Eastern "Mariner" Group Cruise: Good Resouce Info for ANYONE planning to cruise Soon

[Sailfish]

As the group leader for the Mariner President's Week 2005 Cruise Critic Group Cruise, I am going to periodically post and update information at this site concerning our trip in February 2005 aboard the "Eastern" Mariner of the Seas. You can visit our message board (topics are listed individually) located here at Cruise Critic for more specific information at:

[url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=173"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=173[/url]

Or you can contact me directly at the email address below if you want booking information.

Our cruise aboard the Mariner will be departing from Port Canaveral on Sunday, February 20, 2005. As I work in education, this cruise couldn't have better timing, as we have the week off, and I know by then, I'll be needing a VACATION!

I have begun posting a monthly newsletter and compiling cruise specific information with links to pictures and reviews. Even if you are not interested in joining our group, but have a cruise booked aboard the Mariner's Eastern Caribbean itinerary, I recommend you stop by for a visit. Each month I highlight one of our ports of call, list shore excursion information and provide resources that may come in handy, such as Orlando and Port Canaveral Hotel information.

Yes, I would like to get more people to join our group, but I'm all for sharing my information as well. I am no expert on the Mariner, so it's stuff I am interested in finding out. ANy input you might have on the Mariner is also very much appreciated.

Here's a taste of what I am talking about:

[b]June's Newsletter[/b]:

[url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=45227"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=45227[/url]

[b]Reviews & Links to Pictures (Continually Updated):[/b]

[url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=32955"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=32955[/url]

[b]Port Canaveral & Orlando Hotel Information (including input on Transportation):[/b]

[url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=32956"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=32956[/url]


As always, if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

[Sailfish]

[b]Here is a link to our web page at Cruise Citic, which contains pricing and agency information:[/b]

[url="http://www.cruisecritic.com/interests/groups.cfm?ID=52"]http://www.cruisecritic.com/interests/groups.cfm?ID=52[/url]

A word about our rates:

Pricing seems to have gone up on all 2005 sailings. Unfortunately, our sailing also includes a holiday (President's Day) so Royal Caribbean has designated the week as a "holiday" sailing, meaning prices are lower on the weeks leading up to our sail date and afterwards. Thankfully, rates are not as high as they are in the summer. With that said, prices could come down a little, depending on how the ship is selling. But at the present time, according to the cruise line, the ship is selling well, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

We have a short four night cruise aboard the Monarch scheduled for the week of July 5th - it's coming up really soon! To my surprise, rates came crashing down in May, four weeks after making our final payment. It's unusual for prices to go down on mid-summer itineraries, but they did so on the Monarch, for some reason. Like I said, I would not count on any miracles, but stuff like this does on occasion happen.

Besides being the perfect time to visit the Caribbean, those of you working in education might have time off. Across the country, many school districts have that week off, making it the perfect opportunity to cruise with your family.

Thanks for stopping by!

[World Traveler 81]

Did RCCL do any rate adjustments or upgradeswhen the rates dropped after you had made final payment?

[Sailfish]

u256601:

The price of our July Monarch cruise fell about $75pp. That's quite a bit, considering the original price came to well under $350pp (keep in mind we are discussing a four night itinerary that didn't cost us all that much in the first place). When I noticed on Royal Caribbean's webiste, that the price went down, I immediately contacted my travel agent. The difference was refunded to my credit card within a few days.

I have had the same experience on several Royal Caribbean cruises. But never on ones in the summer. Prices fluctuate so much during the life of a booking, that it pays to monitor prices. A good example is our cruise last December aboard the Navigator. We booked this group cruise in August 2002. In September 2002 (a month after we collected our deposits), the price fell a lot - many of us with balconies saved over $125pp, paying only $790pp. Then prices shot way up, only to come down a little a month or two before our December 13th sail date. Suffice it to say, the price of our cruise never fell below what we paid. Prices on that sailing went up and down constantly by $25pp-$50pp.

I believe in monitoring pricing. I call the cruise line every now and then to see how the ship is selling. If it's doing well, I know they won't be reducing prices anytime soon. But if sales are slower than normal (the telephone reservation agent can give you that input) I simple log onto Royal Caribbean's website. I don't spent a lot of my time doing this. But as cruise rates have followed the airline industry, it's worth keeping tabs on pricing.

Unfortunately, NOT all cruise lines will honor price reductions. Thus far, Royal Caribbean seems to be most consumer friendly when it comes to this.

Hope this helps.

[Nanatravel]

Sailfish, that week is a big school vacation week in New England, so I have no doubt many will be joining you on line as well as on board ship. It is great of you to organize and post all of your research and communictions in one spot. Have a great cruise and school break. We hope to do a Mariner cruise next but the Western itinerary. NH usually has the last week of February, but this year maybe it will be different.
Bon Voyage

[Sailfish]

July/August's newsletter is now online. This month, I go into detail concerning shore excursions in Nassau, the cruise line's pre-cruise hotel options and Crown & Anchor coupon information. You can check it out here:

[url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=61001"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=61001[/url]


Feel free to checkout our forum here at Cruise Critic, where more recently, I've added links to Mariner (Eastern Caribbean Itinerary) reviews.

Thanks for checking us out!

[Sailfish]

September's Newsletter is now online:

[url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=80716"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=80716[/url]

[Sailfish]

I just posted our October Newsletter. Enjoy!

[url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=86733"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=86733[/url]