Best Cruise Deals - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

forumguy · 12-14-2003, 05:50 AM

I'd appreciate it if someone could give me some guidance on how to find the best cruises. I've got a 30th anniversary celebration coming up in a year and want to start shopping.

There certainly are plenty of web site and seemingly good deals but it's hard for me to tell.

Also, am I better off waiting for the best deal or will I get hosed out of the best rooms by so doing.

Thanks all for your guidance.

greytone · 12-14-2003, 04:37 PM

That is a complicated question. It depends on how flexible you are and where you live. If you are close and flexible, you can get fantastic deals the week before the cruise.

If you have to go a certain week and live far away, you will have to plan further ahead like the rest of us.

First, read about cruises in several sources. Get a book or two. Are you doing the Caribean or Alaska or something more unusual. For the sake of discusion I will assume the Caribean as it is the most common.

You need to know what your tastes are. Many people go Carnival. They are kind of the Holiday Inn of cruises. They are clean and neat and plenty of OK food. I prefer a little more upscale. For my money, you can't beat Celebrity. Go on one of the four Millinium class ships. The food is fantastic and the entertainment is varied. They don't irritate you with the intercom every 15 minutes announcing the latest drinking contest at the pool. I don't have anything about the drinking game, but I prefer to read about it the night before in the schedule left on my bed. Then I can plan my day (or not) and if all I want to do is chill by the pool, I know I won't be woken up by the loudspeaker. But if there is some activity I can not miss, I know enough ahead of time to be ready.

I have some local connections with a local travel agent, so I go through them. Most of the time they can not do much better than the official website. But then, I am not at all flexible on my travel dates. The clearing house agencies that advertise in the Sunday paper are another place to look. I used one of them for my first cruise over 10 years ago, and I was very happy with the deal.

The bottom line is that you have to shop around and do your own research. There no longer seem to be any hard and fast rules about how to get the best deal.

No travel experience goes completely as planned. If you go in with a great attitude, you will always have a better time. One of the best cruises I had was a maiden voyage on a new ship. We had engine trouble and had to adjust the itinerary. We still hit every port, but on different days and for less time. As a result, some of the tours had to be cancelled. Some on the ship spent almost two weeks complaining. The group I was with had the time of our lives. We went with the flow and took advantage of opportunities that opened up because of the changes.

12-14-2003, 05:50 AM	#1 (permalink)
forumguy Insane	Best Cruise Deals I'd appreciate it if someone could give me some guidance on how to find the best cruises. I've got a 30th anniversary celebration coming up in a year and want to start shopping. There certainly are plenty of web site and seemingly good deals but it's hard for me to tell. Also, am I better off waiting for the best deal or will I get hosed out of the best rooms by so doing. Thanks all for your guidance.

12-14-2003, 04:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
greytone Junkie	That is a complicated question. It depends on how flexible you are and where you live. If you are close and flexible, you can get fantastic deals the week before the cruise. If you have to go a certain week and live far away, you will have to plan further ahead like the rest of us. First, read about cruises in several sources. Get a book or two. Are you doing the Caribean or Alaska or something more unusual. For the sake of discusion I will assume the Caribean as it is the most common. You need to know what your tastes are. Many people go Carnival. They are kind of the Holiday Inn of cruises. They are clean and neat and plenty of OK food. I prefer a little more upscale. For my money, you can't beat Celebrity. Go on one of the four Millinium class ships. The food is fantastic and the entertainment is varied. They don't irritate you with the intercom every 15 minutes announcing the latest drinking contest at the pool. I don't have anything about the drinking game, but I prefer to read about it the night before in the schedule left on my bed. Then I can plan my day (or not) and if all I want to do is chill by the pool, I know I won't be woken up by the loudspeaker. But if there is some activity I can not miss, I know enough ahead of time to be ready. I have some local connections with a local travel agent, so I go through them. Most of the time they can not do much better than the official website. But then, I am not at all flexible on my travel dates. The clearing house agencies that advertise in the Sunday paper are another place to look. I used one of them for my first cruise over 10 years ago, and I was very happy with the deal. The bottom line is that you have to shop around and do your own research. There no longer seem to be any hard and fast rules about how to get the best deal. No travel experience goes completely as planned. If you go in with a great attitude, you will always have a better time. One of the best cruises I had was a maiden voyage on a new ship. We had engine trouble and had to adjust the itinerary. We still hit every port, but on different days and for less time. As a result, some of the tours had to be cancelled. Some on the ship spent almost two weeks complaining. The group I was with had the time of our lives. We went with the flow and took advantage of opportunities that opened up because of the changes. __________________ I was there to see beautiful naked women. So was everybody else. It's a common failing. Robert A Heinlein in "They Do It With Mirrors"