Please Help Me! I Have Never Been on a Cruise Before!

You make also want to post this on the dedicated Carnival forum, where it will reach many more folks with direct Carnival experience: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=150

Hmm,

Looks like a bit of a stretch, but maybe there is a travel agent out there who has a helluva deal in their pocket.

I did a quick tour of the Carnival website, the itinerary I liked best given the parameters was a 5 day out of Miami that stoped in Ocho Rios & Grand Cayman. Balcony was $2,200 range but you could do an Ocean View for $1,600 ish. June 4-9.

June is a pretty popular month to hit the water so deals may be few and far between.

You could save more by going on a 3 day trip, but that is very quick and tends to attract a more, um, raucus crowd. Of course if you are looking for that, then maybe there is your ticket.

Other thoughts, that ticket to board buys you a lot, but you will have to budget a bit more for shore excursions, drinks, photos, etc, etc,. I'd probably have about $500 - 1,000 additional set aside for this.

Good luck, and have fun.

I went on Carnival's website and picked out my top favorite cruise lines that the both of us would enjoy based on the amenities that each cruise had. Those are:

1. Carnival Vista

2. Carnival Breeze

3. Carnival Magic

4. Carnival Dream

5. Carnival Sunshine

 

Restricting your search can drive the cost up, especially for your first cruise of a week or less the ship really won't matter much.

Departure Date: Anytime in June 2018

 

 

This is the thing that is driving your cost up as June is a very expensive month to cruise. I understand you probably don't have any flexibility here, just thought I would point it out.

 

Departure Port: Anywhere in Florida

 

 

This is good, the majority of Carnival's sailings are from Florida.

 

Destination: It does not matter - anywhere is fine.

Excellent, this will help you with cost and is a great attitude to have.

 

 

In 2016 I took 6 Carnival cruises in 1 year and many people asked me how I pulled it off so I made a video about it and the second half is all about how I afforded it so it may contain some useful info for you

 

[YOUTUBE]Y-2q4EGH-hU[/YOUTUBE]

Welcome to CC!

I highly recommend that you contact a Carnival PVP (personal vacation planner) or a travel agent who specializes in cruises.

June is one of the more expensive months to cruise unfortunately.

If Carnival is the cruise line you want I would do two things.

Start narrowing the list down based on the specific itinerary of each ship.

From there read the cruise member reviews to get a sense of those ships that get the best reviews.

Keith

In short, you are not going to be able to check all your boxes. There is no way to shave $500 off a cruise.

You have 3 choices for staying within your budget: 1) cruise during the school year (school vacations are when most families cruise, greatly increasing demand), 2) compromise on the cabin and choose an Oceanview. You will get the same size/layout room without the balcony. You will spend very little time in the room so this might be the best thing to compromise on. 3) pick a shorter cruise; looks like the Victory has 4 day itineraries that will check all your other boxes.

Booking way in advance (1+ years) will get you the best price, but not the price you are looking for. You can get on board credit by owning 100 shares of CCL stock (I do this) but you need to have ~$7000 to invest to do this.

You may be able to get a bit of on board credit by booking with a TA but not more than $200 and probably closer to $50 (total), I don't have any referrals (nor are they allowed on cruise critic); I haven't actually used a TA.

Onboard credit wont lower the initial cost of your fare but will lower the out-the-door costs (there is a $12 per-person-per day service charge that goes to restaurant servers/housekeeping/etc.; plus drinks, etc.)

What a wonderful surprise for your boyfriend and special way of celebrating such an incredible accomplishment. I'm sure he'll love it and you'll have a wonderful time!

I haven't ever sailed Carnival so I am probably the worst person to give advice regarding the ship, but did want to make a comment about the balcony. On our first cruise we booked a balcony and it was very important to me to do so. I pictured us spending hours relaxing on the balcony sipping cocktails, spotting dolphins, etc. etc. While we did spend some time on it, I found that I enjoyed finding a nice spot on a deck somewhere and taking in "the scenery". Because of that we booked an ocean view cabin for our next cruise because we were trying to keep costs down and skipping the balcony saved us almost $1000. That said, my parents cruise often and would never cruise without a balcony.

It's also probably worth it to check out some of the larger travel agents that specialize in cruises. Unfortunately we cannot name any here. We were able to get a good deal with all sorts of perks that saved us quite a bit of money on-board by booking through an online travel agent. Once my parents found a good deal through an agent and called the cruise line to see if they would match. They matched the price AND gave them additional onboard credit in return for my parents booking directly with them, so keep that in mind as well.

I know this wasn't much help and for that I apologize, but I hope you find a wonderful cruise and have a great time!

If price is your main concern, would you consider a different cruise line? You may get better deals from different providers.

Don't forget to factor all the other extras into your budget: cost of getting to the port, tips, excursions, drinks, souvenirs, etc.

You make also want to post this on the dedicated Carnival forum, where it will reach many more folks with direct Carnival experience: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=150

Thank you! I already did!

If price is your main concern, would you consider a different cruise line? You may get better deals from different providers.

 

Don't forget to factor all the other extras into your budget: cost of getting to the port, tips, excursions, drinks, souvenirs, etc.

Thank you for this wonderful advice! I will take that into consideration!

What a wonderful surprise for your boyfriend and special way of celebrating such an incredible accomplishment. I'm sure he'll love it and you'll have a wonderful time!

 

I haven't ever sailed Carnival so I am probably the worst person to give advice regarding the ship, but did want to make a comment about the balcony. On our first cruise we booked a balcony and it was very important to me to do so. I pictured us spending hours relaxing on the balcony sipping cocktails, spotting dolphins, etc. etc. While we did spend some time on it, I found that I enjoyed finding a nice spot on a deck somewhere and taking in "the scenery". Because of that we booked an ocean view cabin for our next cruise because we were trying to keep costs down and skipping the balcony saved us almost $1000. That said, my parents cruise often and would never cruise without a balcony.

 

It's also probably worth it to check out some of the larger travel agents that specialize in cruises. Unfortunately we cannot name any here. We were able to get a good deal with all sorts of perks that saved us quite a bit of money on-board by booking through an online travel agent. Once my parents found a good deal through an agent and called the cruise line to see if they would match. They matched the price AND gave them additional onboard credit in return for my parents booking directly with them, so keep that in mind as well.

 

I know this wasn't much help and for that I apologize, but I hope you find a wonderful cruise and have a great time!

This was more than enough! Thank you so much for all these wonderful tips! I truly appreciate it! I am nervous about him liking it. So thank you for the reassurance! I have contacted a travel agent. I am worried about them being credible and honest. Have you run into that problem - a travel agent that was not honest? Are you supposed to pay the travel agent directly for the cruise?

In short, you are not going to be able to check all your boxes. There is no way to shave $500 off a cruise.

 

You have 3 choices for staying within your budget: 1) cruise during the school year (school vacations are when most families cruise, greatly increasing demand), 2) compromise on the cabin and choose an Oceanview. You will get the same size/layout room without the balcony. You will spend very little time in the room so this might be the best thing to compromise on. 3) pick a shorter cruise; looks like the Victory has 4 day itineraries that will check all your other boxes.

 

Booking way in advance (1+ years) will get you the best price, but not the price you are looking for. You can get on board credit by owning 100 shares of CCL stock (I do this) but you need to have ~$7000 to invest to do this.

 

You may be able to get a bit of on board credit by booking with a TA but not more than $200 and probably closer to $50 (total), I don't have any referrals (nor are they allowed on cruise critic); I haven't actually used a TA.

 

Onboard credit wont lower the initial cost of your fare but will lower the out-the-door costs (there is a $12 per-person-per day service charge that goes to restaurant servers/housekeeping/etc.; plus drinks, etc.)

Thank you for this very helpful information! My boyfriend is big in the stock market and is all about it so I will definitely share the CCL stock information with him. Thank you again! I really appreciate you taking out the time to help me!

If Carnival is the cruise line you want I would do two things.

 

Start narrowing the list down based on the specific itinerary of each ship.

 

From there read the cruise member reviews to get a sense of those ships that get the best reviews.

 

Keith

Keith,

Thank you so much for this tip! I will definitely do that!

Welcome to CC!

 

I highly recommend that you contact a Carnival PVP (personal vacation planner) or a travel agent who specializes in cruises.

 

June is one of the more expensive months to cruise unfortunately.

Thank you! I am happy to be here!

I have already contacted one! He has been very helpful! Thank you!

That is the same feedback I am getting from him. I might be changing dates. But we will see..

Thank you again for your help!

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Restricting your search can drive the cost up, especially for your first cruise of a week or less the ship really won't matter much.

 

 

 

 

This is the thing that is driving your cost up as June is a very expensive month to cruise. I understand you probably don't have any flexibility here, just thought I would point it out.

 

 

 

 

This is good, the majority of Carnival's sailings are from Florida.

 





Excellent, this will help you with cost and is a great attitude to have.

 

 

In 2016 I took 6 Carnival cruises in 1 year and many people asked me how I pulled it off so I made a video about it and the second half is all about how I afforded it so it may contain some useful info for you

 

Y-2q4EGH-hU

Wow! Thank you for taking the time out and writing all of this for me! I truly appreciate it! I will keep in mind all of your tips and I will also take time out to watch the video you shared. You have been so helpful!

Hmm,

 

Looks like a bit of a stretch, but maybe there is a travel agent out there who has a helluva deal in their pocket.

 

I did a quick tour of the Carnival website, the itinerary I liked best given the parameters was a 5 day out of Miami that stoped in Ocho Rios & Grand Cayman. Balcony was $2,200 range but you could do an Ocean View for $1,600 ish. June 4-9.

 

June is a pretty popular month to hit the water so deals may be few and far between.

 

You could save more by going on a 3 day trip, but that is very quick and tends to attract a more, um, raucus crowd. Of course if you are looking for that, then maybe there is your ticket.

 

Other thoughts, that ticket to board buys you a lot, but you will have to budget a bit more for shore excursions, drinks, photos, etc, etc,. I'd probably have about $500 - 1,000 additional set aside for this.

 

Good luck, and have fun.

Thank you so much for this! I truly appreciate it! I got in touch with a travel agent and he was able to find me an excellent deal and exactly what I was looking for! Thank you again for your helpful tips! I will keep all of them in mind!

Thank you everyone for all these wonderful tips! I am taking the time out to respond to everyone individually! If I haven't responded to you yet, I will be shortly. I want to get everyone's thoughts on this....

I actually took the advice of what most everyone is saying and contacted a travel agent. He was able to find me a 5 night cruise on Carnival Conquest with a balcony. For June 2 - June 7. It goes from Port Everglades, Florida to Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, and Nassau Bahamas, and then back to Port Everglades Florida. It's $1992.70 with travel insurance included. What does everyone think? Is this a good deal?

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