Cruise ships - a captive clientele?

mobby-2554

jezmyers wrote: »

I can, of course, only go on my experience of cruising but it's interesting to see that the majority of people have enjoyed it.

Myself (aged 32) and younger partner went on a carribean cruise with Carnival last September and it was fantastic.

The service was impeccable, the standard of the food was excellent, the room was spacious enough for the very short amount of time we spent in there (we had an inside cabin high up) and, most of all, we felt it represented fantastic value for money.

Now, whilst I'm sure that Carnival certainly aren't on the same class/luxury level as P&O, we found it was a relaxing and, more importantly, fun experience.

On the cruise itself, we had 3 days in port and 3/4 days at sea. This seemed to be a very good balance and there was more than enough activities, included in the price, to keep us both entertained. Of course, like any holiday, you can do as little or as much as you like.

Flights x2 LHR to MIA with virgin £650
2 nights in 3* hotel prior to cruise incl brekkie £120
Cruise for both of us £550
Tips on cruise £90
excursions x3 (booked ourselves NOT through Carnival) £150
other money spent on board (drinks, underwater camera, batteries, things we'll know to take extra of next time) £70
airport/port transfers £60
5* hotel in Miami on final night £90
food in miami £50
TOTAL £1830

For what we did and what we got, I'd say that a 10/11 day holiday to America and a Caribbean cruise coming in at that price represents phenomenal value for money.

I agree with you it was fantastic!
We had a outside cabin & it was really spacious extra room for a coffee table & seating.
I couldn't believe the amount of food available 24hrs a day!

You're TOTAL £1830 was amazing!
I think we paid £1300 each!

Did you book your cruise directly with Carnival?

moonrakerz

mobby-2554 wrote: »

Definitely try one cruise!

I could not find a fault with,

http://www.carnival.com/Itinerary.as...ailingID=53416

It's funny how "one man's meat is......................."

I have been on two cruises with friends from the USA; once with Cunard and once with Saga. They thought Cunard was good, they thought Saga was outstanding - especially when they talked to the crew in their own Filipino dialect !
Several years ago they were given a free luxury cruise on Carnival (by the CEO of Carnival) - they said it was dreadful !

This is why you MUST do your homework very, very carefully before booking a cruise for the first time.
Rock climbing wall, discos, casinos - go with Carnival. High tea, dress for dinner, great library - go with Cunard/Saga.
(Actually, Cunard is owned by Carnival)

If you get on the wrong type of ship you WILL hate it - right ship, wonderful !

jezmyers

moonrakerz wrote: »

It's funny how "one man's meat is......................."

I have been on two cruises with friends from the USA; once with Cunard and once with Saga. They thought Cunard was good, they thought Saga was outstanding - especially when they talked to the crew in their own Filipino dialect !
Several years ago they were given a free luxury cruise on Carnival (by the CEO of Carnival) - they said it was dreadful !

This is why you MUST do your homework very, very carefully before booking a cruise for the first time.
Rock climbing wall, discos, casinos - go with Carnival. High tea, dress for dinner, great library - go with Cunard/Saga.
(Actually, Cunard is owned by Carnival)

If you get on the wrong type of ship you WILL hate it - right ship, wonderful !

This is completely spot on. Cunard simply wouldn't be for me (right now) and we certainly wouldn't have enjoyed it had we had to dress up every night.

jezmyers

mobby-2554 wrote: »

I agree with you it was fantastic!
We had a outside cabin & it was really spacious extra room for a coffee table & seating.
I couldn't believe the amount of food available 24hrs a day!

You're TOTAL £1830 was amazing!
I think we paid £1300 each!

Did you book your cruise directly with Carnival?

In case I fall foul of the rules of the board, I apologise in advance for this...

At the first point of contact I spoke to vacationstogo. Based in america but with a freephone number for uk residents. They were hands down substantially cheaper than any company in the UK could offer me.

I got their "best price" and then went on cruisecompete to see if any organisations could beat it.

When they did (only by about $50 but it's all saving, right?) I contacted vacationstogo who price matched my "best price".

Further to this, we went in mid-september which is the height of the hurricane season (and therefore the cheapest time to cruise). There was a minor chance of disruption but, having followed all potential hurricanes up to the date of the cruise, it was clear that there was nothing coming anywhere near us. We had completely calm seas for the entire duration and had a 15 minute downpour in Grand Cayman and a 20 minute on in Miami on our final day.

As with everything in this world, you get better prices by being able to go at less popular times which gave us cheap flights (virgin sale) and a cheaper cruise.

The food was fantastic, though I didn't try the fish and chips (much to my dismay). For me, the highlight was the selection available for breakfast.In fact, the selection available at all times!

I'm currently pricing up a similar cruise again for September 2010 and I'm hoping to bring it in even cheaper than last year. this will probably involve flying to orlando from manchester and driving to miami/tampa/port canaveral as I think this will be cheaper than driving to london, parking and then flying to miami.

Once again, sorry if I've flouted any terms by naming websites. I'm not connected or affiliated with either of them and I'm convinced that most of the other website would have been more than happy to match my best price.

Mands

jezmyers wrote: »

In case I fall foul of the rules of the board, I apologise in advance for this...

At the first point of contact I spoke to vacationstogo. Based in america but with a freephone number for uk residents. They were hands down substantially cheaper than any company in the UK could offer me.

Another rec for VTG. I've used them for all but one of our cruises so far. Not only are their prices very competitive but their customer serve has been superb.

Mands

Caz3121

Mands wrote: »

Another rec for VTG. I've used them for all but one of our cruises so far. Not only are their prices very competitive but their customer serve has been superb.

Mands

I have heard good stuff about them also although it is worth noting that there are a number of cruise lines that do not allow them to to sell to non-US citizen...the details are on their website