Plain Sailing ?

[markieboy]

Looking to organise a caribbean cruise, never been involved in such a major topic, looking for advice on where to make initial enquires, any pitfalls, or discounts, or ships to avoid. Party of 10 people, March 2007.

[jno]

If you can, wait till autumn, when as a rule the biggest discounts (50% or so) start appearing on the newspapers' travel pages. I went on the Ocean Village and enjoyed it, but it depends on your tastes: it's not for black-tie dinners with the captain and so on.

[Clanad]

This may not be your cup of tea, but at least check it out. We've never had more fun or a more interesting trip...

http://cruises.cheapcaribbean.com/windjammer_barefoot_cruises.asp

Luck! And may you have fair skies and following winds!

[dot.hawkes]

Check out the Carnival Liberty, I saw it in Antigua last week and it is awesome, I have been checking out prices for it and there are some great deals about for next year. it is the biggest cruise ship afloat and I spoke to a few Americans who had joned it in Miami and they said it was fabulous.

[sddsddean]

...although Liberty won't be biggest for long. RCI's Freedom of the Seas has been launched and goes into service in June around the Carribean. I'm going on her in January next year. If you want a lot of info on different types of ships and cruise lines go to http://www.cruisecritic.com/ . There is loads of info there.We book most of our cruises through Airmiles as you can normally get them a bit cheaper than going direct, but you can find loads of cruise booking websites, or try your local travel agent. It just depends how much time you want to spend 'organising'. If you can, go for 2 weeks, as this works out effectively cheaper as the airfare is always the same. Several cruise lines offer 'back to back' cruises, as most ships alternate between 2 routes (eg East and West Carribean), so you can go on 2 different itineries, but check as some stay on the same route every week. The wife and I love cruising as you only have to unpack once as the whole 'hotel' moves. You can do as little or as much as you like, there is no pressure to 'join in'. Hope it all goes well and you have a great time.

[Mictain]

If you're still looking into this I place another vote for Ocean Village.

http://www.oceanvillageholidays.co.uk/ />
It's quite informal - no poncy dressing up just to eat! - and very relaxing. Good mixture of food and entertainment that everyone should like. The excursions can be amazing - just try and pre-book the ones you really want to do, cos some trips do have limited spaces.

[Mictain]

Hmm, my post has gone hyperlink crazy! :-/

Just take out the <br from the address and that should get you going :-)