Need Cruise experts!

[sumertime]

I am trying to look into a cruise, but I have no idea what I am doing. We are a family of five - me, DH, ds6, dd3, ds 8months at the time we'd like to go. We're taking a trip to DW May 27-June 1, so I'd like to find a cruise leaving Port Canaveral the beginning of June (1st-3rd) that will fit all five of us, and be as cheap as possible.

Any suggestions?

ETA: This does not need to be a Disney cruise. I'm pretty sure that would be out of our budget right now.

 

[Darcy03231]

Many of the older Carnival ships will allow 5 people in one cabin. Its tight, but doable.

 

[maslex]

We have been on 3 cruises (norwegian, disney and royal caribbean) and taking our 4th in July of this year. My DH does all the planning, booking, etc but I do know he uses americandiscountcruises.com You can also go to cruisicritic.com (message board like this only it's for cruise) you'll find out a bunch of stuff there too.

 

[sumertime]

Thank you for the suggestions! I found a 3 night Carnival cruise that leaves the 3rd that looks like it will fit exactly what I was looking for.

Are cruise prices pretty standard across the board, just like Disney? Is it best to book through the cruise line directly?

 

[tommya60]

Check the CruiseCritic.com site for more help with cruise planning...it's the cruise version of the DisBoards. Lots of great information, helpful people, etc.
Cruise prices can vary. I use Vacationstogo.com or Galaxsea

 

[sjb459]

I have also used vacationstogo quite a few times and have always been very pleased. I always check their prices vs. those of booking directly with the cruiseline as well as check out what people are saying on cruisecritic. Sometimes you can get great promotions through Costco, Delta, Alaska Air, etc.

Definitely visit cruisecritic for planning info. They have lots of info that can save you big $$ on excursions, transportation, parking, bringing on soda/juice/bottled water, etc.

Have a great trip!

 

[Ericandjenng]

Some of the best cruise prices I have found were thru skymiles cruises--It's Delta Airlines frequent flyer program...Plus if you have a ff card you get bonus miles

 

[Disney-Kim]

Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas goes out of Pt Canaveral. This is their largest ship under the brand new Oasis.
RCCL is NOT the cheapest but you may be able to get 2 inside rooms next to eachother for pretty cheap...oh I just realized you were looking at 3 day cruises and that one is a 7 day.

I also know that Carnival goes from Pt Canaveral...you may want to check them out...they are a lot cheaper.

once you have an idea of what ship to choose...go to cruise critic boards for that cruise line and there is tons of info there to help out a first time cruiser.

remember that you will have to pay tips per person...usually about $70 for a cruise...now I am not sure how that works withs kids....so look into that.

I think cruise prices are the pretty much the same on all sites but different sites offer "on board credit" or some type of incentive to book with them.

 

[leight]

another great TA is 1cheapcruise.com. They were great for me and friends!They have really good relationships with carnival so get great rates.

 

[need2cruise]

On Carnival tips are $10 per day, per person--even for kids too (they are being taken care of, cleaned up after, etc).

We went on Carnival in Nov and LOVED it!! I was leary at first with all the bad talk I heard about Carnival-but it really was a wonderful and fun experience and plan on sticking with Carnival!

I wouldn't worry about booking excursions at every stop either. Sometimes it's nice to have the ship almost to yourself on port days (especially with kids wanting to be in the pools, etc). Also it's nice just to get out and walk around and relax at the port and see sights--a lot of excursions keep you busy from the moment you arrive till just right before you leave....depends on your preference!

Try cruisecompete.com also before booking. We always get a good rate through there! Type in the date you want, ship, room type, # of rooms, people and agents bid for your travel. You are under no obligation to purchase if their rates are higher than you have seen and they do not have your contact info!!

 

[Tina]

I also recommend the CruiseCritic boards.

As for Carnival, please study your chosen ship well. A good ship can make or break your cruise experience. I went on my first cruise over Thanksgiving on Carnival Destiny. I HATED it. The ship was not very nice and the food was horrific. While I do hope to cruise again in the future, I will not be choosing a Carnival cruise.

 

[JoiseyMom]

All cruise lines are not created equal. Some nickle and dime you to death and charge you extras for just about everything. So do your research. You have small kids so research kids clubs and nursery and babysitting, so you know your options for the kids and families.

Cruisecritic.com will give you lots of great advice. Cruising is great..we love it!

 

[neatokimmo]

Can you drive to Miami? You'll have a better selection of cruises. Also, if you can cruise before your Disney trip, it might be cheaper. June is the high season.

If you choose Carnival, look for one going to Half moon Cay or grand Turk. Both places are low key and easy to navigate with a bunch of kids.

 

[lindsey]

Totally agree with others about cruisecritic.com - There's lots of different areas to find out any and all info you need about a cruise, like these boards.

We just returned from our 4th on Carnival and loved each one.

 

[Chelley00]

We used cruisecompete.com (found the link on cruisecritic) and put in our dates and let agents price a cruise. We shopped for the best price, then googled reviews on the agencies and made sure we were getting a good one before we booked. We used bestpricecruises and got a great deal on our cruise last summer.