Cruise advice, anyone? (Orlando: 2009, rental, luxury)

[missmay]

I just recently moved to Orlando and have heard that one benefit to living close to many ports of call is the cheap, last minute deals you can score on cruises. In some articles they say people just show up at the port of call on the day a ship leaves to see what the deals are.

Is there anyone that has done this and can go into more detail about this process? Also, being that im in the middle of a lot of ports and not right next to one, is there a way to find out if there are any last minute deals like the day or two before so that way I don't pack up and drive at least an hour away, only to find out the deal isn't there? Thanks!

[beckycat]

I use this website: Discount Cruises, Last Minute Cruises, Cruise, Cruise Line, Cruise Vacation If you call, speak to Philip Williams. I heard they don't just let you walk up anymore, but I'm not sure about that. Just make sure your license says you're a FL resident b/c you get good deals.

[ngrome]

Originally Posted by beckycat

I use this website: Discount Cruises, Last Minute Cruises, Cruise, Cruise Line, Cruise Vacation If you call, speak to Philip Williams. I heard they don't just let you walk up anymore, but I'm not sure about that. Just make sure your license says you're a FL resident b/c you get good deals.

In addition to this, have your passport on-hand and make sure it's not expired or near expiration.

[alex_lilit]

Royal Caribbean

[Jonotastic]

It's not so much the last minute deals. As a Florida resident, many cruise lines will give you a discount. For example, when you go on priceline.com, there is a box you can check that says "Florida Resident." The price on the same cruise could be anywhere between $100-$600 more just depending on the time of the year. I'd recommend going on Royal Caribbean or Carnival for your first cruise. Make sure it's 6 nights or more, otherwise the cruise ship usually won't be that nice. If you prefer more of a quiet and luxury type of cruise, Celebrity is a good choice, which won't empty your wallet such as Crystal or Seven Seas.

[beckycat]

At this point, if you're traveling by ship, you don't need a passport to the Caribbean, Bahamas, or Mexico.

[iuki001]

Originally Posted by beckycat

At this point, if you're traveling by ship, you don't need a passport to the Caribbean, Bahamas, or Mexico.

Hi beckycat -

This is copied/pasted from the Royal Caribbean website:

Passport Requirements

A valid passport is a requirement for air travel to / from Canada, Mexico the Caribbean and Bermuda

Effective June 1, 2009 only a valid passport (unless otherwise noted below) or other WHTI compliant document will be accepted for entry or re-entry into the United States. For a list of all approved documents visit: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html#compliant_document

U.S. citizens on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end at the same port in the U.S.) will be able to enter or depart the country with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate and laminated government issued picture ID, denoting photo, name and date of birth. A U.S. citizen under the age of 16 will be able to present either an original or a certified copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issues by DOS, or Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

When going ashore, a passenger is under that port's rule. When we went to Alaska, I only took my ship's ID, but when I tried to return to the ship, the Alaskan port wanted a picture ID before allowing me to board the tender back to the ship. My husband talked them into letting me get on board; otherwise, he would have had to go back to the ship and bring my ID back to me.

To the OP, I recommend getting a passport for all travel. You never know if an emergency landing or medical emergency, by air or sea, will take you to another country where you will NEED a passport.

Better safe than sorry.

iuki

[aprilkayyy]

I've been on like.. 10 cruises. Me and my mother love to travel and a cruise is the most relaxing way. We go to Cruises Only online or the main office near downtown Orlando. Once you start crusing you get better deals. Also, there's a way that if you do unassigned rooming you pay for an indoor cabin, and if they dont' have anymore bookings you may get upgraded. Last cruise we went on we paid for an indoor cabin on the 3rd level, and two days before our departure we got upgraded to a suite on the 7th floor. It's worth a shot!

[missmay]

all of these suggestions are great!

I have cruised before...twice, once on carnival and once on norwegian.

And while i do live here, it's only for a temporary job and i am still a resident of Arizona.

Do they accept other means of getting a discount such as a bill in your name in Florida or a rental agreement in the state of florida?

And as far as I can tell by the replies no one has done the cruising in which they sign up a day or two before OR on the day the ship leaves? Again, if anyone HAS done this the day before or day of a ships departure i'd love to hear your experience and what the best way to go about it is. thanks for the help so far!

[annerk]

I'm not sure you can cruise the day of by showing up at the Port anymore, due to homeland security issues. I could be very, very wrong about this, but I thought I read that at some point they began running passenger manifests through a database prior to boarding passengers.

I agree with iuki001, I would NEVER leave the US without my passport, even to hop over to Canada for a day.