A cruise for summer next year alone?

Question

I'll be 21 starting feb and by then have a passport. So i'm looking into cruises for the summer next year. I'm going alone because my friends dont work and my hubby will be in iraq so im alone. I need a nice inexpensive cruise, but italy would be great! but caribean will be too? any suggestions. Also whats included in the cruise?

Answer 1

First, you may want to try and hook up with a girl friend As the cabins are sold per person/ double occupancy. If traveling alone you would be paying about the same as two people. I have taken both a Mediterranean cruise which included Italy and have taken two cruises to the Caribbean. The caribbean would be much cheaper as the Euro and the American dollar exchange rate is not good now. Also in the Caribbean, the shopping is great with great prices. I think going to the Mediterranean would be best saved to do with your husband. As far as what is included in a cruise, all food except specialty restaurants is included. Your cabin, and a choice of ice tea, coffee, milk, and hot tea is also included as well as entertainment. You pay extra for tips, alcohol, sometimes soda, and anything you spend while in ports including shore excursions.. Tips are $10 a day per person usually. You can have them automatically taken  care of by your credit card, or you can pay for tips at the end of the cruise. So the bottom line is if this is your first cruise, you may want to book through a regular travel agent as they can give you lots of info and inside tips.

Answer 2

You need to find someone to go with you, or else you'll be paying double.  Cruise cabins are sold double occupancy, so you pay for two people, even if you sail alone.  

Also, be sure and check the age limit for a cruise line you're interested in, because on some you have to be 25 or older.

It sounds like you need a lot more information than we can give you here.  I suggest you go to your library or bookstore and get a book on cruising, in order to get a general idea of what's involved.  There are many, many variables that will affect the price of your cruise and how much you enjoy your cruise, e.g. cabin type, time of year, itinerary, length of cruise, age/size of ship, demographics of a particular cruise line, etc, etc.

Answer 3

Well first of all you need to know that all of the cruise lines price their cruise based on "double occupancy", meaning two people per cabin.  So if you plan to go alone, which you can do, they will charge you a "single supplement" to have the cabin by yourself.  The single supplement mean that they will essentially charge you for two people; double the fare for whatever type cabin/accommodations you select.  

So you should consider some options for someone else to go along with you since you will be paying for it anyway.  One option would be to find a friend or relative, i.e. an aunt, great aunt, or someone's daughter or sister to go along and either pay all of that person's fare, or a good portion of it.

There are a lot of factors that affect what cruise you should select. Cruises generally cost about $125.00 per day per person.  Since cruises can be between 3, and 12, or 14 days or more the price will depend mostly on how many days your cruise is and also on the type cabin/accommodations that you choose.

There are 4 basic types of cabins on ships;

- inside (no window),................................... least expensive

- outside (a window or porthole),

- balcony/veranda, and

- suites and penthouses.......................... most expensive.

The "FROM" prices you see will always be for an inside cabin.  That type cabin would be the best for you if you decide to forgo a roommate and cruise alone.  Then the cruise lines give the best price for early bookings that are a year or more in advance. Cruise lines also list specials on their web sites so do look for those. The specials can many times save you a couple hundred per person over the price for the exact same cruise on a different date.

You can reserve a cruise by booking on line; by calling the cruise line, or through a travel agent. You will pay at booking the minimum deposit which will be between $250 and $350 per person for a 7 day cruise, depending upon the cruise line. The minimum will be more for a longer cruise, for example $450 per person for a 14 day cruise. The balance will be due approximately 60 days before the cruise departure date. But you can make periodic payment on line or with the cruise line. I have reserved on line and made payments many times.

I have listed below the web sites for the medium priced cruise lines which operate from US ports. These are the cruise lines that most people use. There are some luxury lines that are much higher priced with prices starting around $4,000 for a 7 day cruise. The lines that I have listed below will have cruises starting in the range of $700 to $1,000 per person for a 7 day cruise, again depending upon the date and type cabin you select.

HOLLAND AMERICA

http://www.hollandamerica.com/

CELEBRITY:

http://www.celebritycruises.com/home .

ROYAL CARIBBEAN:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/gohome.d.....

NORWEGIAN:

http://www.ncl.com/

PRINCESS:

http://www.princess.com/index.html

CARNIVAL:

http://www.carnivalcruiselines.com/

I have been on Princess, Celebrity, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean ships and can vouch that they are good cruise lines. However, there are some differences.

- Princess, Celebrity and Holland America have great ships are more classy and reserved. They are just a little more upscale and luxurious than the other cruise lines. Passengers tend to be middle aged and up and have cruised multiple times. Holland America has mostly senior citizens cruising on its ships.

-Norwegian cruise line is good, they cater to families and have mostly passengers in the range of age 35-40 and up. Its the line that you want to go on if you want to be informal for pretty much your whole cruise. They have formal nights like other cruise lines but they do not stress dressing up; the call it "dress up if you want to" night.

Carnival is the budget cruise line that generally has the lowest prices. They cater to young people, first time cruiser and families. The best of their ships are their newer ships so do pay attention to when the ship was launched is you find a really cheap cruise. A seven day cruise on a Carnival ship can be as low as $650. per person.

Royal Caribbean is also a cruise line that caters to young cruiser and families. It has the advantage of having the most on-board activities. Things like ice skating, roller blading, mini-golf course, a full sized basketball/tennis court, the rock climbing wall, and on the new Freedom Class ships the surfing simulator, the Flowrider.

Regardless of which cruise line you select the things that are included are pretty much the same. The price of your cruise includes your cabin, all meals (including breakfast, lunch dinner, snacks and free room service), free admissions to all shows and entertainment, and free use of all facilities on ship except spa services. The things that you will have to pay for are:

GRATUITIES: They will amount to about $10 per person in your cabin per day; about $70 each for a 7 day cruise.

ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND SOFT DRINKS: Coffee, tea, milk, juice, and lemonade and punch will be provided free but you must pay for soft drinks and alcoholic beverages and they will add a 15 percent gratuity to each drink and soft drink order.

PHOTOGRAPHS: Cruise lines will take plenty of photographs of you all over the ship, in the dining room, and as you exit the ship in ports. These will cost a lot, like $15 to $20 for most.

TOURS/EXCURSIONS: You are not required to book any tours and can get off and on in the ports as much as you want. But the cruise line will offer a lot of tours and these are expensive.

SOUVENIRS: Anything you buy on ship from a gift shop or duty free shop goes on your on board account. Things that you buy on shore you pay cash or credit card for.

CASINO: If you plan to gamble on ship you will need cash for that.

SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS: Most cruise lines have what they call "specialty" restaurants where there is a gratuity/service charge. All other food on board is free and its not really necessary to budget for food; you cannot eat all of the FREE FOOD that will be available.

SPA SERVICES: If you want/need to have your hair done, get a massage or wrap, or any services from the spa, you will have to pay for them. You can use the gym free but the spa stuff cost big bucks.

INTERNET SVCS: Ships now have internet cafe and some have WiFi but the there is a fee for internet access and it is very expensive (like about $50 to $60 an hour).

Answer 4

Your best bet is to go to www.vacationstogo.com and put in your criteria.  Even if you don't buy from them, I find this the easiest way to compare and window shop.  You put in how much money you want to spend, how many days you want to cruise, what port you'd like to sail from etc.  That way you can also compare prices and stuff.  The most inexpensive cruises are the Caribbean cruises coming out of Tampa or Ft Lauderdale.  4 or 5 day cruises are the cheapest.  But sometimes you can take a longer cruise for just a little bit more.  Shop around - it's fun.