Best prices/promos, when to book Bermuda cruise, etc.

[mevelandry]

Hi!

DH and I have been talking FOR MONTHS about booking a Bermuda cruise from NYC on the Anthem of the Seas.

That being said, the prices are quite high when you add taxes -- the taxes and very high on this one!-- (in canadian dollars, it cost 2300$ for two)...

I was wondering if there was promos sometimes for Bermuda cruises that were worth waiting for (like tax free promo or something) or an ideal moment to book.

Do they ever offer last minute deals on this cruise? I remember Norwegian offered us a last minute deal around 500$ CND (around 400 US) per person for a cruise last year when I had to shop for a Plan B in case the hurricane would ruin our Bahamas cruise plans.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mrs D]

Hi!

DH and I have been talking FOR MONTHS about booking a Bermuda cruise from NYC on the Anthem of the Seas.

That being said, the prices are quite high when you add taxes -- the taxes and very high on this one!-- (in canadian dollars, it cost 2300$ for two)...

I was wondering if there was promos sometimes for Bermuda cruises that were worth waiting for (like tax free promo or something) or an ideal moment to book.

Do they ever offer last minute deals on this cruise? I remember Norwegian offered us a last minute deal around 500$ CND (around 400 US) per person for a cruise last year when I had to shop for a Plan B in case the hurricane would ruin our Bahamas cruise plans.

Thanks in advance!

Prices for the summer sailings on the Anthem have recently dropped.

 

[Sleepy425]

When are you looking to go? We just booked Anthem a couple days ago for Thanksgiving 2018, $3800** for 4 people in an obstructed view balcony.
My parents are also doing the cruise this Thanksgiving, $1700 for two in an obstructed view balcony (they are diamond members and got some kind of discount, maybe about $200 off?). They booked this year's trip last month.
**These are US dollars

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I found that we saved several hundred dollars booking with a US travel agent.
We live in Canada too and at first priced out the cruise online with RCI in CAD $. I thought the prices would be same but when we called a TA we saved quite a bit by booking in USD after factoring in the exchange.

 

[mevelandry]

We are looking for either this summer, during the week-end of June 17-18 or somewhere in June next year.

Currently, there is a NCL cruise that would fit our dates perfectly and if we book last minute, we could end up getting it for a very good price.

One way or another, we want to cruise RCCL in 2018 so any tip regarding the prices is much appreciated.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

We are looking for either this summer, during the week-end of June 17-18 or somewhere in June next year.

Currently, there is a NCL cruise that would fit our dates perfectly and if we book last minute, we could end up getting it for a very good price.

One way or another, we want to cruise RCCL in 2018 so any tip regarding the prices is much appreciated.

Well like I said try calling a US based travel agent that specializes in cruises. Our price by booking this way was a few hundred cheaper than if we booked online with Royal in Cad. dollars - which I believe is the only option when booking with them online (in Canada). The price we paid in USD was about $400 less than if we paid in Canadian dollars. I hope that makes sense?
So that's what I would do to start, get prices from US cruise travel agents.
Then if you book a guarantee cabin you can save even more, those are often available. We booked a balcony guarantee about 60 days out and got assigned a D2 category for less than the obstructed views where. I've seen guarantee cabins for some December cruises we were looking at too, so it's not like Disney where they are usually only offered within 75 days of sailing. Also, Royal tends to assign a guarantee cabin right away.
It's a gamble though.
Aside from this, wait until they have one of their WOW sales or similar and then call a US travel to get a price in USD and price it out online yourself, then compare

 

[WishingMom]

Was using a US travel agent even beneficial factoring the exchange rate for our dollar?

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Was using a US travel agent even beneficial factoring the exchange rate for our dollar?

Yes. When we were pricing out the same type of cabin online with Royal in Cad. $ - the price came was about $3300 (Canadian) which is around $2500 USD give or take depending on the exchange rate.
When I called the US cruise travel agent they quoted me $2200 USD for the exact same cabin which is about $2900 Canadian - so for us savings of roughly $400 Canadian. Plus we got a couple of extra perks like free specialty dinner etc.

I should add that when we were pricing the cruise on the Royal website we would only get the price in Cad $, but we assumed it was just the price factoring the exchange rate.
But it appears that Royal has different (higher) prices for Canadians... or at least that's what I've found.
Because I was able to check the prices with another US travel agent online and the price was lower even after factoring the exchange.

 

[mevelandry]

The promo was interesting and we finally booked for 2018. Thank you all!

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

The promo was interesting and we finally booked for 2018. Thank you all!

That's awesome!
We embark in 11 days so hopefully I can help answer any questions you may have after our cruise

 

[mevelandry]

Would love that! Thank you!!!