$1500 for a cruise?
 

I am just starting to look for cruises. I found one I liked...San Juan to St. Thomas to St.Lucia to Curacao to Aruba and back to San Juan on Carnival Destiny. It leaves June 9, 2002. Is $1500 (including airfare) too much to pay for an inside cabin? I'm a first time cruiser and don't know how much I should expect to pay. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Amy, <BR> <BR>Your question depends on a number of different things. Where are you flying from? In general, my understanding is that you will get a better deal buying the airline tickets yourself. Also, what time of year are you going? Cruises in January will generally be more expensive than in, say, September. Does the $1500 include port tax? Taxes can add quite a bit to your total. Where did you get the quote from? Travel agents or on-line cruise sellers usually will have better deals than if you go through the cruise line directly. <BR>If this helps you at all, we took a 7-day cruise last September on Royal Caribbean (which generally is a little more expensive than Carnival). We paid $999 per person (including taxes but not airfare) for a cabin with a private balcony.

I agree with the previous poster - you can probably do better getting the air on your own. Plus I've noticed the few times I got air along with the cruise they booked the flights really close to departure time of the boat - so if there was any delay at all with your flight...yikes! So look into air on your own and if the boat leaves late afternoon I'd recommend getting there early morning. Some people even arrive the night before. And even though they may say boarding starts at like 2pm for a 5pm departure, I've been able to board as early as noon.

Amy, do some more research. After I checked around I was able to call an agent and arrange 2 days in San Juan, 7 days southern Carib (w/balcony) for @$1300 including air. The price you're looking at was where I started and did not include the 2 extra days in San Juan. Absolutely check air seperately. Thru the cruise liner, air was double what I'm now booked for.

I got my quote from a travel agency. Do you suggest any specific websites to get better quotes off of?

Amy, <BR> <BR>Try these: <BR> <BR>www.buycruises.com <BR>www.cruiseone.com <BR>www.lastcallcruises.com <BR>www.crucon.com <BR>www.cruise.com <BR> <BR>You don't have to book on-line. Go the the web site, get the 1-800 number and call. Although I initially had some reservations about booking through an on-line retailer, we had no problems and I was quite pleased with the service we ultimately got. Do as much comparing as you can before you buy. Some companies will price match or attempt to beat your lowest offer. Book well in advance (i.e. 6 months or more, if possible) to get the lowest price. <BR>

amy, i booked thru travelocity on the net for my december cruise. southern caribbean on the celebrity galaxy with a veranda for $799. i also booked air with travelocity from phila. for $450. about 1250 total. great ship and great trip. cruise411.com may have even been cheaper

Summer is not always the least expensive time to book, for a Caribbean cruise. In my experience, September, October and November are the cheapest. When kids are out of school, the fares go up as demand rises as well as when it gets cold in the North. <BR>Ronnie

NO, 1500 per person including AIRFARE,TAX, TRANSFERS, and INSURANCE for an inside cabin is too much. 2 things to remember...most cruise lines send their ships to Alaska and Europe during the summer, hence there arent as many ships in the Caribbean as usual creating less of a buyers market. The airfare to San Juan is alot more expensive than Miami etc and there arent alot of deals for air to San Juan (less competition). I would wait until at least Jan or Feb and see what happens to the rates and get an entertainment book as they have a coupon for $100.00 off. Not much but better than nothing. Most importantly, use a travel agent. Even if you decide to book now for the $1500 ask her to check each week to see if a better deal has come out. She can canell your res without penetly and change to new rate. A good agent will do that for you. At least that way if the worst case senario happens the rate goe up you'll ast least have this.