Helpful websites?

Question

My husband and I want to take our first cruise at the end of May. I don't even know where to start looking but I want something really nice yet affordable. I don't want to spend more than 1000 a person. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

My college classmates used this website to find an affordable cruise to celebrate our graduation.  We had an awesome time!  We paid for a 7 day cruise on the Carnival Conquest and airplane tickets to the departure city for $900 each.  Different travel agents compete for your business.  You can get a great deal with no hidden agendas.

Answer 2

Try www.cruisecritic.com.  This site has professional and recent traveler critiques of good things about every cruise line and every cruise ship.  I just completed my first  cruise to Europe last may and this site had good information on what to do and see.   The reviews also told me about problems other cruisers had so I was better prepared.

good luck and have fun!

Answer 3

Find a travel agent or cruise specialist, like me, to work with. The cruise lines set the prices so you are not going to lose money but you should get great service. You might find a website that has cheaper prices because they reduce their commission to lower the price, but they will not help you find the right cruise for you. Since you have never been make sure you use an agent to find the right cruise for you.

Answer 4

A good travel website to book cruises is at

"18K Travel"

http://www.ytbtravel.com/18ktravel

Answer 5

I agree with Tinkertoy.

Answer 6

Go to your library and check out some books about cruising - there are many, including "Dummies".

Also, go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards" and "Reviews" to get all the info you could want about cruising.

$1000 pp for a 7-day cruise may be difficult, by the time you add all the "extras" [tips, alcohol, shore excursions, casino, spa, etc], and airfare, but it's probably do-able in May.

Might be a good idea to use a travel agent who specializes in cruises, unless you're very confident [after all your research] that you can book it on your own.  A TA, however, will have lots of questions about what you're looking for, so you will still need to do some research.

Unless you get a really good deal on the air fare, don't use the package from the cruiseline - you'll get the worst flights available.  Also, plan to fly in the day before, if you're coming from an area that is prone to bad weather.  Gives you lots of time for delays and to relax once you get to your departure city.

Carnival, Royal and Princess are probably going to be your best bets for a first cruise, but they each have a different personality, so that's why you need to do some research.

Answer 7

This may be long and more than you want but since you have not cruised before you may find it useful information.

If you have the money to spend for the very top and best cruise lines try Crystal, Radisson, Windstar, and Silver Sea.  These cruise lines are a cut above the others because they run smaller ships (about 500 to 700 passengers) and have a higher staff to passenger ratio so you get top of the line service.  They also have more amenities included in the much higher price, like all veranda/balcony cabins, tubs and shower bathroom, larger cabins, daily wine and/or champaign with meals, etc. .  Prices for a 7 day cruise on these top of the line ships may start at $4000 to $5000  (vs about $1200 on the next tier of ships.).  These ships tend to have a more sophisticated and older crowd and more formal dining.

Most cruises are done by the next tier of cruise lines like Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess, Celebrity, Cunard, Holland America, and Disney. Most of the ships for these lines are now 1500 to 2500 passenger ships.  The ships are big but things are so well managed that you really don't feel crowded on them.  Prices on these ship can be as low as $800  for a 7 day inside cabin and about $1200 for a balcony cabin.  Most of these lines go to the same places.

The first rule in getting less expensive cruises is book early.  By early I mean 9 months to a year or more early.  Most cruise line right now have all of their cruises for, next year listed on their web sites and even some cruises for 2009. The second rule is  shop around for specials.  All of the cruise lines have specials listed right on their web sites and you can usually save hundreds of dollars by going on the cruise that you like on the week when the price is the lowest.  Some lines will offer specials on a date that does not usually sell out.  So don't lock yourself in to one particular week of the year; be flexible.

If you have not cruised before and don't know the ropes it may be beneficial for you to use an agent; the agent does not charge a fee but is paid by the cruise line.  But, also, do some home work on cruise line, itineraries, and ships.  Use the cruise line web sites to look at what's being offered.  Try to have in mind some of  what you want to do when you talk to an agent.  If you feel comfortable doing it, you can do your own booking online, the price is the same and you can do everything you need right on the web sites.

Unless you have small kids whom you want to take on a Disney cruise or you just love being around a lot of kids, stay away from Disney cruise line.  that line has two ships right now and does limited cruises to the Bahamas and Caribbean mostly.  the line has nice ships and even areas that are for adults only.  But all of the kids are still on the ship.

If you want to be around a younger crowd of people and first time cruiser go on Carnival.  Its a good budget cruise line that most young people love because its the party cruise line.

If you want a leisurely cruise without the traditional structure of a dinner time (6:00 PM or 8:00PM) each day and you prefer to be casual for dinner each evening, then go on a Norwegian cruise.  They have freestyle cruises which is very casual.

If you are not sure whether you want the traditional or the casual dinner seating but you want a little more upscale cruise, go on Princess cruise line.  Princess has what it calls "Personal Choice" cruising where you can elect to select a dinner seating time or just go when you want.  But Princess still has the formal nights (usually 2 per 7 day cruise), and like all of the other lines requests that you wear sports casual in the evenings for dinner and shows and other activities other than the pool or gym.

By the way, all of the cruise lines that have formal nights the formal is REQUESTED and not REQUIRED.  So you can dress up if you want and if you do not, as long as you are sports casual, you will not be denied access to anything on ship.

Sometimes people get confused by the categories on ship that agents or the web sites refer to.  Categories are simply a listing of the different types of cabins on the ship by size, location and amenities.  Categories are the price structure. What you need to know and understand is that the category designations DO NOT mean the same thing on all cruise lines. If/when you go to a cruise line web site you will see the various cabins listed by type, i.e., SUITE, VERANDA or BALCONY, OUTSIDE, and INSIDE. the category, and generally the square footage of each cabin type. The category will generally be listed next to the cabin type.

The most expensive are the suite, then the balcony (or veranda, same thing), then outside (you get a window or porthole), then inside.  Cruise lines usually advertise the lowest price for a cruise, so if you see an advertisement for a cruise for $800. then that is probably for an inside cabin.  the price of other cabins will be scaled up from that.  An outside may be $1,000. and a balcony may be $1200. on that same cruise.

Also remember that all cruise lines sell all of their cabins double occupancy.  So that $800 is for one person buy you must buy two (2) cruise tickets.

The terms "cabin" and "stateroom" mean the same thing; the cruise industry prefers stateroom.  The standard cabin that most people get (inside/outside/balcony) are generally between 175 and 200 Square feet, about the size of a 9 by 12 ft home bedroom (balconies are about 45 to 55 sq ft). Suites and penthouses can be between 350 and 1300 square feet. Each cabin has a two beds which can be made into a queen, a bathroom with a shower stall, a closet and some drawer space, a TV and telephone, a safe for valuables, a mini-refrigerator, and a life jacket for each passenger.  Some cabins that are built to accommodate 3 or 4 people will have a pull down bed and/or a sofa bed.   Its been my experience that Princess and Royal Caribbean have the best ship and cabin decor (also some of the best food.)

I have been on almost 20 cruises on 4 different cruise lines; Princess, Celebrity,, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean.  You can easily find a cruise on either of these lines for $1,000. or less and may even be able get a balcony cabin if you go when the price is lowest.  So do shop around on the web sites that I have listed below.

Answer 8

Contact Veronica for more info

https://cmagent.net/vdovbush

Phone: [phone]

[e-mail]

Good luck

Answer 9

Have a look at the cruise-line websites to find a cruise-line, itinerary and price that suits you. You can then look for a deal through the cruise agents websites or go to your nearest travel agent and get some quotes.

Answer 10

this site has useful cruise information

http://allcruiselines.info