US.

The smaller partially filled ship probably works out well for Bermuda.  Most people probably stretch their vacation out and stay for extra days or a week.  Flying when there are open seats.   This puts them in the normal air traffic load.

[goldfish65]

Just my thoughts as I haven't been on either ship. Vision would give you a more genteel experience seeing Bermuda vs. dirty Nassau and the expense of airfare there making it more exclusive. The sea days in a smaller ship where you such good outward views and maybe rougher waters sounds like a more of an "adventure" to me. 

[Charles4515]

23 minutes ago, fred30 said:

Still doesn't matter.  With larger ships this would make a huge one way demand before and after each cruise to and from different airports in the US.

The smaller partially filled ship probably works out well for Bermuda.  Most people probably stretch their vacation out and stay for extra days or a week.  Flying when there are open seats.   This puts them in the normal air traffic load.

 

They might charter flights. As I posted earlier I think logistics and provisioning (food, supplies, toilet paper etc.) are issues that would affect the size of a ship they could homeport.Then there is fuel. They will have to fuel there. 

[Baron Barracuda]

13 hours ago, dswallow said:

 

It's not the main pier (Royal Naval Dockyard) we were talking about. A more picturesque area that can only handle smaller ship visits (Hamilton Port and St. George's Port).

 

When I was trying to locate ships in the Hamilton Port I used information at CruisePlum which showed Hamilton instead of Royal Naval Dockyard, but apparently that was just incorrect information for those ships and they still are Royal Navy Dockyard visits.

 

Docked at Hamilton while on Viking Sun.  Just under 1k passengers, Length 748, beam 94, draught 21.  Barely squeezed past reefs.  

[Karma5]

I would prefer Vision to Adventure any day..........for many different reasons......