Which cruise line do you use ?

[Magpie10]

Thanks Pushka looking forward to your thoughts on Dawn.

 

[get me outta here]

I am looking for a very last minute cruise for late Dec or January, I'd like NZ. Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions. I'm getting a lot of emails from various booking sources and waiting for an offer I can't refuse.

There is one booking site that offers QF ff points but I've forgotten which site it is as I only hear from them periodically. Or is there are any particular thoughts or recommendations ...

 

[Pushka]

Can't go wrong with Princess line and they are doing a lot of NZ trips so might be some bargains. Food is excellent quality.

Thanks Pushka looking forward to your thoughts on Dawn.

Just saw this.

We really enjoyed the Dawn Princess. Cabins (balcony - basic) aren't exactly large nor is the balcony.

The staff are really nice - delightful in fact. The prices on board for cosmetics were really good even though we werent on an International trip. The food is excellent. Pizza's - everyone who had one said they were the best! The Horizon court buffet was excellent.

Plenty of activities during the day. The zumba classes were excellent especially the cardio one - the instructor was from Chile and really got the sweat happening! The gym was a little disappointing. Weights in lbs - I only know kg's and there were no "mid weights".

 

[Wannabee]

I'm booked on a Royal Caribbean 4 night cruise from Orlando to the Bahamas and back in about a months time, first cruise, so will be interesting to see how that goes...

I just did a 4 night Bahamas from Port Canaveral visiting Nassau and CocoCay.

Everything was excellent.

 

[get me outta here]

Does anyone have a good agent they'd recommend? Thanks Pushka, I'll look up the Princess line. Have just read the Dr.ron thread Inchon to Alaska and I realised I'm being pretty unadventurous. I must start planning earlier.

 

[sinophile888]

There is one booking site that offers QF ff points but I've forgotten which site it is as I only hear from them periodically. Or is there are any particular thoughts or recommendations ...

I use Bicton Travel who encourage customers to use an AMEX card. This gives a good return on FF points. The company also allocate a further 2 points per $3 spent. I hope this helps.

 

[get me outta here]

I use Bicton Travel who encourage customers to use an AMEX card. This gives a good return on FF points. The company also allocate a further 2 points per $3 spent. I hope this helps.

Thanks that's great, I'll check them out.

 

[zig]

I am looking for a very last minute cruise for late Dec or January, I'd like NZ. Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions. I'm getting a lot of emails from various booking sources and waiting for an offer I can't refuse.

There is one booking site that offers QF ff points but I've forgotten which site it is as I only hear from them periodically. Or is there are any particular thoughts or recommendations ...

Not all cruise lines are created equal, so it is difficult to give a recommendation without knowing what sort of cruise experience you want, i.e./ do you want lots of activities or will you entertain yourself, is kids club needed, are you after a party ship or a quieter atmosphere, do you want to pay more for all inclusive etc.... A lot of people don't spend enough time choosing a ship to suit them and then don't enjoy the experience and swear they will never cruise again. Take some time and look at the cruise line web sites to make sure you understand that what is being offered will suit you.

Cruiseco is the company that issues QFF points.

 

[get me outta here]

Thanks zig, yes realise what I said was very open ended. I'll have to narrow it back down to NZ in the next 4-8 weeks. Just found Cruisco via the Bicton site that sinophile mentioned. Before I did a very last minute on Pacific Jewel, 10 days notice, which was somewhat akin to an RSL club, so anything else will be a step up. Mind you, Pacific Jewel had surprisingly good food and the shows were very professional, just a huge amount of upsell.

 

[zig]

Before I did a very last minute on Pacific Jewel, 10 days notice, which was somewhat akin to an RSL club, so anything else will be a step up. Mind you, Pacific Jewel had surprisingly good food and the shows were very professional, just a huge amount of upsell.

Glad you said that and not me At least you had a point of reference that you don't want to return to. Agree that anything else will be a step up. Let us know what you end up choosing.

 

[get me outta here]

Glad you said that and not me At least you had a point of reference that you don't want to return to. Agree that anything else will be a step up. Let us know what you end up choosing.

I have sent emails to a lot of cruise bkgs companies asking them to make me an offer I can't refuse and we'll see if anyone comes back w' something tasty. I had a fwd cabin w' a balcony on the Pacific J and loved sleeping w' the door open and listening to the waves wash over the bow.

 

[Pushka]

Have you tried Vacationstogo.com?

 

[casanovawa]

I just did a 4 night Bahamas from Port Canaveral visiting Nassau and CocoCay.

Everything was excellent.

Yeah i liked it, weather was only mid 20s and overcast quite a bit of the time, warmer, sunnier weather would have made me feel more like swimming etc, confirmed for me once again that i prefer to travel to places in their spring/summers than autumn/winters.... But yeah ship was good, food reasonable, reasonable price for it all etc... Enchanment of the Sea looks pretty small to some of those 158,000 behemoths RC is building, bumper cars and roller skating rinks and all on board, maybe another time to some other destinations, but will probably do another cruise...

 

[DontGetMeStarted]

have you tried Our Vacation Centre .. They beat a few quotes we had for Allure of The Seas Caribbean Cruise earlier this year and we also earned Velocity Points I am sure I found them via the Virgin website. Loved it all

 

[yo yo ma]

I just did a 4 night Bahamas from Port Canaveral visiting Nassau and CocoCay.

We did this but used Disney Cruise Lines to cater for the kids... looking forward to another one before the kids get too old. The kids club is fantastic - they are open from 9am - 1am - and the kids all wear electronic tags to scan in and out. You are also given a mobile phone in case you are needed to be contacted at one of the 11 bars.

 

[Fifa]

I use Vacations To Go - based in the US but they have an Aus toll free number.
They have always given me a better price than travel agents here and as a bonus they offer on board credit (amount depends on cruise line and length of cruise).
Plus, if the cruise price drops and you advise them they will honour the lower price. If the final payment date has passed you get on board credit for the difference.

 

[turtlemichael]

We've done I think 12 cruises now. The majority have been on the all inclusive lines, Silversea, Regent and Seabourn, with a couple on Celebrity. We prefer smaller ships, minimal or no upselling and touting, and the fact that most things are included.

 

[Pushka]

I use Vacations To Go - based in the US but they have an Aus toll free number.
They have always given me a better price than travel agents here and as a bonus they offer on board credit (amount depends on cruise line and length of cruise).
Plus, if the cruise price drops and you advise them they will honour the lower price. If the final payment date has passed you get on board credit for the difference.

It's great to hear you say that. I've just booked with them. I had to cancel an earlier cruise with them and thanks to currency fluctuations I actually received back more than the deposit I'd paid.

They are not able to book Princess cruises though, but are able to cunard and celebrity and others.

 

[localknowledge]

I have only been on celebrity and I think they are one of the best in the mid-large ship category. Conducted many reviews before booking and most agree. Food is amazing and staterooms are fairly large and can usually get a good deal. If you research how their points loyalty program works and pick the right cruise/cabin combos you could be at the top tier in only four cruises. royal Caribbean are the owners of celebrity and status match celebrity's program at the top or near top of their program. Nice way to obtain lifetime status on two big cruise companies, they offer some nice at sea perks. They have a short 3 night cruise out of syd in oct 2014 for ppl wanting to sample the ship but no ports... it seems they have another promotion going where on most cruises alcohol is included [or gratuities].
123 Go Offer - Cruise Specials & Packages | Celebrity Cruises
I would like to try one of the 6 star lines like seaborn and silversea but the price needs to drop a bit more for our budget.
Check out Discount Cruises, Last-Minute Cruises, Short Notice Cruises - Vacations To Go for great ship comparisons.
I have booked through a US agent before called http://www.smartcruiser.com/ US is usually slightly cheaper than Aust and seem to arrange for an onboard gift dependant on how much the cruise, perhaps they sacrifice some of the commissions. have also booked direct with celebrity australia and flight centre which have never had issues with.
One thing to note with cruise lines is the date when cancellation of booking incurs a penalty. for example Celebrity australia [really rccl office] has 100% refund of deposit where days prior to cruise departure is 151 or more. If booking Celebrity through a US travel agent you can cancel fee free much closer to departure date... somewhere between 50 & 75 days. Why is this of importance? If the cruise line suddenly drops the sailing price then you can cancel and re-book on the same phone. We did this for european cruise... was going to be ~$2000 pp and dropped overnight to $1100 saving about 900 each! a very handy site called CruiseFish.Net - Cruise price drop alerts done right saved me here as it polls cruise sites for price fluctuations.
Anyways enjoy which every cruiseline you choose. I might try Azamara next. Cheers!

 

[localknowledge]

I use Vacations To Go - based in the US but they have an Aus toll free number.
They have always given me a better price than travel agents here and as a bonus they offer on board credit (amount depends on cruise line and length of cruise).
Plus, if the cruise price drops and you advise them they will honour the lower price. If the final payment date has passed you get on board credit for the difference.

If they still do that 'honour the lower price' via onboard credit after final payment that is tops... I might have to book with them next!!!