PodCast 4.0 Chit Chat

[Euphscott]

You people make me sick!!

We are at 97 this afternoon - no rain, no coolness, nothing in site but traditional hot Texas summer - even earlier than normal!

 

[Cherinva]

You people make me sick!!

We are at 97 this afternoon - no rain, no coolness, nothing in site but traditional hot Texas summer - even earlier than normal!

Sorry Scott...but here in VA our heat doesn't really start until late June in to July....it started waaaaay to early this year, so we are enjoying the cooler temps for a few days....very pleasant today...only near 80...whew..

 

[Cherinva]

Hey fellow cruisers !!! We added 2 more people to our cruise....give a big Welcome to Dustin and Stacy !!!

In case anyone is counting, we have 542 days until we sail away

I start my therapy today...hopefully I can start feeling better.....

Have a great day.

 

[Aburns8]

Hey fellow cruisers !!! We added 2 more people to our cruise....give a big Welcome to Dustin and Stacy !!!

In case anyone is counting, we have 542 days until we sail away

I start my therapy today...hopefully I can start feeling better.....

Have a great day.

Welcome Dustin and Stacy!

Cheri - Hope your back gets better so you can have a great summer!

 

[Cherinva]

Welcome Dustin and Stacy!

Cheri - Hope your back gets better so you can have a great summer!

Thanks...I hope so...hey, we need to set a time to meet up...

 

[Aburns8]

Thanks...I hope so...hey, we need to set a time to meet up...

Just let me know when. Any time after work always works for me since I work in VA Beach.

 

[Cherinva]

Good Morning All....had my first therapy appt. yesterday....it went well I think. I have to go back today, and then twice a week for 3 more weeks.

Going to be a pleasant day today...highs in the upper 70s and no rain.

Have a great day!!!

 

[Euphscott]

Woo hoo -a cold front today! We will have a high of 96 instead of 101 we've had the last few days.

We are used to this - but it is starting really early this summer. I hope this does not signal a trend!

Working on our end of summer cruise this year - rates went down another $100. We will be taking a 10 day cruise on the Emerald Princess and visit Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire, and Aruba. It's time to start figuring what excursions we will enjoy...

 

[NancyIL]

Woo hoo -a cold front today! We will have a high of 96 instead of 101 we've had the last few days.

We are used to this - but it is starting really early this summer. I hope this does not signal a trend!

Working on our end of summer cruise this year - rates went down another $100. We will be taking a 10 day cruise on the Emerald Princess and visit Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire, and Aruba. It's time to start figuring what excursions we will enjoy...

I was on the Emerald Princess's Transatlantic cruise in late April. I loved that ship!

We've had the AC off (in central IL) since Sunday!

 

[mainegal]

Working on our end of summer cruise this year - rates went down another $100. We will be taking a 10 day cruise on the Emerald Princess

You are booking a cruise a couple months from now and seeing the price go down.

We are booked on a Disney cruise 18 months from now. I have heard people say prices have gone up since we put down our deposit.

Is this usual?

 

[NancyIL]

You are booking a cruise a couple months from now and seeing the price go down.

We are booked on a Disney cruise 18 months from now. I have heard people say prices have gone up since we put down our deposit.

Is this usual?

It's not unusual for DCL's prices to go up - especially given the popularity of the 2 new ships. Notice that they had to offer the Kids Sail Free promotion for their fall 2011 Magic Mexican Riviera cruises.

Other cruise lines (like Princess) have many more ships in their fleet, and the prices often go down after the final payment date in order to fill the ship. DCL has done that a few times as well - when it's too late to get a lower price without cancelling, paying the penalty, and rebooking.

Euphscott's cruise is at the end of September, and it's still before the final payment date.

 

[DisneyKevin]

You are booking a cruise a couple months from now and seeing the price go down.

We are booked on a Disney cruise 18 months from now. I have heard people say prices have gone up since we put down our deposit.

Is this usual?

Cruise Line pricing is based on many things.

Stateroom category, location, date of travel, number of people traveling, ages of travelers etc.

Pricing is also dependent on the percentage of available space sold on any given sail date.

As the available space is sold, the price increases. The busier the ship, the higher the price.

If the cruise line is seeing that there is available space not selling, they will offer it at a reduced rate, but as Nancy pointed out, this is usually after the final payment due date.

This means that those already booked and paid will not be able to cancel to get the new lower price without paying a large penalty.

 

[mainegal]

If the cruise line is seeing that there is available space not selling, they will offer it at a reduced rate, but as Nancy pointed out, this is usually after the final payment due date.

Yes! I will take that reduced rate last minute cruise! (not likely...)
Someday, I would like to have flexible time and more time to be able to more trips away from home.

The next trick is finding last minute airfare at a decent price to go with the last minute cruise. Guess I need to live near a port.

This means that those already booked and paid will not be able to cancel to get the new lower price without paying a large penalty.

Ahhh... they really do know what they are doing, don't they?

A cruise is like an airplane. Never ask the person next to you what they paid as it could be a very different from what you paid.

 

[NancyIL]

The next trick is finding last minute airfare at a decent price to go with the last minute cruise. Guess I need to live near a port.

The airfare is often the deal breaker when it comes to booking a bargain cruise, especially if you are flying internationally.

 

[Cherinva]

Good Morning Everyone !!!!

 

[NancyIL]

TGIF!

 

[Cherinva]

Yes...it's Friday !!! Now, if the heat would go away, I'd be better....I liked last weeks temps much better than this high 90s and humid....ugg....

Wishing everyone a great weekend.

 

[Aburns8]

Yes...it's Friday !!! Now, if the heat would go away, I'd be better....I liked last weeks temps much better than this high 90s and humid....ugg....

Wishing everyone a great weekend.

Have a good weekend yourself. I think it is too hot to do anything this weekend. We were going to go to Busch Gardens, but I don't want to fry.

 

[Euphscott]

To add a little more information - the cruise is a 10 cruise in late September /early October.

My suspicion is it will be highly kidless (with school being in session) in addition to it being a longer cruise (usually populated by retirees or those with more vacation time). Given all those factors, my expectation is the cruise is not selling overly well. And as a result, fares will continue to drop a bit. The good news is with a lighter crowd, the fares will be spectacular (I am already sitting at $750 per person for 10 days!), but I am one that likes a mostly full ship. It tends to provide energy on the ship and that makes it that much more fun!

This time though - we needed a longer trip to decompress (my wife is beginning a new and stressful job) and it visits a lot of new (to us) locations. So, with or without energy, we will be on a beautiful ship with a wonderful cruise product (we've enjoyed Princess previously) and we'll make it a wonderful time.

 

[philatiger]

Pam and I are booked as well. We missed PCC 10.0, but had a great time on PCC 2.0. We're also booked on 3.0. If Disney announces a Hawaii itinerary for 2012 we may have a tough choice to make.

We just sailed with you on the Dreams first 5d DD.