Other than Disney Cruises?

[juliegirl]

Best way to book?

I am a novice at this and trying to plan a surprise trip for my cousin's 40th Bday in Nov 06. There will be between 6-12 of us (no one has actually confirmed their intent at this time, until I get some details)

With a group like this, I expect we will need 3 cabins or more.

Anyone experienced with this? I know that the general feeling on this board is you can book components on your own for less money, but is the (potential)logistical nightmare worth the added cost of using a TA?

We will be heading out of Boston/Logan airport, want a 3-5 night Carribbean , don't really care about departure port, but I expect that ports of Miami/Tampa/Fort Lauderdale will have more frequent (and hopefully less expensive) airfare.

TIA for any help or advice you can offer.

Julie

 

[jdm]

Go to cruisecritic.com. They have boards (and links) there for every cruise line imaginable and all the ports. You can price trips, check out the different lines etc. Some of the boards tend to be a clicky bunch and I've read some posts that are sarcastic etc., but there are also some very helpful people and lots of good information.
Good luck,
Jenn

 

[maggiew]

I have been reading cruisecritic.com for over a year now and I recommend it also. From my readings on the board, many suggest booking a cruise with a TA because then you have someone to "go to bat for you" if something goes wrong.

We went on the 4 night Sovereign of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) and we really enjoyed it. It went out of Port Canaveral. The ship was recently refurbished and it looked great. This cruise stops at Coco Cay and Nassau, Bahamas.

This year we are going on the Enchantment of the Sea (Royal Caribbean) to Key West and Cozumel.

Maggie

 

[rogerram]

Cruisecritic is definately the way to go. It will help you find what you need to know. I have been on 2 cruises and their site helped me very much.
Goodluck

 

[gigsjp]

One thing you might want to consider is that Norwegian Cruise Line sails year round out of NY to the Bahamas and the Carribbean. November is also a great month for deals out of NY.

I agree with the others check out CruiseCritic, but each cruise line has their own board, so sometimes it's tough to get an objective opinion.

 

[Mickey527]

I wrote this once on another topic but I will repeat it here.
First though, I am not a travel agent although I do know one here in CT that I use for booking cruises.
Check out the site vacationstogo.com. they list lots of cruises, you can just type in what port you want what dates you are interested in, and how long you want to cruise and they will send you to a list of cruises with those requests.
then get the price and call your local travel agent. Ask her/him if they can match the price. Most often they can. You will then have someone you can turn to if something happens. If you book yourself from the site, or any site you have no one to turn to except a web page and perhaps a phone number to call.
I really trust an agent to work for the best, they don't make much money on bookings but they go out of their way to get you the best so that you will come back.
I did a Disney cruise in 2001 and hope someday to get back on the Cisney cruise line with my grandson who is just 4 months old right now. In the meantime I am happy to cruise with the less expensive but less for children cruiselines. I did the Sovereign of the Seas Royal Carribean this past summer and had a great time. It was more of an adult cruise for me, although they did have a children's area, you really didn't get overloaded with kids the way you do on a Disney cruise. Peggie