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Cruising in July - need help making decisions!


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Hey all, I just made a decision to cruise over my birthday week in July, YAY!! Now I need your HALP! I'll be going with just my husband and this would be our second cruise (we last went to the Mediterranean in fall 2017 and fell in love with cruising).

I have a couple options and need some experienced cruisers to weigh in. I want to cruise out of the northeast and go south, so my choices are out of Cape Liberty on Oasis 7 night to Florida, Perfect Day, and Nassau, 7 night Empress to Bermuda or 5 night Adventure to Bermuda. I could also go down to Baltimore and do a 5 night Bermuda on Grandeur.

Pros - Both ports in driving distance from home. All of them are itineraries I am excited about. I already have the same itinerary Oasis is taking booked for Feb 2021 on Anthem but this would be an opportunity to do an Oasis class ship at an Oasis class price but without also having to pay for airfare. 

Cons - I would rather go to Bermuda but the Empress is not an appealing ship to me and I'd rather cruise on the Grandeur if given the choice. I've cruised on the Rhapsody and loved it so I know I will like the Grandeur. The G and E are cheaper than Adventure or Oasis (I'd have to go with an Oasis interior guarantee to stay in budget) and the week the G is sailing her 5 night itinerary is the week that works best with my summer schedule.

So what it's coming down to is I could do Oasis on the same length sailing (but on an itinerary I'll be doing next year) in an inside room for around the same price as the sailing to Bermuda (that my husband and I would be a little more excited about) in a suite on Empress or a balcony room on a shorter sailing from Baltimore. I'm just torn. Part of me looks at price and thinks go with Grandeur but the other part of me is drawn to the razzle dazzle of Oasis or Adventure. I also would want to account for extras like spa or workouts, room service, and esepecially the fact that a drink package would be cheaper on the smaller ship/shorter sailing (we only have Gold status) so the Grandeur checks a lot of the boxes. 

Help me make sense of it all!

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1 hour ago, dancernl said:

I also would want to account for extras like spa or workouts, room service, and esepecially the fact that a drink package would be cheaper on the smaller ship/shorter sailing (we only have Gold status) so the Grandeur checks a lot of the boxes. 

Help me make sense of it all!

I have found that this is not the case. I bought the drink package for my upcoming 5 night on Enchantment on Black Friday ($57), and it was way more than the regular sales for my 7 night on Liberty this past September ($47). 

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4 minutes ago, MichelleB1234 said:

I would suggest Adventure of the Seas since it stops in Bermuda and still is a major upgrade from the Empress and Grandeur.

Good point. It's a 5 night and about the same price as the 7 night on Oasis, but later in July than I want to go. Right now I'm aiming at the week of July 4th through 11th. My birthday is that Wednesday the 8th.

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The world keeps turning and plans keep changing. We were thinking that if we're considering a trip to Miami to sail Virgin as an option we should look at other cruises out of Miami. I was delighted to find a 4 nite Mariner (actually Navigator - rookie mistake!) cruise to Nassau and Coco Cay for a whole lot less than I anticipated. Like, we could have a Jr. Suite for the same amount as an outside view on the Oasis. I know they are different class ships and a 4 night is shorter than a 7. I get that. I still got really excited about the price and itinerary, and even though we'll be going to Nassau and Coco the following February, I think it would be great to go without our kids first and experience the Chill side (we will have a Thrill Cabana on our Anthem cruise). @Matt is always singing the praises of the Mariner (NAVIGATOR!). Should we YOLO Book It? We would have an opportunity to explore Miami as well either just before or just after the sailing, which would be fun as neither of us has been there before. So many options, so little time!

Edited by dancernl
I don't know the difference between these ships!
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Just now, dancernl said:

The world keeps turning and plans keep changing. We were thinking that if we're considering a trip to Miami to sail Virgin as an option we should look at other cruises out of Miami. I was delighted to find a 4 nite Mariner cruise to Nassau and Coco Cay for a whole lot less than I anticipated. Like, we could have a Jr. Suite for the same amount as an outside view on the Oasis. I know they are different class ships and a 4 night is shorter than a 7. I get that. I still got really excited about the price and itinerary, and even though we'll be going to Nassau and Coco the following February, I think it would be great to go without our kids first and experience the Chill side (we will have a Thrill Cabana on our Anthem cruise). @Matt is always singing the praises of the Mariner. Should we YOLO Book It? We would have an opportunity to explore Miami as well either just before or just after the sailing, which would be fun as neither of us has been there before. So many options, so little time!

What about Navigator? Navigator actually leaves from Miami so you wouldn't have to drive all the way to Port Canaveral.. Plus they did a slightly better job with the Amp on Navigator than Mariner.. The pool deck on Navigator much nicer I have been on both since the Amp and I just prefer Navigator.. You should check it out.. 

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Just now, AGSLC5 said:

What about Navigator? Navigator actually leaves from Miami so you wouldn't have to drive all the way to Port Canaveral.. Plus they did a slightly better job with the Amp on Navigator than Mariner.. The pool deck on Navigator much nicer I have been on both since the Amp and I just prefer Navigator.. You should check it out.. 

Ooops, I did mean Navigator. I get the two confused all. the. time. 

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We're gonna book it! Oasis of the Seas 7 night Bahamas w/Perfect Day! When it came down to the decision, yes Oasis is the more expensive option for just a seaview window but we figured we'd still spend the difference if we flew to Miami and paid for hotel and food costs before and after a 4 night Navigator. So we have more time on an amazing ship, and we get to check out and do some recon on this itinerary before we sail it with our kids in a year. Can't wait to get booking and get planning!

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