[Raen Dear]

You know you're a Villager when . . . you are thinking about taking your first cruise. The Hubster and I would like to launch our cruising adventure with a Christmas cruise to somewhere like Mexico or the Panama Canal for maybe a week. My question is how in the world do you know what is a reasonable price for a cruise? Prices are all over the place and there are discounts etc etc. Do you just find something that you can afford and take a chance or is there a reasonably easy way to compare prices? I don't want to make finding cruise deals a second career because I've already found mah jongg. Thanks.

[Avista]

Originally Posted by Raen Dear

You know you're a Villager when . . . you are thinking about taking your first cruise. The Hubster and I would like to launch our cruising adventure with a Christmas cruise to somewhere like Mexico or the Panama Canal for maybe a week. My question is how in the world do you know what is a reasonable price for a cruise? Prices are all over the place and there are discounts etc etc. Do you just find something that you can afford and take a chance or is there a reasonably easy way to compare prices? I don't want to make finding cruise deals a second career because I've already found mah jongg. Thanks.

We love to cruise and are Diamond status on Royal Caribbean. In fact we are leaving Friday on the Oasis. Fiirst choose the kind of cabin you want. We have had all-inside, ocean view and balcony. Dates of sailing reflect price. Over Christmas is expensive. The rest of Dec is much less expensive. Prices go,up when school is out. Carnival as a whole is least expensive, but very loud and lots of drinking. Although, they DO have a great children's program. We like Royal Caribbean. Holland America is nice--older people sailing, but nice and has classes which we like. Tampa and Port Canaveral Ports are nearby. Oasis docks at Ft Lauderdal. A good ship to start with would be Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas out of Port Canaveral. Feel free to PM me.

[George Bieniaszek]

We have been on many cruises and now being a Villager, it is very easy to drop everything and hop on a cruise ship with 4 cruise ports to pick from here in Florida. As a previous poster mentioned, the newer the ship, the higher the cabin prices. Also prices are adjusted based on when school is in session and major holidays. We have been on the newest ships along with some of the older ones. We went in April on a 4 day cruise on Royal Caribbean for $149 per person plus port charges and taxes on the spur of the moment. 8 days after booking, we were stepping on the cruise ship.

My advise is to check the cruise web sites often. Sometimes they offer super deals for a limited time only. I figure that they want to have a certain percentage of rooms booked at a certain period of time before the cruise departs and offer incentives if they did not hit that number.

[Raen Dear]

Originally Posted by George Bieniaszek

We have been on many cruises and now being a Villager, it is very easy to drop everything and hop on a cruise ship with 4 cruise ports to pick from here in Florida. As a previous poster mentioned, the newer the ship, the higher the cabin prices. Also prices are adjusted based on when school is in session and major holidays. We have been on the newest ships along with some of the older ones. We went in April on a 4 day cruise on Royal Caribbean for $149 per person plus port charges and taxes on the spur of the moment. 8 days after booking, we were stepping on the cruise ship.

My advise is to check the cruise web sites often. Sometimes they offer super deals for a limited time only. I figure that they want to have a certain percentage of rooms booked at a certain period of time before the cruise departs and offer incentives if they did not hit that number.

I really like the idea of taking off at a few days' notice. I had no idea such inexpensive trips were available. Now if I could find a dog sitter. . .

[Avista]

Originally Posted by Raen Dear

I really like the idea of taking off at a few days' notice. I had no idea such inexpensive trips were available. Now if I could find a dog sitter. . .

We have two little dogs too-Boston Terrier and Dachshund. We leave them at All About Cats and Dogs. The have inside/outside runs. They don't seem to mind going there. Your other option would be a dog sitter.

[Carl in Tampa]

The old rule of thumb that I used was a reasonable price for a cruise was $100 a day per person, but the bad economy has caused the cruise lines to offer many deals at lower prices.

Being mildly claustrophobic I don't book inside cabins. I've had balconies on many cruises but have come to regard it as undesirable. When underway it is usually windblown and uncomfortable. When in port you go ashore for local color and by the time you return the ship is getting underway again, so use of the balcony is limited. Also, without a balcony you get a larger cabin with an oceanview.

I've sailed on the megaships on on the medium sized older ones. Both have virtues. Megaships cannot use the Port of Tampa due to having to sail under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

If you sail out of Port Canaveral the itineraries are mostly the western Caribbean with stops in Mexico. As a matter of principal I am no longer willing to go to Mexico. There may be a couple of sailings that go to Key West and Jamaica, I haven't checked lately.

I strongly recommend sailing the Eastern Caribbean, which may mean sailing out of Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.

HERE IS THE BEST TIP I CAN GIVE YOU: There are motels in Port Canaveral and Ft. Lauderdale where you can stay the night before your sailing that will provide you with free parking for the week of your trip and free transportation to and from the port on the day of sailing.

Although you could drive to either port on the day of the sailing, I have experienced arrival anxiety when doing that. What if my car breaks down; what if I'm in a traffic crash; etc. And......... the parking fees at the port can be quite expensive and must be paid in advance.

Here's another tip: For years I've used the web site Cruise Reviews, Cruise Deals and Cruises - Cruise Critic to gather information about cruises. There are forums where people exchange information about their experiences on particular ships, with particular cruise lines and in particular ports. On the home page on the top right there is a tab for Community. Click on it and then on forums to see reviews. I have reviews posted there under the same name I use here: Carl in Tampa.

Of course all of the cruise lines have their own web sites where you can search for cruises by defining your departure port and dates your are interested in.

When I was new to cruising I used AAA cruise advisors to find cruises. I'm sure they are still a good source if you are a AAA member. They also have brochures from different cruise lines so you can read about them at your convenience.

My favorite lines are Princess and Royal Caribbean. I like Holland America and Norwegian Cruise Lines. I dislike Carnival because they tend to have children running wild at all hours of the night,

I sincerely hope you grow to love cruising. It can be a great experience.

Carl

[rubicon]

Celebrity is owned by royal Caribbean and a cut above royal. We prefer cabins with a port window

[villager]

As one who used to work a couple months at a time teaching computer classes on cruise ships, I might suggest taking a cruise over New Year's vs. Christmas. I can say, first hand, that Christmas cruises are not the most fun. As our cruise director used to say, the people who are on a Christmas cruise either have no family or their family doesn't want them. The tone of the passengers over a Christmas cruise is so much different than other times. The passengers are usually very grumpy and it affects the whole atmosphere. Even though the crew tries to make sure they are "up" and friendly, Christmas cruise passengers affect them, too. Hubby and I thought all this was crazy when we were told about it and then we experienced it first hand. So, book a New Year's Eve cruise and enjoy the fun and party! People are amazingly happy during New Year's.

[manaboutown]

I tend to stick with Crystal and Celebrity. Holland America and NCL are pretty good, too. Silversea and Cunard are excellent but pricey. I will never sail on Carnival again. Lots of young families. Food like a Denny's except for a couple of nights. Children running around and screaming everywhere.

[ttown]

We cruise frequently also. We have found that we want lots of service and a bigger room....we are getting up there. Party less, but spend time in the room and balcony.The bigger room go quickly because there are fewer of them, so we book in advance. we have come to enjoy Holland America which also offers lots of niceties to returning cruisers.It all depends on what you are looking for.

[justjim]

TAMPA CARL----thanks for the tips. Really good information.

[bookseller49]

Been on 17 Carnival cruises and had one cruise during Spring break and there were many children, screaming I don't remember. Had another Carnival cruise which was %90 Senior citizen(large contingents from retirement groups). By 9PM nightclubs and decks were empty.Having said that I would recommend Carnival anytime.Keep an open mind. Went on one Royal Caribbean cruise and will never go again. Was NOT told it was a Gay cruise and we are not Gay. Had a terrible time and tried to make the best of the situation. Many of the Clubs were closed off at night for private parties and comedy shows were tailored to the clientele. Lido deck activities were not for the faint hearted.What a nightmare.

[sgiamp1]

Originally Posted by bookseller49

Been on 17 Carnival cruises and had one cruise during Spring break and there were many children, screaming I don't remember. Had another Carnival cruise which was %90 Senior citizen(large contingents from retirement groups). By 9PM nightclubs and decks were empty.Having said that I would recommend Carnival anytime.Keep an open mind. Went on one Royal Caribbean cruise and will never go again. Was NOT told it was a Gay cruise and we are not Gay. Had a terrible time and tried to make the best of the situation. Many of the Clubs were closed off at night for private parties and comedy shows were tailored to the clientele. Lido deck activities were not for the faint hearted.What a nightmare.

We've been on Carnival 6 times and only found the 4-night cruise to be a "party cruise" All others were longer and in my opinion, had a completely different demographic. Regarding children, we cruise with our children and grandchildren and find Camp Carnival (programs for kids) to be exceptional. Our grandchildren look forward to going everyday. They even have children's activities while you are in port so you can take adult excursions. Yes, you might see teenagers wandering around on their own but never noticed anything that upset or offended us. As a matter of fact, we've scheduled another family reunion cruise for next September on Carnival.

We've only cruised Royal Carribean once and did notice that the passengers were an older crowd than Carnival. We're in our 60s and don't mind being around the younger generations - it makes us feel young. As a matter of fact, we also enjoy seeing grandkids at the town squares.

[Raen Dear]

Thanks to Carl in Tampa. Very helpful. What are your feelings about travel to Mexico? Too dangerous? I want to see those pyramids!

[ladylake1]

You can go to the pyramid at Tulum on a cruise that goes to Cozumel. There are also sites in Belize that have pyramids and ancient ruins. I don't think you can get to Chichen Itza on any itinerary. They have eliminated Mazatlan from the Pacific side cruise due to dangerous conditions and I don't recall any pyramid opportunities on that cruise which they call the Mexican Riviera.