A Good Deal??

[canjay95]

I called Carnival to inquire about booking our group of 8 cabins for the January 23rd Triumph cruise out of New Orleansm(5 Days). The rate is $734 per cabin (only adults going). We get 5 fun points which we can use to reduce the rate of our cruise by 100.00 or OBC and everything in non-refundable until Nov. 23. It's on hold for 30 days. The Fantasy out of Mobile is about 60 per cabin cheaper, so not really much of a difference. I've only cruised once and it has been so long ago..... Is this a good deal? Should I wait until closer to time and see if the prices go down? What do you experienced cruisers think? Early saver would save us about 80 a cabin, but the non-refundable deposit is a little scary this far out.

[Dr Plunger]

My question to you is are you serious about going? And what town is closer to you? Flying or driving? And what itinerary appeals more to your group? My reasoning is that once you find out these answers choosing the right ship and price will be easier for you.

Me personally, from what you stated, I would do the Triumph. It's newer and bigger than the Fantasy. Also the price. 5 day cruise at $734 equals out to approximately $73pp/day. Thats darn good in my book. And the $100 , I'd put it to drop the price. Now if you can do the Early Saver and still get the $100 do it. The Early Saver rate does lock you in, and while the deposit is non-refundable, if you choose to cancel the cruise, the deposit would apply to another sailing plus a $50 charge. This may or may not be per person.

Also, not sure if they still do it, but when you had 8 cabins booked, 1 person went free. In other words, 16 people going, 1 free fare to divide up amongst the group for more of a discount.

Hope this helps.

[Dr Plunger]

And call a travel agent too, preferably a cruise only agent, they might get you a better deal than Carnival. Don't forget travel insurance too!!!!!

[brad813]

Don't be afraid of the Early Saver. It can be applied to any cruise up to a year later for an extra $50/person and you get the lowest rate until 2 days before sailing. This feature makes it worth the risk. Your rate per person is about $317/person which is a very good deal, and I would suggest that you use your points for OBC for each person, a group excursion, or some extra little perk for your group. Your per person rate is reasonable enough that you do not have to worry about reducing the price further.

[Dr Plunger]

Try $367 per person.

[brad813]

Sorry. My math skills are not so good. Thanks for catching that. Even so, still not bad.

[colorcrazie]

I agree. That's a pretty good price. As long as it includes the port charges and gov't taxes and fees. I do suggest getting travel insurance, but NOT through the agent, who will likely go with the cruise line insurance. There are much cheaper options out there, with just as good coverage. And, I would let everyone purchase their oen insurance. One less thing for you to coordinate.
Marty

[brad813]

A good agent should recommend independent insurance over cruise line(they get paid a better commission from independent carriers for one thing), but there aren't alot of good agents these days. The only time I would recommend cruise line insurance is if the client wanted it as a supplement to third party insurance.