I'm booked for another cruise! This one sets sail at the end of November. I wasn't exactly planning to go on a cruise this soon but the price was so low that I couldn't resist. We booked a 5 day Eastern Caribbean Cruise (2 stops in the Bahamas plus a stop in Key West) for $199 each. That's just $40 per person per day. How? I looked online and saw that cruises out of Port Canaveral (near Orlando) were priced fairly low. Upon further research it looks like Carnival just added a third ship to that port so I imagine they are trying to absorb the extra capacity. The rate online was $239 per person but I received an offer in the mail for $50 casino cash and called to ask about it. When the agent looked it up she said she could discount the rate to $199.In addition to the $50 casino credit I will also receive a $50 onboard credit because I pre-paid $100 toward my next cruise when I was on the last one in May 2010.
More details on my budget:
5 Day Eastern Caribbean Cruise: $199 per person
Taxes: $73.69pp
Hotel evening before cruise: Free (using Hilton Honors points)
Transportation: We will drive*
Parking: $4.99 per day (includes free shuttle to port - parking at the port was $15/day)
*Round trip flight to Orlando would have cost almost $600 for both of us, plus $140 for transportation to the port, so over $700. Driving is 1,200 miles round trip. If gas is $3.50 per gallon and I get 40 miles per gallon, we will spend about $105 on gas.
We should be able to spend well under $1,000 for this vacation.
That is a good deal. After searching I couldn't find quite as good of a deal although I did find some pretty cheap. My best friend lives in Miami so I'd probably take a cruise from there. I can't afford to book one yet anyway but it is nice to see what is available.
ReplyDeleteI check cruise prices every couple months and have noticed Miami seems to be the cheapest. One thing though for me is taking into consideration the distance. I can drive to Tampa, New Orleans, Jacksonville or Port Canaveral in less than a day. Miami is a bit longer so I'd probably have to fly there. I really got lucky with this one though.
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