Posted by Bonnie_CO on 10/5/05 2:35pm
Msg #69018

More Cruise Fares

Okay-I'll start with a 7 day from NCL-Ports of Call-Cozumel, Cancun, Belize City Belize , and Roatan Honduras
Feb 11th,2006
Inside- $609.00 (INCLUDING ALL TAXES/FEES
OceanView-$708.00 (")
3rd and 4th person/children under 11-$310.00
(I have to agree with BrijoeWA- I didn't want to get off the ship either! )
5 day- Carnival- ports-Cozumel, and Calica Mexico
Feb 6-
Inside-$446.75pp includes taxes/fees
OV-516.75 Inc tx and fees
3/4th in a room- 286.75
5 day, Royal Caribbean-ports-Cozumel-Costa Maya Mexico
Feb 2nd
Inside- 434.85 incl fees/taxes
OV-494.85 Incl tax/fees
3rd/4th in a room-344.85

All of the 4 night cruises I've got quotes on are about the same as the 5 night ones above, so might as well have an extra night, there's no more than about a 50.00pp difference in price. If anyone wants those quotes please let me know and I'll post them.

Reply by Merry_CA on 10/5/05 5:49pm
Msg #69050

I like the Groundhog's Day (my B-day!) RC Cruise. Is this the cruise where you repeat the same day over and over and over and....? ;)

5 day, Royal Caribbean-ports-Cozumel-Costa Maya Mexico
Feb 2nd
Inside- 434.85 incl fees/taxes
OV-494.85 Incl tax/fees
3rd/4th in a room-344.85

That one gets my vote!

Reply by jojo_MN on 10/5/05 8:33pm
Msg #69092

Hey, that's my birthday, also. Would be a great place to spend it!!

Reply by TitleGalCA on 10/5/05 9:25pm
Msg #69097

Re: More Cruise Fares - the Not Rot Convention

Bonnie, not leaving you out in left field here...it's just that Harry made an offer earlier expressing an interest in sponsoring such an event..a "Notrot" convention. I sent him an email today, but I think he's a bit busy. I hope to hear back from him soon.

Whether a cruise or a fixed location...4 days or 7...3 days...it's up to the members here and what they'd like to see. I saw so many negative comments about NNA's convention, the idea was a convention by NotRotters...for NotRotters would be a good one, and valuable to us all. I'm especially interested in Bob's comments as he was a speaker at NNA.

More to come. Keeps those ideas coming folks, it's all about YOU and what you'd like to see - I'm keeping track, as is Bonnie!

Reply by Bob_Chicago on 10/6/05 12:05am
Msg #69111

Re: More Cruise Fares - the Not Rot Convention

I would certainly consider participating
I would consider this to be in addition to, and not in lieu of, the NNA convention
It is difficult to get too much knowledge or too much networking with fellow pros
Just a thought , but as an experiened cruiser, it is my feeling that the times suggested would be right in the middle of high season and the ships would be full of kids and college spring breakers
Early May would probably be a lot cheaper and the ships would have more of an adult crowd
Port choice has a lot to do with air access
You might be able to fly more cheaply and quickly to a major hub such as Miami or LA, than trying to get to Houston which has a much more limited flight schedule

Reply by Bonnie_CO on 10/6/05 12:30am
Msg #69112

Re: More Cruise Fares - the Not Rot Convention

I had just the opposite experience while cruising, in the 2 we took in Feb. On NCL there we counted 23 kids out of the 2-3000 people on board, on the Royal Caribbean last Feb, it was mainly an older crowd and we counted only 18 ( incl. teens) We noticed the lack of kids onboard is why we decided to keep a "tally" and see how many we could see over the 7 days. The cheapest cruise fares, I was told are in late Jan-Mar 1st, kids are in school, just back from Christmas break, and for the most part spring break is in march/april. School starts getting out the middle of May through the first week in June, and that's when most, not all, families travel. I have cruised at the end of March, it was AWFUL! Some really wild, i'm guessing, college(??) kids. Probably Spring Break. Never cruised in the summer or fall months simply because of hurricane season. Nov. and Dec is kinda high as far as fares go,because a lot of people like to take a holiday, (Thanksgiving / Christmas), cruise, but the best fares we've found for ours are about the 1st 3 weeks of Feb and the last week of Jan. I also like that time because the rainy season in the Caribbean is pretty much over, and it's in the 80's, but it's not so hot and humid yet that you are miserable and dripping sweat all the time. This is just my opinion, based on my experiences cruising. No 2 people ever have the same experience while on a cruise, so you have to take everyones experience into account and make your own judgement.
Any other experienced cruisers out there? I'd love to hear your input too.
Miami and LA are both international airports, and so is Houston, but I haven't checked prices on air, I know you can include it in your cruise fare, but I was told that a lot of times it's cheaper to book on your own through Priceline or Orbitz or one of those.
Keep the feedback coming! As TitleGalCa says, we're listining!

Reply by Bob_Chicago on 10/6/05 7:32am
Msg #69120

OOPS

I based my post on the chat about April on Sunday
Please note time of my post (sorrry)
Also, on reflection, May would run right into the NNA over Memorial Day
Appreciate the time invested by those digging into this

Reply by BrendaTX on 10/6/05 7:54am
Msg #69122

Yes, thanks to those looking at this! n/m

Reply by Bonnie_CO on 10/6/05 8:40am
Msg #69124

Re: OOPS-Bob

You mean you don't function too well at midnight after a long day? LOL! I most definately know THAT feeling! I'm looking forward to hearing you speak at the NNA conference in DC. Maybe we can talk you into a mini seminar at the NotRot convention?

Reply by Bob_Chicago on 10/6/05 12:57pm
Msg #69161

Re: OOPS-Bob

As my friends and family will attest, the problem is usually getting me to shut up.
If all works out, I will be happy to speak to anyone who cares to listen

Reply by TitleGalCA on 10/6/05 10:00am
Msg #69131

Re: More Cruise Fares - the Not Rot Convention

Bob, that's an excellent point about flying into a major hub city as far as fares are concerned. Seem's whenever I've flown to Texas..I end up with several connecting flights...always the fear of lost luggage.

Reply by PAW_Fl on 10/6/05 10:20am
Msg #69132

Re: More Cruise Fares - the Not Rot Convention

Houston has two major airports: Hobby and Bush-Intercontinental. Both are busy and many airlines have non-stop flights to one or the other. I just check Southwest (http://www.Southwest.com) from LAX to HOU (Hobby) and found they have 4 non-stop flights, 6 one-stop flights and 1 two-stop flight. So I don't think anyone should have too much difficulty getting to Houston from anywhere in the US.

Reply by Joan Bergstrom on 10/6/05 1:05am
Msg #69115

First, thank you all the work you have done

Count me in as I said in a earlier post!
I don't care where we go as I love cruising!
I am going on the 4 day 3 night Mexican cruise out of San Pedro on Oct. 14th with a bunch of friends.

If you didn't read my earlier post I went on the signingregistry.com cruise in 2003 and I met friends that I have been in business with ever since.

Reply by Bonnie_CO on 10/6/05 8:50am
Msg #69125

Re: First, thank you all the work you have done

Joan,
Cruising is a hard vacation to beat don't you think? Where else can you go and be waited on hand and foot ALL day long? Be totally SPOILED rotten? Pampered..ahhhhhh. Biggest "worry" on a cruise vacation is "Which resturant do I want to eat in?" and What activity should I do today or should I just sit in the jacuzzi all day... & what shore excursion do I want to book or do I want to explore on my own? I'll tell ya, those are REALLY tough questions!!Taking kids? You have free 'childcare' that is guaranteed to keep them busy with fun activities, and you get some good quality time with the spouse/significant other, and some good quality time with the kids, it all works out. When we take our kids out of school in Feb. The teachers can't wait for them to get back and share all they learned. We try to book fun but educational for them, shore excursions. They've been down in a submarine in Cozumel, seen the Mayan Ruins of Belize, swam with the Dolphins in Cancun, it's a never ending learning experience.