How do you know what's a good deal?

[LJGriff]

We are new to cruising, having just completed our first in April. Had an awesome time on the Eclipse. We did 7 nights in aqua. We felt like royalty the whole time! We are soooo ready to go again. We are looking at an 11 night cruise on the Equinox in March 2013, again in aqua (since we are spoiled now), but the price is about double what it was for the 7 nighter. We found a TA that will include $285 in obc. Will charge us $25 if we find a lower price to change the booking if the price drips, but we are anxious to book because the cabin we want is available. (is it weird to want the same cabin again?) We loved the location and assume since Equinox has the same layout, should be the same?

 

I so much appreciate all the wonderful information I have gathered here and thank you for any advice you can give!

[AlanAllyn]

The AQ prices for March look high. There are internet TAs that will give you that much OBC without the $25 change fee. Is it $25 pp. per change?

[LJGriff]

Pretty sure was $25 per booking, but now I'm wondering.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Cruise prices don't usually drop until closer to the sailing. This is a gamble though because most people want to lock in on a price and pick their cabin. You said it was almost twice as much but remember it is almost twice as long of a cruise.

 

On the other hand- I usually have more than one date I'd be willing to sail and various itineraries that I am interested in. I have a deposit now on one cruise but there is another I am interested in too. So if the alternate cruise drops in price- I'll just cancel the first booking (with no penalty) and book the second one.

[mandream]

I would prefer to NOT use a TA that charges fees for changes, cancellations, etc. Perhaps if they were offering something far above what I could get elsewhere (unlikely) , but not otherwise.

 

If you are concerned about losing your cabin - go ahead and book it. Then shop around for a TA. You have 60 days from your booking to transfer.

 

Good luck.

 

Mike

[MicCanberra]

we are anxious to book because the cabin we want is available. (is it weird to want the same cabin again?) We loved the location and assume since Equinox has the same layout, should be the same?

 

I don't think it is weird, if you like something a lot you want to replicate that experience again. We have tried to have a cabin in the same area (if not hte same cabin) on every cruise we have done.:D

[happy cruzer]

March is spring break. Do you need to go in March? Jan and Feb usually much less money. Off season cruising saves lots.

[Adammara]

We are weird! we have had the same cabin 6 times on Eclipse, its on the hump with a bigger balcony, so you need to book early as they are in demand.

 

This year we have seen the prices plummet after final payment, and we lost several hundred pounds by booking early, we did, after a long fight, get some discount off our next cruise. In the present economic situation we will in future book late, and take the risk of not getting a cabin in an ideal situation, but we will save pounds.

 

We love Celebrity, but there are other cruise lines out there, and at the moment there are some amazing prices for last minute bookings.

 

Richard

[4774Papa]

I think picking a cruise is a little subjective, in terms of the itinerary and cruise line, but whether or not it is a "good deal" is more objective.

What are you paying for and what will your receive?

Also, you must compare to other cruise lines for value.

 

We started cruising by going with family on NCL and then took another NCL cruise. Both cruises were good, but NCL did not offer the itineraries that we wanted, so we tried Celebrity.

Celebrity is not our favorite cruise line. The food is excellent and X offers a good variety of itineraries in South America, Australia, NZ, Asia, British Isles and Black Sea, that NCL doesn't offer. Holland America sometimes looks good on prices, but generally doesn't beat X. Princess is generally more expensive than X.

 

We have found that most of the cruises we select tend to book up early and sell out, with prices going up. This was not the case with our last cruise on the NCL Epic in the Western Med.

 

I think buying a cruise late (after final payment date) works great for the Caribbean, if you (like us) can drive to the port. If you try this with a Med cruise, the late airfare will nail you.

[RMSeadog]

Figure price pp per day for your cabin for your seven day cruise and if you are happy with the numbers use that as a guide for future cruises.

 

We include cabin, taxes, insurance, air if required, if a B2B we combined the two cruises to find cost per day. We normally do only basic balcony cabins and are happy if we can stay under $150 pp per day.

 

Our B2B in Silhouette Nov/Dec comes to $121.74 pp per day which we feel is a good deal, and after our air and hotel for four days in NYC came to $250 pp per day, it's a fantastic deal.

 

Obviously an AQ cabin will be a wee bit more.

 

The price per day is a good place to start. ~ Ric

[Minoushka]

If you are content with the price and what you are getting for it THEn it is a good deal Do not look after final payment and HUGe price drops ...that makes many people CRRRRRRRRRAZY ...like me

My first half of BTB cruise went down .....wait for it ......500$ per person AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHbut I thought I got a good deal so I have to shush about it !!!!

I am hoping for an upgrade ....a girl can dream ....still no cabin assignment

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Go with my plan. Eye up two sailings that you are interested in. Lock in by putting a deposit on the your first choice. Then if the other sailing goes down in price prior to you making final payment on the first cruise- cancel and rebook. If for instance your cruise or the other cruise fails to go down in price- then you'll be thrilled with your purchase.

[ISABELLA]

We are new to cruising, having just completed our first in April. Had an awesome time on the Eclipse. We did 7 nights in aqua. We felt like royalty the whole time! We are soooo ready to go again. We are looking at an 11 night cruise on the Equinox in March 2013, again in aqua (since we are spoiled now), but the price is about double what it was for the 7 nighter. We found a TA that will include $285 in obc. Will charge us $25 if we find a lower price to change the booking if the price drips, but we are anxious to book because the cabin we want is available. (is it weird to want the same cabin again?) We loved the location and assume since Equinox has the same layout, should be the same?

 

I so much appreciate all the wonderful information I have gathered here and thank you for any advice you can give!

 

I know what you mean. We had our first AQ on Silhouette last December and we loved it. Would I pay $1000.00 per cabin more for 14 days cruise - NO.

Whatever you paid per day on 7 days cruise should be about the same on 11 days. Anything more - might not worth it for some people. Others will pay anything to dine in BLU.

[MicCanberra]

I think picking a cruise is a little subjective, in terms of the itinerary and cruise line, but whether or not it is a "good deal" is more objective.

What are you paying for and what will your receive?

Also, you must compare to other cruise lines for value.

 

We started cruising by going with family on NCL and then took another NCL cruise. Both cruises were good, but NCL did not offer the itineraries that we wanted, so we tried Celebrity.

Celebrity is not our favorite cruise line. The food is excellent and X offers a good variety of itineraries in South America, Australia, NZ, Asia, British Isles and Black Sea, that NCL doesn't offer. Holland America sometimes looks good on prices, but generally doesn't beat X. Princess is generally more expensive than X.

 

We have found that most of the cruises we select tend to book up early and sell out, with prices going up. This was not the case with our last cruise on the NCL Epic in the Western Med.

 

I think buying a cruise late (after final payment date) works great for the Caribbean, if you (like us) can drive to the port. If you try this with a Med cruise, the late airfare will nail you.

 

Totally agree, as I expect you made a typo (now instead of not).:D

[LJGriff]

Wow! Thank you all for your replies. So much to consider. DH just reminded me that if your happy with what you got then it's a good deal. Hate it when he makes sense. We are very happy with the itinerary and know we will love the ship. I will definitely keep looking for an alternate TA that doesn't charge for changes and can at least get us the OBC we are offered now. I wish we could drive to a port, but sadly, we are in the midwest, where there are no easy ports to drive to, so when we consider the expense of flying as well, we want it to be everything we can imagine it to be AND be sure we are at least getting the most for our money. Thanks again everyone!

[MicCanberra]

Wow! Thank you all for your replies. So much to consider. DH just reminded me that if your happy with what you got then it's a good deal. Hate it when he makes sense. We are very happy with the itinerary and know we will love the ship. I will definitely keep looking for an alternate TA that doesn't charge for changes and can at least get us the OBC we are offered now. I wish we could drive to a port, but sadly, we are in the midwest, where there are no easy ports to drive to, so when we consider the expense of flying as well, we want it to be everything we can imagine it to be AND be sure we are at least getting the most for our money. Thanks again everyone!

 

Have a great trip.:D

[Beau42]

We are cruising again oct 25, it will be our 6th cruise so we are pretty new too. My husband goes on line and finds the best deal, he takes it to our travel agent (sears Canada) and she has consistently gotten us the price we found on line. We had chosen an inside cabin because I would rather spend my money on the Pyramids as opposed to a balcony . Well he was looking on line and balcony was less then an inside now. Called our TA and she got on it immediately , confirmation within 20 min. No added cost and our price also included prepaid gratuities and our transfers . Love our TA Julia

[KeywestK]

Here's my take on a "good deal." After doing all my research and homework, if I book the ship/itinerary/cabin that I want at a price that I am comfortable with, then I got a good deal. You shouldn't book a cruise with the hope or expectation that the price will go down, or that you will be offered an upgrade. It just doesn't always work out that way. Like any other purchase, the responsibility ultimately falls on the buyer's shoulders.

[MicCanberra]

If you book what you want for a price that you want, then it is a good deal.:D

[C 2 C]

There are some cruisers who are addicted to life onboard (me).

You have to determine for yourself the value of each cabin type relative to the itinerary, the time of year and the cost of transportation to the cruise.

If you wish to cruise for the lowest price you have to be a poker player waiting for the lowest price regardless of the itinerary and time of year.

If you must travel at a certain time of year or very desirable itineraries expect to pay more per day.

Right now you can get great deals in Europe cheaper than Caribbean sailings but flights might wipe out any savings.

However we just found a way to fly to Europe, (with a one way bonus offer) for $300. If you are free to travel whenever the price is right, have the time to search for specials this is a great time to be cruise-addicted.