How to do you get the best cruise deals? What is the best time of the year to cruise?

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thndr97

Having a good agent is the key to getting the best cruise deals. Cruise lines run different specials throughout the month as well as residency specials, senior rates, military rates, past guest rates, etc. Your agent should find these specials for you. Rates can also change as a cruise departure gets closer- sometimes up or sometimes down. If the rates goes down before the final payment date, your agent can get the price adjusted for you. (Your rate is protected once you make your deposit so it will never go up.) If you get enough people to sail with you, you can also qualify for group rates, which can be considerably cheaper.

The cheapest time to cruise the Caribbean is in the fall and early winter. Travel is always cheapest between Thanksgiving and Christmas (but not including those weeks).

Cruises are great for kids. They all have kids programs and promote new friendships between the children. It will also allow time alone for adults should you desire some. Ask your agent for specifics on each line's program.

Airfare can be tricky. It can change several times throughout the day so try several online searches over the course of several days. Also, try alternative airports and check one way flights on different airlines. You might come up with a combination that is cheaper. Lastly, try calling the airlines for a quote. Although the rates are usually cheaper online, occassionally you come up with a cheaper rate by calling.

An expedited passport can be obtained through "Passport Express" online. You do not need a passport to cruise the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico or South America until 12/31/06. Until that date, you can use an original or certified copy of your birth certificate AND a photo ID.

Paulie

I worked on CCL for 4years and defiantly all year round is the best for the Caribbean. If you are thinking of going to a colder place, the Alaskan side is absolutely beautiful. The Panama Canal is also a treat to see. I love the Western side for traveling. The Caribbean gets boring after a while cause is it just party 24/7.
For a relaxing cruise, take a 7day + cruise, even the kids will enjoy it in the supervised play room called Camp Carnival. They have lots of activities to keep all ages busy.

CCL could probably work you out a cheap deal with flights included but that I am not 100% on. Depending on where you live, driving would be probably your best bet to Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston.

RCL is more of a classy style, so I've heard and NCL I am not exactly sure.

Hey, whatever liner you choose, it is what you make of it! It is always fun! Good luck!

I could try and hook you up a good price through a friend of mine that still works for CCL, but I doubt that the family and friends rates will work that way!

Chad M

the cheapest time to cruise is hurricane season (June- October). The best time to cruise is in the January- April time. The lowest price with the highest quality is January. Airfare puts $1000 easy. It also depends on where u are going. The best cruise would probably be royal caribbean. Be flexible and play around with the dates to find the most resonable price but wach out for the hurricane season. Almost all websites have the same prices so dont waste too much time looking for a bargain.

dannyborga

and U can give http://www.1cheapcruise.com a try ...

Southern Belle

About the passport, you will need to get one asap if you are traveling by the end of 2006. Passports can take up to 3 months to process! You will need your driver's license and birth certificate. Your local post office and court house can assist you in obtaining the forms and taking the picture.

About the cruise.... I have always traveled in the summertime, because that's when my vacation always falls. I have heard traveling during the 'Hurricane Season' is cheaper, but you may not travel to all the ports if there is bad weather. Each cruise line is the same in one aspect: Depending on what deck you stay on and the type of room GREATLY affects your price. The lower the deck, the cheaper the rooms. My husband had to have a room with some sort of window, so we stayed in a oceanview room on deck 8... about $500 more per person!

To look the for the best deals, I highly recommend going through Sam's Club Travel or through the cruise lines themselves. They always publicize their last minute deals and special pricing. Since 9/11, all the cruise lines are trying their best with keeping their numbers up.

Good luck, and have loads of fun!

Ruth R

You need to consult a travel agent specializing in cruises. This will not cost you more.

Be aware that there are only a few ways that anyone can truly discount a cruise. One is, that they are considered what we in the travel industry call a "key agency". There are very few of those, and no, the consumer booking engines are not among them - generally the cruise lines dislike having to deal with them.

The other way is to engage in a highly unethical practice called "commission rebating" or "commission discounting". This is when a travel seller lowers their commision to sell cruises at a lower price. The cruise lines frown heavily upon this, as does CLIA and IATA (the agencies that certify and train most travel agents). If a travel seller gets caught doing this, they can be put out of business because CLIA or IATA will revoke their credentials and often the cruise lines will not allow them to book with them any longer. Several of these types of agencies/travel sellers (many of them on the Internet) have left clients holding the bag. Just remember, they are unethical and won't think twice about what happens to your money or your vacation.

tech_fanatic

I have always found that my agent has the best rates. Working for a larger company they are able to offer group rates and pass the savings on to the client. I have very rarely found her rates to be any higher than what I can find anywhere else. And, if it is a little higher, I feel the service and knowledge I get to be more than worth the extra cost. I feel there is just too much risk involved with booking with anyone other than a travel agent or the actual supplier. Since a supplier will usually offer the same rates, I feel an agent is well worth it.

With cruises, you want to book out as far as you can. The prices will start to increase as you get closer to travel, so the best rates are available the day the cruise opens for booking. After that, the rates start to increase as the boat fills. Sometimes, the cruiselines will offer a really low rate right before the cruise departs, but you need to be flexible on the cruise line, date, destination, etc. Also, note if you have to have air that it will increase in price as you get closer to travel, so you may actually spend more once you pay the additonal costs of the air.

As far as best time to go, it just depends where you plan to go. Each destination has an on and off season. Going during the peak season will mean higher rates, but it also means more activities for the kids, more things will be open, more crowds, etc. Going during the off season means lower rates, but you also chance having things closed and fewer activities available and the possibility of this being a hurricane season for your destination.

As far as passports, I have always got mine with the post office. you should look up where an office is located that can accept the passport forms in your area. For documents you will need a birth certificate and state I.D. and two passport photos, many places will take them, I like AAA since they usually know what they are doing. For children you will need to have both parents there, assuming your children are younger. If they are older they may need parental consent and an I.D if they don't have one, then you will have to go. You can go to the passport website (assuming you are a U.S citizen) and read everything you need to know. They also have the application that you can print out and fill out, but you need to fill out the actual form your passport office gives you, you can use the printout as a guideline.

The passports will usually take a few weeks, usually around a month or so. But you can have them expedited, but there are additional costs involved. Again, you can ask at the passport office or look at the site and you will find everything you need to know. Try to put the closest date possible, for your departure date on the application, but make the date after the date you would need to have the passport expedited. This way, they will usually get your passport out quicker so that you have it in time for travel. You can watch the status and if you need to can have it expedited later.

I hope this answers your questions.

farmgirl

I call the company's directly and get different quotes for different times of the month. It's definitly cheaper to not go close to holiday vacation times. I recieved a cheap qoute right after Thanksgiving and near the end of January. It can get a little cold even in the tropics it can be a little chancy so I suggest going past the bahamas and go all the way to the Carribean. I took my family of 4 to Eastern Carribean on the Disney Magic on a seven day cruise for 2400 dollars. Prices have went up since November and we are planning another trip in Jan for 3000 dollars. Free daycare all day long and the kids love it and you feel guilty taking them away from the daycare! They even take them to the restaurants and feed them lunch and dinner if that's what ya want! Too the movies and kinds of activities! They have a whole floor of the ship dedicated to the kids. There is so much to do there you can't possibly do it all and free room service! I recommend the Disney Magic over the Disney Wonder because they haven't renovated the Disney Wonder yet with the huge screen t.v. on the top deck for watchin pirates of the carribean movie and other movies.Its not much extra depending on the ages. They have a seperate menu for the kids so it's cheaper for them. Really nice restaurants on board. Fancy or ya could go buffet

Norm

To save airfare depart from Miami or somewhere you can drive to. There are West coast departures, Texas, SW NE and South.

My favorite is the Caribbean in January or February.

The kids would like it. There are lots of things dedicated to kids.

If you can go with a three or four week notice get a travel agent & have them email you last minute specials.

Good lines are RCCL, Celibrity, Disner, Carnival.

I would avoid NCL

You can save more by taking an inside cabin. You won't spend much time in your cabin anyhow so if money is really tight think inside.

onyi

http://www.rhoda.joystar.com

Vanessa

October is the best for prices, check this site to see if can fing anithing

trykindness

Plan and shop around a year ahead. Travel Zoo and Shermans Travel has weekly newsletter that you can request from their website. They come up with the best deals fro flights, package tours, cruises, etc. Cruise is an entirely different experience that your kids will remember for the rest of their life. You are a good mother to consider giving them this gift of a lifetime. I did that to my kids every 2 years and their memories are still alive as if it happened yesterday.
Go online, you will find many deals, I know

cryptoscripto

It seems like you get the best deals during hurricane season, unfortunately. You'll have a lot more fun if you don't take the kids, though a lot of the cruise lines have child care on board. You can go to www.cruiseone.com and find an agent, and see what deals they can offer.

hollywood71@verizon.net

whether you take the kids or not. there are alot of package deals in travel magazines at your local stores. in the travel section in your sunday paper. if you get into a group package like a tour, you pay alot less. go during the off-peak season. they have single cruises that couples will take to get reduced rates. disney has cruise ships for the family and you can get good deals, plus when the parents want to do something or go ashore for some romance, the staff takes care of the kids. watch out for the deals that get really good, as they are real, but you end up paying port charges, taxes and all kinds of fees that can set you back several hundred per person. make sure everything is in the price.

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