RE: Carribean vacation

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Originally Posted by darterkitfox

If you pay more than $500 a person for a 7 day cruise, it is too much. Go to vacationstogo.com and check on their 90 day ticker. One example is a 5 day cruise to Mexico out of Mobile, Alabama for $309 a person. Of course most of them leave from Florida, but if you want to do a day or two in San Antonio, a ship leaves from Galveston. Everyone has their opinion on the best cruise line. I thought I would hate it my first time but ended up enjoying it. Just in case, you may want to go with the 4 or 5 day cruise to start and add a day at your embarkation port before hand. The richer people here at Geocaching Maine will recommend travel agents, and different types of vacations but I have never met anyone that could take a cheaper vacation than me. Two years ago when I still had a job, in one year I went to Seattle for $59 on JetBlue from Boston for each way, St Augustine, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada where we stayed in a suite in the Palace Station Casino for $10 a night (internet special), a week in Mexico, and a one week cruise. Not bad for someone that only made $31,000 a year gross. Look around, deals are there.

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Good stuff . . . honestly until a day or so ago I kind of thought (and still question) if a cruise would be my type of thing since my wife and I are not big drinkers/party animals (well I just look like a yeti), but based on some folks' opinions here and in talking with my brother-in-law I might reconsider . . . plus I didn't know that such a thing could be done so cheaply.

So does anyone have any opinions on the various cruise lines???

Oh yeah . . . DKFox . . . you're hired as my travel agent!;):D

DKFox is right - there are loads of deals on line. When I went away after Christmas I got my rental car on line for a great deal. Cache Maine and I used an online company for the vehicle we took to GW5.

As for Cruiselines, I know the Bangor Fire folks who cruise like Carnival but I found that company to be the party boat compared to Royal Carribean. And you don't have to drink to enjoy a cruise and Warrrmmmm weather!

Plus the pampering - meals prepared and all included.........nice facilities to use, shows at night.....that sort of stuff......

I know the Norwegian cruise lines are cheaper than anyone else but I've never been on one. We did all Carnival except for one Princess. Carnival is known as the party boat but we don't drink either and have a good time. Remember, it is fun to watch the other people drink and make fools of themselves. Free shows, different events during the day (we like to join in trivia or watch scavenger hunts). You get free transportation to all the ports and a free hotel while there. High thread count sheets (changed everyday). Most comfortable mattress and sleep I have ever had and that's not kidding. Food almost constantly. 24 hour pizzeria, take a slice or order a whole one, all free. 24 hour soft serve ice cream. Free room service (a couple dollar tip is nice). Getting a BLT and hot cocoa at 2 in the morning delivered to your room is nice. Sauna, hot tubs, pools, exercise equipment (who wants to use that?) and lots of nooks to be private. We have walked the decks at night and not seen anyone else for the whole time. The couple things I liked about Princess was they had a huge LCD screen bigger than a movie theatre up on deck. Even in full daylight you could see the picture. They played family movies during the day. Sit in the sun, read, and watch the movie. At night they reserved the deck for people that had tickets (free, first come) and you could lay in a deck chair and eat free popcorn like being at a drive in. Terrific sound system. First run movie. When we were there they had Spiderman II and I, Robot. They also had better food with one night having a seafood buffet. Can you imagine King crab legs, several recipes of shrimp, and fried scallop all for the taking? I know I got rambling here but I can't recommend enough. If not now, go on one someday.

DKFox . . . have you ever booked a cruise through vacationstogo.com . . . I checked out the site and was amazed at the prices. I ended up printing off a bunch of possible cruises and my wife is looking them over today . . . then we'll check out airfare and make a selection. Again, thank you for the advice.

Jake this is just a thought that occurred to me.....and I do have weird thoughts....bring Hiedi to the winter camp out...will get a boat and you can tow her around the bog. Snow sledding and cruising all in one.

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Originally Posted by vicbiker

Jake this is just a thought that occurred to me.....and I do have weird thoughts....bring Hiedi to the winter camp out...will get a boat and you can tow her around the bog. Snow sledding and cruising all in one.

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I don't think she would go for that . . . she has this deep-seated hate of Maine winters, cold, bitter winds, snow, etc. for some reason . . . while I think towing or being towed around behind a snowmobile would be a blast I don't think she would appreciate it as much . . . especially after getting a face full of snowdust. ;):D

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Originally Posted by darterkitfox

If you pay more than $500 a person for a 7 day cruise, it is too much. Go to vacationstogo.com and check on their 90 day ticker. One example is a 5 day cruise to Mexico out of Mobile, Alabama for $309 a person. Of course most of them leave from Florida, but if you want to do a day or two in San Antonio, a ship leaves from Galveston. Everyone has their opinion on the best cruise line. I thought I would hate it my first time but ended up enjoying it. Just in case, you may want to go with the 4 or 5 day cruise to start and add a day at your embarkation port before hand. The richer people here at Geocaching Maine will recommend travel agents, and different types of vacations but I have never met anyone that could take a cheaper vacation than me. Two years ago when I still had a job, in one year I went to Seattle for $59 on JetBlue from Boston for each way, St Augustine, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada where we stayed in a suite in the Palace Station Casino for $10 a night (internet special), a week in Mexico, and a one week cruise. Not bad for someone that only made $31,000 a year gross. Look around, deals are there.

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OK, your vacationstogo.com tip looks very, very promising . . . Heidi and I both found a couple of cruises that appeal to us -- especially one that leaves for 7 days out of San Juan and goes to several islands . . . now any suggestions on getting cheap airfare . . . I figured it out and the cost of flying is almost as expensive as the cruise itself. The cruise we both liked would have us leaving from San Juan . . . but honestly even cruises that left from Miami were pretty pricey.

I'm willing to consider all alternatives . . . i.e. I don't necessarily need or want to leave from Bangor. In fact I checked some prices at Travelocity for fare out of Boston (going down to the airport via Concord Trailways), Manchester and Portland . . . doesn't seem to be a cheap way to do this.

If you can offer some tips I'll make sure your Travel Agent commission reflects the savings. ;):D

For that matter, does anyone have any suggestions besides Travelocity to save money. . . .

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Originally Posted by firefighterjake

OK, your vacationstogo.com tip looks very, very promising . . . Heidi and I both found a couple of cruises that appeal to us -- especially one that leaves for 7 days out of San Juan and goes to several islands . . . now any suggestions on getting cheap airfare . . . I figured it out and the cost of flying is almost as expensive as the cruise itself. The cruise we both liked would have us leaving from San Juan . . . but honestly even cruises that left from Miami were pretty pricey.

I'm willing to consider all alternatives . . . i.e. I don't necessarily need or want to leave from Bangor. In fact I checked some prices at Travelocity for fare out of Boston (going down to the airport via Concord Trailways), Manchester and Portland . . . doesn't seem to be a cheap way to do this.

If you can offer some tips I'll make sure your Travel Agent commission reflects the savings. ;):D

For that matter, does anyone have any suggestions besides Travelocity to save money. . . .

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I would also look at Orbitz and Expedia. I was looking at flights to Sacramento for GW6 on Expedia. When I went back a few weeks later they were almost $100 a ticket less. It all depends on demand at the time I guess. Another tip I can offer is stay the night before your departure in a hotel. They will often offer free shuttle to the cruise dock, and some have airport transfers as well. I have heard from many folks that cruise that Royal Carribean is consistantly the best out there.

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Originally Posted by firefighterjake

For that matter, does anyone have any suggestions besides Travelocity to save money. . . .

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I use Expedia.com frequently. The trouble with the online search sites is that they don't or aren't permitted to represent all airlines. You won't find Southwest on Expedia, for example. Besides calling a travel agent, you can also look at the airport website and get a list of airlines that service it.

For Bangor, (www.flybangor.com) it's Allegiant Airlines, Delta, US Airways, Northwest, and Continental. If you see an airline that did not come up in Travelocity or Expedia, check airline website.


In Boston, check out Spirit Air and AirTran.



In Manchester, Southwest.



I've heard St. Kitts and Antigua are THE places to go!

And you need to keep checking - ready to jump when you find the right price - prices fluxuate up and down within a day for all the lines.

Had a friend who just flew Allegiant (and there are some tricks with them to save money - buy your ticket at BIA = although it doesn't say on line you can - they do charge $10 per bag in the hold so pack smartly, etc.) but her tickets were bought after they had jumped had she been able to switch departure day she would have saved a lot more.

Also, agreed - travel the day before you sail. Coming back - it's up to what you can get for reservations.