Father4 Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 Looking into our first Royal Caribbean cruise. Do you pick a cruise based on itinerary or ship? Looking to sail out of Galveston. Liberty looks much nover than Enchantment, but I prefer the itinerary on Enchantment better. Both are 7 nights. Any recommendations? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 I pick almost exclusively based on the itinerary. I want to do and see new things! I suspect once I've "seen it all" I'll have a different mindset There are many things to do on any of the ships, and since you haven't been on Royal before it'll all be new to you. I say pick the best itinerary or the best deal! mellibee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtread Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 3 hours ago, Father4 said: Looking into our first Royal Caribbean cruise. Do you pick a cruise based on itinerary or ship? Looking to sail out of Galveston. Liberty looks much nover than Enchantment, but I prefer the itinerary on Enchantment better. Both are 7 nights. Any recommendations? Thanks! I picked Liberty because it's out of Galveston, a favorite get-away destination of mine since I was a kid. My wife likes it too, and it's very drivable for us. Having said that, we are looking at an Alaska cruise for 2020 and that will be based more on itinerary than anything as we will have to fly to the northwest no matter what. So I'd have to say it's a mixed bag kind of a deal based on multiple factors and moving targets. That's not a clear answer I know, but you had a very good question and there are many experienced cruisers on here that can probably give you a better answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGSLC5 Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 5 hours ago, Father4 said: Looking into our first Royal Caribbean cruise. Do you pick a cruise based on itinerary or ship? Looking to sail out of Galveston. Liberty looks much nover than Enchantment, but I prefer the itinerary on Enchantment better. Both are 7 nights. Any recommendations? Thanks! I would absolutely pick Liberty over Enchantment. BUT I don't like small ships. They are too boring for me. I like having a promenade and a big ship to explore. Plus I like all the shows liberty provides. This is such a personal question because it depends what you are looking for from a ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_Keeble Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 Price! HeWhoWaits 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaCruise Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 Ship is priority for us. We generally cruise out of Florida (and New Jersey for the first time) so the ports aren't going to be overly exciting and do ship is definitely priority for us.... especially if travelling with our kids. Sometimes we are deep into pricing , etc and then realize we never even checked where it's going. So in your case, we would pick Liberty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason12 Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 Ship for us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbk999 Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 Convenience and price but ship edges itinerary for us. We just booked Oasis with a meh itinerary over Freedom with a good itinerary as Oasis was a little cheaper and way more convenient for us (and my wife fell in love with the Oasis class). If you've got kids coming with you, I'd go with Liberty as there's more to do for them. My two cents.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick M Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 We choose based on itinerary. We live in Toronto so we have to fly almost anywhere. Although Cape Liberty and Baltimore are under 10 hours to drive. We did, however, choose this summer based on ship. I wanted to go on an Oasis class ship and in July we go on Allure. Next summer we wanted to go to Alaska, so we booked on the Serenade out of Vancouver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mook1525 Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 I choose based on port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 8 hours ago, Father4 said: Looking into our first Royal Caribbean cruise. Do you pick a cruise based on itinerary or ship? Looking to sail out of Galveston. Liberty looks much nover than Enchantment, but I prefer the itinerary on Enchantment better. Both are 7 nights. Any recommendations? Thanks! We pick based on itinerary, ship and price (I know, not the answer you were looking for! )... Itinerary... since we've been on a few cruises, we like to look for new ports to explore and try not to duplicate ports just yet. So for us, since we've hit Bermuda and the Bahamas a few times, as well as, the Virgin Islands, we went for the Western Caribbean itinerary this time (Jamaica, Labadee & Cozumel). Next, maybe Southern Caribbean. Ship... we're also bigger and newer is better people! We've already been on the smallest ship in the fleet (Majesty) and a couple in between (Explorer and Liberty)... now we're on to Allure in May. We have Anthem in our backyard (and then an amped Oasis for much of 2020), so they will be on the radar too in the near future. Although we enjoyed Explorer, we are now biased toward Freedom, Quantum and Oasis class moving forward. For us, we like what the larger ships have to offer and at this time in our "cruising life" we are not looking for the lower key experience of the smaller ships. Some itineraries/ports of course only can offer the smaller ships (Some of the Caribbean destinations, etc... Alaska is another perfect example - that is definitely on the bucket list!). Price... factors last of the three, but has to be a good deal for us to book. We try to book at least a year in advance to get the best rates and choice of cabin. OK... enough of my rambling! All things equal, I would choose Liberty over Enchantment especially if you are going as a family and/or this is your first RC cruise (unless the Enchantment itinerary is significantly more appealing). We are of course a little biased since we enjoyed our cruise on Liberty back in 2015! Have a great time!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 There is nothing wrong picking ports over ship but the key for any cruise vacation is research. If you go with Enchantment please don’t judge Royal Caribbean based on that ship. As the fleet goes it’s on the small and old side. Other cruise lines have older and smaller ships too. They all offer a cruise experience that is good and consistent with cruising from the era those kinds of ships were built in. Many people love that about older ships. The majority of Royal’s fleet is newer with more activities. Water slides, ice skating shows, flow riders, Broadway entertainment, plus so much more await for you on the newer ships like Liberty. I often book the older ships and the newer ships. I understand the differences so I’m not disappointed when the older ships don’t have all the stuff newer ships do. Thete is nothing wrong with older ships but they don’t offer a typical Royal Caribbean WOW that newer ships do. As long as you understand that and as you experience it you don’t assume that is Royal’s standard then you are fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 For me its both. I love big and new ships but there are places that only smaller ships are going to, for example I was on the Rhapsody for the itinerary (and we will take another cruise with her in few month) , but next year I saw explorer is doing more and less the same itinerary , so for sure I will prefer to take her. I do not think that I Will take the Barcelona , France Italy itinerary on a small cruise ships while I know I can do (And done) the same route on one of the O class Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FManke Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 I think there are a lot of different factors that come into play. What's more important to you, where you are going or how you are getting there? Some cruisers spend little or no time on board ship while in port treating their ship as basically a floating hotel, a place to rest their heads after a busy day. Others never get off the ship the entire cruise treating their ship like an all-inclusive resort. I think there are merits to both large and small ships. Have a great trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew72681 Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 We always start with ship. Not that is has to be brand new, but with a young child, the lack of activities on old ships is a dealbreakers. Having water slides, a nice kids club, and lots of dining are a must. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbk999 Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 3 minutes ago, Traveler said: I was on the Rhapsody for the itinerary (and we will take another cruise with her in few month) , but next year I saw explorer is doing more and less the same itinerary , so for sure I will prefer to take her. This is my take as well, if a bigger ship is doing the same or similar itinerary, then the bigger ship would win every time (for us). There is nothing wrong with the smaller, older ships but as @twangster said, as long as you know that they don't offer the "wow factor" that is advertised on the RCI commercials. I look at the smaller ships as the quick getaways, drive to a port for a last minute cruise deal, or going to ports that the big ships just can't get to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 +1 for ship ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FManke Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 The other thing you have to consider is, there are going to be some destinations, that a larger ship cannot get to because of their size. So, in both cases, both the size of the ship and the final destination come into play when making a decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 Ship Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWaits Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 Our first priority is getting onto ANY ship sailing ANY itinerary that fits both our schedule and our budget for the trip. That being said, we like to try new places so all other things being (relatively) equal itinerary is more important to us than ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 For a first time cruiser with Royal, definitely pick the ship over itinerary. There's much more to do on the larger ship and you'll get a better idea of what the Royal product can offer. Besides, ports do get cancelled sometimes for a variety of reasons. If you pick a cruise for a specific port and that port ends up getting cancelled, there is going to be a bit of disappointment. Rose City Cruiser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mook1525 Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 departing port is the most important to me. for example I live in east coast there is no way I would fly to Galveston for a cruise. even if it has Symphony of the Seas sailing to CocoCay, Labadee, St. Thomas, St Maarten and Cozumel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbk999 Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 9 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said: Our first priority is getting onto ANY ship sailing ANY itinerary that fits both our schedule and our budget for the trip. Yep. Winterville, NC? I'll have more $ for cruising once I stop spending lots of $ at ECU... HeWhoWaits 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 Itinerary first and foremost. I'm at a point in my life where I want to see new places when I'm vacation, not just lounge around. Lounging is fine here and there during the trip, but I don't want it to be the focus of it. I do have one exception to that -- Bermuda, where it's a quick getaway and the island just has this vibe of, "Dude... chill. We're all gonna still be here tomorrow." Probably the only place where I feel OK not planning out everything to do, and I'll just stroll over to a beach or bar or wander around and see what happens. Once I've got the itinerary figured out, then I'll see what ship(s) are going there and how much it costs. If all of that works out, it's booking time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DublinFC Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 3 hours ago, J_Keeble said: Price! this for sure then I go to itinerary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irieman Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 Well @Father4 you can see it is a personal preference. I have enjoyed this thread seeing how others make their cruising choice. For me, I guess it's a sliding scale each time. In your case I looked up the choices of your itinerary and I have a slight preference for one over the other. With the ships, I have a much bigger preference for liberty so in this case the choice of ship wins out. Two other things. 1. I've been on liberty and from a kid's perspective there's just so many awesome memories to be had. Not just going to the ice show but being able to ice skate in the middle of the ocean it's just an example that my kids loved. 2. Finally, I always give the nod to the cylinder showers as compared to the shower curtains. That's just me but I do bring that up an awful lot No matter what you choose, I am sure your entire family it's going to have an amazing time! Enjoy KristiZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny260 Posted April 5, 2019 Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 I'm like @Irieman , I went and looked at the itineraries between the 2 ships and the only one that I saw that was completely different was the Enchantment that went to Key West and Coco Cay. Otherwise Liberty and Enchantment basically go to the same places you just have to pick the week you want. With that said, if there are kids involved I would pick Liberty over Enchantment, in 2018 I took my 11 YO Grandson on Liberty and he had a blast, like other have said, the memories that were made during that trip can never be replaced, we went to Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Jamaica out of all of the stops I figured he would like the least (Jamaica) ended up being his favorite. He told me that even though he enjoyed the port stops, he enjoyed the ship more. Full disclosure, we were in a Suite to he had access to the Suite lounge and other areas of the ship but his favorite place was Ben and Jerry's, I didn't know a 80-90 pound kid could eat so much ice cream. JLMoran and SpeedNoodles 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyB Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 our first cruise it was just a short cheap cruise...it was for our Parents 50th anniversary and it was all about just being with them and my brother and his wife as adults with no kids. Second cruise was our 25th Anniversary, so we chose dates/itinerary. 3rd cruise was a "last minute" by dates first of all then, looked at the itinerary/ship that appealled most. 4th cruise (In July 2019) is specifically for our 16yo DS's first cruise and we chose Perfect Day at CocoCay because of all the things to do. 5th cruise (in November 2019) is based on ship/itinerary. So...that's MY answer. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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