Tips on booking a cruise

When you book a cruise, how do you go about looking for your cruise I mean do you start with the cruise line, than the ship or is it the ports or vice versa but if two or more ships go to the same ports, than do you pick your stateroom. I hope I made sense just trying to figure out what people's criteria and expertise in booking a cruise

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Sometimes it's the time I have available. Other times it is the itinerary, price... Only once did I book because of the ship - I wanted to sail on the QE2 before she was retired. EM

Well, first we figure out when we want to go. Then we see what our options are. Once we see the options, we discuss them, then look at pricing. Then we book. I have a TA that I use, but I have also booked my own.

I'm pretty faithful to Carnival so I start by picking the date and then checking ports. We drive to ports from Ontario so any port in Florida we drive to. Then I check prices and itineraries. Pick one I like then check out the ship to make sure it has the things we like such as guys burgers and a serenity deck. I like to pick an itinerary that has at least one new port that we haven't been to.

First is to figure out when we want to cruise. I always have very specific times during the year that I can take off, including specific days during the month.

Then I simply look for the best itinerary for the best price. Right now I am more about visiting new ports that I haven't been to yet, so that's what I look for. Whatever can give me the most new ports.

Also, I've enjoyed all my cruises with Carnival, and I do prefer to stick with them if at all possible. But I would stray for the right itinerary.

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1. We start at the length of the cruise.

2. Next the time of year.

Tip: The cheapest time to cruise is Sept., right after Thanksgiving to the week before Christmas, right after New year's day and May.

3. Where to cruise, we like cruises with fewer ports.

After our second cruise on RCCL it has been Carnival all the way!!!!

We prefer to cruise in March/April

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I start looking at different cruises on any line to see if there is someplace that we haven't been to on the intinerary. pretty much any time is open although I don't like to cruise during hurricane season, don't want to leave my house unattended. some years we do a really special cruise like to Europe or extended time, depends on anniversary or some other occasion. I always find the price I want to pay and the cabin I want and then get my TA involved. then the countdown is on and my husband says he thinks I enjoy the planning more than the cruise, not true but close.

I don't think I am going to be much help.

Date:If we are taking the family then we start with availability of everyone. Our family cruise in 2015 there was literally, a 10 day span in the summer that I could get all 3 girls and their families together.

Destination: You can only go to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel so many times. Since Galveston is our home port we don't have much to choose. We are really enjoying some of the longer Journey cruises and are always on the look out for something different.

Cost: It must be factored into all of the above. I had an Ultra offer last November that I couldn't pass on.

Ship: While important I don't know that it would be a deal breaker. If the top three were right- ship really isn't that important. I know some of the older ships don't have all the bells and whistles but time with the hubby or a chance to be with family and see something different or new at an affordable price is what it is all about for me.

Happy Planning.

1: TIME: date frame of a couple of weeks.

2: BUDGET: Big trip or just a get away, set $$ and stick to it. Include all expenses, not just cruise, travel, spending, pets, all of it.

3. WHAT TYPE: Touring, shopping, spa, fun & games, gambling, romance, party, with/without kids, with/without grands, with friends? This is a really important step that many people just don't do.

4. PORTS: What go I want to see? Old favorites or new islands.

5. RESEARCH CRUISELINES: Again, so many people don't, then are surprised or unhappy with their trip. What is included, and not. What are clothing guidelines, entertainment, bars, sports, spa all of it matters to your value for your costs. If you book a more formal cruiselines and get all crazy when they won't let you in MDR in shorts, that is on you.

6. PRICING: By now should have a few options, start pricing, track the cruises with several of the online pricing tools available. ( Google is your friend) when you find your sweet spot. Call and book. Continue to monitor up to final payment, call for price reduction and finally.

7. ENJOY YOUR CRUISE..The true value is you get what makes you happy for a fair price.

Safe journeys.

Dee

We look at Princess, HAL, and Celebrity, primarily. I'd consider Cunard, Royal Caribbean, and even Carnival. Finding dates that fit our schedules comes first for us. I finally retired last month (and DH retired six months before I did). The old constraint used to be that we had to cruise only during his community college breaks. Now it's based on our hockey team's schedule--although we did miss one home game in December for a cruise.

Next comes price. A cruise that fits our schedule but doesn't fit our budget is out of the question. There were several years when we would have liked to have taken a spring break cruise or Christmas break cruise but did not because we could not find a good buy.

We did not start cruising until we had both retired, so timing is generally not much of a factor except for its impact on prices. Initially, with no experience and little knowledge of the differences among cruise lines, invitations to join friends or relatives was the primary factor. But after experiencing two or three cruises we soon learned which cruise lines were for us.

Now the primary factors are:

1. cruise region

2. specific itineraries

3. pricing

4. our favorite line, unless others have much better itineraries or prices

However, for our next cruise, we are in retrograde - invited some old friends that we never see often enough to join us on a late-September Caribbean cruise. Luckily we have the same favorite line, but we could care less about the itinerary - just an opportunity to get back together for some excellent dining & drinking, tricky card playing and pleasant conversations.

After that cruise, we'll come back to our itinerary driven cruise planning.

I choose the port then look for pricing. I always call the cruise line as they can see all cabins available, not just the ten showing on line.

We have done a little of everything. We have sailed enough now that it is all destination now.

First is deciding if there is a purpose - such as returning from a trip to Europe, or just escaping from some of winter. If a T/A, are we sailing from Northern Europe or the Mediterranean; then what port in US is most convenient for getting home, then the ship or line - size is a big factor, as is anticipated on-board service.

If a winter escape - convenient port is a major factor, as is possibility of spending time pre- or post- cruise in an interesting area. Then itinerary, and finally the ship and line decision.

Of course, cost is an element - but that is essentially built in to the initial decision.

We start out with the time of year and where we want to go. :)

So we usually always have a time frame of when we can go so that is the first thing we look for - I have decided to only take carnival now so other cruiselines do not factor in

After I figure the dates I check for all the ports in florida since I live here I generally just cruise from here (unless I am taking it from another location)

From there it's a toss up - i go by what is cheapest (including travel/leaving my car if I have to costs) - If I can go from port canaveral i prefer it because i am 15 min from there and can get a ride to and from but then i also look at which boat has the cloud 9 spa rooms as I prefer those if I can get them and would be willing to pay a tad more for it

We always explore lines we like and then itineraries. We only go on smallish ships, so that limits us to a few lines. Last trip was Regent, England, Ireland, Scotland and the Baltic. Amazing trip.

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Date and itinerary. We usually combine a cruise with longer independent land travel. We tend to book inside the final payment window, anywhere from 60 to 3 days out.

We follow pricing on a few ships. We have preferred cruise lines and within that group preferred ships. We often give more consideration to the specific ship than we do to our preferred cruise lines.

We establish a strike price for a balcony cabin based on what we consider to be an attractive offer for that specific cruise. If and when the price hits, we buy immediately. We typically purchase through an on line TA who provides rebates in the form of on board credits or who includes us in a small group thus entitling us to an upgrade, free excursion, or some other freebee. If we are cruising outside of North America we also check pricing on other out of country web sites. From time to time we have found an even lower fare by doing this.

As we've aged, we've found long haul flights difficult, so, to escape winter a little, we're usually booked on the same ship and cruise from the UK- Caribbean-UK for a month.

In between, we like to try a different itinerary with short flights, and if possible a different line. There's always an idea in our minds, and we keep in touch with what's going where and when. Already we're thinking about a Thomson ship out of Palma, and are interested in the new build Saga, which line we've never tried... and that's not due until 2019.....

Within reason ... price is not a factor when you're getting what want.:D