Am I missing something?

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I'll echo the others on not booking excursions through the cruise line. They're usually much more expensive than you could book on your own and far more crowded than booking with independent vendors.

 

I've never considered cruising to be "cheap" but for me it's a great vacation option. I love not having to be concerned about where we're going to eat or how we're going to get there and I love unpacking once but getting to go several places. :D

 

Whatever you decide, I hope you have a great vacation!

[kayhold]

We already kiboshed an all inclusive as it was even pricier than a cruise.

 

So the breakdown on rooms:

 

896.48 inside guarantee

 

1069.48 plus 100 obc gives us mid ship deck 1 or 2

 

------ extra 50.40 for midship eck 6

------ extra 60 for mid ship deck 7

 

Recommendations for a first time cruiser?

 

If you're 100% sure of the passengers and dates, book early saver, but a lower category. When the price goes lower, you can upgrade at no cost or get OBC for the difference. There are special rules for ES, as I said like no name changes, and a penalty for cancelling.

 

I wouldn't bother with the upgraded rooms. You don't spend much time in the room, unless you have a balcony, where those people do tend to hang out in the room more.

 

You're there to sleep, and change and thats pretty much it.

[kayhold]

I'll echo the others on not booking excursions through the cruise line. They're usually much more expensive than you could book on your own and far more crowded than booking with independent vendors.

 

I've never considered cruising to be "cheap" but for me it's a great vacation option. I love not having to be concerned about where we're going to eat or how we're going to get there and I love unpacking once but getting to go several places. :D

 

Whatever you decide, I hope you have a great vacation!

 

For us (again, probably because we drive and don't drink/gamble much) its cheaper or about the same price as our beach vacations, BUT like you said, its thoughtless.

[patticake1961]

A $400 food/drink budget doesn't sound right for MB to me, unless you have a condo with a kitchen in it. You have to remember that on a cruise there is no food bill at the end and you will eat very well..... and you don't have to cook it! :D

And on the ship there are many activities included that you would have to pay for while in MB..... comedy shows, stage shows, movies on the Lido. And for a bonus you get to travel to different places!

[mondello]

We already kiboshed an all inclusive as it was even pricier than a cruise.

 

So the breakdown on rooms:

 

896.48 inside guarantee

 

1069.48 plus 100 obc gives us mid ship deck 1 or 2

 

------ extra 50.40 for midship eck 6

------ extra 60 for mid ship deck 7

 

Recommendations for a first time cruiser?

Sorry my numbers were off on my earlier post, although I was looking at the Summer On Sale it was the Past Guest listing. My suggestion for your first cruise would be to book midship Riviera deck, best for quiet and least ship-motion. Free upgrades would get you on Main deck but you wouldn't have a cabin above you. I wouldn't pay extra for a higher deck at this time, always take the cheapest inside cabin. My guess is 70-80% or more love cruising so the odds are in your favor. Best o' luck to you.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

For us (again, probably because we drive and don't drink/gamble much) its cheaper or about the same price as our beach vacations, BUT like you said, its thoughtless.

 

 

Yes, I don't have the luxury of driving to port. I'm thinking that once I retire I need to move to Florida for a year or two and cruise and cruise and cruise. :D

[mondello]

Yes, I don't have the luxury of driving to port. I'm thinking that once I retire I need to move to Florida for a year or two and cruise and cruise and cruise. :D

If money were no object I'd have you make me a quilt and I'd fly you to Florida.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

If money were no object I'd have you make me a quilt and I'd fly you to Florida.

 

 

Will quilt for cruises. :D:D

[kayhold]

Yes, I don't have the luxury of driving to port. I'm thinking that once I retire I need to move to Florida for a year or two and cruise and cruise and cruise. :D

 

I don't fly, so I am lucky with our location. Within an 8 hour drive (same length for our beach vacation) I can be in Charleston, Port Canaveral, Jacksonville, Tampa, or New Orleans. Add in a few more hours, I have Norfolk, FLL or Miami!

Jax and Charleston is only 5 hours and it would take us as long to fly there, with security etc.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I don't fly, so I am lucky with our location. Within an 8 hour drive (same length for our beach vacation) I can be in Charleston, Port Canaveral, Jacksonville, Tampa, or New Orleans. Add in a few more hours, I have Norfolk, FLL or Miami!

Jax and Charleston is only 5 hours and it would take us as long to fly there, with security etc.

 

 

Show off.

[needabreakcanada]

So riveira deck - that surprised me. I though mid ship and middle deck would be best - go figure.

 

Thanks

[firefly333]

The lower the deck the least motion, so they lied to you if you understood them to say deck 7 mid deck was the best pick they had for motion.

 

Of course if you were trying to save money you would book a port hole up front like I do.

 

You can spend as much or as little on a cruise as you want. Take the bus in Jamaica, there is a local bus. If you dont want to do scheduled excursions, go off on your own.

[needabreakcanada]

Thanks for that.

 

Just wondering what other opinions where on that.

 

Have you ever been sea sick before?

[mondello]

Motion sickness is not a problem most of the time. When the seas get really bad, those prone to motion sickness find out. I've never had a problem, DW has had 2 bad days in 4 cruises. The behind the ear patch or the pills work great thereafter; we love cruising enough she's willing to risk a bad day occasionally. She goes and lies down in bed but, they say it helps to get outside in the fresh air where you can see the horizon, helps with orientation/equilibrium.

[Banditswife]

Land vacations are less expensive than cruising. Our Dream cruise will cost approx $2500 to $3000 including air & excursions for 2 people. When we go by car for a week, we can do that for $1500 to $2000.

 

You can save a lot of money by driving to the port, carrying on your own wine & soda, booking your own excursions, & keeping your S&S spending to a minimum.

 

Hope you get it figured out, remember that a cruise includes more food than anyone could eat, entertainment, some drinks are included like tea coffe & lemonade, plus you get to see different parts of the world & you don't have to drive for the length of time you're onboard.

[Chigirlcruzin]

How do you manage $50 a day for food and drink? That seems extraordinarily low.

 

As for the cruise, you can drive to a port to cut down on cost. As others stated, no need to be on deck 7; nothing wrong with decks 1 and 2. I prefer cruise ship excursions (you don't save that much money), but I won't do a beach excursion through the ship. You can do a lot if activities on your own. Use a bidding web site to get an inexpensive hotel pre-cruise. Good luck!

[bobsfamily]

We already kiboshed an all inclusive as it was even pricier than a cruise.

 

So the breakdown on rooms:

 

896.48 inside guarantee

 

1069.48 plus 100 obc gives us mid ship deck 1 or 2

 

------ extra 50.40 for midship eck 6

------ extra 60 for mid ship deck 7

 

Recommendations for a first time cruiser?

Right now if you go with "summer on sale"... no credit

 

deck 2 midship $678 - total - $869.48. No onboard credit but $200 cheaper... so now you have $200 for "onboard" credit!

 

Sometimes when they offer the OBC it really is not worth it.

 

Another alternate is the Fantasy out of Charleston (drivable, only about an hour or so past MB)

5 nights, leave Sept. 5th

Total $757 for a porthole (yes at the front of the ship but you get a view).

Just a thought.

[H82seaUgo]

myrtle beach used to be my annual vacation of choice from the 60s till i found crusing.

 

$450 for 2 weeks, plus $140 for Johns Beach service, a mcdonalds behind us, and some tickets for the pavilion.

 

now, if i ate out 3 meals a day for 2 weeks, my price would have skyocketed, but my first cruise cost me 3 g's, which included airfare and a post cruise stay.

 

but i never thought to compare by price. it's not the same vacation.

 

and as i matured, my tasted changed to hilton head. now they get my land vacation dollars, 2 weeks a year, in a waterfront condo for 1G. Plus food and lately, $$$gas$$$.

[fishtaco]

What you are missing is "The Cruising experience" which makes the initial extra dollars all worth while.

 

To be able to dine like you can on a cruise would be very hard to beat and would make your land based vacation a lot more expensive and hard to match.

 

Cruising used to be for the wealthy but now its not,you are best to do a short very cheap cruise first and that will give you an idea of the overall value of a cruise vacation.

 

Enjoyment value for return cruisers is still the same as their first so many start to up the cost like choosing a certain deck,cabin or balcony to improve the enjoyment. (self included) But the cheapest cabin is just as much value because the cabin time need only be minimal with everything else on board the same as if you have a grand suite

 

I am coming from Australia for a vacation in USA which I have saved hard and long for yet I have included a cruise that cost $2409,if i just had accommodation for those 7 nights I would save money but I love cruising and the opportunity to cruise different Ship,ports and meet a totally different cruise demographic makes it worth the extra.

 

I travel quite a lot and cruising is not expensive in the long run:D

 

Den

[Sinjan]

We have to cruise on a budget or we couldn't cruise. So I pinch every penny till old Abe starts screaming.

Our last cruise on the Conquest was a gift to my parents from my sister and I so we each paid our own expenses plus half of our parents. We had 3 cabins all the way forward on Lido (4J's). My share was less than $2100 for the cruise, gratuities and insurance.

I don't book excursions thru the ship. I research the local area and look for recommendations for tour operators on the Port of Call Boards. Save tons of $$ this way. For instance, in Grand Cayman taxi fares are outrageous, but the local bus is cheap and easy to ride. The 6 of us rode all over the island getting on and off the bus as we chose and spent less than a one way taxi ride. In Jamaica we hired a private driver for the day for $50pp with attraction admissions included. Food, drink and tip were our only extra expenses. A lot of ports also seem to have all inclusive beach packages you can buy for about $50 or $60, these will include all your food and drink for the day.

My point is, if you watch what you're doing and do your research, cruising is really no more expensive than most land vacations. And soooooo much more satisfying!

[april47]

You also better budget in some travel insurance if you're going to the Caribbean since it will be high hurricane season in September.:cool:

[sundercruiser]

OP, from what I understand, you can pick your lower deck inside cabin on 6-day / 3-port Freedom cruise for $969 ($1069 fare & tax minus $100 OBC). Since you're willing to drive to MB, have you considered leaving from other ports?

 

Specifically, look at Carnival Pride, leaving Baltimore on a 7-day / 3-port cruise to Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Freeport. There is a Sept. 2nd sailing with base price of $549 -- you can pick your lower deck inside for $1305 ($1405 with $100 OBC). From the amounts you've listed ($1843 total, $1120 cruise subtotal) it looks like your flight/luggage would be around $720. I can't imagine it would cost you $500 to drive to Baltimore!

 

You'd get an extra day at sea, a cheaper cruise & vacation, and probably a less stressful start to your vacation. And the Pride is a great ship, too!

[kayhold]

Show off.

 

Ha <3

 

Sent from Tapa-Talk. Please forgive my brevity and lack of punctuation.

[CincyLucy]

I've only done one cruise but for excursions, we walked to governors beach in grand cayman (free), did a cabo to Cozumel to paradise beach (spent $30 entire three hours there), and in Jamaica basically stayed on the ship (awesome to have an empty boat!). I've been to the keys for a land vacation. I say either just walk around the island, rent a bike, or get a car/cab to Baha'i Honda state park. You can make that as heap or expensive as you want!

 

We did a seven day in December, all food and drink included, for about $2200.

[Vitality08]

Our trip to MB would be first week of September - so was quoting that timeframe as well as same for cruise.

 

We drive down from Canada and stop over night, hence the 9 days.

 

But still quite a price difference. Our food/drinks usually run us $400 for the two of us for week. Condo rental is $809 for 8 nights.

 

I still don't see how the cruise is inexpensive as everyone talks about. Do most people just stay on the ship the whole cruise?

 

I think a cruise is cheap when you factor in you are going to 3 or 4 different locations with most food and drinks and your lodging including as opposed to going to one location and staying there. I don't think you can compare the two.