Choosing a Cruise

[Kaleigh Lay]

James and I are in the process of choosing a cruise for December, and let me tell you, it is not easy. Due to the podcast and the website, we want to have as many cruising experiences as possible, so we can't really choose a favorite line and stick with it like most people do. (Although this will really hurt our chances at any loyalty programs) There are so many considerations that my head is spinning at this point. It is difficult to decide what priority to give each consideration. But, I will do my best to break it down for you, and I would LOVE to hear any feedback from you on how you decide on a cruise.

1. Ports/Itinerary- We are, of course, really into the ports and are constantly looking for the best possible experience in every port with our personal preferences tending toward history and architecture with private/all inclusive beaches being our favorite option when a port doesn't happen to have much in the way of history or architecture. We aren't huge water sport type people, but James has an affinity for cave tubing, so I guess that is an exception. Some people go see turtles, and some are cool with stingrays swimming all around them, even though the Crocodile Hunter died from one of these "gentle" creatures (just my personal fear/thing) Not us, although I could see swimming with dolphins at some point.

2. Cruise Line- This is the one that most people usually have all figured out, but we are having trouble with. We want to try a line that we haven't experienced, so Princess, Celebrity and Holland America are all in the running. My favorite thing to do when deciding on this category is to find the daily paper of whatever line I am looking at and try to figure out how many of the activities I would want to attend. Did I not mention that we LOVE trivia? Yes, we were the first trivia nerds to ever show up for trivia on the brand new Carnival Magic when everyone else was attending the naming ceremory or whatever. So, I always look for multiple trivia opportunities each day, as well as a good mix of cooking demonstrations (so fun!) and tastings. Gameshows are always a plus for us, and scavenger hunts are like gold. Entertainment, for us, is not as important as the daily activities, but we do like to have something to see each night, with a late night option like karaoke or comedy to cap off the night. I suppose other people may choose the cruise line based on food options/reviews or maybe the cost of alternative dining, which has figured into our calculations (Celebrity, I am looking at you!). Service might fall under this category, but to be honest, I have never really had a service issue, so that isn't a concern for me. Others may choose based on how many loungers are available or how many kids or people might be on the boat. Maybe you choose based on the adults-only facilities. I will admit to leaning somewhat toward Holland American based on the private cabanas on deck that you can rent. There is something tempting about the idea of going up to your cabana and having a lounger and table waiting for you. And this leads into our next consideration...

3. The Ship- Within each line you have lots of variations, of course. Except maybe Disney, but I digress. We give ships with waterslides gold stars, and think movie theatres are super cool. Throw tons of hot tubs and some neat bars in the mix, and we are pretty happy. And we all know that there is something to be said for being on one of the newer ships of a fleet. Whether you want a killer casino or real grass, trees or a rock-climbing wall (I will never understand that one) are certainly considerations for this category. Staterooms would also fall in this category, and I must admit to being an ocean-view snob. Gotta have one. And I do like my space, so when I see staterooms over 180 sq. ft, my heart races a little. (Not really, but it does make me smile) But, that extra space and view often cost extra, which brings me to...

4. Price- Yep, the final and, perhaps, most important consideration. So why did I put it last? Because it is no fun to think about. Because I might find the perfect itinerary, line and ship and then be looking at wayyy more than I can afford. Guess it should be first then, but then I would always cruise Carnival, which would not make for a very interesting podcast/website. (Unless the site was dedicated to photos taken on the Serenity deck) But, if you stick with most of the mainstream lines and happen to be within driving distance of more than one embarkation port, you can usually get a great deal, even if the price is higher than Carnival because cruising is such a good deal in general. I prefer to use a travel agent, combined with internet searches in order to search out the best rate, plus I can sometimes get a special little deal like stateroom credit etc.

Whatever we choose, I know we'll have a great time and enjoy reporting on those experiences to all of you. And, along the way, you can bet that we will be winning a trivia contest (or 2).

[Vincent Russo]

For me its the cruise line and the ship and price but not the ports because its the ship that makes the vacation. The wife and I usually stay on board in the caribean and enjoy the ship when it's less crowded.