Booking a cruise

Gofirstclass

Gofirstclass

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Apr 20, 2010
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Tri Cities, WA
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If you were going to go on a cruise of the Caribbean (not sure at this point if we want Eastern or Western), what site(s) would you explore to find a deal on a cruise?

We're looking at leaving some time after Christmas and looking at a 7-9 day cruise. We'd like to get either an oceanview or balcony cabin.

Your thoughts and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.


Thanks,

GFC and GW
 
GFC,

I guess it depends on the quality of the cruise you want to take. The Admiral and I have been on many a cruise from lower end of Carnival all the way to top end of Regent Seven Seas. I think the eastern Caribbean is a better choice personally. The islands are all pretty unique and the water is always nice. I would go to each Cruise Line site individually and review options. Regent Seven Seas requires you to go through a travel agent. One trip I remember on Carnival went out of San Juan PR and we spent a couple of days there before catching the boat. The Regent went out of Miami. Whatever you choose will be a great time. The Caribbean is very nice that time of year.

Eddie
 
I don't have much experience as I've only done 1 Western Caribbean cruise a few years ago and have an Eastern Caribbean cruise scheduled over New Year's this year. One variable is the airfare. It is easy for us on the east coast to get good fares to Florida, but we're leaving out of Puerto Rico and the airfare is much higher.
 
Vacations to go.

Just type that into your search window. This site has various cruise lines broken down into areas. The 90 day ticker for last minute vacations works well.
 
I've never booked on one of the large internet sites such as "Vacations to Go" or "Cruise Critic", but they seem to offer some decent pricing. We have many times booked through Cruise Link Travel in Winter Haven, Florida because it's local to our winter residence. They are affiliated with the Expedia organization and have always offered competitive pricing and can usually offer additional shipboard credit resulting in a better deal. I believe the Expedia travel centers exist throughout the country...at least I am aware of some in Michigan as well. Booking direct with the cruise line is also effective and they generally offer many of the same discounts given to agents. East vs west or any particular cruise line is difficult to recommend because everyone has a different expectation. Search Cruise Critic reviews and you'll get the range of loved it to hated it for any week's cruise that you search. My favorite stop in the east is St. Maarten. West is probably Grand Cayman. South is Aruba.
 
Kids or no kids? During the week after Christmas, that makes a HUGE difference. My first cruise was on a Freedom Class RCCL ship (second from the largest in the fleet). They did a great job, but they have a no rule enforcement policy with kids, so the 1,000 kids aboard (yes, ONE THOUSAND) nearly ruined the trip. Most parents use the ship as a floating amusement park/babysitter. Kids hit all the elevator buttons, the handicap button on the swing doors, swam in the adult pools, came into bars...

If I were traveling with kids on a mid-tier line, I'd cruise on RCCL, Disney or NCL. Without kids I like Celebrity, but Princess is similar. HAL will make you feel young and healthy compared to the rest of the passengers, but your GW will be offended that you took her on a seniors cruises ship.

The manifest on my last Celebrity ship listed under 90 kids, and I don't know where they locked them up, but I think I only saw 2!

Many of the islands are similar. I'm not a fan of Jamaica, so I stay aboard there. (the ship nearly empties out, so those can be nice days). Grand Cayman isn't one of the prettiest islands, flat and quite developed, but it's clean/affluent and it has a lot to do. Cozumel is ok. I like Roatan, and it's an island, not on the Honduran mainland so it feels clean and safe. RCCL (which also owns Celebrity) owns a private beach in Haiti. It wasn't my favorite stop, but easy/safe and a nice beach to drink on.

To the east, Puerto Rico is very cool IMO. St. Maarten is nice, so is St. Thomas. I wouldn't go back to St. Kitts if you paid me, but again, you can pick a cruise with and island or two you don't want to see - if you pick your ship correctly, no day should be a bad one.
 
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oh, and by all means, get at LEAST a balcony room. You'll hear the "I never spend time in my room, so an inside cabin is fine."

Of course they don't spend time in their "room" - it's a closet!

Work any angles you can to get an upgrade. Travel agents, Amex, the actual cruise agents etc can often help get an improved room. Suites offer more than just space. It may include early boarding, a butler, packing and unpacking service, in-room "tea", walk-in closets, robes, exclusive parties and clubs etc.
 
Living in FL have taken numerous cruises to the Caribbean and beyond with different lines. Prefer Celebrity with at least a balcony and also prefer Eastern to Western. BTW, just after Christmas/Jan it can get a bit rough out there sometimes, even on a big cruise ship:) Have experienced storms with 25' + lashing the side at night which made it hard to sleep and all outside decks closed off. One time was so bad ship could not use tenders for ports as too rough so had to stay onboard. We now belong to a Vacation Club that gets us the same price as travel agents for any type of vacation but before we joined that used to use: www.bestpricecruises.com but there are many sites, such as: www.cheapcruises.com, www.vacationstogo.com (which I think is the best for research but not always the best price.) You just need to drill down and compare costs etc. Have fun!
 
The last and only cruise we took or will ever take again, after doing all the searching for prices we found that a good Travel agent can get some of the best rates & do all the leg work for you, air fare, hotel & cruise. The one we used guaranteed our plans with insurance & offered a full refund if cancelled 14 days in advance. My mother & brother used the same agent they had to cancel 12 hours before a cruise to Alaska, the insurance paid all but about 10%.

Get the ocean view with balcony. For us a cruise was sort of boring nothing to do after a couple days wondering around all the ships stores, spas & shows but gamble, drink, gamble eat drink... that's just us the boats are like floating get your money time share pitches.
 
Wow you guys are great. Thanks for all the information. GW is in Seattle this week doing the "granny nanny" duty but will be home this afternoon. We need to get serious about deciding what type of vacation we want (cabin/hotel/cruise, etc.) and where we want to go. Your information gives me some ways to look at cruises and not feel like I'm getting ripped off.

BTW, we're taking a cruise of a different sort starting Saturday morning. We're headed to Silverwood Theme Park (Think mini-Disneyland) http://www.silverwoodthemepark.com/ with GW's son and DIL and two grandsons. We're staying at The Davenport Hotel (http://www.davenporthotelcollection.com/ in Spokane, all courtesy of the kids. On Sunday morning they're heading back home but GW and I are taking the Whaler up to Lake Pend Orielle in northern Idaho for two days of fun on the lake, then down to Lake Coeur d'Alene for a day on the water there. We're staying at a resort that has cabins on Lake PO and at a hotel in C d'A.

I'll be sure to take lots of photos and post 'em when I have some time.
 
Don't go without booking a balcony ! You will regret it.
We've been on with Royal 7-8 times, Carnival once.
We find Royal holds a clear edge over many others but all depends on what you are looking for.
Bring lots of bucks if you plan on tipping the elbow or taking part in the excursions.
In the Caribbean we enjoyed an Eastern route out of Miami.
 
BritLady said:
LOL, have to reply with my usual comment is the "guys" a generic catch all?
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BritLady, that's a compliment because I consider you "one of the guys." Your comments and advice are as good as anyone's on here, so you're just one of us heathen men.

Only I'd bet you're a lot easier on the eyes than most of us.
 
Gofirstclass said:
BritLady, that's a compliment because I consider you "one of the guys." Your comments and advice are as good as anyone's on here, so you're just one of us heathen men.

Only I'd bet you're a lot easier on the eyes than most of us.
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You're a real charmer GFC:) I can tell you didn't get your money back from Charm School like so many do:)
 
By all means Upgrade!! Get express check in and a room with a balcony! Pack binoculars, the most enjoyable part of my time on the ship was sitting on the balcony just before sun up and watching the sea life breach the surface of the water or watching a passing ship. Oh, go eastern. I've only sailed with Carnival which was nice enough for me but I hear RCCL is the way to go if you need Glam.
 
The admiral and I took our first 2 years ago this month. We took a 7-night eastern Caribbean on Carnival. We flew to San Juan and boarded there. Stopped at St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, and St. Martin and back to San Juan. We had a wonderful time. We took 3 excursions all involving boats, snorkeling, etc and they were all the best. We left Atlanta-San Juan on a Sunday and flew back San Juan-Atlanta the following Sunday. The entire trip was just fantastic. We were planning to go again, but saved our $$ to buy our 260DA a month ago. Great fun!!!!!! Check out Vacationstogo.com. They were fantastic as well.
 
bbwhitejr said:
The admiral and I took our first 2 years ago this month. We took a 7-night eastern Caribbean on Carnival. We flew to San Juan and boarded there. Stopped at St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, and St. Martin and back to San Juan. We had a wonderful time. We took 3 excursions all involving boats, snorkeling, etc and they were all the best. We left Atlanta-San Juan on a Sunday and flew back San Juan-Atlanta the following Sunday. The entire trip was just fantastic. We were planning to go again, but saved our $$ to buy our 260DA a month ago. Great fun!!!!!! Check out Vacationstogo.com. They were fantastic as well.
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Did that same cruise.Upgraded to one of the suites. Had a great time. St. Lucia was probably one of our favorite stops.
 
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