Tips on where to find "deals" on a cruise

[TangleWeb]

My wife & I have only been on one cruise, & are "hooked" :) Our son booked & paid for our first cruise, so we weren't involved in shopping for the cruise. It was a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise on the Carnival "Legend" (had an AWESOME time!). He booked & paid early (through Rachel Salmeri, Carnival Vacation Planner), so we were upgraded from a lower balcony room to a wrap-around balcony on the top deck, right under the Lido deck.

 

We will be cruising with a small group sometime May through early June & then my wife & I would like to get away by ourselves for a quickie 5-day cruise sometime October through November this year. The second cruise would have to be super cheap, for us to afford the second cruise. We plan on booking & paying early to get the best deal possible, we live in Coastal SC, so a Charleston departure would be perfect, to avoid the additional expense of a hotel the night before & after the cruise.

 

Anyway, where do all of you veteran cruise experts find your best deals?

 

Do any of you have any suggestions as to specific deals based on the criteria I mentioned?

 

We liked the fun atmosphere of Carnival, but are open to other alternatives. We're not much for "formal", preferring casual.

 

Ideas & recommendations welcome! :)

 

~Dave

[bravestar]

My first thought is to recommend that you seek out a qualified travel professional in your area that can help you maximize your cruise experience. You'd be surprised how much help they are, especially when you're getting started in cruising and are still learning the ins-and-outs.

 

That said, if you're looking for Charleston departures in October/November, Carnival has the Triumph on Nov. 2, a 5-day jaunt to the Bahamas with two port stops and one sea day. Not sure what the pricing is right now.

 

Anything else, you're looking at different ports. In October/November, I'd personally want to get somewhere warm like the Caribbean. If you can get to Fort Lauderdale or Miami, there are several Eastern Caribbean options that would work very well. Pre- and post-cruise hotels don't have to be all that expensive.

 

Visit a travel professional - they're good at putting together an entire package deal and helping save you money.

[TangleWeb]

Your advice to contact a travel agent is a good tip. How do you go about selecting a Travel Agent? I'm guessing competency varies widely.

 

A "package deal" might be just what we need, but we do need to keep it cheap. Fort Lauderdale or Miami would work, but we would probably need a night at a hotel before & after.

[spongerob]

It pays to shop around. Occasionally you can get really good pricing booking very early, a year or more in advance. For you second possible cruise, I'd keep an eye on prices and might even think about booking after final payments, in the hopes that you can get a short-notice deal. You might not have much cabin selection to choose from, but the prices might be very low, comparatively speaking.

 

Watch out for the terms and conditions, and be careful about the little add-ons that might appear on the final quote. Some agencies automatically tack on travel insurance, for example, without being very up-front about it.

 

Oh, and if something seems to be too good to be true, then it probably is. Caveat emptor.

[TangleWeb]

Bravestar, I appreciate the links, these will help. A friend has a travel agent she is very happy with, so we will probably start there. A referral from someone you know is always a good place to start.

 

I just realized that anything sailing out of Jacksonville must clear the Dames Point Bridge, so only the Carnival Fascination or other Fantasy class ships can sail out of that port. My wife & I are hooked on having a balcony cabin, which the Fascination & most other Fantasy class ships do not offer. This will limit us in what cruises we are interested in.