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Thursday, August 11

Taking Advantage of Cheap Travel Again

I'm booked for another cruise! This one sets sail at the end of November. I wasn't exactly planning to go on a cruise this soon but the price was so low that I couldn't resist. We booked a 5 day Eastern Caribbean Cruise (2 stops in the Bahamas plus a stop in Key West) for $199 each. That's just $40 per person per day. How? I looked online and saw that cruises out of Port Canaveral (near Orlando) were priced fairly low. Upon further research it looks like Carnival just added a third ship to that port so I imagine they are trying to absorb the extra capacity. The rate online was $239 per person but I received an offer in the mail for $50 casino cash and called to ask about it. When the agent looked it up she said she could discount the rate to $199.

In addition to the $50 casino credit I will also receive a $50 onboard credit because I pre-paid $100 toward my next cruise when I was on the last one in May 2010.

More details on my budget:

5 Day Eastern Caribbean Cruise: $199 per person
Taxes: $73.69pp
Hotel evening before cruise: Free (using Hilton Honors points)
Transportation: We will drive*
Parking: $4.99 per day (includes free shuttle to port - parking at the port was $15/day)

*Round trip flight to Orlando would have cost almost $600 for both of us, plus $140 for transportation to the port, so over $700. Driving is 1,200 miles round trip. If gas is $3.50 per gallon and I get 40 miles per gallon, we will spend about $105 on gas.

We should be able to spend well under $1,000 for this vacation.

2 comments:

  1. That is a good deal. After searching I couldn't find quite as good of a deal although I did find some pretty cheap. My best friend lives in Miami so I'd probably take a cruise from there. I can't afford to book one yet anyway but it is nice to see what is available.

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  2. I check cruise prices every couple months and have noticed Miami seems to be the cheapest. One thing though for me is taking into consideration the distance. I can drive to Tampa, New Orleans, Jacksonville or Port Canaveral in less than a day. Miami is a bit longer so I'd probably have to fly there. I really got lucky with this one though.

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