That's what my Mom keeps asking me, after I've put her through the ringer in trying to decide which cruise to take with her.

So, after weeks of searching, and spending the better portion of the last three days doing practically nothing BUT research, read reviews, wrack my brain, talk things over endlessly with Mom, and tear my hair out, I finally have a decision. I think. No, really, this is it. I'm done. If anyone is interested in my ramblings of how I finally came to this decision, here it is.

The criteria was, we want to have a luxury cruise, somewhere that we haven't been before. We want to travel for about 3 weeks. We have a certain amount of money to spend. My choices came down to these:

1. 7-day PG, with a 2-week pre-cruise in NZ (currently booked)
2. 18-day Mariner, Auckland to LA, through FP
3. 25-day Oceania Nautica, Istanbul to Singapore, with stops in Egypt, Oman, Dubia, India
4. 26-day Oceania Regatta, Miami-Miami, through the Caribbean, to Brazil, and up the Amazon

I'd pretty much ruled out the PG, since our original reason for doing that one was to cruise with another couple we met on our Voyager cruise, who now won't be able to do it. Hence my heading back to the drawing board.

I was pretty settled on the Mariner, having looked at many other cruises on the other luxury lines, but I didn't see anything on Silversea, Seabourn, Crystal, or SeaDream that looked good. I stuck with the luxury lines, since we really got spoiled on our last cruise and don't want to step backwards.

But then I started reading more about Oceania, and it sounded like it might be a similar experience, albeit with a few annoying differences (completely NON-inclusive, even charging for soda and water). But the prices were amazing, and certainly these were exotic ports! The fact that there is even a separate board for Oceania here on LCT had an impact -- it's gotta fall somewhere within the realm of luxury, right? The itineraries are rather long, but really, the prices were staggeringly low.

So I started doing serious research into Oceania. And here's where things started to get confusing. Certainly they have many points in their favor:

1. The price.

2. Okay, I admit it, the FOOD! I read almost universally raving reviews about the dining experiences.

3. The ships look absolutely exquisite, in terms of their decor, luxury, and overall beauty. The public areas look downright stunning.

4. They seem to be going for the luxury market, at least in how they present themselves, so presumably the overall service and experience would be on a par with what I got used to on Voyager.

5. Many reviewers had nothing but wonderful things to say about them.

6. The fantastic price!

7. The exotic itineraries.

9. Did I mention the price??

However, from what I can tell, there are just too many points against them in terms of MY particular desires, and here's what they are:

1. The small cabins. In order to get a cabin comparable to the Voyager or Mariner, I'd have to upgrade to the point where it would be out of the price range. We'd be stuck with a 160-sq-ft inside cabin with a teensy bathroom.

2. The activities and entertainment. Both itineraries have quite a few sea days, and since I'm traveling with my mother, we can't exactly spend our time enjoying long romantic days at sea or sparkling nights holding hands over a lovely meal while gazing out over the ocean. As much as we enjoy each other's company, frankly we sometimes need things to do to get AWAY from each other. Given what I know about RSSC's entertainment and sea day activities, this should not prove to be a problem on the Mariner. But it sounds as if there just ain't much to do on Oceania except art auctions, bingo, or extra-cost classes or craft activities (yuck). And the entertainment sounds rather too sedate for me.

3. Nickel & diming -- the utter lack of inclusivity appears to be worse than I'd originally thought. Not only do they charge for virtually everything, but their prices sound rediculous. $2.50 for a small bottle of water? $20 corkage fee if I bring my own wine? $40 for a supermarket-level California wine? $8 to $10 for a decent martini? On such a long cruise, man this could add up, completely negating any value that I found in that great price.

4. Alcohol policy -- the $20 corkage fee is bad enough, but evidently they also frown upon bringing your own booze on board. And there's no bar setup in the cabin. There's not even a refrigerator! No martini glasses, nor could I get the room attendant to bring me a martini shaker and all the mixers for free, like I did on Voyager. I read in a couple places that you're not even supposed to bring any booze from your room out of your room. On Voyager I'd often pour myself a single-malt from one of my bar bottles when I went back to my room after dinner, then go out and meet friends on deck. I guess that would be against the rules. Look, I'm no alky, but I do enjoy fine wine, as well as good drinks when I'm on vacation, and I LEFT the mass-market lines so I wouldn't have to feel like a teenager smuggling booze past the booze police in order to mix my own martini in my own room, for crying out loud.

5. Lousy excursions. I read over and over that their excursions were overpriced, poorly done, and generally unexciting. This is in stark contrast to what I've read and experienced firsthand with RSSC. And as many of these ports were of the exotic ilk where I'd be reluctant to try to arrange private tours, would I find myself disappointed in these places that I'm so eager to tour?

5. Port changes -- I've read several disturbing threads and reviews indicating that not only do they have a history of frequently changing ports, but they don't seem to do much in terms of customer compensation when they do. Given the reports of lousy excursions, I would probably be arranging as many private ones as possible, but if port changes are common this could be disastrous.

6. Service -- While there are many glowing reviews about their service, there are a few too many reports of bad service, lousy attitudes, rude or uncaring crew, and poorly handled situations. I realize I have to take this all with a grain of salt as no cruise line can please everyone, and there are always grouches or one-off experiences, I do have to pay attention to patterns, and certain troubling patterns were emerging. It's just so hard to know how much credence to give these reports, but you have to face facts when there's just so MANY of them. And while there are bad RSSC reviews out there, they are far fewer than I found on Oceania. If I'm going to be on a ship for almost a month, how awful would that be if I found myself dissatisfied with the overall service?

So, I assume that if anyone has bothered to read this far, you've probably already guessed that we decided to stick with what we know and love, which is RSSC. (Lousy new perk program notwithstanding.) We're going to do the Mariner. I won't have to worry about nickel & diming, or booze-smuggling, or a huge novel-sized bill shoved under our door at the end of the trip. The entertainment will be what we're used to, and know we enjoy. There will be things to do on sea days -- oh, and that's even enhanced by the fact that this is a "Spotlight on Film" cruise, and we love movies! The cabin will be large and comfy, with a nice balcony and large bathroom. And we know the service will be exemplary (not to mention the food.)

So there ya have it. Decision made. Yep, life is good! :D