Prima Caribbean or Breakaway Transatlantic

[schmoopie17]

We've narrowed our choices to a Prima Caribbean cruise in January or a Breakaway TA in late April.

 

We would very much like to experience the new ship smell of the Prima, but it's only seven days. And we've been to the Caribbean.

For a little more money, we can get 16 days, plus get to see Italy, Spain, Portugal, etc., (places we've never been) but on an older ship.

 

Leaning towards the TA, since we want to experience that, as well.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

[tallnthensome]

There should be no indecision. The Prima cruises are way overpriced. Take the 16 day destination cruise without a doubt. You'll be in Port and out and about a lot and off the ship so who cares if it's a bit older.  

[schmoopie17]

I know you're a very experienced cruiser (I believe you may have been on our Bliss Panama Canal cruise April, 2019)...so I respect your opinion. Thanks for the input!

[Turtles06]

7 days in the Caribbean v a 16-night TA with some nice European ports at the end (plus the opportunity to spend post-cruise time in Europe)?  Imho, there’s really no comparison.

 

Also, we were on the Breakaway in October. Didn’t feel “old” to us. 

[nolatravelgirl]

We were on the Breakaway in April 2022 and it did not feel old at all. I think the TA sounds like a great itinerary. You have 5 sea days and can see and do all the ship entertainment then it is followed by a lot of ports so you won't get bored. 

[brigand13]

The Prima will be around for a long time.  And there are 5 sister ships that will be coming in her "wake", so you'll have ample opportunity to do a cruise on a Prima (or "Prima+") ship during an inaugural season.   And you may find that one of them offers an itinerary that's more interesting than the very standard Caribbean itinerary that the Prima will be sailing. 

Seems like a relatively easy choice if you've got the time to go for the TA this time and wait to do a cruise on the Prima (or Viva or whatever) when something more interesting and perhaps longer presents at a convenient time. 

[tallnthensome]

2 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

I know you're a very experienced cruiser (I believe you may have been on our Bliss Panama Canal cruise April, 2019)...so I respect your opinion. Thanks for the input!

Yes indeed! I was aboard with you. Great cruise! 

[schmoopie17]

To everyone who responded, I should tell you that we just booked the April 20 TA on the Breakaway.

Thanks to everyone for your input!

[swmichigan cruiser]

59 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

Yes indeed! I was aboard with you. Great cruise! 

Just an FYI we were also on the Bliss Panama Canal cruise and had our oldest grandson with us.

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

To everyone who responded, I should tell you that we just booked the April 20 TA on the Breakaway.

Thanks to everyone for your input!

 

Good for you!

 

BTW, just in case this is your first eastbound TA -- losing an hour in a day doesn't sound like much, but when it happens four or five days in a row, it can make you pretty tired.  We learned this the hard way on our first eastbound TA -- we'd scheduled ourselves for team trivia at 10am.  By the time we were close to Europe, trivia was happening at 5am body time.  🤣  My suggestion: don't be too scheduled!

 

Enjoy!!

[tallnthensome]

2 hours ago, swmichigan cruiser said:

Just an FYI we were also on the Bliss Panama Canal cruise and had our oldest grandson with us.

That's right!  I so wish I was on that one right now .... one of my favorite cruises with my family thus far. 

[schmoopie17]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Good for you!

 

BTW, just in case this is your first eastbound TA -- losing an hour in a day doesn't sound like much, but when it happens four or five days in a row, it can make you pretty tired.  We learned this the hard way on our first eastbound TA -- we'd scheduled ourselves for team trivia at 10am.  By the time we were close to Europe, trivia was happening at 5am body time.  🤣  My suggestion: don't be too scheduled!

 

Enjoy!!

Yeah, I've read various pros and cons of eastbound vs. westbound TA time changes. We're retired, so every day is Saturday and napping at odd hours is never a problem.

[swmichigan cruiser]

1 hour ago, tallnthensome said:

That's right!  I so wish I was on that one right now .... one of my favorite cruises with my family thus far. 

That was a good one. Our grandson got to know the comics on the ship so that was one of the highlights for us. We are scheduled for the Encore 21 night Panama Canal cruise in October. No grandson this time though. 

[Sailing12Away]

Having just gotten back from a Spain, Portugal, France, London trip ourselves yesterday, I think you made the right choice. Unless you're one of those folks who have to be first to try everything, let the kinks of Prima get worked out, let others find out the tips and tricks and best/worst cabins to pick, and let the newness of it wear off so prices come back to reality.

 

Spain was lovely, Portugal was lovely, France was lovely, London is always fun for us.... no brainer.

 

For comparison, this recent trip we took was on the Star, one of the older ships in the fleet. 9 days and we were fortunate enough to have the 3 bedroom garden villa. We're also booked on Prima for a 10 day sailing out of Iceland for September 2023. Our cost for the Prima trip is nearly double what we paid for the garden villa last week on the Star. Granted - we got the villa at a steep discount and Prima we'll be in Haven - but still. 

[Oceansaway17]

On 5/23/2022 at 12:52 PM, schmoopie17 said:

To everyone who responded, I should tell you that we just booked the April 20 TA on the Breakaway.

Thanks to everyone for your input!

I think you had your answer all along. Just wanted some backup and sounds like you got it.

for me I would never do a TA as too many seas days.  I am on the Prima in April 2023 in Caribbean.

Want to see the new ship

[schmoopie17]

17 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I think you had your answer all along. Just wanted some backup and sounds like you got it.

for me I would never do a TA as too many seas days.  I am on the Prima in April 2023 in Caribbean.

Want to see the new ship

Not exactly. We already had the Prima booked (along with two other couples). After thinking about it, we really felt we got screwed out of our Mediterranean cruise when it got canceled in 2020. We've  never been to those destinations. We're not getting any younger (we're retired) and health issues are starting to pop up, and we figured if we don't go now, we may never get the chance. So we decided to go for it. Reluctantly canceled the Prima (the two couples completely understand, as they have been to Europe several times.)

 

 

[rmurray847]

On 5/23/2022 at 6:51 AM, schmoopie17 said:

We've narrowed our choices to a Prima Caribbean cruise in January or a Breakaway TA in late April.

Thoughts?

 

 

If time doesn't matter (16 days vs 7), then I recommend the Breakaway.  I understand the desire to sail on a new ship, but we did a TA on the Breakaway in 2018, and it was great.  Different itinerary that you would have, but having all those days at sea and then all those European stops makes it feel like you're on two cruises...a relaxing, chill-out cruise and an action-packed, seeing-amazing-new-things cruise.  And the ship, while certainly older than the Prima, is not exactly decrepit.  It's not perfect (having all the game shows in the Atrium is not the greatest...the theater isn't as elegant as on the smaller ships), but it offers a lot.  We had 5 days in a row at sea, and enjoyed the heck out of every one.

 

One note:  the weather may not always be the greatest.  We had two days in a row where waves were rough enough to cause the outdoor areas to all be closed.  We also had two splendid days where we could sunbathe during the day, and party outside in Spice H20 in the evenings.  So if you're all about sitting outside by the pool all the time, set your expectations to "be flexible."

[Oceansaway17]

40 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Not exactly. We already had the Prima booked (along with two other couples). After thinking about it, we really felt we got screwed out of our Mediterranean cruise when it got canceled in 2020. We've  never been to those destinations. We're not getting any younger (we're retired) and health issues are starting to pop up, and we figured if we don't go now, we may never get the chance. So we decided to go for it. Reluctantly canceled the Prima (the two couples completely understand, as they have been to Europe several times.)

 

 

well i am doing the Breakaway twice, once here in USA in July and hopefully next year to  Greece.

I hope you try to go on the Prima sometime in 2023 while she is in USA ports.

If it is a new ship, I try to schedule for when they are in Fla so it is about the ship not the destination.

toodles