Cruise Help Please!

[pigletto]

I would like to plan a cruise for our family (4 of us) for my 40th birthday.
That gives me two years to plan and save. Ideally our destination would be Europe and the cruise would be 10-14 nights.

I have been looking at all the websites but WOW is it overwhelming!!!
We have cruised several times with a large group of family on Celebrity and absolutely loved the line and the ships. Those vacations were always planned by someone else so I don't really know where to start.

Do you get the best deals way ahead of time or last minute? Is there a specific reputable site (like expedia or travelocity) that is known for good deals?

I have browsed Cruisecritic and it looks like a wealth of good info, but it's not really helping me narrow things down.
Disney seems very expensive, but then again, there's certain things about them that seem above and beyond and worth the pricetag.

So if anyone could direct me on how to start narrowing this down I would really appreciate it!

 

[Aliceacc]

I have no idea.

But our 25th anniversary is in July 2014. So I think I'll keep an eye on your thread.

There's no way we could swing Europe. But a nice Carribean cruise (for 5--that's the tricky Part) might do the trick.

Best wishes finding what you want.

Could you start by speaking to a travel agent?

 

[hhh]

You might try reading about the European ports on CruiseCritic. Try to select which ports you really want to see, and that will help you narrow down the field.

If money is an issue, you might want to think about what European cities are cheaper to fly to from your home.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We cruised europe with Celebrity last summer and loved it. We cost-compared with Disney and it was sooo expen$ive. We figured we'd be spending so much time in the various ports that we wouldn't have as much time to enjoy the Disney ship as we have on other cruises that spend more days at sea. Paying less for the cruise gave us more $$$ to spend on shore excursions.

As a PP has suggested, check with a reputable travel agent for suggestions.

Which countries interest you the most? You won't be able to see them all on one cruise, so choose your favorite(s) and go from there.

 

[pigletto]

I have no idea.

But our 25th anniversary is in July 2014. So I think I'll keep an eye on your thread.

There's no way we could swing Europe. But a nice Carribean cruise (for 5--that's the tricky Part) might do the trick.

Best wishes finding what you want.

Could you start by speaking to a travel agent?

You know Alice, I was in the we can't afford it camp too. But I'm a little surprised at what I am seeing! If we are willing to go with an Oceanview instead of a balcony, or get in on a sale or promotion etc it is working out that the Cruise portion would be comparable with a Disney trip on some lines.
The issue becomes the flights

I went to Scotland with my sister last year and for a little over a week with direct flights, all our hotels, and some train and airport transfers it was 1200 per person!! So there has to be a way to get those flights down.. at least I'm hoping!!

hhh, thank you for the suggestion. Since flights will make or break the trip, I may want to start researching the cheaper cities to fly into and build my search from there. Many of the cruises that interest me seem to start in Barcelona.

 

[pigletto]

We cruised europe with Celebrity last summer and loved it. We cost-compared with Disney and it was sooo expen$ive. We figured we'd be spending so much time in the various ports that we wouldn't have as much time to enjoy the Disney ship as we have on other cruises that spend more days at sea. Paying less for the cruise gave us more $$$ to spend on shore excursions.

As a PP has suggested, check with a reputable travel agent for suggestions.

Which countries interest you the most? You won't be able to see them all on one cruise, so choose your favorite(s) and go from there.

We are most interested in Italy hands down.
I think you guys are right and I need to enlist the help of a good travel agent. Maybe I'll narrow it down as best as I can and then go in with ideas. I am so used to the fun of planning a Disney trip and handling it all myself but this is a bit more challenging.

Celebrity has been fantastic every time we have sailed with them. Those were always Caribbean cruises for us though.

 

[KKB]

I haven't planned a European cruise, but have done many otherwise.

I have been very happy with bestpricecruises.com for booking--both in prices, assistance & benefits. BUT I always do alot of price comparisons on other travel sites as well as the line's site. I'm booking where I get the best deal.
Many people are more comfortable with a local travel agent.

They say more than 1 year out or less than 3 months gets you the best deals on a cruise. Now, air cannot be booked more than 11 months out. And EXPECT to pay $1K pp RT. If you find less, consider yourself lucky.

As far as lines go, we have sailed DCL once, and found it along the same lines as all the other mass lines (Princess, Royal), EXCEPT that it runs about 30% more. (and no casino--we LIKE the casino!) Honestly, the main dining room food was the worst of the 3 lines we have cruised. Not bad, but very average. We loved the sports bar & Palo.
My parents have cruised Celebrity, Royal, Princess & NCL--and that his their order of preference, with Celebrity solidly on top. Has it stopped them from cruising other lines, no. They also are about the best value.
My uncle has cruised the same line as my folks plus Carnival w/ all his children/grandchildren (who have all cruised various lines). They said it would be their one & only Carnival cruise. Again, not bad, but as my uncle put it, "It was like staying at a Motel 6 after getting used to the Hampton". And these people like to PARTY, so I was surprised at their response. My 85 year old aunt, who also likes to have a good time--and has sailed all those lines--said Carnival was the first cruise she got bored on!!
My uncle & his family also cruised Costa & were not impressed either...'nuf said.

I say determine WHERE you want to go & when. We find the major lines more alike than different, so go with the best price.
Have fun!!

 

[Aliceacc]

As long as we're in the realm of the hypothetical, there's also Alaska too...

 

[pigletto]

Can I just say you guys are awesome?!:good vibes
Thank you for your thoughts.

KKB, you have given me much to think about. I did go on a Carnival cruise once when I was younger. I do remember it being a party atmosphere which didn't bother me then being in my early 20's. But now with kids? Not what we are going for at all. In fact, I don't drink at all, dh will have wine with dinner or an evening cocktail but that's it. So I don't think that's the line for us either.

Aliceacc, Alaska is a strong contender as well!! Flights would be an issue with Alaska too though, as we'd likely fly into Vancouver which is expensive for us.

 

[Aliceacc]

I know the AAA booklet always has info on cruises; I'm sure the CAA must as well.

 

[sandraB]

Try vacationstogo.com they have all the cruises for your time listed, with prices. I don't use them to book, just to compare and do some research.

We have gone to Europe twice in the last three summers for under 1000/person airfare using Icelandair. They usually have lower prices than the other airlines, but I always book early. You can fly into one port and out of another too, which is nice! They are usually quite cheap into Europe, so you could use them to Paris/London/Frankfurt, and then book a cheaper airline like easyjet, etc.....

We are doing MSC this summer out of Venice. We found their prices to be the cheapest, and since I have sailed many cruise lines, I really don't prefer one over the others. I have done Disney, Costa and Carnival. To be honest they all were great, and different! I figure if I am not cooking/cleaning I really am not too picky! We picked MSC based on price and itinerary. We even have a balcony, so I am pretty excited!

Good luck planning your trip!

 

[powelweb]

Have you looked into repositioning cruises?

You could fly to florida and take a eastbound transatlantic cruise that ends up in Europe, stay a for a few extra days and then fly home from there.

These cruises are usually pretty cheap but the trick is getting the airfare cheap, too.

 

[Muushka]

Celebrity has some wonderful S class ships. I watch cruise prices pretty closely and Europe looks like they are having a hard time filling their ships, I have seen some great rates.

If you figure out a ship and itinerary, keep your eye on it. More than likely the price will drop. If you have your heart set on a certain cabin (we are very picky about which cabin we cruise in, and they are limited to each sailing, so we always pick our cabin pretty far out or watch to be sure they aren't booking up). Then we choose an agency that at least offers free gratuities and book with them. If there is a price drop before the final payment is due, they will honor it. If the price drops after, that is an opportunity to upgrade by paying the difference. We just upgraded on a 12 night cruise to a sky suite for around $250 pp. Not bad!

As was mentioned, CruiseCritic is a great resource for cruise info. Enjoy!

 

[Aliceacc]

Just for fun, last night I priced a Celebrity Alaska cruise for the 5 of us.

Including airfare from NY, and without any discounts, the total came to $8705-- pretty close to the original price I was quoted for this summer's Disney trip. (But a WHOLE LOT more than we'll actually be paying.)

So an Alaska cruise definitely goes on to my "Maybe" list.

 

[pigletto]

Just for fun, last night I priced a Celebrity Alaska cruise for the 5 of us.

Including airfare from NY, and without any discounts, the total came to $8705-- pretty close to the original price I was quoted for this summer's Disney trip. (But a WHOLE LOT more than we'll actually be paying.)

So an Alaska cruise definitely goes on to my "Maybe" list.

You can probably get that number down quite a bit too! Pricing out Mediterranean cruises I am getting us down to 5000 or so (before flights) for an Oceanview. Sometimes I price with current sales in the months we could go and I get it even lower. Royal Caribbean is a line I would be willing to try and they come out cheaper (they are owned by the same company as Celebrity).

Also try different room types. On one of cruises we stayed in a Family Suite and I think it would fit your whole family. You could also do two inside cabins as well.

See how much choice there is? . I am going to go into a travel agent that we have used in the past this week and ask him some general questions to get started.

 

[Simba001]

We cruised to Europe with Celebrity on the Equinox in August/September 2010.
Our TA, who is mainly Disney focused, told us for a European trip she would recommend Celebrity over DCL. Loved the ship. Loved the trip.

 

[Muushka]

We cruised to Europe with Celebrity on the Equinox in August/September 2010.
Our TA, who is mainly Disney focused, told us for a European trip she would recommend Celebrity over DCL. Loved the ship. Loved the trip.

We have done a total of 21 days on the Equinox. We love that ship!
In 4 weeks we are doing 14 nights on the Silhouette, sister ship.

 

[ekatiel]

You know Alice, I was in the we can't afford it camp too. But I'm a little surprised at what I am seeing! If we are willing to go with an Oceanview instead of a balcony, or get in on a sale or promotion etc it is working out that the Cruise portion would be comparable with a Disney trip on some lines.
The issue becomes the flights

I went to Scotland with my sister last year and for a little over a week with direct flights, all our hotels, and some train and airport transfers it was 1200 per person!! So there has to be a way to get those flights down.. at least I'm hoping!!

hhh, thank you for the suggestion. Since flights will make or break the trip, I may want to start researching the cheaper cities to fly into and build my search from there. Many of the cruises that interest me seem to start in Barcelona.

Flights are going to be the first major budget buster. Not sure about flights from Canada, but from here in Houston, we're looking at $1200 to $1400 pp (that's into Rome or Barcelona-- where most med cruises start)!! The other major budget buster is going to be excursions. You're going to want to do some really cool excursions in Europe-- it's not like your typical Caribbean cruise where a lot of people are OK with shopping or going to the beach. Think between $150-$200 per person at EACH port for shore excursions.

When we book cruises, first I go to www .crui sech eap.com to just see what's out there. Then, once I've decided on the cruise I want to take, I go to www.cruisecompete.com -- this site is great b/c it will give you quotes from several different travel agents-- that way you can be sure you're getting the best deal. Most lines don't allow TAs to discount, but they will allow TAs to give you varying amounts of on board credit, so the site is great b/c the TAs are competing for your business.

It sounds like a WONDERFUL trip-- DH and I originally considered a med cruise for our 10th anniversary this summer, but the flights and shore excursion prices scared us off for now. Instead, we're taking the kids to Disney for a week, and then we're going by ourselves on the Oasis of the Seas. Maybe we'll do Europe for our 20th!! --Katie

 

[MrsPete]

Cruise line:

Disney is great, but we probably won't do it again -- it's just too expensive. You can almost have two cruises on another line for the cost of one on Disney. Affordable, family-friendly mainstream lines are Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Carnival.

No matter what line you choose, be sure you're comparing similar ships. The newer, larger ships offer more amenities, so it's natural that they'd cost more. Many people say that Carnival is cheaper, but I haven't found this to be true consistantly -- especially not if you're comparing their newest, nicest ships with the other company's newest, nicest ships.

Itinerary:

I know you said that Europe'd be ideal, but the Caribbean is going to be cheaper (don't know just how important this is to you). The cheapest cruise'll be one with a port city to which you can drive.

When to book:

Pick out what you want, and book the very day that your cruise dates become available. Why? All rooms aren't equal, yet the room with the over-sized balcony and the one squeezed between the ship's laundry and the disco cost the same price. By booking early, you get the better room. Then watch. IF the price goes down, you can call in and ask for a price match; personally, I've only failed to get a price drop twice: Once was my first cruise, when I didn't know to watch, and the other was a holiday cruise. Check "up and down a category" too. For example, once I reserved us THREE connecting ocean-view rooms (4 teens in one, me and DH in the other)and was happy enough with them . . . 'til they had a great price drop, and I was able to move us to THREE balcony cabins . . . for less money. By booking well ahead, you stand a better chance of getting a great price and a great room -- as long as you don't mind checking every day.

At some point you may reach a line in the sand when the cruise line'll say, "No more. We're only 2 months from the cruise date. We're having a fire sale on our leftover rooms, and we will no longer do price matches." So what? At that point, all the good cabins'll be gone anyway. It's rare to get a really prime cabin just before sale date. It's more likely that the balconies could all be sold out, or the entire cruise could be sold out.

With whom to book?

For our first cruise we booked with AAA. Now we book directly with the cruise line. Why? Because if I see a price drop, I want to be able to call in myself right away. And I want my cruise documents to come directly to me. I don't want to have to go through a middle-man for my vacation details.

Some travel agents offer nice gifts; for example, they might pay your tips for you or might give you a night at a specialty restaurant. I personally haven't found these deals (I just hear about them on Cruise Critic), but I still value being in charge of my own details.

Total cost:

Be sure you're not looking JUST at the cruise cost; this is not a complete cost. Include in your budget: Transportation, a night-before hotel (experienced cruisers'll say you should always arrive the night before so you'll have almost no risk of missing the ship), meals on the road. Do you already have passports or other documentation that'll get you on the ship/back into America? Onboard you really can spend as much /as little as you like, and you can have a good time either way. People typically spend on alcoholic beverages, soda packages for the kids, the casino, the spa, and upcharge restaurants. Same thing for shore trips: You can just get off the ship and walk around in port, seeing free things and stopping in the shops, or you can spend big bucks on an excursion; you can save money by doing private excursions rather than the ones offered by the ship. The one thing you must pay onboard is tips to the staff who take care of you; this is their salary. And consider cruise insurance; I personally have used mine. It made a horrible situation a little more tolerable.

This may lead to another question: What's free (or, more accurately, included in the ticket price) onboard? Pools, sports activities, movies, meals in the buffet or the main dining room or via room service, evening entertainment, dance clubs. You'll get a newspaper on your bed every night that'll list the next day's choices.

 

[pigletto]

MrsPete,
Thank you so much!!!!!!
It was very kind of you to take the time to write all of that out to help!
We spent what felt like the entire day talking/planning/number crunching yesterday. Alllll day. There are very specific times we can travel, and we balanced our need to see Europe right now vs. long range plans etc.

What it all boiled down to was.... We booked a SPH room for the Caribbean as next years Christmas gift for the family!!!!
Took your advice and we are going to drive to Miami. We are sailing on the Wonder for 6 nights and spending a few days after in WDW.
When all was said and done, flights to Europe, excursions etc were going to drive that price up. This is more affordable, sooner, and the kids will be so surprised!!!!!
I still can't believe it, but the dates and the prices worked and we're thrilled!!!!!