my parents are having their 30th wedding aniversary so this is kinda like a big deal. we want to do something special for them sorta like a carnival cruse vacation.. do u have any information about the total cost, and tips.... that would really help me... oh, and we live in baltimore by the way..
2007-12-05 13:35:28 · 10 answers · asked by oh em gee 3 in Travel ➔ Cruise Travel
We have been on 3 Carnival cruises.
The cost of the cruise depends on several things:
the date - holidays are more; summer is cheaper,
how many days you want to cruise,
type of room - inside rooms (no window) are cheaper,
how many people/rooms.
You can search the cruises at Carnival.com depending on where you want to sail from, where you want to sail to, how long, etc. and get an idea of costs.
I have never found any of the travel sites to be any cheaper than Carnival.com.
I always call Carnival directly to book the cruise and everytime I have gotten a cheaper rate than the website listed.
You can book your cruise with like $250 per person deposit and pay the rest off however you want to; no certain amount per month, no interest; just have it paid off before the deadline date they will give you, which is usually a month or so before the cruise.
You can choose to pre-pay your tips. They charge $10 per person per day. If you have choose to pre-pay tips they will add it in your cruise cost and you can pay it off before you go on the cruise.
Some people tip their room steward extra, we don't.
Room service is free, but it's good to tip the person a dollar or two.
The M'aitre'd wants a tip on the last night. Sometimes we do, sometimes not.
Alcoholic drinks and soda/soft drinks aren't included in the cruise cost. You have to pay extra for these.
They automatically add 15% tip in with the price of the drink.
From Baltimore, you're probably going to fly to a port (?). We always drive, but from what I hear on the cruise message boards you can find better deals on airline tickets than booking your flight through Carnival.
2007-12-05 14:27:16 · answer #1 · answered by Georgia Mom 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What a wonderful idea. i'm sure you guys will have an awsome time. I have been on 5 Carnivals and 1 RCCL cruises. I prefer Carnival without a doubt
Tips will be $10 a day per person. You can prepay or pay on the ship.
The cost can vary depending on where and when you go. What type of statetoom you book and what port you leabe from. A Carnival representative or travel agent would be able to give you a better answer, or you can go to thier website and play around with differnt places and depatrures.
Carnival does have ships that leave from NYC so you could save air by driving, not sure if cost is a concern
cruisecritic.com had boards that can give you a lot of information and definatley worth checking out. Whatever you choose have fun.
2007-12-06 00:34:40 · answer #2 · answered by shhhhhhhhhhhimhiding 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to the library and check out some books about cruising - there are a lot of variables that only you can make decisions about. Since you have no experience, a travel agent [especially one who specializes in cruises] would be of great help - but he/she would still have lots of questions that you would need to answer.
Also, try CruiseCritic.com, "Boards" and "Reviews". There's a ton of information there.
Carnival is a "budget" cruise line. The ships are very glitzy [people often compare them to Vegas] and are known as the "fun ships" - that can be good or bad, depending on what you're looking for! They do have lots of activities of interest to people of all ages. The food is decent, not gourmet by any means.
Since you live in Baltimore, you might want to check out cruises departing from there - Royal Caribbean sometimes sails from there. You can check out VacationsToGo.com and enter Baltimore as your departure port to see what is available and when.
From reading the CC boards, Carnival, RC and Norwegian are pretty much equal and each has its detractors and fans. Princess sounds like it is a small step up from these, in terms of service and food and "ambiance". Celebrity and Holland America are another small step up but still mass market. Holland has the reputation of being for "old fogies", but depending on when you sail [and for how long] this wouldn't necessarily be true. Celebrity is really nice - great service, very good food.
If the trip is for your parents only, I'd definitely go with Celebrity.
I have sailed on Carnival, Celebrity and HA. Celebrity is my favorite of these.
Good luck in your research.
2007-12-06 16:46:06 · answer #3 · answered by MomSezNo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We have crused Carnival twice. That cruise line works hard. They are always cleaning. Food is wonderful and always plenty to do on and off the ship. Carnival is not as conservative asRoyal
2007-12-06 13:49:09 · answer #4 · answered by Ms. Sunshine 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Carnival is not a great cruise line, it is cheap though in price and quality. Try royal caribbean, the service and amenities are better and they have ships that cruise from baltimore.
2007-12-07 23:37:41 · answer #5 · answered by ctelly22 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Use the yahoo travel site. It has tons of cruises.
Personally I liked Norwegian better then Carnival.
2007-12-05 21:43:47 · answer #6 · answered by KC 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Carnival is by far the best selling cruise line in the industry I sell them all the time at up to 70% off brochure price check it out its true I have not been beat yet. http://www.ytbtravel.com/getthereandrelax
2007-12-05 23:29:28 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
carnival is one of the best cruise lines.
i'm going on a cruise on spring break and can't wait!!!!
go to carnival.com and it will walk you through EVERYTHING
2007-12-05 21:46:21 · answer #8 · answered by erika 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
go see a travel agent ..they can give you all the info you want and maybe some ideas ..they don't charge you so use them
2007-12-06 09:22:05 · answer #9 · answered by cruise junkie 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://www.carnivalcruiseblog.com
http://www.cruise-reviews.com/forum/Carnival-Cruise-Line-f39.asp
2007-12-08 21:42:59 · answer #10 · answered by mustcruise 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋