POLL (US Cruisers): Would you prefer to sail an international cruise that departs from the US vs. taking an int'l flight?

[CCAubs]

We want to know: If you could board a cruise in a US domestic port and sail an international itinerary, would you choose that over flying to an international departure port to board your cruise?

Edited April 11, 2022 by CCAubs

[shipgeeks]

Sailing would have to be US at both ends to interest us, ie Florida to Med, around the Med, back to Florida.  No longer willing to fly more than a couple of hours.

[Essiesmom]

Strictly speaking, unless you are sailing on a US registered ship, such as Pride of America, American Cruise Lines, river cruises, the small lines in Alaska, all cruises from US ports are international, as they must call in a foreign port.  I get what you want, but I think it is unrealistic unless you have a lot of time, and money.  EM

[iancal]

Not a fan of TA's.    Too many sea days for us.

 

We would not even consider a domestic embarkation for a Europe, SA, or Asia cruise.

 

Last time we were in Europe we picked up a last minute 8 day cruise from Rome to BCN.   We had the option of booking the second segment, a TA to FLL, or cruise air home from BCN.  We happily selected the latter.  Many of those on the 8 day segment were signed up for the TA.

Edited April 11, 2022 by iancal

[TheOldBear]

We've settled on NYC to Southampton round trips as our basic cruise - with a variety of port visits in between Southampton stops [Normandy, Low Countries, Hamburg...] out next planned sailing has a 12 night Norway sailing in between the crossings. 

[ontheweb]

Too many sea days before the real cruise would start, so we would rather fly.

 

Your poll would not let me vote on just the first question (I tried). So, I voted on both though I would not be HAPPY to fly internationally, just a better option.

[cruizergal70]

It'd be great but the number of sea days have to be reduced.

[Bound4Bermuda]

At this point in my life, I wouldn’t want to take an extra week off of work and would fly. However, someday when I’m retired I’m looking forward to trying a trans-Atlantic cruise and then continuing on from there.

[Markanddonna]

I don't want the risk of being on the ocean for that long. I love TAs, but not yet.

 

[rkacruiser]

My answers of "Yes" to both questions are relevant only to the current travel situation in 2022.  

 

I have flown to begin an international cruise starting in a foreign port and would have no qualms about doing so again.  Except, now, a certain virus impacts my travel decisions.  

[cruisemom42]

I'm still working, with limited vacation time (although more generous than some due to long years with the same company).  Still, I would not want to "blow" 5-6 days at each end of a European cruise. In Europe I cruise for the ports. 

 

Honestly, not too much of a fan of sea days on ANY cruise, but even less so in Europe.

[Flatbush Flyer]

8 hours ago, CCAubs said:

We want to know: If you could board a cruise in a US domestic port and sail an international itinerary, would you choose that over flying to an international departure port to board your cruise?

Depends on the itinerary.
We avoid Florida for all of the obvious reasons. But, we’d consider NYC departures from the East Coast and SF(preferred)/LA departures from the West Coast. Under certain circumstances, San Diego and Seattle could work too.  
Note, however, that we also don’t care for RT cruises compared to OW when the OW has interesting favorite or new port (at each end) that have us doing land portions (and making the most out of the airfare). 
Of course, cruising on a preferred line that includes air fare or an air credit helps offset the cost of Plan A.

[Flatbush Flyer]

9 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Sailing would have to be US at both ends to interest us, ie Florida to Med, around the Med, back to Florida.  No longer willing to fly more than a couple of hours.

Bizclass with lay flat seats and good lounges (e.g., United’s Polaris) make all the difference!

[Aquahound]

I guess I don't really understand this thread.  Most cruises out of US ports are international itineraries.  

 

I also don't understand some of the replies.  Won't sail out of Florida for "obvious reasons"?  Not sure what that means, but ok.    

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, Aquahound said:

I guess I don't really understand this thread.  Most cruises out of US ports are international itineraries.  

Poorly worded question?  I assume OP meant “intercontinental” (rather than “international”)

[Joebucks]

There are pros and cons to each. Personally, I hate both long flights and excessive sea days. If you've got more time on your hands and love sea days, then why not sail from the US? Flying to international ports gives you far more choice than TA options would.

 

10 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Bizclass with lay flat seats and good lounges (e.g., United’s Polaris) make all the difference!

 

Not everyone can afford, or is even willing to shell out a few thousand per person for such a flight.

[kochleffel]

I'm not sure that I understood the question, either. As a practical matter, a cruise to distant foreign ports that would leave from and return to a US port would be a long cruise. Many people like to combine a transatlantic sailing from a US port with the same ship's following European itinerary (for example, US to Barcelona followed by a Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona) but then fly home.

 

One option for Europe is a TATL, in either direction, combined with sailing on the Queen Mary in the other direction, if the goal is to avoid a long flight and if the Cunard style is appealing.

[sparks1093]

20 hours ago, CCAubs said:

We want to know: If you could board a cruise in a US domestic port and sail an international itinerary, would you choose that over flying to an international departure port to board your cruise?

We don't mind flying to Europe but do one day dream of doing a Trans Atlantic over, visiting family and then flying home. We have to wait until we retire to do that though given the amount of time involved.

 

 

[restasured]

20 hours ago, CCAubs said:

We want to know: If you could board a cruise in a US domestic port and sail an international itinerary, would you choose that over flying to an international departure port to board your cruise?

Not a direct answer, but I would much prefer to sail from LA or SF to Asia and then to Australia, Bali, Hawaii and back to LA or Frisco.  Same with the Atlantic.  Sail from Florida to the Med then to the Southern Carib and back to Florida.  I complete dislike the "cattle car" flights of today.  Much like taking the Hawaii Island cruise with NCL vs one from Princess or Carnival.  You can cruise from Cali to Hawaii and back, twice, for what it costs to fly to Hawaii and cruise and fly back.  But of course you would have to be independently wealthy or comfortable and retired.

[restasured]

11 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Bizclass with lay flat seats and good lounges (e.g., United’s Polaris) make all the difference!

No doubt, but for a 1 way ticket to an international port costs twice what the cruise does.  I would rather be on the ship for 2 weeks than be in the air for 10 hours, for the same price.

[navybankerteacher]

Having the time, and able to enjoy my own and my wife’s company, I have no problem with a reasonable number of sea days each side of land travel in Europe.  So, on a trip starting in the Spring an Eastbound repositioning pairs with a Westbound TA on QM2, or in the Fall an Eastbound TA on QM 2 followed by a Westbound repositioning works to avoid flying either way.

[restasured]

9 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Poorly worded question?  I assume OP meant “intercontinental” (rather than “international”)

Seems pretty well worded.  By international, I believe they are saying places other than Mexico or Canada.  Transatlantic cruises I would consider international. A 4 - 5 day cruise to Cozumel from a port from Texas, Louisiana, Florida, etc and back, to me, is not international.  Even though you go to a foreign country.  I have to believe the OP is talking about Transatlantic or Transpacific cruises and not quick trip cruises to Cabo from SF.

[sparks1093]

20 minutes ago, restasured said:

Seems pretty well worded.  By international, I believe they are saying places other than Mexico or Canada.  Transatlantic cruises I would consider international. A 4 - 5 day cruise to Cozumel from a port from Texas, Louisiana, Florida, etc and back, to me, is not international.  Even though you go to a foreign country.  I have to believe the OP is talking about Transatlantic or Transpacific cruises and not quick trip cruises to Cabo from SF.

You may not consider travel to Mexico or Canada to be international travel, but it is within the definition since you are traveling from one nation to another. While intercontinental may have been clearer I think most people picked up on the OP's meaning.

[Wayfairers]

Love cruises RT from the US to Europe.   I would love more trans Pacific options from either US or Canada.  

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, restasured said:

No doubt, but for a 1 way ticket to an international port costs twice what the cruise does.  I would rather be on the ship for 2 weeks than be in the air for 10 hours, for the same price.

Soooo WRONG for many cruise itineraries! 
Check ITA Matrix. Currently, you will find that one way tix in a multi-city configuration (required when you start/end your cruise in different ports) are often far less expensive than booking a single multi-city ticket. 
In fact, we are doing that in May-July with an SFO-ARN flight outbound and EWR-SFO flight inbound. For bizclass, the two different tix bottom line at $2000 cheaper than the multi-city ticket. Even for a domestic RT flight, always check the OW fares. Occasionally, you may be very surprised! (things have changed in recent years because of “demand pricing.”

As for length of the cruise vs air time to get there: depends on itinerary. With very rare exceptions (an Amazon cruise), we have little interest in MIA-MIA Caribbean cruises. And (again), since we book long cruises with interesting intercontinental itineraries, a 14 hour bizclass flight from SFO or LAX to elsewhere on the Pacific rim (or with possible connections to get to Indian Ocean ports) are worth the air time.

Edited April 12, 2022 by Flatbush Flyer