new years cruise

[covkid]

has anyone found a reasonable cruise over New Year. Around 4-5 days would like to do this but wonder if it is prohibitive? thanks

[Txladyofthelake]

Nope. I decided to treat my husband to a cruise for his 50th birthday which is New Year's Day. I searched pretty much all the cruise lines for 5-8 day cruises. I was specifically looking for a suite since I wanted to really give dh a special treat. Not only did I find that across the board, the prices were anywhere from 40-60% higher for cruises over New Years', they also were selling out faster, esp for the suites and balcony staterooms. This was especially true of the shorter cruises, probably because the overall cost is less for a 4-5 day cruise than for a 7-8 day cruise.

 

Of course, had I decided to celebrate dh's birthday at home and give him the cruise as a gift, going on the next sailing after his birthday, I'd have paid less than half of what I was charged. But then that wouldn't have made his birthday quite as special. ;)

 

Good luck finding what you're looking for!

[dlbutler5]

Almost every line charges about double for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year cruises compared to ones a week earlier or later. Unless you are stuck with the holiday week, it isn't worth it.

[skittl1321]

We are cruising for our anniversary (December 31st) and decided to leave January 1st rather than the week before. As other people have said- it's about half the price. The January 1 cruise was so affordable we were able to get a balcony. We'll celebrate our anniversary in a port-side hotel :)

[dclark]

I am driving the family down to San Diego to sail on the Dawn Princess on 12/30/07, This cruise with port fees, taxes, etc will cost us around $650 per person for inside guarantee. I can't stress this enough- this is the cheapest holiday cruise anywhere! Include a credit Princess gave us in the past with our CCL shareholder benefit, we are sailing for $550 each. Even without discounts, this cruise is almost the same price as sailing on a ratty old CCL Fantasy class ship for 4 days.

[Txladyofthelake]

In my first reply above, I said the fares were 40-60% higher. Sorry, I meant to say 80-120% higher. Can I blame my error on my headache? :o

 

Also something else to keep in mind - if you are flying, the airfares may also be higher, and if you chose to fly in the day before and stay in a hotel, your choices may be limited. Many of the hotels I checked for availability near the port were already booked up, leaving only the most expensive hotels and/or those in less desirable areas or quite a ways from the port.

[DqALEX]

I booked the freedom 6 day New Years cruise 2008/2009 with a balcony it was $999.00 per person. Now its a little over a $1,000. I feel its still a great deal for a New Years cruise. I booked the Miracle 9 day for this new Years with a cat 11 suite and paid over $2,300 per person. That Freedom cruise is a great deal.

[Litewait]

We are booked on the Elation 5 night leaving 12/29. We booked in April right after we got back from our Miracle cruise. We also have insides because of the price, But we ended up with cabins on Empress deck and it cost $675.00 each. Now they are about $950.00 each ( a friend just booked 3 weeks ago).

 

That Dawn Princess rate looks good~ I've never done Princess though. Is that a 7 day?

 

Happy Cruising,

Donna