We are debating about booking for January

[Gingee]

We are debating about booking for January for Spirit. This is for January 4th. What do you experienced Norweigian cruises have to say about waiting for getting specials such as credit or other discounts? Or should I book now? We have never gone at that time of the year.

 

As you can see, we have one more cruise to go before the one in January (we might get tired of it).

[Flick]

Normally speaking, the two cheapest weeks for cruises are the week after Thanksgiving and the week after New Year's because so many have cruised during the holidays so the ships aren't as full as they normally would be. Waiting for lower pricing for Jan 4, may just leave you "out in the cold" if you get my drift. Also you should know that weather in the Caribbean may be cooler than you expect at this time.

[silkhair1]

We did this cruise last year out of New Orleans and it was great. We booked early and the prices never went down. We book early so we can get the rooms we want and if they go down we get that discount. I donot think you can do too many cruises to get sick of it though. LOL Have fun if you go then. (The weather was perfect)

[CRUZIN TOM]

New Orleans will be cool and possibly rainy, but all your stops will be quite warm. Normally in the low 80's. You should have some of the cheapest fares for both the ship and for staying in New Orleans. :)

[Toyz711]

last sept, we booked for a december cruise (2nd week of dec, on the spirit, out of new orleans). on a friday, when we called..all the balconies were the same price, except that there were no BBs and only a very few BAs left. (in poor locations). we called back on a monday and got a lower price on a BD. it was a couple of decks lower then the BAs but in a better location. prices went up after that and never came down. (only high decks levels, cabins are basically the same)

a month before the cruise, only GTYs were available in balconies...but a few inside or oceanviews were showing. the spirit doesn't have many suites, if interested in those..last minute could be a problem.

it was cool leaving seattle, but still shorts weather...rained that 1st night and part of the 2nd cruise day. otherwise, temps were in the high 70s to low 80s. since the mayan sites, that i wanted to see, are known for be quite hot and sunny...the slightly overcast and lower temps were great.

in cozumel, it was beautiful. the 2 cruises, before mine, the ports had more rain.

we can drive to new orleans and don't care about the cabin...we plan to start checking in august...for the spirit between end of november to end of jan. if flying, flight costs may be too high for last minute cruising.

[Gingee]

It seems like the cabins that we may need are on the tenth floor. I hate to go so high in the ship but doesn't seem like there is much lower for balconies.

[Toyz711]

i had a balcony on the the 9th deck...9636...since the balconies are the same, deck didn't matter to us. we took the lesser price.

deck 9, 10 and 11 are balconies. the spirit doesn't have mini-suites and very few suites.

deck 8...is the ships and asian dining

deck 7 is the main lobby, casino, showroom..most of the bars and speciality dining.

deck 6 is the main dining

so, yes, no balconies under deck 9

[Gingee]

I am trying for the middle of the ship but it seems like the middle of ship (even on level nine) is more expensive than towards the front or back.

[Toyz711]

BBs are prime real estate, balconies in the aft. very few of them...

BAs are the top balconies...except for the bedspread (i have seen photos that show a different bedspread then what i had), the cabin is no different from the BDs. BDs are mid-ship, but lower decks. BEs are on the ends. BCs are on deck 10, still no different then BAs or BDs, just deck level.

i'll give you one hint, on deck 9, if you look at the deckplans...find 9636. you will see that there are no inside cabins in that section. we had no hallway traffic. it's a service area, with no noise.

the most expensive cabins are always higher and mid-ship. the lesser prices cabins are the ends...more up/down motion. some aft cabins, though a desireable location..have more vibration or engine noise.

if you want mid-ship...BDs on deck 9, BCs on deck 10 or BAs on deck 11. sometimes they will run specials that all balconies are the same price, but usually the BAs are either sold out or very limited.

make sure you look as to what is above you or below you. deck 11 has cabins below

the BCs on deck 11. are under the buffet...you MIGHT be some noise from them cleaning this area in the wee morning hours. the BAs getting near the front of the ship ...you could be under the fitness center (weights being dropped), portside. some of the BAs are under the pool, where they have parties in the evening. you can hear the music.

if any of this could bother you, go down a deck or 2. if none of that bothers you, deck 11 is a great location.

deck 10, you have cabin under/over you..less noise. deck 9, cabins over you, shopping under you (no late night activities)

[Gixer]

We cruised this past January Eastern Car'bn and the weather was perfect, it was quite chilly when we left Caneveral (we all had sweatshirts on) but as soon as we reached the Carribbean wow.....HOT! any hotter and I think I would seriously have melted away, St Marteen in the afternoon was unbearable and we were all glad to get back on the ship and have a cool down swim! I dont know how people manage to cruise in July or August :eek:

[Gingee]

Well this would be a first time that we would cruise in winter since our youngest is in college and we can take the college break times instead of Christmas.