Caribbean Cruises
Royal Caribbean Cruises, Vacations, Destinations, Holidays
Archive for October, 2008
Book your 2009 Avalon Waterways Europe river cruise early, and you can save up to $500 per stateroom. Avalon Waterways’ 2009 itineraries include voyages on the Rhine, Main, Danube and Moselle Rivers aboard one of the youngest fleets on Europe’s rivers. River cruising can be a great value because most of your costs are up front — all meals onboard, wine with dinner and sightseeing excursions in many ports are already included in the fare.
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Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 regularly sails back and forth across the Atlantic, but its six-night sailing on September 8 is special because it’s a musical cruise. The Kennedy Center Chamber Players of the National Symphony Orchestra will perform live onboard the ship, and the symphony’s director of artistic planning, Nigel Boon, will also be on hand. Fares start at $1,372 per person. You can find fares several hundred dollars cheaper if you don’t care about sail date, but if you’re excited about classical music, you may have to make do with paying over $200 a night for an inside cabin
Silversea’s Prince Albert II has an ice-rated hull, but it won’t need it during its winter season in French Polynesia. Enjoy fabulous snorkeling and diving, as well as relaxing beach time, on a 10-night cruise to the Society Islands and Tuamotu Atoll. Fares start at $3,597 per person — $360 a night isn’t bad for one of Silversea’s very inclusive cruises, but you’ll need to spend more if you want more than a cabin with a porthole.
7-Night Alaska Cruise from $474
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Norwegian is offering an unusual early-season Alaska cruise on Norwegian Star. The seven-night sailing begins in Los Angeles and ends in Vancouver, with three sea days, two calls in Alaska and scenic cruising along the Inside Passage. Fares start at $474 per person, so if you’re looking for a good deal and enjoy spending time onboard, this could be the cruise for you. But if you’re looking for a true Alaska cruise, you’ll get more time in port on a different itinerary.
Exhausted from Thanksgiving and need a break, or do you just want an excuse to keep eating? Then perhaps you’d be interested in a seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise on Carnival Valor departing on November 30. You’ll enjoy sun and sand in the Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Maarten, and can dine in the romantic Scarlett’s Supper Club or try your luck in the Shogun Club Casino onboard. Fares start at $299 per person — if you don’t mind an inside cabin, that’s a very affordable $43 a night. Plus, you might be eligible for a free upgrade.
One of Norwegian’s newest ships, Norwegian Pearl offers a plethora of onboard entertainment from video games in the atrium to an onboard bowling alley and a rock climbing wall. But on the ship’s seven-night Western Caribbean cruise this fall, travelers will also enjoy relaxing on the beach and participating in various adrenaline-inducing adventures in three Central American ports and Norwegian’s private island. Fares start at $249 per person for inside cabins, and even suites are affordable at $749.
4-Night Bahamas Cruise from $139
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Autumn has always been an affordable time to cruise, and this year sailings are downright cheap. Prices for a four-night Bahamas cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas start at $139 per person — a whopping $35 a night. Even a suite will only set you back $649 ($162 a night). Majesty of the Seas is one of Royal Caribbean’s older ships, so it doesn’t have the bells and whistles of the newer and bigger vessels. But with three port days and no sea days on this itinerary, you don’t need to spend too much time onboard.
Cunard’s signature cruise is a six-night trans-Atlantic crossing between Brooklyn and Southampton on Queen Mary 2. This is a cruise for people who want to relax with multiple days at sea and explore QM2’s diverse onboard activities — the ship visits no additional ports beyond its departure and arrival ports. Fares start at $1,195 per person. Given that inside cabins on this ship are quite tiny at 155 square ft., $200 a night is a lot to pay. However, the lowest rates we’ve ever seen on QM2 were $999 for an inside cabin, so this isn’t a bad deal. For a better value, book a 248 square-ft. balcony cabin for $1,495 ($250 a night).
If you’ve got two weeks for a winter vacation, here’s a deal you’ll be hard pressed to pass up. You can book a 15-night trans-Atlantic cruise on deluxe ship Azamara Journey for as low as $599 per person. For $40 a night, you’ll spend a week in Spain, Morocco and the Canary Islands and another week at sea. Onboard, you’ll have access to butler service, multiple restaurants and a spa. The downside is that your home for two weeks will be a 158 square-ft. inside cabin, but you can upgrade to an outside or balcony cabin and still pay under $100 a night. Don’t forget to factor the price of airfare into your calculations as one-way flights can often be pricey.
If you book soon, you can get a balcony cabin on a 12-night exotic Caribbean cruise on Azamara Journey for $2,199 per person. The fare includes airfare from select gateways, transfers and $225 onboard credit. Not only will you get a warm-weather getaway in the middle of February with visits to seven Eastern Caribbean islands, but you’ll spend your vacation dining in gourmet onboard restaurants, relaxing by the pool and getting waited on hand and foot by your own butler.