Susanna and I have been looking into our next vacation this summer (I don't really count the barbershop convention as vacation), and it looks like it will be a cruise. Now I'm not really a cruise person, I think, but the extenuating circumstance is that we are going to be travelling with Susanna's family, and her parents sort of are cruise people. I prefer my vacations to be more along the lines of staying in a town or a city for a couple of days and exploring it and the surrounding region, and then move on to the next place when you're ready. Every day in a new city seems a bit rushed for me, but maybe I'll find that for many cities, one day is all you need, if you distill it down to it's most potent form: the guided tour! It will be my first cruise, so I'll let you know how it goes.
While I was looking up cruises, I was also examining the pricing, and I can't say that I understand the pricing structure. I guess it's like airfare in that the pricing varies based on number of suites remaining, number of days remaining before the cruise, etc. Pricing for services such as this are are distinctly non-durable (that is to say that as soon as the ship sails, the empty rooms are "spoiled" and can't be sold) is always very interesting. As the sail date approaches, the cruise line is incented to fill their manifest and sell the remaining tickets by reducing the price... but... they do not want to do that if it means moving a future full price customer to the present reduced price (they would want to do this if the future is expected to be fully booked regardless, but only in that case). Does anyone have any experience with trying to get the best price for this type of travel? Also, while I'm asking, does anyone know the pros and cons of buying your airfare to the port with the cruise line or separately? Is there a big price difference, and is the hassel worth it? And lastly, any advice on booking different types of rooms would be appreciated.
thanks,
-kdh
p.s. If I go on a cruise, does it mean I'm in my Carlsberg years?
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4 comments:
you're in your carlsberg years when you start drinking carlsberg.
i imagine that part of the benefit of a cruise is that you are saved the travelling stress that is often involved with airports, buses and trains when hopping from city to city. yes, dealing with local transportation could add to your experience of a place but since your only there for a day anyway...
depending on the type of cruise I guess. Not all cruises make daily port calls, right? What were you thinking - Caribbean? Alaska?
I think the one that has been talked about is likely a northern european or baltic cruise.
I'm not saying cruising is bad... just not what I would choose if I were making a vacation for myself at this point of my life.
Hi Kevin,
If you need cruise info, I may be able to help. As it turns out, we're all going on a cruise in Alaska the first week of August with my mother, Gus, my brother, Scott and his wife. It's a big family trip for my mother's 60th birthday. We're touring with Holland America Lines, which we chose due to it's rave reviews from customers and industry-types as well. It seems they have tours of Northern Europe as well.
http://www.hollandamerica.com/dest/itineraryResults.do?view=region&dest=E
I'll let you know how the ship/service was overall when we get back.
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