RSSCaribbean Travel Miami
May 18
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I am planning a caribbean cruise in January, which cruiseline is the best?
I am traveling with my best friend and we only have a 5 day window in which we can get the time off of work. We want to go on a cruise leaving from Miami but have never gone on a cruise. What sort of things should we know a head of time? Is it better to have an oceanside room or interior? Is January a good time to go on a cruise?
I have been looking at fares on orbitz.com and expedia.com, are those good places to look?
Please make a decision and book your cruise as soon as possible. These cruises fill up fast and are usually booked a year in advance. Prices for cruises during Jan and Feb.will be higher than usual too.
Then find a very good travel agent to put all your cruise plans together – there are a lot of details to handle with any cruise to make sure its perfect. How do you know if you have a good agent? If you give them you’re info and they don’t ask you any questions before making recommendations say “thank you” and keep looking. You want someone who will take very good care of you and handle the details for you. You might want to look for an agent affilliated with Virtuoso. (www.virtuoso.net) Ask if they are and ask them to explain what this affiliation will mean for you.
Give the agent your options of where you’d like to go, your travel budget, and what you’d like to get out of the cruise (interested in history, music, food & wine, relaxing in the sun, etc) then ask for suggestions. If the price is too high, and you like an itinerary, try asking for a cruise with fewer days.
For your first cruise, I’d make these cruise line recommendations:
1. Princess Celebrity or Holland-America- Premium cruise lines. All these provide nice accommodations, great food, good service and nice itineraries)
2. Royal Caribbean – Mass market cruise line – my favorite in this category as they are right on the edge of being a premium line. They have great ships, nice service, good food and are especially great for families as they have something on board that will appeal to every age group.
3. NCL – Mass market line – Looks nice from the outside – all ships do, but service has been a big issue on NCL, and some people like the food while others don’t.
4. Carnival – Unless you’re 20-something, are on a low budget and just want to party 24/7, this is not the line for you.
You’ll find many on this site who will recommend Carnival or NClL and say how great they are, but these are people who have never been on any other line and don’t really know what’s out there. Carnival and NCL are at the low end of many agents’ lists because of poor service, food quality, etc. but people insist on booking them because of the cheap fares. Remember- you get what you pay for and I’d want your first cruise experience to be wonderful.
Since you’ll be in a warm weather climate, if you can afford it, book yourself a room with a balcony. You’ll enjoy relaxing out there and enjoying the sun, having drinks or meals served there.
Those that say you won’t spend a lot of time in your cabin are the same people who book inside cabins. These cabins have no windows or natural light, so, no matter what time of the day or night you walk into them, it will always be pitch black. The only way you’ll know where you are or what the weather is like will be if you go up on deck. I wouldn’t spend a lot of time in my cabin either if all I had to go to was a dark hole!!! If you don’t want to spend the money for a balcony, get yourself something with a window – you’ll appreciate this where you’re going.
Another thing to remember is whatever cruise you choose, you’ll still have expenses once you book the cruise and air. Have the agent check if they can find air cheaper than the air from the cruise line. Spend your money in the right places – if you can afford it, fly into the port so you arrive the day before the ship sails and overnight in a hotel (even if its a Motel 6), especially if you’re flying to the port. If there’s a weather delay or you miss a connection the day of the sailing, you might not make the sailing. Make sure you book travel insurance – it cheaper booking independently vs. insurance thru the cruise ship offers – try Travelex or Travel Guard. If you have to cancel your trip or if you miss the sailing, loose your luggage, are injured during the cruise, etc. you’re covered and can usually recover most or all of your expenses.
Plan a budget for gratuities, shore excursions, alcoholic & soft drinks, restaurants fees (if you want to eat in the specialty restaurants vs. the dining rooms), shopping on board and in ports, spa/salon treatments, gambling, etc. These are expenses you’ll incur besides the cost of the cruise. .
This is about as much info as I think anyone will give you. Know its alot, but, if you follow my advice, you’ll have a great trip.
Bon Voyage!
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