married 2 miles

I'm looking for a cruise for my parents (retired, computer illiterate) and wonder if there are any sites that post or e-mail last minute cruise offers?

Any sites/travel agencies with substantial discounts on cruises (I've seen 10% from one travel agent)?

Thanks in advance.

Marysunshine

Hi: there are a million sites: Firstly you can go to any cruiseline and get a really good rate right on line: You can go to On Call from United Airlines: You can go to Cruise Critic.com which is a great site for booking, reviews of ships, and contacting others who will be on your cruise. There is Bid4vacations.com, and many others, but I prefer directly doing each cruise line. I booked Celebrity Galaxy for 10/12/01 several weeks back: outside cabin category 5 for $668. pp. We purchased our own airfare which we usually do cause we like to arrive at the city of departure one day early and board the ship early in the day.Besides the air is usually cheaper doing it on your own. Good Luck.

Marysunshine

Sorry: I forgot a few things: 1) You should never pay more than two thirds of brochure price for ANY cruise; 2) You should never book tours from the cruise line, they are all overpriced; 3) There is also VacationToGo.com that has a 90 day ticker for last minute vacations. We are also retired but have cruised many times: try to avoid Carnival (too many young rowdy people).

cordelli

Most of the cruise lines have a sign up at their site to get last minute deals.

The one yestereday from Raddisson was for $999 per person for cruises from Rome to Barcelona, Rome to Istanbul, Las Palmas to Lisbon, or Barcelona to Las Palmas, all either seven or eight days.

They all included free round trip air from New York, which makes me hope I win the powerball tomorrow night.


The one that came from Princess on the 18th was for:

Best Available Southern Caribbean Lowest Season Fares for $499* per person
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
7 day Roundtrip San Juan
Departs October 6, 2001 on Dawn Princess
Visit San Juan (Puerto Rico), Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Maarten and St. Thomas.
Best available inside staterooms for $499* per person
Best available ocean view staterooms for $599* per person
Promotion Code: PEA

My travel agent sends out a mailing once a week of specials, if your e-mail is part of your profile I'll forward one over to you, it has the address to sign up.

married 2 miles

Thanks. Sorry Cordelli about powerball (I drove to RI on Saturday, and with all the NYer's doing a powerball run to Stamford, the traffic was brutal, but the winners weren't from CT). I'm signing up with your TA.

married 2 miles

Marysunshine - In post one, you say you prefer dealing with cruiselines, in post two, not. Who do you buy from to get the best price?

QuietLion

My favorites are:

http://www.crucon.com/
http://www.cruise.com/
http://www.mytravelco.com/
http://www.cruise4miles.com/

Most of these have weekly newsletters I highly recommend signing up for.

Marysunshine

married2miles: I prefer to purchase directly from the cruise line, but NEVER purchase the tours from the cruiseline. I've discovered that while there are bargains from the other websites, some prices offered there don't include port charges and you never know exactly where your cabin is, only the category. When I deal directly with the cruise line website, I can see every detail of what decks there are, where the cabins are on each deck, how close to elevators, or the pursars desk, etc. I like to know every detail of every step I take in planning a vacation. That's my story, hope it helps.

cordelli

I'd rethink this never get excrusions from the cruise line, as some are starting to offer all their excrusions for free to get people on the ship. Can't beat free.

srodr

I'm also looking for a cruise for my parents anniversay this Fall. I'm looking for a Mediteranian cruise since they live in Europe. Are there any sites that specialize in European cruises? Would it be cheaper to purchase through a European website with the dollar so strong now?