Possibly a stupid question...

[langside]

But what traditionally is classed as a good offer when It comes to cruises?

Fully appreciate you should book at a price your happy with but because i’m a relative cruise newbie (my 1st cruise experience got cancelled due to hurricane Irma so I’m basically clueless) - should I be looking out for certain offers/ book at certain times of year?

For instance at the moment I’ve seen one cruise line offering free on board credit and a competitor offer 2nd passenger 1/2 price for similar cruise itineraries- not sure if these are common/ rare offers and as we’ve never been on a cruise I feel I little bit lost/ clueless as to Costs in a similar way we felt the 1st time we went to WDW

Appreciate the help (for info- looking at western and eastern Caribbean cruises leaving from a Floridian based port between March and May between 5-8 nights and open to all cruise lines at this point. Just Not sure if I need to whittle down things to make my life a little easier)

[Smilesonfaces]

I have only been on a couple of cruises so no expert but I was told by a friend who is a regular cruiser to look for a price of £100 a day per person. I found with Royal Caribbean it didn’t really matter what the offer was the end price was the same.

We have loved the cruises we have done and hope to do another (when son and daughter aren’t coming ! )

Hope you find something you like !

[langside]

Originally Posted by Smilesonfaces

I have only been on a couple of cruises so no expert but I was told by a friend who is a regular cruiser to look for a price of £100 a day per person. I found with Royal Caribbean it didn’t really matter what the offer was the end price was the same.

We have loved the cruises we have done and hope to do another (when son and daughter aren’t coming ! )

Hope you find something you like !

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Thank you - that’s a great bit of knowledge and a great startbg point for prices for us so be looking for.
We were really disappointed to miss out last time but fully understand why it was cancelled - done a bit of travelling Europe this summer and rally enjoyed it except for the hotel changing which hopefully a. Cruise would avoid so seeems a perfect option for us

[Smilesonfaces]

Originally Posted by langside

Thank you - that’s a great bit of knowledge and a great startbg point for prices for us so be looking for.
We were really disappointed to miss out last time but fully understand why it was cancelled - done a bit of travelling Europe this summer and rally enjoyed it except for the hotel changing which hopefully a. Cruise would avoid so seeems a perfect option for us

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Our cruise in November was affected by Irma too. I had been watching all our ports on you tube films for months and we didn’t go to them we went to completely different ports !
We sailed from Fort Lauderdale on Harmony of the Seas. We loved it. The food and the entertainment were excellent. It is a huge ship and I know not to everyone’s taste due to size but with 2 teens it was perfect for us. We had an inside promenade cabin.

My friend says cruising is even more addictive than Florida !

[Omega1]

After almost 40 cruises on six different cruise lines, we’ve settled on two that we like best. It’s a very personal thing and I can only say to read around as much as you can to choose the cruise line that seems right for you - even different ships within the same cruise line can have a different feel. They all seem to cater for a different demographic.
Comparing cruise fares is difficult and you can really only go on the price per person per night for a similar grade of cabin without any sweeteners like drinks packages, obc, free gratuities, etc. For example, our Caribbean cruise in November is £65pppn (inside cabin) - the clincher for this trip was the cruise line we’re offering return flights to Fort Lauderdale for £201pp and a bit of obc. We usually pay between £55 and £75pppn depending on itinerary and time of year.

[langside]

Originally Posted by Smilesonfaces

My friend says cruising is even more addictive than Florida !

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I have been warned exactly the same

Thank you for your help and advice though

[langside]

Originally Posted by Omega1

After almost 40 cruises on six different cruise lines, we’ve settled on two that we like best. It’s a very personal thing and I can only say to read around as much as you can to choose the cruise line that seems right for you - even different ships within the same cruise line can have a different feel. They all seem to cater for a different demographic.
Comparing cruise fares is difficult and you can really only go on the price per person per night for a similar grade of cabin without any sweeteners like drinks packages, obc, free gratuities, etc. For example, our Caribbean cruise in November is £65pppn (inside cabin) - the clincher for this trip was the cruise line we’re offering return flights to Fort Lauderdale for £201pp and a bit of obc. We usually pay between £55 and £75pppn depending on itinerary and time of year.

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Thank you for your advice.
We have been quite suprised at how many cruise lines there are to choose from- when we should have gone last time it was with Disney as we were also pairing it with WDW but certainly now aware there’s much more choice out there
Our main priority is the iteniray as we’re hoping to get to at least 3 different ports (more if it’s a 6/7 day cruise), we’ve also decided we’re want to book an inside cabin but know we want midship so we do have a vague idea
Out of interest how do you find flight prices out too - is it a case of ringing the cruise companies or travel agents?

[Omega1]

Originally Posted by langside

Out of interest how do you find flight prices out too - is it a case of ringing the cruise companies or travel agents?

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Our starting point for flights is a price comparison site like Kayak but usually try a few because not all flights seem to appear on all of them - if that makes sense. We usually ask the cruise line for a price just in case there are any deals.
If we book all the elements independently, we always aim to arrive two or three days before sailing - if there are any delays, you’re on your own, the ship won’t wait!
There is always the option of a package by the many cruise specialists - we have done these on occasions if it’s cheaper than we can do ourselves. The beauty of packages is that they are covered by Package Tour regs. The downside is that in general UK ta’s are really only interested in selling and don’t provide the support and look after your interests like US ta’s do. Hope this helps.

[SquishTheWhale]

My benchmark for pricing is also around £100 per person per night. However with only 2 of us sharing a cabin this can be a lot less with 3 or 4.

Our biggest ever bargain was a 10 nighter for under £40 pppn. In Oct we are doing a mini cruise that is about £120pppn, but shorter cruises can work out more expensive! We tend to sail in Inside cabins.

I'd starr by looking at NCL, Royal Caribbean, Princess and Celebrity. The latter two often have more interesting itinieraries- we love NCL but are going with Princess in December as the itinerary is much better.
When pricing NCL keep in mind it's All Inclusive- so your drinks and tips are included. Sometimes other lines will have special offers for free drinks or on board credit.

[BevS97]

We just went with p and o. Picked due to itinerary and price.
I also look at number of sea days as I don’t want too many. I want to get off the ship and see things. I know some people cruise for the ship and aren’t bothered about lots of sea days but that’s not for me.

We paid over £100/pppd but was the height of summer so prices are at a peak.

We opted for the basic ‘early saver’ package. So we couldn’t choose our cabin and got no onboard credit but we saved quite a lot compared to the normal price where you can choose your cabin.