Plz help me get started

[kenholt]

I have cruised before but only 1 tme on RCCL it was out of Porto Rico for 3 days(last minthing) I am looking to book a western Caribbean on one of there ships,Can anyone give me some info on the best time (cheapest) to go what ship is good and any weather to book direct with cruise line or TA or online web site????? ANy infor would be great. Oh can i get my hole family in a cabin (5 people) or do i need tow cabins.I love balconys but i bet there big money. How far in advance should i book?? I know that is a lot of stuff but i sure need guidence.

[pcur]

If you've got the time, I've got the internet sites!

 

royalcaribbean.com (of course!!)

travelocity.com

lastminutetravel.com

11hourvacations.com

*****.com

onlinevacationcenter.com

cruisequick.com

1-800-cruises.com

icruise.com

vacationplannersinternational.com

cruisesonly.com

expedia.com

cruise.com

cruisedeals.com

cruisematch.com

cruise411.com

hotwire.com

orbitz.com

priceline.com (try biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com for tips

on priceline and hotwire)

buycruises.com

crucon.com

****************

cruisecafe.com

mytravelco.com

cruisingfun.com

cruiseclues.com

*****.com

cruisevaluecenter.com

cruiseshopping.com

 

 

for shore excursions: portcompass.com

 

This time of year is usually cheapest, because of the weather: it's the start of hurricane season. RCI sails around almost all the storms, but you will experience rougher seas. If you sign up for the email newsetters for the above internet sites, then you can browse the deals as they send them to you. That's how I've booked our last 6 cruises, but I book through my own TA after I've shopped around and got my price. Any of these sites will book your cruise for you, and probably meet or beat a lower price to get your business. We try to get our cruises for under $100 / day per person.

 

Western Caribbean would be ships sailing out of Galveston, New Orleans, Tampa, etc. You can search either on Western Caribbean or the port and check out the prices that way. Just about all RCI's ships sail the Western Carib at some time, so it depends on the ship and the itinerary. You can get all the info on Royal Carib's web site: http://www.royalcaribbean.com

 

My comments on the ships sailing the Western Carib itinerary:

Empress - smaller, older, but people rave about her

 

Enchantment, Splendour, Grandeur - we've sailed on all of them, and they are very similar. Beautiful ships, but not with the extra activities like the

 

Voyager, Explorer and other larger ships.

 

Legend, Mariner, Navigator, Explorer, Voyager: bigger, more activities, specialty restaurants.

 

Jewel and Serenade are the newer ships, and may be more expensive.

 

If you get a Junior Suite you might be able to get all 5 in the cabin, but you'll have people sleeping on sofa beds, and I've heard they aren't that comfy. Your 3rd and 4th passengers in a regular cabin are a lot cheaper, so have the TA you pick figure out the best way to do it.

[bubbadog]

hi id use internet if it was me we got way better deal thru internet, not rccl site ok,better deals out there than theres

[madforcruising]

Wow, let´s see when this get poofed with all those TA´s named in the answer.