Lowly medic looking for help.

[KBD1516]

Early January tends to have good prices on all cruise lines like the first 2 weeks of December.

 

 

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[NoWhiners]

If you are a member of a certain big box warehouse club (rhymes with bosco), they have great prices on their cruises and give OBC depending on the category you book.

[Grandma Dazzles]

Toyman...

We do have a travel agent....however we have never gotten a single perk. Great idea! Newspaper...here I come!

Thx!,

 

I would be careful with newspaper travel agents - make sure they are legitimate and don't have a bunch of hidden fees.

[PROCRUISE]

Thank you for your paramedic work! As a retired ER RN, you have my highest respect.

I also would recommend either Princess or Celebrity. Princess might get the nod when it comes to activities and the perhaps slightly lower over all age of those on board. Celebrity, I think gets the nod on vessels (Equinox, Silhouette, Reflection) and generally on food - yes, that's subjective. You will generally find pleasant, well educated and traveled fellow passengers on both lines.

Have fun planning.

[Shellygal]

If you are a member of a certain big box warehouse club (rhymes with bosco), they have great prices on their cruises and give OBC depending on the category you book.

 

Roger that....nowhiners!

Never thought of that either!

Thx!

[Shellygal]

I would be careful with newspaper travel agents - make sure they are legitimate and don't have a bunch of hidden fees.

 

Duly noted grams....thx!

[Shellygal]

Thank you for your paramedic work! As a retired ER RN, you have my highest respect.

I also would recommend either Princess or Celebrity. Princess might get the nod when it comes to activities and the perhaps slightly lower over all age of those on board. Celebrity, I think gets the nod on vessels (Equinox, Silhouette, Reflection) and generally on food - yes, that's subjective. You will generally find pleasant, well educated and traveled fellow passengers on both lines.

Have fun planning.

 

Procruise...

You had the hard job!! Respect to you!

Thx for the advice. Good insight....

You all have been so incredibly helpful!

I cannot thank you all enough!

[JimAOk1945]

We are easy...we are usually more low key, but like options. Age....ugh...lol...nearer to retirement for him and for me....another ten years. Lol

We've cruised Carnival, Princess, and Royal Caribbean, and recently tried Holland America. Have you checked out Holland America? They have a wide variety of itineraries.

 

We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary on a 14 day Alaska cruise and last December completed a Panama Canal Transit. Both were on Holland America and exceeded our expectations in every area. We came back feeling very happy and relaxed.

 

They say pictures are worth a thousand words. If you have time, check out the links below to my wife's website. Happy travels wherever you decide to go.

[Shellygal]

We've cruised Carnival, Princess, and Royal Caribbean, and recently tried Holland America. Have you checked out Holland America? They have a wide variety of itineraries.

 

We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary on a 14 day Alaska cruise and last December completed a Panama Canal Transit. Both were on Holland America and exceeded our expectations in every area. We came back feeling very happy and relaxed.

 

They say pictures are worth a thousand words. If you have time, check out the links below to my wife's website. Happy travels wherever you decide to go.

 

Awww, sounds like you had a wonderful 50th and a great December cruise! Nice!

I will do that....I’ll take a look at Holland..another cc gent suggested that as well.

Thx a ton!

Shall keep you all posted!

Keep the advice coming!

And I’ll check out your wife’s link!

[SPacificbound]

I have not cruised with Princess yet but I would recommend Celebrity.

[flamomo]

I've cruised with Princess over 40 times, and have never been dissatisfied with a ship, the accommodations, the food, the itinerary, excursions offered, entertainment, activity options, or service.

I feel Princess is a midrange line, price-wise.

The ambiance, IMO, is classy but not snobbish.

The majority of Princess ships fall in the "large" category, with one "small ship" (the Pacific, with 670 passengers), and 3 extra large new ships. My favorite is the smallest one, but I also have done a lot of my cruises on the "large" ones.

I tried Carnival once for a short Caribbean itinerary, and while it was "okay", I was not especially favorably impressed with anything about it.

[Shellygal]

I've cruised with Princess over 40 times, and have never been dissatisfied with a ship, the accommodations, the food, the itinerary, excursions offered, entertainment, activity options, or service.

I feel Princess is a midrange line, price-wise.

The ambiance, IMO, is classy but not snobbish.

The majority of Princess ships fall in the "large" category, with one "small ship" (the Pacific, with 670 passengers), and 3 extra large new ships. My favorite is the smallest one, but I also have done a lot of my cruises on the "large" ones.

I tried Carnival once for a short Caribbean itinerary, and while it was "okay", I was not especially favorably impressed with anything about it.

 

Wow...great perspective. I’m searching them. The battle with all this research is finding “the right ship” also. Your opinion helps a ton! Thx so much!

[live2learn]

Hi Shellygal,

I ran through the responses fairly quickly, so if someone has already mentioned this, I apologize. We have used the website mentioned in this cruise critic article https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5303(I hesitate to use their name, in case it falls in the category of advertising, even though they are not a travel agent). I have run across other cruise critic members who have also used them with good results, ...you might want to look them up. I even found my permanent travel agent using them.

[Shellygal]

Hi Shellygal,

I ran through the responses fairly quickly, so if someone has already mentioned this, I apologize. We have used the website mentioned in this cruise critic article https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5303(I hesitate to use their name, in case it falls in the category of advertising, even though they are not a travel agent). I have run across other cruise critic members who have also used them with good results, ...you might want to look them up. I even found my permanent travel agent using them.

 

Oh thank you!! Another great tip!

[pacruise804]

Hello! I’m looking for some sage cruise advice! My husband and I are avid cruisers. We have always been loyal to RCCL, as we love the line, ships, and experience. We have two upcoming, including a TA.

 

Here is my quandary...I would like to give my husband a cruise for this upcoming Christmas holiday season. (Dec/Jan)

I am a lowly paramedic with a lower income than my architect husband. Lol. I will pay RCCL rates but am curious to find the most bang for my buck. Which line would you recommend that would compare in amenities, etc. and why. We always go balcony at a minimum.

Thanks for taking time to advise.

 

And budget.....under $5000.00

 

It sounds like you are flexible on your dates - I wasn't sure if the cruise was to be during the holiday or as a Christmas present with a later date (I've known people to do that too, with a much later date). You've gotten some good advice already and I'll try to offer some points I didn't see:

 

Create a spreadsheet to compare your various options and include base price, beverage price - either package or just an estimate, excursions, etc. Sometimes a base fare can look cheaper until you see how much you need to add on for the experience you want.

 

Watch some YouTube videos or search here for reviews of specific ships that interest you. While a line can have a general "feel" it can vary greatly from ship to ship.

 

I'm not sure where you live, but think about if you are flying vs driving. If the budget is tight be sure to include hotel costs and air fair in your comparisons.

 

I've learned that generally I can have anything I want, but not everything I want. We like laid back atmsophere, good food, quality entertainment, some pampering, interesting ports of call, options on sea days, polite language and general respect between fellow passengers and crew, and a live and let live attitude toward others. We can find many but not all of these things on every ship we've been on. Figure what matters most to you and focus on meeting those points.

 

Hope that helps:)

[toyman55]

I heard some cruises give discount to first responders. I don't know if that is true or not.

[JimAOk1945]

I heard some cruises give discount to first responders. I don't know if that is true or not.

I've noticed on the Royal Caribbean website when I do an online cruise booking there is an option for getting special discount for EMT. You could contact Royal Caribbean for further information. Hope this helps.

[sail7seas]

If the cruise is meant to be over christmas and New Years, you are into the time o f year for very high fares. If youmean you want to give i to dh as a holiday gift to be used at some point after New Years, you can get lower fares b ut I suspect you likely thought that. ;)

[cmdchiefthom]

Check out MSC's Seaside out of Miami;)

[Shellygal]

It sounds like you are flexible on your dates - I wasn't sure if the cruise was to be during the holiday or as a Christmas present with a later date (I've known people to do that too, with a much later date). You've gotten some good advice already and I'll try to offer some points I didn't see:

 

Create a spreadsheet to compare your various options and include base price, beverage price - either package or just an estimate, excursions, etc. Sometimes a base fare can look cheaper until you see how much you need to add on for the experience you want.

 

Watch some YouTube videos or search here for reviews of specific ships that interest you. While a line can have a general "feel" it can vary greatly from ship to ship.

 

I'm not sure where you live, but think about if you are flying vs driving. If the budget is tight be sure to include hotel costs and air fair in your comparisons.

 

I've learned that generally I can have anything I want, but not everything I want. We like laid back atmsophere, good food, quality entertainment, some pampering, interesting ports of call, options on sea days, polite language and general respect between fellow passengers and crew, and a live and let live attitude toward others. We can find many but not all of these things on every ship we've been on. Figure what matters most to you and focus on meeting those points.

 

Hope that helps:)

 

What an amazing and thoughtful reply! Thanks so much! So many great points! You summed up a way to clarify my thinking!

[pacruise804]

What an amazing and thoughtful reply! Thanks so much! So many great points! You summed up a way to clarify my thinking!

 

Glad I could help. Another thing to keep in mind is that you will be on vacation with your hubby:hearteyes: While it's wise to get maximum enjoyment for money spent, it's impossible to predict all the variables that can happen. As long as you go in with a good attitude everything else is either icing on the cake or a "learning experience" that you can laugh about together.

[Shellygal]

Glad I could help. Another thing to keep in mind is that you will be on vacation with your hubby:hearteyes: While it's wise to get maximum enjoyment for money spent, it's impossible to predict all the variables that can happen. As long as you go in with a good attitude everything else is either icing on the cake or a "learning experience" that you can laugh about together.

 

Perfect!

I need you as my personal motivator always!

Keep it coming!

[Shellygal]

Update!!

I booked a cruise for my husbands Christmas gift...thx to all your advice!

TA from Southampton to Florida!

Half price!

Got a major bargain!

October 2018!

Thx again for all your thoughtful words and sage advice!

Shelly