What price per day is good cruise value

[OzKiwiJJ]

15 minutes ago, icat2000 said:

You can get some really good value on Carnival if you book about 3 to 4 months out from sailing. 

You can get some really good last minute deals on Carnival too, especially in November, like $152pp per night for a Vista Suite. That was the sweetest deal we've ever had so far and was booked two weeks prior to the sail date.

Edited May 23, 2019 by OzKiwiJJ

[MicCanberra]

Last minute sales seem to be the best value however, you cannot be too picky with what cabin you want.

[DT1304]

26 minutes ago, icat2000 said:

You can get some really good value on Carnival if you book about 3 to 4 months out from sailing. 

I have seen that.

Unfortunately I am not a fan of Carnival.

I did 2 cruises on RCI and then tried Carnival.

I then returned to RCI after that which is an indication for you of where my preferences lie.

 

Interestingly, I emailed my TA this morning to go ahead with the booking but she said the special that RCI was offering is over. She did however secure me the same cabins at the same rate as originally quoted ("as a show of good faith") but not only that she has now also applied US$150 OBC per cabin too, so effectively we are down to $207 per person per night for balcony cabins.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2019 by DT1304

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, DT1304 said:

I have seen that.

Unfortunately I am not a fan of Carnival.

I did 2 cruises on RCI and then tried Carnival.

I then returned to RCI after that which is an indication for you of where my preferences lie.

 

Interestingly, I emailed my TA this morning to go ahead with the booking but she said the special that RCI was offering is over. She did however secure me the same cabins at the same rate as originally quoted ("as a show of good faith") but not only that she has now also applied US$150 OBC per cabin too, so effectively we are down to $207 per person per night for balcony cabins.

 

 

 

 

$207 a fair price. Enjoy.

[Chiliburn]

1 hour ago, DT1304 said:

I have seen that.

Unfortunately I am not a fan of Carnival.

I did 2 cruises on RCI and then tried Carnival.

I then returned to RCI after that which is an indication for you of where my preferences lie.

 

Interestingly, I emailed my TA this morning to go ahead with the booking but she said the special that RCI was offering is over. She did however secure me the same cabins at the same rate as originally quoted ("as a show of good faith") but not only that she has now also applied US$150 OBC per cabin too, so effectively we are down to $207 per person per night for balcony cabins.

 

 

 

 

You get what you pay for

[GUT2407]

2 hours ago, mr walker said:

 

Agree Mr Gut. We almost accidentally fell into cruising. When DW & I married in 1981, we 'lashed out' and had a week on Brampton Is for our honeymoon. Ever the romantic 🙂, I wanted to make a special celebration for or 30th Anniversary in 2011. Originally I planned to re-visit Brampton Is, until I saw the cost!!!

 

Changed to an 11N RCI Rhapsody QLD cruise which went thru Barrier Reef, so close to original honeymoon. at a fraction of the cost. Just looked it up again and total cruise-fare, including pre-paid grats was $1631 pp - for 11 nights!!!

 

Have now completed 17 cruises & still find them the best value & most convenient holidays. Our tastes have risen, so now mostly balconies, so upwards of maybe $200 per night pp. That said, for our recent (Jan) Radiance 10N NZ cruise cost was $1444 pp, so $144 per night, and our upcoming (Mar '20) Voyager 10N (Pacific) is again $144 pp per night - both balconies. Couldn't get a hotel in Sydney for $288 per night!

Married the same year as us, you had a fancy hineymoon we had a week at Sawtell then a few days in Sydney too my Sisters and Mrs Gut’s bother to the lion safari.

 

When I started as a Barrister an older couple were always trying to talk us into trying a cruise, (they mainly did cargo ships) everyone I had ever known who had done a cruise was loaded and still complained about the costs.

 

Eventually saw on to Tasmania (Mrs G had just finished her PhD on Port Arthur) so decided to give it a try, 7 days in Port all but 1 1/2 of them, we were hooked. Our first was in 2004, $1700, paying about the same for all but identical itinerary this December.

[The_Big_M]

6 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

You get what you pay for

 

So he's getting less at $207 than when it was $223?

[Aus Traveller]

On 5/23/2019 at 2:33 PM, DT1304 said:

I have seen that.

Unfortunately I am not a fan of Carnival.

I did 2 cruises on RCI and then tried Carnival.

I then returned to RCI after that which is an indication for you of where my preferences lie.

 

Interestingly, I emailed my TA this morning to go ahead with the booking but she said the special that RCI was offering is over. She did however secure me the same cabins at the same rate as originally quoted ("as a show of good faith") but not only that she has now also applied US$150 OBC per cabin too, so effectively we are down to $207 per person per night for balcony cabins.

 

You should hang on to that TA. 🙂

[Elorac123]

27 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

You should hang on to that TA. 🙂

I agree hang on to her, the one I booked our first cruise with did not make us aware of the Future Cruise Deposit hence us losing OBC and reduced deposit on our next cruise

needless to say I did not return.

Cheers Carole

[DT1304]

I will hang on to her for sure.

 

I have made booking direct with the cruise line once before, and have used 2 other agents on my other cruises, and I used them as they were friends of friends who claimed to be getting me a great deal.

 

I used this current TA for the first time for my last cruise in December, and not only did we get a good deal for a Christmas Cruise, but everything I asked for was done without any issues. Previously I had to then make changes once on board as requests were not carried through.

 

Bottom line is...Yes, this one is a keeper.

[MicCanberra]

Once you find a good one, you keep them at least until they are not so good.

[DT1304]

So after all of that, yesterday I had to cancel this cruise.

 

As I had a non refundable deposit paid, I rather transferred my deposit and booking to another cruise. Still cost me $100 each to transfer the booking. 😞

 

I now have transferred to a Christmas AND New Years cruise on Ovation in December 2020. Seems a bit crazy to have a cruise booked 559 days in advance but it is what it is.

 

Its much more expensive, but is over Christmas and New Years so I expected that. 13 night cruise on Ovation to South Pacific and New Zealand, over holidays, in 2 connecting balcony cabins: $255 per person per night.

[GUT2407]

Not that crazy, I’ve one booked for Feb-Mar  2021 and booked it a while back now. Now I need an accessible cabin, it’s book early or miss out.

Edited June 12, 2019 by GUT2407

[Elorac123]

37 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Not that crazy, I’ve one booked for Feb-Mar  2021 and booked it a while back now. Now I need an accessible cabin, it’s book early or miss out.

It seems it’s what you need to do to get your preferred cabin.We have one in March 21 booked a couple of months ago.

Cheers Carole

[MicCanberra]

5 hours ago, DT1304 said:

So after all of that, yesterday I had to cancel this cruise.

 

As I had a non refundable deposit paid, I rather transferred my deposit and booking to another cruise. Still cost me $100 each to transfer the booking. 😞

 

I now have transferred to a Christmas AND New Years cruise on Ovation in December 2020. Seems a bit crazy to have a cruise booked 559 days in advance but it is what it is.

 

Its much more expensive, but is over Christmas and New Years so I expected that. 13 night cruise on Ovation to South Pacific and New Zealand, over holidays, in 2 connecting balcony cabins: $255 per person per night.

I suppose it may be a bit higher than usual but it is peak timing.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I'm running a bit late booking my 2021 cruise. We want to do another NZ cruise in February or March to catch up with my brother. We usually do NZ on Celebrity but they've shortened the one way itineraries down to 10 days which is annoying as it misses one of our key ports. 

[MicCanberra]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'm running a bit late booking my 2021 cruise. We want to do another NZ cruise in February or March to catch up with my brother. We usually do NZ on Celebrity but they've shortened the one way itineraries down to 10 days which is annoying as it misses one of our key ports. 

Less bluff oysters for you then.

[The_Big_M]

4 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'm running a bit late booking my 2021 cruise. We want to do another NZ cruise in February or March to catch up with my brother. We usually do NZ on Celebrity but they've shortened the one way itineraries down to 10 days which is annoying as it misses one of our key ports. 

 

Guessing the prices haven't been equally shortened.

[MicCanberra]

6 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

 

Guessing the prices haven't been equally shortened.

Perhaps not, X seems to be getting more expensive again as they are trading on their reputation for a good cruise product and demand allows it to stay higher.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

The dollar is dropping as well, so they will have factored that in. Dearer for us and cheaper for them . Wonder if if we will See the Americans down here again getting 2 for1 ?

[MicCanberra]

22 minutes ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

The dollar is dropping as well, so they will have factored that in. Dearer for us and cheaper for them . Wonder if if we will See the Americans down here again getting 2 for1 ?

I certainly hope not. It is still affecting my travel dollar and I have been boycotting travel to the US.

[mr walker]

2 hours ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

The dollar is dropping as well, so they will have factored that in. Dearer for us and cheaper for them . Wonder if if we will See the Americans down here again getting 2 for1 ?

 

I hope not too. Both business-wise (all our imports are in US$ & sales in $A) and have two RCI cruises booked with on-board costs in US$. 

At least the Fx rate for Fijian dollars is holding for our trip there next month 🙂 That said, almost everything is pre-paid in $A

[OzKiwiJJ]

12 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Less bluff oysters for you then.

Exactly. Actually I don't think there are any suitable itineraries in the Bluff oyster season that year. Not good enough, Celebrity!

[OzKiwiJJ]

10 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

 

Guessing the prices haven't been equally shortened.

I haven't got as far as comparing the prices yet.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Exactly. Actually I don't think there are any suitable itineraries in the Bluff oyster season that year. Not good enough, Celebrity!

you may need to stray to another line.