Booked a Cruise - For the ship and not the itinerary!

[loman]

Yep, we cruise for the ship and Oasis class it is . Dont really care about the ports since we have been to most of them . We hardly get off the ship.

[BobNoxious]

Thanks everyone for all the comments... what a great discussion.     For all those "ship over itinerary folks":   the HARMONY OF THE SEAS was incredible and is easiest my favorite ship so far.

[time4u2go]

No.

[Jimbo]

People who book cruises from their home states should get 1/2 a point per day from Crown and Anchor, so easy for them to jump on a ship.

 

[Cherries Jubilee]

I prefer to book for both but the ship is more important for me. First of all I don’t even cruise that often and my itinerary has already changed quite a few times. I know your ship can change too but it’s a little less likely.

 

 I sailed Oasis from NJ just because I live in NJ and it’s the best ship we have here. It was worth it. The ship was fabulous. 
 

I agree with whoever said the ports always suck from the NY area. 

[mek]

1 hour ago, topnole said:

We typically sail oasis class.  If you’ve cruised much, you aren’t doing oasis class for the ports.  Your doing it for the ship and the ports are secondary.   

Totally agree - I don't care very much about the itinerary when I sail on these ships.

[nferr]

Yup. I booked the Oasis for next October basically for the ship. I'm doing this exact same itinerary six weeks from now on the Anthem. So next year it's mostly to cruise on the Oasis. Both cruises I'll stay on the ship in Port Canaveral, will probably walk around Nassau for a few hours, and have a nice day on CocoCay.  Been to the Caribbean and Bahamas so many times I go just for a nice cruise out of NY now. 

I did an 11 night cruise NY to the Caribbean on the Anthem last February and I did enjoy exploring some of the ports. That's a nice cruise.

[slyster]

95% of the time, it's for the itinerary but this time i specifically looked at the biggest ships and compared itineraries and pricing.  I did not select radiance, vision, or explorer class ships.  I wanted Oasis or Quantum class.  I found a good itinerary based on that!

[Airbear232]

6 hours ago, BobNoxious said:

I have an upcoming cruise booked on Oasis - not because of the itinerary (NY->Port Canaveral-> Nassau-> Coco Cay) but because of the ship:  Oasis.  We loved Harmony last month as our first Oasis class ship, and we are looking forward to doing another Oasis ship (this one with embarkation within driving distance from home).    I was telling a coworker about this upcoming cruise and he was like: "other than Coco Cay, those ports kinda suck!")   He is right, but I don't care.  We have a balcony, love the clubs, and will be doing unlimited dining!   Has anyone else booked a cruise primarily because of the ship?  

We’ve done both.  We’ll do the Bayonne Bahamas run for the ship and just the break.  We do other trips (like Vision out of Dubai) for the itinerary.  

[silverspyder1996]

I just sailed the Oasis Sept 25th. I booked that trip entirely because of the ship.

 

Coco Cay is always nice too, and the grand suite was a bonus.

 

You should definitely enjoy the ship. Oasis might be my new favorite, beating out Symphony and Harmony.

[Norwich Cruiser]

It’s the ship for us.

 

”o” class being our favourite.

[PhillyFan33579]

The itinerary is usually not a big consideration to me when booking a cruise. Living in Florida it is an easy drive to multiple ports, so I will book on any ship that fits my schedule, plus I have been to most ports in the Caribbean multiple times. And if you like short weekend cruises, you go on the same ships a lot (Mariner and Navigator in the past, Freedom and Independence currently) and to the same ports over and over again. Fortunately Coco Cay is always one of the ports and I don’t foresee ever getting tired of going there. It’s also nice over the course of a year having several Oasis class ships snd Odyssey sailing from Florida. And I definitely will book several cruises on Icon without caring what ports it is going to visit. 

[deliver42]

We are booked on the Celebrity Beyond because of the ship. Been on the Western itinerary many times so that meant nothing.

[marshaatn]

When we tell our friends or co-workers we are going on a cruise, the first question is "where are you going"? Our answer: "don't care". We go for the ship unless we are doing a European trip. I enjoy seeing the water, being waited on and having nice food. 

[TheRegas]

8 hours ago, BobNoxious said:

I have an upcoming cruise booked on Oasis - not because of the itinerary (NY->Port Canaveral-> Nassau-> Coco Cay) but because of the ship:  Oasis.  We loved Harmony last month as our first Oasis class ship, and we are looking forward to doing another Oasis ship (this one with embarkation within driving distance from home).    I was telling a coworker about this upcoming cruise and he was like: "other than Coco Cay, those ports kinda suck!")   He is right, but I don't care.  We have a balcony, love the clubs, and will be doing unlimited dining!   Has anyone else booked a cruise primarily because of the ship?  

We don't even get off the ship in Cape Canaveral or Nassau.  Been there, done that. We stay onboard and enjoy the less crowded ship.   We cruise for the cruising, not the ports. 

[edrussell]

We are super new into this world (took our first cruise on Enchantment OTS back in Jan), we then sailed on Adventure OTS to Bermuda in May and last month Oasis OTS on this same itinerary.  We are actually doing the exact same itinerary in Feb on Anthem OTS.  Count us in as people that will consider BOTH the itinerary AND the ship.  Neither actually tip the scales 100%, but both factor into our decision to book.  What we find is somewhere in between.  On a smaller ship like Enchantment (which we LOVED by the way) we would weigh more in the direction of the itinerary itself.  For a ship like Oasis the thing could be sailing to dry dock and we'd take it!  That's part of what we love about cruising thus far; so many ways to approach each trip.

 

[PolicromaSol]

Me personally, no, but it's quite common since every boat has something a little different to offer. 

[loman]

12 hours ago, edrussell said:

We are super new into this world (took our first cruise on Enchantment OTS back in Jan), we then sailed on Adventure OTS to Bermuda in May and last month Oasis OTS on this same itinerary.  We are actually doing the exact same itinerary in Feb on Anthem OTS.  Count us in as people that will consider BOTH the itinerary AND the ship.  Neither actually tip the scales 100%, but both factor into our decision to book.  What we find is somewhere in between.  On a smaller ship like Enchantment (which we LOVED by the way) we would weigh more in the direction of the itinerary itself.  For a ship like Oasis the thing could be sailing to dry dock and we'd take it!  That's part of what we love about cruising thus far; so many ways to approach each trip.

 

Sounds like you like cruising 🙂

Great way to pass time. We tried different classes of ships to see what suited us better. RC has good choices so we stuck with them, and as you collect trip points, you will benefit from the (meaningful) perks as you hit the diamond level.

From the looks of it , it wont take you very long to get there.

Cheers ! 

 

[LuCruise]

Definitely the ship.  Sometimes we will book and then I'll be like, "oh, where is it even going?".

The departure port is also a factor, but it's definitely about the ship for us....which has different criteria if booking as a family with our kids vs just DH and I.

[Joseph2017China]

I live in Florida.  I pick all international ships (that I fly to Asia or Europe) based on the itinerary and not the ship.  Sometimes I'm not even looking at the ship.  I feel most of the ships are similar and the trip is port intensive, all I care is if some evening entertainment, food, and a bed.  

 

However, when I leave from Florida, I want the ship.  Don't care for the islands.  Yes, I get off, but I just don't find it exciting.  Yes, I want Coco Cay.  Nassua, I go to Pirate Republic Bar and Brewery.  Other places I walk around, maybe get some street food etc.  

[TravelGirlinDallas]

Most of the time, I care more about the itinerary than the ship. However, we booked a cruise on Allure next July mainly because I really wanted to sail on Allure, and it's the first Oasis-class ship to sail out of Galveston. Two of the three ports are places I've been before and wasn't that excited about, but I'm very excited about the ship and our ultra-spacious balcony cabin, which looks pretty cool.

[OnTheJourney]

23 hours ago, BobNoxious said:

Has anyone else booked a cruise primarily because of the ship?  

No, but it certainly makes sense for those that are either into trying out a new ship, specific class of ships, or even just to try a line they've not sailed with before. We choose any trip based on where it's going, but also important to us is when the trip takes place. It has to fit into our schedule and preferences. Having just been on the Adventure, we're fairly certain we don't have much interest in sailing on anything larger. Most of the things you appear to enjoy - the many varied activities, clubs, lots of different dining options, etc. we have little interest in. But, hey, this is why they make vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry 😉  Enjoy!

[OnTheJourney]

22 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

NY cruises you almost have to book for the ship.

You have a point in that if someone is restricting themselves to specific ports due to perhaps not wanting to fly, then you take what ships and itineraries are available, but I still don't consider that the same as specifically booking a cruise for what ship it's on. I still select itineraries based on where and when they go. I don't feel the need to cruise for the sake of going on a cruise. If 2-3+ years go by in between cruises, that's fine. Plenty of other opportunities for travel. Is there perhaps a bit of a difference between those who are specifically "cruisers", i.e. more apt to book cruises regardless of ship or itinerary,and those who are, in a more general sense, "travelers" at heart. Not to imply in any way whatsoever that cruisers aren't also interested in travel! The responses on this thread are most interesting since there seems to be a mixture of the two interests - itinerary and ship. I personally know people who have done the same itineraries repeatedly from the same ports and are fine with that. For those folks, it's more about cruising than seeing new destinations. I will say that we enjoy relaxed sea days much moreso now than when we first started cruising. Back then we probably considered a sea day sort of a waste of time. Now, as we've gotten older, a more "port intensive" cruise is all well and good but starting to like a bit more 'down' time. As somone here said, just to enjoy being out on the water and  is well worth it. Interesting thread...

Edited October 14, 2022 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

I found it interesting that a video RCL put together for our recent farewell show had lots of clips of people doing lots of different shipwide activities and events, but not a single second was devoted to any of the ports - arrival, departure...nothing. So I can see where for those who truly cruise for the cruise itself (meaning a greater interest in what activities are on the daily cruise compass moreso than where the ship is going next) probably are more apt to select a cruise based on the ship rather than itinerary. Certain destinations, perhaps, are more of a 'traveler's' cruise. When we were in the Baltic, I think it's fair to say that the destinations were the main draw, let alone even more adventurous locations like Antarctica where a whole suitcase (or two!) might be devoted to really good photography equipment (we saw evidence of such). An onboard lecturer excitedly comes into the windjammer during lunch and refers to an albatross off the port side, for example, and everyone gets up from their tables and heads out on the decks to get a look! Totally different type of feel to that cruise compared to the average pleasure cruise down in the Caribbean, which we also enjoy. 

 

A few other thoughts...The whole 'cruise director' thing is totally lost on us since we don't get involved in basically anything that he has anything to do with. Only time we see that person is on stage in the theatre to introduce shows.

 

The whole tier / points structure is interesting as well - all geared to getting people to sign up for more cruises to attain that next level! We sat in front of a guy at an ice show who was a solo traveler and was telling people next to him that he can't wait till he's Diamond (after that cruise) so as to be able to use the lounge, etc. Since attaining Diamond awhile back I think we've been in a (card access only) lounge like 3-4 times total. Just not into it. Others, I'm sure,  make it a point to go in there and get their evening cocktails before dinner. Something onboard for everyone's taste and preference I suppose.

 

Fascinating psychology, I've always felt, is associated with the cruise industry and surely the lines know how to play to it to their advantage. Viking, for instance, successfully advertises as appealing to "curious travelers". Very different sort of cruise since you don't have the many varied activities and entertainment options that some people are looking for. Once again each to his/her own. 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2022 by OnTheJourney

[smokeybandit]

1 hour ago, OnTheJourney said:

The whole 'cruise director' thing is totally lost on us since we don't get involved in basically anything that he has anything to do with.

 

I can only remember the name of one CD on any cruise I've ever been on. She totally stole the show on the 70s/80s night dancing. As if she has professional dancing training.