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Oh the pain of a super cheap cruise


Matt

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Just thought I'd share my happiness/grief about a last minute deal on Liberty of the Seas.

 

Prices start at $189 per person and it's an amazing price but at the same time, playing that game of "can we afford the time/money for another cruise"? 

 

There's something to be said about cruises that are expensive....at least those don't toy with my heart so!  :lol:

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It is the airfare that kills me. Depending on when I cruise the airfare can be as much as the entire cruise! If cruise ships could fit through the great lakes region and sail out to the Caribbean I would have no problem cruising several times per year. $189 is a great deal especially on a larger ship like Liberty!

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It is the airfare that kills me. Depending on when I cruise the airfare can be as much as the entire cruise! If cruise ships could fit through the great lakes region and sail out to the Caribbean I would have no problem cruising several times per year. $189 is a great deal especially on a larger ship like Liberty!

I found cheap airfare too. For us, it comes down to vacation time and making sure we save some for the second half of the year.  

 

For our family of 3, we could do cruise + airfare for about $1500.  That's about as cheap as a cruise vacation with air gets.  Alas, my wife insists we save the vacation time so I'm sadly letting this deal pass me by.  

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It is the airfare that kills me. Depending on when I cruise the airfare can be as much as the entire cruise! 

 

I checked…. Spirit out of DTW flying out the morning of Jan. 13th of and returning late in the evening the day the ship returns is $271/pp plus Detroit's outrageous parking fees of several million $$$ per day.

 

Damn this is temping… but I'd have to pull the kid out of school for it, so it's not happening. :(  

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It's the airfare for me as well, but then that's always the case for us Canadians....

 

Vacation time is not an issue, neither is family.

 

Airfare ranges normally from $600-800 to get to anwyhere in Flordia.

 

Once you add on the single occ additonal cost for me, a $189 cruise is at least $1500. Once you add  hotel overnite, shuttles and drink packages....its $2000.

 

Thats why I have had to stick to 4 day cruises for around the $200 mark.

 

While a 7 day cruise on Oasis or Allure would be a dream for me, it would also be a bank breaking vacation of somwhere around $4000 :angry:

 

But it still tempts me everytime I see a deal like that... :(

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If we didn't have Navigator of the Seas booked for February we would have booked this LIberty of the Seas cruise.  Of course, I want to have both cruises but I'm holding off.  

 

January, September and early December are great times for last minute deals on cruises.

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It's the airfare for me as well, but then that's always the case for us Canadians....

 

Vacation time is not an issue, neither is family.

 

Airfare ranges normally from $600-800 to get to anwyhere in Flordia.

 

Once you add on the single occ additonal cost for me, a $189 cruise is at least $1500. Once you add  hotel overnite, shuttles and drink packages....its $2000.

 

Thats why I have had to stick to 4 day cruises for around the $200 mark.

 

While a 7 day cruise on Oasis or Allure would be a dream for me, it would also be a bank breaking vacation of somwhere around $4000 :angry:

 

But it still tempts me everytime I see a deal like that... :(

I know what you mean about airfare.  I remember 10-15 years ago when prices for airfare were so much more affordable.  I hate how the airlines have made things so expensive for regular people.

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I checked…. Spirit out of DTW flying out the morning of Jan. 13th of and returning late in the evening the day the ship returns is $271/pp plus Detroit's outrageous parking fees of several million $$$ per day.

 

Damn this is temping… but I'd have to pull the kid out of school for it, so it's not happening. :(

I hate parking in Detroit!!!

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One of my resolutions for 2014 is to book a last minute cruise.  Drop the dogs off at the vet, throw some clothes in a bag and head off.  Almost pulled the trigger on a 5 day earlier this month but my daughter might be disappointed come Christmas morning and there was nothing under the tree.  Living in Miami makes it easier.  Even San Juan (never been so it would be a cool trip) is relatively cheap to fly there from here.

 

As a question does anyone know of hotels in Ft. Lauderdale and Coca Beach that will provide transport to the ports and let you park for free while on the cruise?  I checked the Holiday Inn near Port Everglades and while there is shuttle service available, they charge $10 per day for parking.  Sounds stupid but if they would have let me park for free, that might have been enough to justify booking the cruise.  But I then would have to face the wrath of the child in two days. 

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One of my resolutions for 2014 is to book a last minute cruise.  Drop the dogs off at the vet, throw some clothes in a bag and head off.  Almost pulled the trigger on a 5 day earlier this month but my daughter might be disappointed come Christmas morning and there was nothing under the tree.  Living in Miami makes it easier.  Even San Juan (never been so it would be a cool trip) is relatively cheap to fly there from here.

 

As a question does anyone know of hotels in Ft. Lauderdale and Coca Beach that will provide transport to the ports and let you park for free while on the cruise?  I checked the Holiday Inn near Port Everglades and while there is shuttle service available, they charge $10 per day for parking.  Sounds stupid but if they would have let me park for free, that might have been enough to justify booking the cruise.  But I then would have to face the wrath of the child in two days. 

In Cocoa Beach, the Radisson I've been told is the best hotel for just that.  There is also plenty of dirt cheap parking in Port Canaveral area, something like $3-4 per day.

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Thanks Matt.  I will have tons of other questions before our May cruise.

We have stayed at the Raddison. Nice hotel, great pool area, breakfast included, parking is free, shuttle is free. It's only about 10 minutes from the Port. Make a reservation for your shuttle time to port.

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Thanks Don.  So Radisson it is.

It was 2 yr ago when we stayed, you may want to reconfirm current deal. Looking at their web site it looks like they charge a higher room rate to include parking package -- comes out to about $38 - only one night stay required. Last week we payed $75 for port parking garage for a 4 night cruise. See Raddison Hotel web site, Cocoa Beach location.

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