With so many cruise lines/itineraries, how do you decide?

[Frwinkley]

What is your criteria for choosing once you've decided on a location?

I've been doing a lot of research on both a Mediterranean and Northern European cruise. I've already received so many tips from the kind people here, so I thank you all for that.

Since these tend to be port intensive cruises, how do you decide which ports? I realize some of them are similar on many cruise lines.

For example, I'm leaning away from cruises that necessitate using tender boats in many of the ports (no mobility issues, just trying to eliminate some things that might be time consuming). I'd be willing to do 1 or 2 during a 10 day cruise.

I also am willing to eliminate Civitavecchia and Le Havre, since getting to either Rome or Paris from these ports doesn't allow much time in either of these places. We rather see them at a different time. We could do Normany from Le Harve.

I'm looking for a good mix of ease (walkable towns from ports) and organized excursions.

I stumbled upon a website called whatsinport.com that has a wealth of information.

Any tips/advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[auntlynne]

Weather. Not the Med in summer - too hot.

I have some knowledge of the world; for a first-time visit, I tend to go with famous places.

I like to see UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Watch a lot of videos of cruises. (I have a few YouTube channels that I use, based on the presenters - personal choice).

It makes a difference on what type traveller you are. I do not use expensive, private excursions. I mix up ship excursions and DIY.

Look at what typical shore excursions are to see possibilities.

I keep finding more places to visit the older I get. Just saw a stop at LeHavre - they went to Honfleur. What a cute town - Impressionism has its roots here.

I did go into Rome, but not to Florence (that was too far and a very long day).

Is there any destination that has ever intrigued you that is near a port?

I have so many places I would love to visit, usually it comes down to budget, timing, and what opportunity presents itself.

Starting/ending port can matter - airfare, hotels… I researched Copenhagen for a future cruise - and really would like to spend a few days there pre-cruise (more than just a port stop). Oslo and Stockholm are pricey as pre-cruise due to expensive hotels. Southampton (England) offers the opportunity to tack on a few days to get over jet lag and visit a very easy to visit city - It’s London! But you have to deal with Heathrow airport, which can be long and tiring for lines.

Barcelona was a nice city and airport. Makes for a nice start/ end to a cruise (I have used it on each end of TAs).

Agree with tender boats and the necessity of long trips inland to reach destination.

Would you rather see fjords or Med dry destinations? Any topography / flora that intrigues you?

Beach destinations? Large cities? Old Europe? Activites like hiking, biking? Flat walking or hilly?

 

[Frwinkley]

So many options! We are not beach people; we love the look of a beautiful body of water, but could never spend a day just sitting on a beach. We loved varied topography (ocean, mountains). We loved Hawaii and St. Lucia for that very reason.

The fjords really interest us. However, I'm afraid that it might just be the same scenery over and over again. We also like towns with shopping, restaurants, etc. We're not opposed to walking 10-12 miles in a day.

We've been to London and Amsterdam on a previous trip, as well as parts of Germany. I'd like to consider Barcelona as a start/end point for a Med cruise and Copenhagen, Oslo or Stockholm for a Northern Europe trip.

I was thinking Northern Europe in July and Med in Oct.

I too want a combination of DIY adventures and excursions.

 

[auntlynne]

Do you prefer a more loud/party cruise atmosphere or a bit more laid back?

I am assuming branded for Americans? Or something like British P&O?

Big ship, little ship? Newer build? Bells and whistles?

Budget limit? Verandah?

(Boy, this sounds like what a travel agent asks. But I am just a cruiser who has considered too many options. It may help with other posters who have experience based on your preferences).

 

[auntlynne]

I get the idea of monotony of the Fjords, yet I love 7 nights on an AK cruise - and that doesn’t have a big variety. Similar could be said about Hawaii. These two are my favorite vacations, land or sea. We’re about to book a 10-night AK cruise. That’ll make 6 cruises there).

 

[Frwinkley]

Definitely don't need a loud/party atmosphere. Casual, laid back. NCL is interesting to me because of their "anytime" dining. We're only been on a few cruises (all Caribbean--RCL and Disney).

Branded for Americans - yes. Doesn't have to have a lot of bells and whistles--don't need a water slide, rock climbing wall, or casino. Don't really need much evening entertainment. Newer built ship would be great. If a smaller ship means getting closer to ports, that would be great.

Cabin with balcony would be great.

 

[Frwinkley]

I get the idea of monotony of the Fjords, yet I love 7 nights on an AK cruise - and that doesn’t have a big variety. Similar could be said about Hawaii. These two are my favorite vacations, land or sea. We’re about to book a 10-night AK cruise. That’ll make 6 cruises there).

Funny we had an AK cruise booked for summer 2020. Obviously it was cancelled. I have little desire to rebook it. Clearly it must be spectacular if you are on your 6th one!

We've only done Hawaii as a land trip - 3 times from the eastern US. Beyond fabulous!

 

[auntlynne]

Would you consider RCL for Europe?

(We have found that ship in port intensive cruises is less significant than typical Caribbean itineraries.)

I am not finding many good options for Copenhagen boarding. Next on my quick look is what is sailing in the Med in October. Many American ships have come back home by then or about then - those TA repositioning cruises.

Yes, AK offers the cool crisp air the SE states just don’t have in the summer. But Hawaii is my most-visited destination, based on time spent. (And cruises = 6 months of my life. Mother always said to have fun - and egged on travel.). A land trip around New Zealand is one if my favorite memories - but the air travel keeps me from repeating).

[And it’s NCL we are looking at for next AK cruise. Possibly booking tomorrow. I know it has issues, but none so egregious to outweigh the itinerary and hours in port. It promises whales, ZipRider zip line, and Butchart Gardens in Victoria BC (Ironically, they are all repeats for me. But Sitka and it’s historical Russian influence is new.)]

 

[Frwinkley]

I would absolutely consider RCL for a European cruise. I’ve been looking at them, Princess, NCL, Celebrity and Disney. My dilemma is figuring out what itineraries/ships stop at the most worthwhile ports.

We spent 10 days this summer in Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria. We wish we would have eliminated Seattle and spent more time in Victoria and the surrounding areas. We absolutely loved it and the weather was perfect.

 

[auntlynne]

We did the Med (11 nights) with Disney B2B with a 14-night TA. Cruising on a ship/ line you know is helpful in the familiarity.

I would also choose Vancouver and Victoria over Seattle. Seattle is convenient for a cruise origin; but I am not sure what to do after a day there (without getting out of town in a car).

I found these cruises on Royal in the Med in October:

 

[auntlynne]

Consider starting ports. Would you want to fly into that city? Spend at least a day there?

I would love to see Venice, but they have severe pushback from citizens about cruise ships. (It wouldn’t stop me.)

Starting in Rome, you could actually spend a few days there pre-cruise.

They are not basing out of Barcelona, although one ends there.

This offers big and smaller ships. Voyager seems to be popular to those who like special cruises and smaller ships / fewer guests.

Split and Dubrovnik in Croatia are spoken of highly - sort of overlooked gems; old world cities.

Maybe we’ll hear some fun stories from others…

 

[msmama]

So...I don't think I like cruising in general, I like DISNEY cruising, so that limits me somewhat. I wouldn't discount going to Rome via cruise - it was a long busy day, but I'm very glad I got to see everything I did (and learned that I probably wouldn't want to go back unless it was in extreme off season). Florence was another long busy day, but I would go back there in a heart beat!! Agree with you that I wouldn't bother going to Paris on an excursion.

I tend to go overboard and think about what can I add on to the cruise. So after the EBTA last year I added another cruise, lol, and did the Med. This year, I decided I didn't want to fly to and from Europe so we're doing Iceland, Scotland and then WBTA back home. The ports are just okay but we're using it more as a way home (and hopefully to relax, which we're not good at).

Keep in mind whether you want to relax or go-go-go the whole time. Maybe you want a handful of sea days between port days. Or maybe you do big things on some port days and simply stroll along the pier on others.

I guess I already know a bit about what I want to see in at least some of the ports when I pick a cruise so I go from there and maybe do something more low key in the less interesting ports. I am also all about walking tours and overview tours in places I don't know anything about.

All that said, I'm incredibly intrigued by a 15 night cruise to Greenland on RCL that I stumbled upon the other day.

 

[OpieDoodle]

So a few factors narrow everything down pretty significantly for me. Biggest one being I really prefer disney cruises. Yes I know there are other great ones out there but that's just me. Then dates. My kids are VERY into sports so its always a juggle picking the best time to go where they miss the least.

Then I'm the crazy mom that prefers to take her kids out of school to cruise versus trying to go in the summer. Bad mom I know.

So by the time I get all that figured out I end up with a small handful of cruises to pick from.

 

[Frwinkley]

So a few factors narrow everything down pretty significantly for me. Biggest one being I really prefer disney cruises. Yes I know there are other great ones out there but that's just me. Then dates. My kids are VERY into sports so its always a juggle picking the best time to go where they miss the least.

Then I'm the crazy mom that prefers to take her kids out of school to cruise versus trying to go in the summer. Bad mom I know.

So by the time I get all that figured out I end up with a small handful of cruises to pick from.

OP here and 3rd grade teacher: I love when families take their kids out of school for vacation! Family time is so valuable and it gets harder and harder as they get older. Hope you’ve made some wonderful memories with your kids.

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Would you consider RCL for Europe?

(We have found that ship in port intensive cruises is less significant than typical Caribbean itineraries.)

I am not finding many good options for Copenhagen boarding. Next on my quick look is what is sailing in the Med in October. Many American ships have come back home by then or about then - those TA repositioning cruises.

Yes, AK offers the cool crisp air the SE states just don’t have in the summer. But Hawaii is my most-visited destination, based on time spent. (And cruises = 6 months of my life. Mother always said to have fun - and egged on travel.). A land trip around New Zealand is one if my favorite memories - but the air travel keeps me from repeating).

[And it’s NCL we are looking at for next AK cruise. Possibly booking tomorrow. I know it has issues, but none so egregious to outweigh the itinerary and hours in port. It promises whales, ZipRider zip line, and Butchart Gardens in Victoria BC (Ironically, they are all repeats for me. But Sitka and it’s historical Russian influence is new.)]

Sitka was BEAUTIFUL! Our first Alaskan cruise was the first DCL 10 day in 2011 that went to Sitka.

 

[o&smom]

So a few factors narrow everything down pretty significantly for me. Biggest one being I really prefer disney cruises. Yes I know there are other great ones out there but that's just me. Then dates. My kids are VERY into sports so its always a juggle picking the best time to go where they miss the least.

Then I'm the crazy mom that prefers to take her kids out of school to cruise versus trying to go in the summer. Bad mom I know.

So by the time I get all that figured out I end up with a small handful of cruises to pick from.

Not a bad mom...great mom!

 

[DCLMP]

So many options! We are not beach people; we love the look of a beautiful body of water, but could never spend a day just sitting on a beach. We loved varied topography (ocean, mountains). We loved Hawaii and St. Lucia for that very reason.

The fjords really interest us. However, I'm afraid that it might just be the same scenery over and over again. We also like towns with shopping, restaurants, etc. We're not opposed to walking 10-12 miles in a day.

We've been to London and Amsterdam on a previous trip, as well as parts of Germany. I'd like to consider Barcelona as a start/end point for a Med cruise and Copenhagen, Oslo or Stockholm for a Northern Europe trip.

I was thinking Northern Europe in July and Med in Oct.

I too want a combination of DIY adventures and excursions.

Take a look at Princess's 14-night northern European cruise. It's very port intensive. It leaves out Southhampton, but it's a nice itinerary. New ship too.

 

[auntlynne]

Sitka was BEAUTIFUL! Our first Alaskan cruise was the first DCL 10 day in 2011 that went to Sitka.

We sailed DCL AK in May 2011! That was our first adventure to The Last Frontier; this will take us back to the purchase site.

Do you remember (generally) what you did? Something that sticks out as a favorite for you?

You say your first AK cruise - have you done subsequent - or just hoping /plotting?
—————

My sister woke me up today asking if I had picked a cabin. We just were looking at the cruise yesterday. And, yes, before bed, I grabbed a screen shot with preferred cabins marked.

This all stems from my perpetual love of AK cruises and my sister’s interest in the 9-night Disney one next summer.

We ended up with a higher category, extra night and generous port hours - for $2K less. And, yes, we will notice it’s not Disney. But love how the savings offsets (some) excursion costs.

And discovered our USAA membership can get us additional savings on many cruises.

Trying to follow my own advice and already have our (tentative) pre-cruise hotel booked. And an excursion!

Flights to Seattle for next May are looking good right now; wonder if next Summer will be kinder to AK cruises?

 

[TinkLoverSam]

We sailed DCL AK in May 2011! That was our first adventure to The Last Frontier; this will take us back to the purchase site.

Do you remember (generally) what you did? Something that sticks out as a favorite for you?

You say your first AK cruise - have you done subsequent - or just hoping /plotting?
—————

My sister woke me up today asking if I had picked a cabin. We just were looking at the cruise yesterday. And, yes, before bed, I grabbed a screen shot with preferred cabins marked.

This all stems from my perpetual love of AK cruises and my sister’s interest in the 9-night Disney one next summer.

We ended up with a higher category, extra night and generous port hours - for $2K less. And, yes, we will notice it’s not Disney. But love how the savings offsets (some) excursion costs.

And discovered our USAA membership can get us additional savings on many cruises.

Trying to follow my own advice and already have our (tentative) pre-cruise hotel booked. And an excursion!

Flights to Seattle for next May are looking good right now; wonder if next Summer will be kinder to AK cruises?

We did a glass pulling excursion through DCL that also went to local art galleries. And bought some beautiful Russian Christmas ornaments. Oh look, it's still offered on DCL's page: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/sitka-alaska-art-walk-italian-glass-experience/

We did another Alaskan cruise in May 2022 but this time it was 3 generations, my parents, my sister and her hubby, hubby and I, and our 2 boys. It was the first DCL Alaska sailing post 2020.

 

[MonaMN]

We are signed up for the Norwegian Fjords on the Dream next summer. Many factors played into booking it with DCL versus one of the other cruise lines that also have similar cruises.

• My kid wants to go to Europe. She starts high school this year and we'd rather not pull her out of school now since it's a lot trickier than when she was in elementary. That leaves summer... and we do not function well in the heat. So doing Italy/Greece/etc just doesn't appeal to us. I've also got Norwegian heritage, so it's exciting to go there (even if it's a limited experience).
• Our kid has food allergies. Disney is well known for handling allergies well. Reports from other cruise lines are mixed - some have good experiences, others... not-so-much. Having the ship as a place to safely eat is a big factor in choosing to do a cruise versus a land trip.
• This cruise starts/ends at Southampton - and again with the allergies, it's easier when you can speak English and the UK has good labeling. So it's a great place for us to visit for a couple days prior to the cruise departing.
• This itinerary has a couple of sea days. When I did some searching to see what types of activities were offered on other lines for sea days or heard what others do on their sea days on those lines, it just didn't do much for me. We are not pool people... and I can do things like reading at home. We are Disney people and the Disney content holds a lot of interest for us.
• The line I was closest to considering was RCCL. While the Dream is a large ship, the RCCL one on this same itinerary was even larger. I know there may be other ships in our ports, but at least minimizing the people on our ship helps keep the number of people there a little smaller, perhaps.
• At the end of the day, the DCL cruise wasn't that much more than the others... and we have a solid understanding of what we will experience. I would hate to spend a similar amount of money and not enjoy the experience... so we are willing to pay a bit more for a known quantity.