Thank you everyone for the insight so far!
Originally Posted by
guv1976
Some of the best deals are on the so-called repositioning cruises where cruise lines move ships from one continent to another with the change of seasons. Examples are some trans-Atlantic, trans-Pacific, and Panama Canal cruises. (Use your frequent-flyer miles for one-way flights to or from the other continent.)
I typically have purchased my cruises through vacationstogo.com, which often shares part of their commission with the passenger in the form of shipboard credits. I find their website very easy to use, but you do have to "register" on their website with an email address in order to see their offerings. The only downside I can see is that the closer in the booking, the higher airfares might be to fly to any of the departing ports.
If you are flexible about your travel dates and are willing to play a game of chicken, some of the best deals appear anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months before sailing date.
Do the repositioning cruises visit many ports or are they primarily days at sea? Part of the appeal of cruises to me, is the ability to visit many places. For example, there is a 4-day cruise out of Florida on Norwegian that only has one port stop in the Bahamas. It's not as interesting to me, although the price tag at $339 is very appealing.
I am somewhat flexible as far as my employer being ok with me taking PTO with at least a week of advance notice. I initially became interested in cruising when I read about Holland America's standby cruises (and I live near a port; not a particularly popular one, but cruise ships do start trips here!). (Holland America now charges a single supplement for standby cruises, making it less appealing than just booking a cheap cruise outright.
While I'm excited to see what a cruise ship is like onboard, the thing that appeals to me the most is being able to get off the ship in places where it would cost more than the cruise to fly to (ie caribbean destinations)