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Am I Crazy? (Giving up Inde for Vision)


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Need a sounding board hear and some feedback especially after my wife stated that the Freedom-class (Liberty) is her favorite ship so far.  She really liked the features and the Royal Promenade.  As a result, we booked a back-to-back on the Independence of the Seas for Summer 2017 out of Southampton with stops in Stavanger, Norway, Oslo, Norway (Overnight), Copenhagen, Denmakr, and Skagen, Denmark, followed by Brussels, Oslo, Hamburg, Le Havre.  This amounts to 5 sea days in 16 nights, something my wife is not a fan of in general.

 

Now, the Vision is offering a 12 night British Isles cruise with the following ports and 3 sea days:  Bruges (Belgium), Edinburgh (overnight), Loch Ness, Glasgow, Dublin, Cork, and St. Peter Port.

 

On a per night basis, the cruises are about the same, but we'd be in a panoramic ocean view on the Vision as opposed to an inside on the Independence.  However, the Inde is the better ship in my opinion.  The other big difference is that the Vision leaves from Amsterdam, some place I've never visited, as opposed to England.

 

Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.

 

 

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Wow...what a choice to make !

 

16 nights vs 12 ?  Not much of a decision in my mind...but I LOVE the sea days so that is a big ++ for me.

 

I love the Scotland and Ireland ports though.  Such a hard decision !  I don't envy you.

 

I completely agree that the Indy is a superior ship to Vision....but the panoramic ocean view room sounds very nice.

 

Get one of your professor buddies to help you develop a statistical weighted algorithm where you weigh each aspect (ship, # of nights, itinerary, etc.) and then just calculate.  ....oh and BTW, once you get that formula done, let me have it b/c I have a similar decision to make for next year !

 

If you must have an answer though...I would say, based on the longer itinerary and the better ship (opinion only), I would stick with Indy.

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Really tough one to give input on since there are a ton of variables in play ...

 

Indy > Vision but Vision is not bad

16 > 12 but a 12 day isn't bad either

Oceanview > Inside

Lots of new interesting ports in both options for me, not sure if any of them are old hat for you though ...

 

My gut reaction is too stick with Indy but its a hard one :)

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Yeah, it is a hard decision.  Keep in mind the per night price is the same; however, given that the cruises differ in length, it would be about $1,000 less on Vision for a better cabin.  What's tough is that we've never been to any of the British Isle ports before.  However, we have been to Norway, but not Oslo, and will be going to Copenhagen this year, although we already know we won't have enough time there this time around, so a second visit is bad, either.

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Doc,

 

From your last posting it almost sounds like you are leaning towards the British Isles. If you have seen Norway with the exception of Oslo, then I would go with the British Isles. 

 

I want to see Norway, Copenhagen, Brussells and Hamburg, I have been looking at TA cruises and I have found several that go to these ports but they are soooooo expensive. I guess I will have to book now or soon for 2018.

 

Whichever you pick I don't think it will be wrong.

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I am leaning towards the British Isles cruise.  The price is right compared to the competition.  A similar cruise on Holland America is $3000 more and that's for an inside room on a ship of similar age, but one that has not been refurbished as best as I know.  I also discovered that it's only $50 to take the high-speed train from Paris to Amsterdam, making a precruise visit to Paris a nice option as my son has his heart set on seeing the Eiffel Tower.

 

Thanks everyone so far for your input.  We put a deposit down with Michelle at MEI today, but kept the Indy reservations as well.  It also looks like airfare into Amsterdam is cheaper for us than into London.

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It is almost like getting to the airport and being told your selected seat is not available but we do have Business Class seats to place you in do you want row 4 or row 8...... You have two great cruises you cannot lose here. But I would take the longer of the two because I like days on the ship. In the end you will have a great cruise. 

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Ask your wife: does she prefer a better room or more to do onboard

She's more about the itinerary than the ship even though she loved the Liberty and said that it's the best ship we've been on to date. She even thought it was a nicer ship than the Disney Fantasy. The Vision also only has two sea days, which is a plus for her and all new ports. So as of now, we're holding three reservations for Europe next summer.

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If you have never flown into London, I can tell you it is a zoo. The airport is huge and nothing moves fast. There are people everywhere. Crowds and again, nothing moves fast.

I have flown through London twice so far and again next month on my way to Stockholm and then back from Copenhagen.  I agree with you regarding London airports.  Also, it's a pain to get to the ports.

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  • 3 weeks later...

truthfully I love the freedom class ships - and like the idea of back-to-back but it comes down to

what you want to actually do and see - Either way happy to be helping your family

You've been amazing to work with, Michelle, and I appreciate your help and professionalis.

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I don't think you would go wrong with either. I've been to many of those places, but not concurrently on a cruise. Those itineraries are mouth watering on either ship. I love the train to Paris idea, but beware that the cost to go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower may well be more than the train ticket. I paid a fortune getting my family to the top a couple years ago.

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