Am I missing something?

[needabreakcanada]

Driving actually takes time that we did not have that many days for - so we were stopping only once in 16-18hrs depending on stoppage for gas/food etc. Facing another 8 hrs would not be fun. We have driven to Florida before and from where we are in Canada it is a long drive. I am sure the last thing we would want to do, after an "active" vacation such as a cruise, would be to drive back all that way.

 

When you are on the inside of the benefits of cruising, and I will be there shortly - I am sure the picture looks totally different when compared to MB.

 

To be honest with us saving for the big anniversary cruise out of san juan next year - the comparison between the two was totally about money.

 

Hope that answers some questions/thoughts.

[StingRaysfan]

Driving actually takes time that we did not have that many days for - so we were stopping only once in 16-18hrs depending on stoppage for gas/food etc. Facing another 8 hrs would not be fun. We have driven to Florida before and from where we are in Canada it is a long drive. I am sure the last thing we would want to do, after an "active" vacation such as a cruise, would be to drive back all that way.

 

When you are on the inside of the benefits of cruising, and I will be there shortly - I am sure the picture looks totally different when compared to MB.

 

To be honest with us saving for the big anniversary cruise out of san juan next year - the comparison between the two was totally about money.

 

Hope that answers some questions/thoughts.

 

 

Congrats on booking! I just wanna say that deck 7 is our favorite deck and we always try to book 7! :) Having nothing to do with motion and more to do with location two decks up to Lido, two decks down to Promenade.

 

I just gotta say i agree with everyone here. We do land vacations to North Georgia from time to time and rent a cabin. It's usually about a grand for a week, plus groceries and anything we buy. I get lots of relaxation time, but I also have to worry about cooking and cleaning, and I see the same scenery everyday... a little extra money is SO worth it. Apples and oranges... I really hope you enjoy yourself! And your cruise out of San Juan too!

[Carnival_Brides]

IMHO; the first cruise is the most expensive. After that initial cruise you begin to realize what you could and could not live without. One such thing is the excursions. You don't have to go on excursions at every port.

 

Our first cruise was by far our cheapest--it was $450 for three of us on a four day cruise including the RT flight from Dulles to New Orleans and we maybe spent $200 on S&S. That was five years ago during the 12 days of Christmas sale and will probably never happen again.

[ttnc4me]

Booking now for summer is NOT one of them but you may want to wait until a few weeks before cruise date when they try to sell "left over" cabins on the cheap (e.g. 60% or 70% of the rates to see now). The risk is that the cruise you want to take may sell out.

Please, please, please post if you see a cruise that's 70% off for summer. I've been watching the pack-n-go rates like a hawk and they're not good at all. Not sure where else to look, and am afraid it's just a legend at this point.

[LynnTTT]

Do you need to fly to Ft Lauderdale from Charlotte? You can do it about 11 hours I think.

Get an inexpensive hotel in Ft lauderdale that will let you park you car for a little $$ and transfer you to the port.

You don't need to book any tours. In Key West the best thing to do is simply walk around town, maybe take the tourist train for $ 15-18.

In MB will you be renting an apartment? Cooking your own food? That's the clincher for me

[BBfan316]

"Our food/drinks usually run us $400 for the two of us for week."

 

Three meals a day for 9 days? Really spending $14.81 per meal? that's $400 there and haven't

had a drink yet. I cant eat for $44 dollars a day anywhere.

[amc80]

Do you need to fly to Ft Lauderdale from Charlotte? You can do it about 11 hours I think.

Get an inexpensive hotel in Ft lauderdale that will let you park you car for a little $$ and transfer you to the port.

 

The OP lives in Canada.

[Carnival_Brides]

Please, please, please post if you see a cruise that's 70% off for summer. I've been watching the pack-n-go rates like a hawk and they're not good at all. Not sure where else to look, and am afraid it's just a legend at this point.

 

You can find them, but you have to be flexible and fast. We managed to book an OV for $183pp ($236 w/tax). We're turning it into a b2b since the second week was also on the cheap side ($293 w/tax)--so for $529pp we are doing eight days and getting credit for two cruises.

 

The catch is that the ship is headed to Canada.

[hansolosmom]

Since you're in Missasauga can you drive to Buffalo and fly Southwest to FL to get a cheaper flight instead of flying from Toronto?

[spleenstomper]

Cruises can be cheap if you aren't picky about your room (you will take inside cabin in the front of the ship).

 

For us, a family of 5, a carnival 7 day cruise is in the 5-6k range. We are picky about our cabins.

 

However, for us it is totally worth it because we drive 3 hours, get on board and vacation begins. We have a designated driver and only have to unpack once and get delivered to exotic locations.

 

For us, the price is worth it. But we also do land vacations too.

[broberts]

Since you're in Missasauga can you drive to Buffalo and fly Southwest to FL to get a cheaper flight instead of flying from Toronto?

 

If you add in the cost of parking and gas it generally brings the cost to within a few dollars +/- of flying out of Toronto, presuming one isn't paying for parking or transfers in Toronto. One should also factor in the wait crossing land borders. It's not uncommon to sit for 3 hours trying to cross a land border in the Niagara Peninsula.

[needabreakcanada]

We priced out the Buffalo flights, then added a tank of gas and parking for a week. In order for it to be worth our while it would have had to be $200 cheaper than toronto.

 

Our agent was able to get us $597 taxes in for two of us out of toronto.

Excellent times and direct.

 

Cheapest I saw in Buffalo was $450.

[ttnc4me]

You can find them, but you have to be flexible and fast. We managed to book an OV for $183pp ($236 w/tax). We're turning it into a b2b since the second week was also on the cheap side ($293 w/tax)--so for $529pp we are doing eight days and getting credit for two cruises.

 

The catch is that the ship is headed to Canada.

 

Eek, then the expense of getting home!

We're totally flexible & have 4 ports 1 - 4 hours from us in each direction. Just have to FIND the deals!

 

Congrats OP on getting yours situated!

[blondietink]

We live just across the border from you. We have flown in the past out of Hamilton on WestJet and they were pretty cheap. You might want to try them if you haven't already. Southwest out of Buffalo isn't as cheap as it used to be. there are 4 of us and we have checked all area airports and all airlines out of Buffalo, Rochester, Hamilton and Toronto. It is so much cheaper for us to drive! Flights for us total to as much as or more than the cruise itself, then when you factor in parking at the airport, it is much more expensive. So we just plan on driving.

 

In ports we have done some private excursions, which are a lot cheapr than the ship's excursions. We also have just taken a cab to a local beach and had a blast. In Progreso we took the free bus to the town and walked to the beach. I think the whole day cost us $35.00 for drinks and food for the 4 of us and we still talk how much fun we had. So, you can have fun no matter where you go for a realtively low cost if you want to. We only drink on the cruises when they are "free" or somebody else is buying. Right now our oceanview cabin, with tips and taxes, is coming out to around $84.00/day. Where else can you get transportation, as much food as you want per day, have entertainment every night, and see a different country 4 days out of 7 for $84.00/day?

 

We have been to Myrtle Beach many times and depending on the time of year, it can be cheap or expensive. I find the groceries there are much more expensive than at home, mostly because of the sales tax.

[BenjiRodney]

But you also need to consider that you are not driving from place to place, you are not having to pay for food each day etc. Cruising is far chepaer for us with a balcony than trying to drive to MB.

[needabreakcanada]

Thanks all for your input...now I just have to count down the days.

 

So glad we decided to try a cruise!