Bollox

I have never been on a cruise, don't know much about class of travel, where the best berths are etc. etc.

I'm interested in a 2008 Caribbean Christmas/New Year (2-3 week duration) cruise to celebrate my wifes 50th birthday.

Would it be best to book Fights & Cruise seperately or as a package deal? (I have miles to burn)

Who give best value for money? I will probably budget upto Ł6K (GBP) for the two of us, including flights.

Any guidance greatly appreciated.

Cheers

B

flyerwife

I did a quick check and found 2 cruises that might interest you:

*10 days on Royal Caribbeans Navigator of the Seas departing from Ft Lauderdale on Dec 24, stopping in San Juan, St Thomas, Antigua, St Kitts, St Maarten and Coco Cay (private Royal Caribbean island).

*11 days on Celebritys Galaxy departing from San Juan PR on Dec 29, stopping at Aruba, Curacao, Grenada, Barbados, St Lucia, Dominica, St Kitts and Tortola USVI.

Any cruises of a longer duration are really going to shoot your price up (as well as any upgrades in room view/location) and it might force you out of your budget.

If you have miles to burn, I would use those. I'd suggest booking the flights first (as long as you see availability on your chosen cruise) as your flights will be harder to get than your cruise cabin. Keep in mind that there may be blackouts in award travel dates over the holidays.

Additionally, and most important, build in several days cushion between your flight and cruise departure, especially if you are traveling from Europe in December. That way you do not have to worry about flight delays or weather mess ups. The cruise ship will not wait for you.

Royal Caribbean caters to a somewhat younger crowd than Celebrity (well...let's say that Celebrity is a notch above RC) but over a holiday break your cruise will be filled with families. Navigator is a 5 year old ship and Galaxy is an 11 year old ship, in case that matters to you.

I found my info for you on www.vacationstogo.com and I use them often as a tool for comparison of ships, port information, and as a pricing guide.

Additionally, the board over at www.cruisecritic.com is very similar to the boards here at Flyertalk and also serve as a valuable resource for information on virtually every ship out there.

Hope this helps. Have a great trip.

mikeef

I would also say that Celebrity would be a good choice, based on the difference in crowds. I've never done a Celebrity cruise but have heard nothing but good things about them.

I would also take Flyerwife's advice regarding the flights. I'd want to keep as much flexibility as possible, but the fares won't be cheap, regardless. Definitely keep at least a full day of cushion.

Mike

Bollox

Thanks Flyerwife and Mike, advise really appreciated

Mill Creek Don

Be aware that many cruise lines increase fares for Christmas/Holiday/New Years cruises. High demand from families and those who can only get that particular time off from work. You may get more bang for the pound if you can schedule at another time. Is it important that the birthday celebration be onboard, or could the cruise be the present - to be taken later? Only you can answer that.

In addition, be sure that you know just what would be important to you for your cruise. How large a ship do you want? Do you want glitz or quiet elegance? Port intensive or days at sea? Luxury, upscale, mass-market? Figure out what is important in a vacation, and then look for the ship to meet that need. For example, you probably have your own priorities for a land vacation. Now, make a similar judgment about a sea-based vacation and go from there.

Above all....read and do research. There is a ship and itinerary for everyone; you just have to find it.

Madhouse24

I can understand wanting to cruise around the Holidays but Mill Creek Don is correct in that the cruise lines increase there prices during this time, however, you can often find a cruise "right after" or "before" the holiday sailing that has a significant price drop.....

What type of itinerary are you looking for? such as destination/s, type of room (I would suggest a balcony or suite), amenities and such???

Bollox

Thanks again for everyone's advice. The primary reason for this period is the Birthday falls on the 22nd.

As you've kindly pointed out it may be worth looking at either side of this period to attain the best value for money.

Cheers

B

SRQ Guy

Book airfare separate from the cruise.

Check out Cruise Critic for loads and loads of advice.

Once you settle upon which ship and which sailing you'd like to try, use Cruisecompete.com to find the best deal.

Consider, if possible, sailing at a slightly different time of year. As noted, Christmas/New Year's sailings are some of the most expensive ones out there. Even just moving your trip a week earlier in December or a week into January will save you a lot of money.

Tenerife

There are usually fantastic cruise deals available for the first 2 weeks of December or anytime after January 5th or so. At these times your ship will also not be "overflowing" with children of all ages. The Christmas holiday period (as well as the spring holiday time) is not the time to cruise if you want a leisurely, quiet, adult experience for a decent price.

chemist661

I would do your own air because if one does "cruise" air, there can be problems if something goes wrong. Check out www.cruisecritic.com for advice.

Cruise air tickets usually ticket under the consolidator fare class. If something goes wrong with the air part, one may not have the same rights as if you booked your own air. I would suggest cruise air only if their prices are much lower than what you can book for yourself. Award tickets may be the way to go.

mikeef

Here are a couple that may interest you. Most start the first or second week of January, which may or may not fit your time frame but should help keep the cost down.

Oceania Panama Canal, which is 16 days from Miami to LAX. Starts at $3,200 per person US.

Miami to Miami on Oceania. It's 10 days but starts at $1,799 US, which could allow you a nicer cabin. It starts on a Wednesday, so I don't know if that messes up a work schedule.

Azamara out of EZE. 12 days, starting at $2,549 per person, US. Azamara is a new upscale brand by Royal Caribbean. The newest brands are generally "underpriced," since they don't have a following yet. Come to think of it, this cruise looks fantastic. Maybe I'll skip out of work for a few weeks!

A couple more suggestions: Where you are on the ship, at least from the point of view of turbulence, does not matter as much as it used to, given the size and better ballast of the newer ships. I'd also recommend getting at least an ocean view for your first cruise. Finally, there are a ton of brands out there, but based on your age and what you want to spend, I would recommend looking at Celebrity, Oceania, Holland America and Azamara. I use vacationstogo.com just for pricing and itineraries, but there are plenty of good sites out there. I would suggest looking at those brands and seeing if they look too hot, too cold or just about right, and we can direct you from there. Oh, you should also book through a travel agent, since they can often throw in a few extra benefits.

Mike

MoreMilesPlease

Holland America does a 14 day out of New York over Christmas/New Years. We are doing it this year so will post back in January how it went. I get the early booking deals and can send them on to you if you would like.

The drawback is you have a couple of days getting down to the warmer weather, but if you like ship time then it is perfect. We are excited about cruising out of New York and seeing Lady Liberty all lit up.

If you book your air through the cruise line, they will protect you in case of delays/missed connections/etc. But it will be cheaper to do it yourself. Just make sure and fly into the States at least one day early and plan to spend a night after the cruise befor flying overseas. This protects you from the missed/delayed/canceled flights.

Make sure and buy travel insurance. With the excellent exchange rate you're getting now it is probably worth your time to start checking things out. US cruises will be an absolute bargain for you!

ConciergeMike

Another thing would be to fly the day before the cruise, especially if coming from the UK. Aside from the flight times likely not working out in order to catch the ship, it's always nice to be in the embarkation port the day before. The stress of the travel process is gone and you can feel like you're on vacation.

HappyCoachFlyer

I've cruised on the Celebrity Summit, the Sapphire Princess, and the Carnival Fantasy.

The first two were an apples-to-apples comparison on the signature "Voyage of the Glaciers" route (Anchorage->Vancouver). I found that Celebrity is clearly a big step above the competition: They pay attention to all of the little details that the other lines miss.

Punki

We awlays track prices on www. cheapcruises.com but then end up booking with our very lovely travel agent, who can sometimes bump us up from a regular balcony to a balcony suite. Some folks are happy as a clam in an inside cabin, but we really love a balcony.

For our first cruise we went through www.cruisecompete.com and got an excellent deal--$1,300US pp for a balcony suite, when our friends were paying $2,400US pp for a balcony. I am not sure that they are always a great deal, but in our case they were. It is worth a try.

Have fun!