Royal Caribbean Cruise- newer ship with OK Itinerary or Older ship with good Itinerary?

The itinerary should always take precedent over the actual ship.

The number of sea days will determine if the ship amenities take precedence, imho

We sailed out of San Juan on our honeymoon on a very port intensive itinerary - the ship, although nice, was secondary

Do your due diligence and see what the exact difference is and then go onto Cruise Critic and check out what other people have to say about the two ships. Then decide what is important to you and your husband

Go with the itinerary, it is where the memories are made.

You have to make that decision for yourself. As no one here can know what facilities on what ships you two would want and use, there's no way to help you.

Compare the amenities of each ship, and check which ones you really want.

Would you rather be bored in a good place, or active and doing something fun in a slightly less good place?

Go for the itinerary.

The only time I think it's really about the ship is if you have kids with short attention spans, in which case the floating amusement parks RCL has are good. Beyond that, it's about decent food and people. Read cruise critic, as another responded recommended. See if the demographic is to your liking. It's more about who you sail with than how you get there.

I've been to all of those ports, and the first itinerary would be the one for me. We usually cruise with Celebrity, as I like the dining options, and I meet a lot of cool people. Also, arriving a day or two ahed in San Juan is cool. Maybe not at the moment, but I'm sure Condado and Old San Juan will be among the first areas fixed up because they are such economic drivers. And enjoy it.

Been to most of the islands land based, a cruise isn't the best way to see them, time too limited on each. Best to pick one or two and fly. Maybe that other island is Grenada, fabulous, been there a few times. Or could be Martinique, fabulous too. If you just want to ride a cruise ship to enjoy it, then take one of the cheap transatlantic crossings, cruise lines reposition in spring and fall or the Queen Mary 2 makes regular crossings most of the year.

Are you going for the ship or the itinerary? Most people cruise for the destinations, not the age of the carpeting in the dining room.

The most important thing is the person you are traveling with. Everything else is details. The second factor I would consider is the itinerary. Next is cruise line. The only thing I would consider about the ship itself is size. Some people (such as me) don't like megaships.

Cruise lines refurbish the ships every few years, so even an "old" ship like the Adventure will have some updates. And ships are built to last a very long time, so 16 years is nothing for a ship.