Whats the cheapest cruise to go on for 3?

Question

Our family really wants to go on a cruise.But we are on a $1,200 budget. Now we have a teen and really want her to have fun! And the $1,100 budget counting plane tickets too, to get to the ship!

Answer 1

If you can/will amend or add to your question more information about:

- where you live,

-when you want to cruise, and

-where you want to cruise to.  

You will help all of us provide you more and better information.  The $1200 budget does not make it impossible but more information will help us all make some real recommendations that will work for you.  I have some in mind now but would rather have more info before I make them.

After/when you amend your question I will add more here:

Answer 2

You don't say where you live, so it is hard to direct you to the nearest pier.  Carnival Cruise will be the cheapest.  Also if you have 3 in a cabin, the 3rd and 4th person actually  get a price  break. (Can I be your 4th? LOL)    You might want to check with vacationstogo.com  They will show you any discounts.  We have dealt with CruCon and they are excellent to deal with too!  We live in Ohio so we do the Caribbean scene.  We have gotten some good deals since we are retired military.  Two years ago We went on a cruise and paid $299. each for 7 days! We were also allowed to get two extra cabins and have friends join us for the same deal.  It was great!  Another thing to join is travelzoo.com if you haven't already.  You can find some good deals there too sometimes. One word of advice though, where ever you go, you might want to stay the night before in a hotel and possibly on the way back so there's about $200. there, then there's food to purchase.   Sometimes airlines (especially to Florida) overbook and reschedule you for the next day.  If that's the case, you would miss your ship!!! WE almost did!!!  Also think about the time of year you want to go.  Sept. is cheapest, but also hurricane season.  A thought that you might want to take out travel insurance.  They will never put you in harms way, but the seas could be rougher then and your destination might change due to the storms so you might have thought you were going to St. Thomas, but they decided to swing to the Western Caribbean instead.  Also take into account, that excursions cost money too on the islands, but you don't have to do them as there are other things to do too.  Drinks are extra on the ship as well as soft drinks, so you might want to just do coffee, teas and juices.  Also you will be expected to pay $10. per day gratuity. Our airfare was a couple hundred dollars each and then we spent about $50 for transfers and tipping for 2 people.  It all adds up quite fast.  Right now for that price, you can get a maybe a 2 or 3 day for the price of what we paid for our 7 day 2 years ago.

Answer 3

Your back yard cruise

Above ground pool

with your own duck raft

Margeritas made from the drunk down the street

A Bean Bar B Que from the Beaners across town

Entertainment by the little girl next door that just had her first piano recital

dinning at the captain's table at your nearest long john silvers

that's the cheapest perfect criuse:

No sea sickness

No annoying cabin boys

No bunk beds

No passport needed

No foreign language to learn

No gas needed to the air port

and when you are sick with the cruise, just go inside and watch t.v. with a t.v. dinner

Answer 4

Ok, so here is the deal... I am NOT an experience cruiser. In fact I am booking my cruise this week. From all of the research I have done, I am able to pay a down payment ($250 per person) and then pay off the cruise over time as long as I pay it off within 75 days before the cruise.

Between now and April, we will be putting away $100 a month for our spending money (not to mention any extra money that my hubby and I get for brithdays, christmas, and taxes). I figure by the time the cruis bgins we will have $2500 saved.

If you want to take you family on a cruise, you want to save money because as others have said it is expensive escpecially when you have to fly to your port. For plane tickets, it will cost my husband and I about $700 extra plus we will be staying at a hotel. I am sure that will cost us about $100-200 for one night.

My suggestion is to sit down with your spouse and write out a budget of what you can spend each month and then take whatever is left over after the neccesities and put that away into a "Cruise Fund". When you have enough saved for you to at least make the downpayment on the cruise then do it. After you have done that, put a certain amount into the fund until the cruise and allow yourselves to save up.

Until then, I found cruiscritic.com, cruiseonly.com, vacationstogo.com, rc.com, and carnivalcruise.com helpful.

I wish you the best of luck. I can't wait until my cruise next year.

Answer 5

that is really unrealistic. me, my wife and daughter leave on our cruise next monday. it was over 1400 for just the cruise and we booked it six mos. in advance. its a 4 day cruise and we are driving to the port. be prepared to spend more than that. airfare was gonna be another thousand for us so we just decided to drive

Answer 6

Carnival from Tampa.

Answer 7

You'll want to scour the internet for the best prices.  Start now!   Try cruisesonly.com, that one usually has good prices.  But $1200 will probably ONLY get the three of you onboard a ship - not to the port also.  

Usually, the cheapest 7-day cruises start at $399 per person.  Add your "extra person" fee of $199 or so, and the other various port charges and tax and such, and you've spent $1200 already.  

If you live ANYWHERE near a port, try driving there and parking.  Like if you live in Texas, drive to Galveston or New Orleans and find a cruise going from there.  You'll still pay $100 or so in parking for a week, but it's hella cheaper than flying in today's airline rates.  

Once you're aboard, you'll still need $70 per person for the bare minimum for gratuities, plus spending money.