1st ever cruise - help needed please

[Guest]

Hi everyone

I'm hoping to get some much needed help with booking a cruise.

We want to do 1 week cruise and 1 week orlando holiday next July and really don't know where to start.

We were interested in the royal Caribbean cruise that goes from port canaveral to Western Caribbean - is this a good cruise and where can I find the cheapest prices?

Also is it best to fly into orlando the day before, getting a shuttle from the airport to the port and staying overnight?

Many thanks for your help.

X

[mertin]

Can't advise on Royal Carribean, as we've only ever sailed with Disney. But you can't fly into Florida from the UK and sail the same day - your flight's would land too late.

This year we flew from the UK the day before - and I was on edge all the time in case there was a big delay.

Personally, I would always plan a cruise at the end of the holiday if it's an option

[cheekydeeky]

this is exactly what we did last year. One week in orlando followed by the western caribbean cruise on Freedom of the Seas with RCI. We loved it, so much so that we went back this year to do the eastern caribbean on the same ship .

I've never cruised with anyone else so can't compare but we thought RCI were fantastic.

Oh, and both times we have cruised the second week. After a week in Orlando we like the slow, easy pace of the cruise. You can be as lazy or as active as you want.

We booked through a TA both years and paid £2,600 for our flights (from Scotland), transfers, a week in the Rosen @ Pointe, all gratuities on board, the cruise itself and Universal 14 day tickets. I really can't see how we could have done it cheaper. I do haggle quite a lot though .

Any questions just fire away.

[cheekydeeky]

I should have aid, both years we have gone in September so out with school holidays which I assume makes a quite large difference in price

[Guest]

Thanks everyone for your help.

Mmm that's maybe a valid point... well look at doing the cruise at the end. Is it possible to fly back to the uk the same day the cruise ends or would it be tight to get from port canaveral to the airport in time to check in etc?

Oh wow cheeydeeky that's a great price. Do you mind me asking what TA you booked with? I know unfortunately I work in the schools so I'm restricted to school holidays 😂

[LRMD]

Royal Caribbean are great, we did our first cruise with them round the med last year on the Navigator of the Seas, great food, great music, great shows, couldn't fault it.

[michelleminnie]

We have cruised with royal carribean, disney and carnival on about 10 cruises and tbh they all have a good product. Royal carribean would be our family favourite as they seem to have more for everyone. What ship are you looking at, as that will alter the experience dramatically. Also what age ranges are you catering for? If it is a freedom class you have a good all round product with loads to do for all ages. Western is a great route. Yes, you can easily fly back the same day as you are normally off the boat by 9am- if anything you will likely need to fill your time a bit depending on your flight time.

[cheekydeeky]

Not at all, we booked with ramsay world travel who are in dundee (we live close) but I'm not sure if they have other offices? I did everything via email and only had to go in to pick up my documents .

Couldn't fault them, transfers to/from the port were in caddies and superb, stress free!

You will be off the boat by 11am at the latest so plenty time to get to the airport.

[Guest]

Helloooo

Thanks everyone for your help.

Called a few uk TA and got some crazy prices back...over £2000pp.

I can get it cheaper booking flights, orlando hotel, car hire and cruise myself which is coming out around £1800pp but the flights are £885pp so may hold out on them for a bit to see if they come down.

I've been given a good quote from vacations to go for The cruise next July going round western Caribbean.

£680pp for 3 adults

Is this a good price of should we hold out - theyr saying there's limited availability.

Also are they reliable? Any experience?

Many thanks
X

[Bats]

Originally Posted by Claireandhollie

Helloooo

Thanks everyone for your help.

Called a few uk TA and got some crazy prices back...over £2000pp.

I can get it cheaper booking flights, orlando hotel, car hire and cruise myself which is coming out around £1800pp but the flights are £885pp so may hold out on them for a bit to see if they come down.

I've been given a good quote from vacations to go for The cruise next July going round western Caribbean.

£680pp for 3 adults

Is this a good price of should we hold out - theyr saying there's limited availability.

Also are they reliable? Any experience?

Many thanks
X

See more...

I've not used Vacations to go before, but I believe a few Dibbers have. The only issue you may have is if you want to change anything as the T&Cs will prevent you doing it without a monetary cost.
You need Heather (Scarecrow) for advice as she is very knowledgeable on other cruise lines. *shouts to Heather*