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2019 Jun / July Europe Itinerary


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14 hours ago, michelle said:

Alaska I think will be quite popular now as well for several years to come

Any particular reason behind this prediction? Impact of Harvey and Irma on the Caribbean islands and the time that'll be needed for them to recover? Unusually warm weather in Alaska making travel there more reasonable for a longer period time? Other factors?

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1 minute ago, JLMoran said:

Any particular reason behind this prediction? Impact of Harvey and Irma on the Caribbean islands and the time that'll be needed for them to recover? Unusually warm weather in Alaska making travel there more reasonable for a longer period time? Other factors?

Yes - all the tension overseas is driving people to stay closer to home - terrorist attacks right near ports like in Barcelona will keep people from going
I book Alaska now 50% more than I ever have as an agent the last 3 years so I think the trend will stay
 and Caribbean is not as popular with everyone in the summer - this Hurricane year will curb that now too

 

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3 minutes ago, michelle said:

Yes - all the tension overseas is driving people to stay closer to home - terrorist attacks right near ports like in Barcelona will keep people from going
I book Alaska now 50% more than I ever have as an agent the last 3 years so I think the trend will stay
 and Caribbean is not as popular with everyone in the summer - this Hurricane year will curb that now too

Interesting. But if those overseas tensions are an issue, then how is Europe simultaneously "getting to be popular"? Is that not so much from an American bookings point of view, but just general global trends?

I'm looking at some European itineraries that I hope will also be on offer in 2020, as I'm turning 50 that year and I'd like to do a European cruise of some stripe. First choice is a Norway & Iceland run in the summer, but also looking at some Mediterranean options (particularly ones going to Greece and/or Croatia, most of which do leave from Barcelona). I would suspect that if those issues persist, it could lead to depressed bookings and reduced prices in the areas most impacted but increased prices in the regions deemed "safer" or less risky to travel. Will have to keep a close eye on this over the next year or two.

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22 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

Interesting. But if those overseas tensions are an issue, then how is Europe simultaneously "getting to be popular"? Is that not so much from an American bookings point of view, but just general global trends?

I'm looking at some European itineraries that I hope will also be on offer in 2020, as I'm turning 50 that year and I'd like to do a European cruise of some stripe. First choice is a Norway & Iceland run in the summer, but also looking at some Mediterranean options (particularly ones going to Greece and/or Croatia, most of which do leave from Barcelona). I would suspect that if those issues persist, it could lead to depressed bookings and reduced prices in the areas most impacted but increased prices in the regions deemed "safer" or less risky to travel. Will have to keep a close eye on this over the next year or two.

Believe it or not - many Europe sailings are booked by Europeans as well as Americans but they can sustain by the people in Europe
who book them as well.  But No. Europe like Norway and Iceland so far have not seen impacts, just growth especially anything with
Iceland in it.   Just book out early - those tend to be the best prices for sure

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8 minutes ago, michelle said:

Believe it or not - many Europe sailings are booked by Europeans as well as Americans but they can sustain by the people in Europe who book them as well.

Oh, I can believe it! I've seen enough blog posts here now to know that plenty of folks in Europe like to cruise around "their backyard"; and of course there are folks in the rest of the world who I'm sure enjoy a trip to the Med or Scandinavian regions. I was just thinking that if concerns such as terrorist attacks or political unrest were increasing that they'd have a global impact on bookings, not just a North American one.

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  • 3 months later...

Hi, so I have a question. I am really interested in taking a family cruise in Aug 2019, I am really keen on the 12 Night Mediterranean Venice Cruise. However I was really hoping that there would be a newer ship sailing this itinerary. The Vision of the Seas is a pretty outdated ship and doesn't seem to have to much activity for the younger kids. Does anyone know if there will be a newer ship?

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Hi Shary, welcome to our group! :5_smiley:

One of our other members, @Sabrinaklai, was just mentioning this cruise in another thread. It's a very port-intensive cruise and you actually won't be spending a lot of time on the ship, so the fact that Vision is older (I won't go so far as to say "outdated", since I haven't sailed her and can't judge) shouldn't be a big issue. Sabrina may be able to say more about this.

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8 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Hi Shary, welcome to our group! :5_smiley:

One of our other members, @Sabrinaklai, was just mentioning this cruise in another thread. It's a very port-intensive cruise and you actually won't be spending a lot of time on the ship, so the fact that Vision is older (I won't go so far as to say "outdated", since I haven't sailed her and can't judge) shouldn't be a big issue. Sabrina may be able to say more about this.

Hi @SharyS! Welcome to the boards.  I did mention to another poster that if I booked another Mediterranean cruise it would probably not be on one of the newer, bigger ships.  The main reasons being what @JLMoran mentioned, most of those itineraries are very port heavy (nothing wrong with that because why go to Europe and not see the sights?), excursions are long (all day) and expensive.  If you went on a bigger, newer ship not only would you pay more in fares but the ship would be a destination itself with the way RC is building their newer ships these days.  There would not be as much time to enjoy all the amenities and activities on these newer ships.  Also, another good point that @tiny260 brought up in the other post is that the smaller ships can get into some ports that the bigger ones cannot.

I totally get what you mean about Vision as well.  I honestly probably would not been too keen on sailing her myself, with or without my kids.  However, we did the 12 night on Brilliance and I thought it was perfect.  It is still large enough that there will be things to do when you are on board but not so much that you would feel obligated to stay on the ship to get your money's worth.  Not sure how old your kids will be by 2019 but I can't comment on what the Adventure Ocean program is like on the Radiance class ships (or any class) because I have not taken my kids on RC yet.  But from what I have learned from others here, it is quite good across the fleet. 

Something to consider though with the Mediterranean cruises, if your budget allows, is to get a cabin with a view.  Worth the splurge for sure.  The views in the Mediterranean are unlike anything you will see typically in the Caribbean.  It was worth it to have a private place to watch from.  Sailing into and out of Venice was particularly memorable. 

Bottom line is that, being from North America, I personally would not spend all that money to fly to Europe and just sit on the ship.  That's what Caribbean sailings are for.  We always sort our vacations into two groups...relaxing and active.  Europe would fall under "active".  So even if Vision of the Seas is your only option then look at it from the standpoint that you can spend more on excursions (because those add up big time in Europe).  And one last suggestion, that list of ships that @tiny260 just posted, see if any of them are getting a refurb before the summer of 2019 because then it will sort of be like going a new ship. :12_slight_smile:

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I started the thread sabrina mentioned.   I will say that vision was my first cruise in 2015 and I loved it. The restaurants were fabulous and the service wonderful (best wait staff of 2 cruises so far).   I was concerned in booking it a second time I would get bored (would love to try another class ship like jewel).  However,  we booked a room that I never could have afforded on an oasis class and I think sabrina is right in that the destination is key here,  not the ship.   The 8 of 12 port days are pretty much 7 to 7 everyday...I won't be missing water slides or bumper cars!  Jane

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