13 Day cruise or 2-7 days cruises am loyal to Princess

[Solara]

Looking for an opinion.......Princess has been our cruise line of choice in recent years. I've been thinking about trying Royal Caribbean again. I remember the first time I went on Princess and I was afraid after all of my other cruises were Royal, but after we went on that first Princess cruise we never went back. Lately I've been thinking maybe we should try RCCL again just for something different.

 

Here are my choices. For sure we are going on a 9 day Princess cruise in the spring. My choices for the fall are as follows: a 13 day Panama cruise on the Serenade RCCL OR a 7 day RCCL cruise on either a Voyager class or larger & a

7 day Princess cruise on the Crown. Which is better one 13 day cruise or 2 - 7 day cruises? Part of my problem is the 13 day one is on RCCL and what if I get there and I reallly like Princess better.

 

Bottom line is would you rather take one 13 day cruise or 2 - 7 day cruises??????

[DanJ]

Are you looking at doing these back to back? If not, what are your travel arrangements like? 2 cruises means 2 airfares if you have to fly. On the other hand, longer cruises sometimes have a higher per day average cost than shorter cruises, so those travel cost savings to the port might be eaten up by a more expensive single cruise anyway.

 

Also, it depends on what the ports are on the 2 shorter cruises, and how much you enjoy them. For me, I'd go to the canal again before seeing many of the ports you will see on the 7 day cruises out of Florida.

 

The 14 day vs 13 day thing is a wash to me. The extra embarkation day with the 2 separate cruises would wipeout the extra day anyway, and I like the convenience of taking a longer cruise, not having to pack up and leave after 7 days.

 

I'd do the 13 day Serenade cruise, based on my need to fly to Florida, and desire to see the canal.

[kkorman]

I would do the 13 day Panama canal based on itinerary. Princess and RCCL are not that different. I am pretty loyal to Princrdd, but would tak ethe longer itinerary and not have to deal with the switching.

[JLC@SD]

Looking for an opinion.......Princess has been our cruise line of choice in recent years. I've been thinking about trying Royal Caribbean again. I remember the first time I went on Princess and I was afraid after all of my other cruises were Royal, but after we went on that first Princess cruise we never went back. Lately I've been thinking maybe we should try RCCL again just for something different.

 

Here are my choices. For sure we are going on a 9 day Princess cruise in the spring. My choices for the fall are as follows: a 13 day Panama cruise on the Serenade RCCL OR a 7 day RCCL cruise on either a Voyager class or larger & a

7 day Princess cruise on the Crown. Which is better one 13 day cruise or 2 - 7 day cruises? Part of my problem is the 13 day one is on RCCL and what if I get there and I reallly like Princess better.

 

Bottom line is would you rather take one 13 day cruise or 2 - 7 day cruises??????

 

Since your two 7 day trips are on separate ships......I would opt for the 13 day on one ship. Itinerary is important and if you haven't done the Panama Canal......I would do that.

[Pam in CA]

I would opt to not have to repack and change ships in the middle; thus, I'd go on a 13-day cruise. There are differences between RCI and Princess but I don't think they are significant enough to say, "Never again."

[Solara]

I would opt to not have to repack and change ships in the middle; thus, I'd go on a 13-day cruise. There are differences between RCI and Princess but I don't think they are significant enough to say, "Never again."

The 2 seven day cruises are about 6 weeks apart. I'd love to go on a 13 day cruise BUT I'm just afraid on RCC I'd miss all the entertainment options in the evening that Princess has. Also I seem to remember Princess has more activties going on during the day and I'm NOT a pool person. As far as the cost even though we'd have to pay for airfare twice the cost is still about the same.

[Solara]

Double post

[PescadoAmarillo]

I would take a good itinerary on a Radiance class ship (of which the Serenade is one) anytime, over any other ship. There is definitely no shortage of entertainment options in the evening on any of RCCL's larger ships. And the Panama Canal far surpasses other Caribbean and Mexican cruises...it is spectacular. In fact, we did our first Panama Canal cruise on the Radiance OTS, in her first season, and one of the highlights was standing on the Promenade Deck while the ship lowered in a lock and reaching out and touching the side of the lock, as it only has about 1 1/2 to 2 feet of clearance on either side. Plus they open the helicopter pad all the way forward, and that is a great viewing place.

[Solara]

I would take a good itinerary on a Radiance class ship (of which the Serenade is one) anytime, over any other ship. There is definitely no shortage of entertainment options in the evening on any of RCCL's larger ships. And the Panama Canal far surpasses other Caribbean and Mexican cruises...it is spectacular. In fact, we did our first Panama Canal cruise on the Radiance OTS, in her first season, and one of the highlights was standing on the Promenade Deck while the ship lowered in a lock and reaching out and touching the side of the lock, as it only has about 1 1/2 to 2 feet of clearance on either side. Plus they open the helicopter pad all the way forward, and that is a great viewing place.

Your comments make me feel better for the 13 day if I try RCCL again. We always loved RCCL until we tried Princess.

[DeepWaterMariner]

I'd take the 13 day cruise over two 7 day cruises. Double the hassles with two cruises whereas the 13 day cruise only has one embarkation day and one debarkation day. There is also something special about longer cruises that is missing from a 7 day cruise.