Professional Cruisers...best deals?

[happybratpack]

OK, I'm ready to decide on a cruise for my SO and I for January 2013. Neither of us have cruised and I'm cheap but want a great experience so I'm trying to figure out when/how to book to get the best deals. Any tips? Not sure if it matters, but it will have to be out of Galveston and probably a 5 night.

Thanks!

 

[Lisa71]

AAA, best price cruises.com, or vacations to go.com have lots of options...the farther out you book is usually the best but last minute deals save a lot.

 

[Marionnette]

OK, I'm ready to decide on a cruise for my SO and I for January 2013. Neither of us have cruised and I'm cheap but want a great experience so I'm trying to figure out when/how to book to get the best deals. Any tips? Not sure if it matters, but it will have to be out of Galveston and probably a 5 night.

Thanks!

According to cruise411.com, there is only one ship that meets all of your criteria. That would be the Carnival Triumph with 5-night sailings to Progreso and Cozumel out of Galveston.

I think that you ought to swing over to the forums at Cruisecritic.com and check out what people have to say about that particular ship and the itinerary. I've cruised before but never with Carnival, so I don't have an opinion on that ship but you're sure to find someone on Cruisecritic who does. You will also be able to find other cruisers who will be on the same sailing that you end up choosing. It can be helpful if you want to organize your own shore excursions rather than going with the cruise ship's.

 

[ekatiel]

According to cruise411.com, there is only one ship that meets all of your criteria. That would be the Carnival Triumph with 5-night sailings to Progreso and Cozumel out of Galveston.

I think that you ought to swing over to the forums at Cruisecritic.com and check out what people have to say about that particular ship and the itinerary. I've cruised before but never with Carnival, so I don't have an opinion on that ship but you're sure to find someone on Cruisecritic who does. You will also be able to find other cruisers who will be on the same sailing that you end up choosing. It can be helpful if you want to organize your own shore excursions rather than going with the cruise ship's.

This is correct. The Carnival Triumph is the only ship that does 4 or 5 night sailings out of Galveston. DCL does offer a 6 night cruise during January of 2013, but it will cost you more than twice as much. For Carnival, we usually book "early saver" off the website-- early saver rates have some restrictions, though, so make sure you read those before you book. You can also try www.cruisecompete.com. The website will have several different travel agents give you quotes. Usually, the price will be the same, but some may offer more on board credit or other incentives. I would:
1) Go to the Carnival website and price out the cruise.
2) Go to cruise compete and put in a request.
3) Go with whomever offers the best deal.

You'll also need to think about what kind of room you want. Inside cabins are the cheapest. We almost always sail in an inside. There is NO outside light, so it is SUPER dark with the lights off. Some people like it, some people don't. The next step up would be an oceanview, and then a balcony. Suites are the most expensive. The first two people in the room pay the same rate, the third and fourth people in the room pay a discounted rate. I hope this info. helps! Happy cruising!! --Katie

 

[ekatiel]

Just priced out Carnival and Disney for you:

Carnival 5 night on the Triumph departs 1/28/2013:
Inside Cabin for two: $748.30 (early saver rate)

Disney Magic 6 night departs 1/26/2013:
Inside Cabin for two: $1602.56

The four night Carnival is only $10 pp cheaper, but it does run on a Thursday-Monday, so it will require less time off of work. Just something to think about. --Katie

 

[happybratpack]

Thank you SO much for this info...following your tips now.

Katie, you rock for pricing that out!!

 

[Belle & Ariel]

I will compare the cruise lines to Disney hotels for you:

NCL and Carnival would be a value resort.

Royal Caribbean and Princess a moderate.

Celebrity and Holland America a deluxe.

Often we get great deals and pay less on the last two than what is offered on NCL. They often are the most expensive but offer a rock bottom experience. I know of many travel agents who will steer you away from NCL because of continuous negative customer feedback and Carnival because of the party reputation.

I would try to go out of a different port so you have more options. I would hate for you to have an awful first cruise and never want to sail again.

Cruising, like Disney, can be very addicting.

 

[furb & dez]

You'll save money if you've cruised previously with the line. That first cruise, they really soak you.

Though Carnival is pretty downmarket for my tastes, there are a couple of itineraries our cruising group has discussed that would have go through them. So we are doing a cheap and tacky Carnival 3-day to earn our previous cruiser status (and probably save several hundred dollars on those eventual cruises).

Also, if you own stock in the line, you may get stockholder credits to apply to your cruise fares. We are getting $$$ every time we cruise because we own the minimum number of shares.

 

[Muushka]

You'll save money if you've cruised previously with the line. That first cruise, they really soak you.

I know for Celebrity, no matter how many cruises you take, they are all the same price. Yes, perks galore, but the same price.

Same for DCL too, right? We have taken 3 and never gotten a discount because we are previous cruisers.

On RCI we did get $100 off of a 7 night if we cruised in a balcony. That was Platinum level.

 

[ekatiel]

I will compare the cruise lines to Disney hotels for you:

NCL and Carnival would be a value resort.

Royal Caribbean and Princess a moderate.

Celebrity and Holland America a deluxe.

Often we get great deals and pay less on the last two than what is offered on NCL. They often are the most expensive but offer a rock bottom experience. I know of many travel agents who will steer you away from NCL because of continuous negative customer feedback and Carnival because of the party reputation.

I would try to go out of a different port so you have more options. I would hate for you to have an awful first cruise and never want to sail again.

Cruising, like Disney, can be very addicting.

Yes, Carnival ships are gaudy-- think old-style Vegas. BUT the service has always been great for us, and the food is good (we think it's better than Royal food, actually). The entertainment is cheesy (Royal does a better job), but still fun to watch. It is a very relaxing get-away. I have cruised Carnival out of Galveston 5 or 6 times, and I've never been on a "party" cruise. The Galveston cruises tend to attract local Texas folks just looking for a nice getaway. The only thing I would be concerned about cruising out of Galveston in January is the fog. Just be aware that there is a good possibility of your ship being delayed due to fog. We took a 4 nighter in February once that turned into a three day cruise to nowhere. We still had fun ! Other than the fog factor, I say go for it. You can't beat driving to your cruise port . --Katie

 

[nilseks]

Though Carnival is pretty downmarket for my tastes, there are a couple of itineraries our cruising group has discussed that would have go through them. So we are doing a cheap and tacky Carnival 3-day to earn our previous cruiser status (and probably save several hundred dollars on those eventual cruises).

You won't save hundreds in the future by doing one Carnival cruise. I have done 5 already and just booked another. Maybe when you hit Platinum status you get big discounts. But until then, I can tell you the savings they offer while you are on the ship is generally not any better than the Early Saver rate. They work out about the same.

OP, Carnival cruises are far from the best, but they're not so terrible either. I think a lot of it is about setting expectations before you go in. But if you've never cruised before, the bar might not be too high anyway. Our first cruise was DCL, our second was carnival. Yeah the gaudiness of the Carnival ship was a bit of a shock but we still had a great time on Carnival and I've gone back several times since. DH and I just did a Carnival cruise for our 15th anniversary because we had very limited dates to work with and wanted to go to ports we had not been to previously. Overall I was pleased with the outcome, but I knew what to expect going into it.

 

[Gina]

If you can do a week instead of 5 nights, you could sail Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas. An inside on the 1/20 sailing would run you $1083 and goes to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Falmouth, Jamaica. I've sailed on Mariner and her sister ship Voyager out of Galveston, and both cruises were just amazing. The ships are gorgeous, not gaudy, and the service was top-notch. If DCL weren't coming to Galveston, I'd be back on RCI in a heartbeat!

 

[furb & dez]

You won't save hundreds in the future by doing one Carnival cruise. I have done 5 already and just booked another. Maybe when you hit Platinum status you get big discounts. But until then, I can tell you the savings they offer while you are on the ship is generally not any better than the Early Saver rate.

That's definitely not the case with Princess... The difference between a prior cruiser rate and the standard rate is usually $100-150; more on more expensive cruises.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Once you pick a cruise, I highly recommend using Cruise Fish to watch the fare. When you set up an alert, you have it for a specific ship/date/cabin class. If you need to watch more than one cabin class (i.e. D2 balcony vs a smaller E2 balcony on RCCL), that would be another alert. An alert costs $0.99 each. My parents go on 2 cruises a year and this has saved them hundreds!

http://www.cruisefish.net/

 

[trinchick]

DisneyAndRedSox, thanks for that link. I had never heard of it before, but it sounds great. I haven't cruised in a while, but used to take at least 1-2 cruises a year. At the time, I was a pretty savvy cruise shopper and always found great deals and tracked my own price adjustments. That service would be a huge time saver.

Is cruisequick.com still a good option for booking? It used to be that you would do all of your own research online and then just book through them at a discount. You needed to know your ship/date/cabin class before contacting them.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

I have been following this thread as I am interested in possibly booking a cruise.

I was looking at Royal Caribbean out of Galveston - what is with all the twin beds? Is this normal? I see where you can push them together to make a queen but that just doesn't seem like something I would be interested in. What is your experience with this?

 

[happybratpack]

Wow...thanks again everyone.

Now I'm going to check other ports and see if it's worth it for us. We could do a 7 day too, to be honest I had just assumed 5 but I'd rather take the time for a better experience.

Off to waste more time researching.

 

[laurafergie]

I have been following this thread as I am interested in possibly booking a cruise.

I was looking at Royal Caribbean out of Galveston - what is with all the twin beds? Is this normal? I see where you can push them together to make a queen but that just doesn't seem like something I would be interested in. What is your experience with this?

The room steward will make the beds the way you want, I have only taken a Carnival cruise, but we found the beds very comfy.

 

[NCRedding]

I have been following this thread as I am interested in possibly booking a cruise.

I was looking at Royal Caribbean out of Galveston - what is with all the twin beds? Is this normal? I see where you can push them together to make a queen but that just doesn't seem like something I would be interested in. What is your experience with this?

All the cabins we've cruised in had twin beds which are made up to be king beds. I've never had an issue with them.

I've cruised Carnival and RCCL once, NCL twice, and DCL 6 times. I would not hesitate to go on another Carnival cruise. We did sail one of the newer ships, on a 7 night. I thought the food was the best on that ship than on any others. I think I went into the Carnival cruise with lower expectations, and that helped make it an awesome trip.

 

[ekatiel]

If you can do a week instead of 5 nights, you could sail Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas. An inside on the 1/20 sailing would run you $1083 and goes to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Falmouth, Jamaica. I've sailed on Mariner and her sister ship Voyager out of Galveston, and both cruises were just amazing. The ships are gorgeous, not gaudy, and the service was top-notch. If DCL weren't coming to Galveston, I'd be back on RCI in a heartbeat!

Oooh, if you've got the extra time and cash (it seems like it's only about $300 more!), I'd go for the Mariner! We cruised on her over Spring Break this year, and it was a great cruise. The Voyager class (and higher) RCI ships are really neat, and have a lot of extras like the ice skating rink, rock wall, etc! The entertainment is also better on RCI than Carnival. The food is about the same. Carnival wins on desserts, though!!

I have been following this thread as I am interested in possibly booking a cruise.

I was looking at Royal Caribbean out of Galveston - what is with all the twin beds? Is this normal? I see where you can push them together to make a queen but that just doesn't seem like something I would be interested in. What is your experience with this?

Every cruise ship room (with the exception of some really high priced suites, possibly) has two twin beds that the room steward will make together as a king. They usually ask your preference when you book (two twins or one king), so the room will already be set up for you when you get there. If it's not, just ask your room steward and they will fix it ASAP. On our honeymoon cruise, we got to our room and found two twin beds . We had that fixed pretty quickly ! --Katie