Which cruise?

[drsel]

Dear RCI experts, I need your advice in selecting a RC cruise.

After Royal once again cancelled our Jan 2022 cruise, (making it  3 years in a row of cancelled cruises--2020, 2021, 2022), I will be getting yet another FCC in 30 days. (Aug 9, 2021).

 

Will the sail by date of this new FCC be Sep 30, 2022 or when?

 

I need to select 1 cruise based on 3 important criteria, ranked in order of importance--

1) Cost per night & total cost overall

2) Ship shows, entertainment & activities

3) Sightseeing at the ports (on our own)

 

My options are--

a)  Jewel 10N, Amsterdam to Barcelona

Zeebrugge Vigo Funchal Malaga Valencia

$926 Inside, 10N @ $93/day

 

b) Voyager 7N, Round Trip  from Copenhagen

Oslo Kristiansand Skagen Gothenborg

$740 Inside, 7N @$106/day

 

c) Voyager 7N, Round Trip from Copenhagen

Stockholm Tallinn St. Petersburg Helsinki

$846 Inside, 7N @ $121/day

 

d) Jewel 9N, Norwegian Fjiords from Amsterdam

Olden Flam Geiranger Alesund Kristiansand

$1,115 Outside, 9N @ $124/day

 

e) Brilliance 7N, Round Trip from Venice

Kotor Corfu Athens Mykonos Cephalonia

$941Inside, 7N @ $134/day

 

Kindlly rank these cruises in your order of preference, based on my criteria above. Thanks in anticipation

Edited July 11, 2021 by drsel

[Ourusualbeach]

2 hours ago, drsel said:

Dear RCI experts, I need your advice in selecting a RC cruise.

After Royal once again cancelled our Jan 2022 cruise, (making it  3 years in a row of cancelled cruises--2020, 2021, 2022), I will be getting yet another FCC in 30 days. (Aug 9, 2021).

 

Will the sail by date of this new FCC be Sep 30, 2022 or when?

 

I need to select 1 cruise based on 3 important criteria, ranked in order of importance--

1) Cost per night & total cost overall

2) Ship shows, entertainment & activities

3) Sightseeing at the ports (on our own)

 

My options are--

a)  Jewel 10N, Amsterdam to Barcelona

Zeebrugge Vigo Funchal Malaga Valencia

$926 Inside, 10N @ $93/day

 

b) Voyager 7N, Round Trip  from Copenhagen

Oslo Kristiansand Skagen Gothenborg

$740 Inside, 7N @$106/day

 

c) Voyager 7N, Round Trip from Copenhagen

Stockholm Tallinn St. Petersburg Helsinki

$846 Inside, 7N @ $121/day

 

d) Jewel 9N, Norwegian Fjiords from Amsterdam

Olden Flam Geiranger Alesund Kristiansand

$1,115 Outside, 9N @ $124/day

 

e) Brilliance 7N, Round Trip from Venice

Kotor Corfu Athens Mykonos Cephalonia

$941Inside, 7N @ $134/day

 

Kindlly rank these cruises in your order of preference, based on my criteria above. Thanks in anticipation

If shows, entertainment and activities are #2 on your list then Voyage would be my choice 

[Seamingo]

I might be on B and C so I think those are great choices!  But I haven’t been to any of the ports so can’t advise you.  
 

While I love the Brilliance, one of my cancelled RCI cruises was advertised as Venice but it wasn’t actually in Venice. It was a port over an hour away. If you want walkability and convenience, be sure to double check that port location. 

[Biker19]

Wait for a better price on e).

[Tapi]

C, D, E, B, A

[Zabba5]

C D B E A

Haven’t been on either ship but have done a lot of those ports.
Loved the Baltic as it isn’t easy to travel there if not on a cruise.

As someone said, you won’t be sailing from Venice so would have to factor in how to get to Ravenna.

Love the fjords but Norway is expensive for excursions and coffee/snacks/entry fees/gifts on shore.

[long4acruise]

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

If shows, entertainment and activities are #2 on your list then Voyage would be my choice 

Agree with Voyager - the ship and itineraries!  And if by chance these are alternating weekly itineraries, I'd try to do a B2B! Helps "justifly" the cost of the flights and do it all while in one place is our thinking.

 

Enjoy whatever you decide!

[NancyIL]

Does sightseeing “on our own” mean walking around the port or arranging your own tours? Some ports are close to the city center, whereas others are best accessed by a tour.  Regarding DIY port activities, you’ll need to book a tour with the ship or with a private vendor in order to disembark in St. Petersburg -  unless you have a Russian Visa. The Baltic ports of Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, and Helsinki are easy to tour on your own - with the help of a good guide book, like Rick Steves’ Scandinavia. If you join the CC roll call  thread for your cruise, you might be able join some tours organized by others on the roll call. 
 

I travel to Europe to see Europe, so I choose the itinerary first. I’m a frugal traveler, so price is also very important. Since airfare to Europe is expensive, I tend to spend additional time on land before and/or after the cruise. With multiple FCCs to use - b2b cruises might be a good use of your travel vouchers.

 

 I really enjoy the shows on a ship, but I’m often pretty tired after spending all day in port. Shows and activities become more important to me when I’m on a cruise with a lot of sea days.   

 

Edited July 11, 2021 by NancyIL

[drsel]

5 hours ago, long4acruise said:

Agree with Voyager - the ship and itineraries!  And if by chance these are alternating weekly itineraries, I'd try to do a B2B! Helps "justifly" the cost of the flights and do it all while in one place is our thinking.

 

Enjoy whatever you decide!

Yes they are back to back,  but I am also doing other Cruises of other lines, so I've got lots of justification for the cost of flights.

 

The main reason why I prefer side to side instead of back to back is because on the same ship, the shows entertainment and activities will be exactly the same and repeated along with the food.

Edited July 11, 2021 by drsel

[long4acruise]

29 minutes ago, drsel said:

Yes they are back to back,  but I am also doing other Cruises of other lines, so I've got lots of justification for the cost of flights.

 

That's great you have other cruises while there!  Enjoy them all as life isn't meant to stay in one place.

 

S2S are great especially when they line up perfectly - get off one ship in port and immediately board another in the same port.

 

Many times on port intensive itineraries and/or large ships, I like the B2B sailings as it gives me a chance to try something else on week 2 - a show I may have missed,  was too tired to go or just enjoyed it so much to attend again. Then a chance to go to different restaurants, especially on the Oasis class and walk off the calories tween sailings. 😉

[RobInMN]

D, then C.

The reason I would put D first is that I have been looking at Norwegian Fjord cruises for a few years now, and their availability has changed dramatically, whereas the Baltic states cruise seems to be a well established constant. We are booked on the Artic Circle cruise (basically a longer Norwegian Fjord cruise) on Jewel next Summer. The Baltic one is also on our list.

Edited July 12, 2021 by RobInMN

[satchimosmom]

I’ve been to the destinations on C.  It was my very first cruise.  Quite unforgettable.  Positively fabulous!  If you pick that one, I highly recommend an excursion to see the Russian folk dancers in St. Petersburg! 😁