Cruises: Buying tickets the day the ship sets sail.?

Is it true that if you show up the day a cruise ship is suppose to sail and buy a ticket than you can get a ticket for really cheap? If so has anyone ever done this and how do you do this. Would you recommend doing this?






Answer :
*According to Carnival, Yes you can book a cruise the same day it will depart with Carnival cruise lines. The thing is, there may not be cabins available. Give it a try, but all cabins may be taken.

*Carnival confirmed this....Call 1-800-carnival

Below is the reprinted details from Carnival website. It clearly says you can check in 90 minutes prior to departure time.

How does the Embarkation Process Work?
Remember, Government regulations for U.S. departure ports require that a final departure manifest is submitted 60 minutes prior to departure. Guests are required to provide us with the required information prior to embarkation. The easiest and most convenient way is to complete our FunPass on line registration process at least three days prior to departure. Guests that do not complete the registration process prior to embarkation are required to check-in at least 90 minutes prior to the published sailing time.

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/Embarka…

Hope I helped!






Answer :
NO!, You cannot go to any cruise port, or even cruise line and buy tickets on the day of sailing. The cruise lines no longer allow those type last minute bookings. Since 9/11 all of the cruise lines have changed their policies and now require passengers to register their personal information weeks before the cruise and now-a- days a last minute cruise would be one that you book a week or more before the cruise. All cruise lines request this information by regular mail or ask that you complete it on line on their web sites.

The reason for this is that all of the cruise lines must now provide a complete listing of all passengers (with all of that personal information: name, address, passport number, citizenship, etc) at least an hour before the ship sails. Thus the cruise lines want this information 3 days before the sail date so that on the sail they they can quickly provide it to Homeland Security. In addition, now all passengers must be on board the ship between 90 minutes and 2 hours before sailing so that the complete list of passengers can be submitted an hour before the ship sails. All of these requirements are on the cruise line web sites, generally in the question and answers section, or the boarding/departure section.

So the best you can do now for a "last minute" cruise is check with the cruise lines or a travel agent a week or two before the cruise date to see if there are cabins available. So 7 to 14 days is now your last minute cruise. I would not recommend such a last minute cruise (3 to 5 days before sailing) because you will NOT get a great price (the best prices are always offered for early bookings a year or more in advance. Inn addition the cabin selections at the last minute are usually the worse cabins on the ship, or the luxury suites that cost BIG bucks.






Answer :
No can do. The latest you can buy a ticket is about 24 hours in advance and very few cruise ships allow even that. Princess, for instance say you need 72 hours in advance. This all changed after 911 and is because of homeland security. If you want the very best prices for a cruise, you need to book about 1 year in advance. This has been proven to be a fact.






Answer :
The sailing day would be a risk as the names all have to be verified and on a manifest before the ship can depart. Call the cruise line and ask for the policy and the price.

Should I accept a free Caribbean Cruise?

Last year a buddy of mine and his wife ask me and my girlfriend to go to Aspen last year. They paid for the cabin and the air tickets. I was awed by their kindness. This year they are going on a Caribbean Cruise and ask us to come. They will pay for our cruise ticket and airplane ticket. Now I feel too weird to go. What should I do? I told him this is too much money to give away. His answer was "We just passing the popcorn". Meaning if they bought a big bucket of popcorn at the movie, after he gets his handful, he pass it down to his friends to have some too. What would you do?





Answer :
i would go for it, as long as you are humble and appreciative of the offerings and gifts. However i think you should return the favor some kind of way, or in a special way let them know you are grateful...sounds like really good friends!!! Friends like that are hard to find these days!!






Answer :
i understand why you feel weird about it, but if they are ok with it, and if you are good friends indeed, you should accept it.... if you are still having problems with it, you should really think of it as "popcorn" because for your friend it is obviously not much money to give away..

Are the free cruise tickets email a scan?

I have never been on a cruise before and want to expand my horizons. Looking for a inexpensive cruise on a safe and fun boat without spending a lot. Any suggestions?






Answer :
Yes, pretty much
They are usually a short cruise on a very crappy boat. They then try to sell you a time share. Since your on the boat and can't get off, they have a captive audience. Don't do it! If you want to try a short cruise, look for a 3 or 4 day cruise like to the Bahamas from Florida. Carnival has many of these And they do not cost much






Answer :

The least expensive cruises are generally on Carnival ships, and you might want to check the Carnival Cruise Line web site, which is http://www.carnival.com. You can also work with a travel agent who books a lot of cruises. Many people simply love Carnival cruises!

The "free cruise" things you get in the mail and on line are very short trips on a very old, dirty, ratty ship, and are gimmicks to sell time shares in high-pressure sales meetings. Do NOT deal with those people -- it is a ripoff!

Source(s):

frequent passenger






Answer :
Yes, I would be very careful with anything advertised as being "Free". In actuality, VERY FEW things in life really are. Those so-called "Free" trips you see advertised in the mail usually have some strings attached, and those strings or catches are not always easily detected. There are some very clever scams out there.

Sometimes the mailer might mention that you may only travel on a certain date, or that your transportation (airfare) to and from the port isn't included and you must book airfare through THEM, or... that you must pay a certain processing fee, or attend a long-winded, VERY hyped sales presentation.

I've seen some really sneaky ones, where they have a 900 number you are obligated to call, in order to claim your "prize" and get the details. When you call those numbers, you are placed on DELIBERATE, eternal hold! While you're waiting to get thru, to claim your "free" prize, the meter is ticking, and they're making a BOATLOAD (pun intended!) of $$ just off of your phone call! Then... even if you don't agree to their terms, and decide to option out of the deal, they STILL made a killing just from your phone call! (My mother fell for that one!) If those are not scams, I don't know what is!

Remember the saying, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." So be extremely careful.

Depending on where you live, how close to a port you are, and where you wish to sail, you may be able to find very good deals on a cruise. Carnival has some very reasonably-priced cruises, such as the ones from Long Beach, CA to Catalina Island and back.

Remember that even if a cruise is advertised at an amazing, affordable price, what they don't always tell you in big, bold print where you're likely to actually SEE and read it, is that there will almost certainly be extra charges added onto the bill at the end of your cruise. Things like drinks, gratuities, specialty restraunts and cafes, excursions, souvenirs, etc are not included. Plan on spending, on average, anywhere from $200 to $500 above the advertised price of a cruise, to cover those extra charges. Best to plan high. This way, you "might" have $$ left over afterwards.

Stop by www.cruisecritics.com or cruisemates.com if you want to read all sorts of reviews and articles about cruising. Those sites contain all sorts of great information.

Good Luck!






Answer :
It may not be a scam at all but it wont be a nice cruise. Most likely its an older cruise "type" ship with small pools, A/C that dont work right. These free cruise deals attract a rough type crowd. I don't recommend these things at all.
I suggest you take a cruise during the off peak season. They have 3/4 night cruises for like $150pp during that time. I know Carnival and Norwegian offers them. Sign up with http://vacationstogo.com/index.cfm and you can look for great prices in September/October. Its free to join and worth it. They also have a toll-free number.

Hope I helped!






Answer :
most people are quick to call it a scam, don't listen to them. a lot of time the "free" cruise tickets are not really "free" like you would think, you may have to "spend" time sitting through a time share pitch. depending how much you value your time, that would be the cost of the free cruise. also some of the smaller cruise ships will offer a free cruise, with the hopes that you will spend money on drinks & gambling, similar to Vegas giving away free hotel rooms.






Answer :
Without a question, the "free" cruise e-mail is a scam, just like virtually all others you get in your in-box asking for your info.

As for what is the cheapest cruise-line, it's a toss-up between Carnival and NCL. Since you have never been on a cruise before, you can't go wrong with either. Having said that, my experience with Carnival was less than stellar, so if you asked my advice, go with NCL. Deals on both lines can be found on their own websites as well as vacationstogo.com and cruise411.com. Both sites are excellent sources for finding the cheapest cruises, but before you attempt booking a cruise, go to cruisecompete.com to find an independent Cruise Agent that will do everything they can to get you an even better deal. An added value to hiring an independent cruise agent is that they work for you, not the cruise-lines. As such, they are more in-tune with your desires, and are a big help in not only answering questions before the cruise, but also during the cruise should you run into any unforeseen problems as a virgin-cruiser. I have been doing business with only one agent for more than five years now, because of her impeccable professionalism, and never-ending desire to get me the best deal offered (even after I have placed my reservation! All of this at the loss of a percentage of her commission too! Many times,she has back-checked last-minute pricing just to make sure to get me an even better deal than I signed up for months earlier.) There are many like her out there, so don't settle for a cruise-line agent who works for the cruise lines, when you can have an independent agent that works for you; especially when that agent does not cost one red-cent more for you to hire!

Lastly, since this is your first cruise, stick with the shorter 3 or 4-night itineraries. The reasons for this are multitude, but the most-obvious one is very few people suffer severe motion-sickness on cruises. (If you can handle air-turbulents during flights, you can easily handle the high-seas!) Should this unlikely experience be yours, you do not want to be on a 5,6,7-night or longer cruise. Once you have had the experience of cruising, you will be infected with the cruise-bug for the rest of your life; trust me! Dear friends of mine convinced me and my wife to take a weekend off from our business for just one weekend-long cruise to the Bahamas more than 6 years ago. It wasn't until that cruise on Royal Caribbean that I realized just how much of life I was missing not only for myself, but my family too! Now, those friends, their children, my wife, son and I take joint-family cruises every year! Last October, I even got 40 of my High School classmates to join me for a Class-Reunion @ sea! It went so well, that by the third night of our four-night cruise, people were asking me "When are we doing this again?!!! Needless to say, plans are already in the works for a second reunion @ sea next year.

Cruising is by far not only the best vacation dollar for dollar, but the best way to visit the world and learn about new cultures at the same time! We sail so frequently on Royal Caribbean, that our family is now a DIAMOND member of Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society. But that is for another discussion. lol.

What are the cheapest cruises departing NYC?

I have a week off starting March 20th. Tickets for miami are too expensive and its too late for me to go there, so NYC is the closest place to me that has cruises. I want a cruise that will leave from NYC and come back a couple days later or before the end of the week. If anyone can give me a website for the cheapest cruises for what I am asking that would be great.





Answer :
Right now, the BEST deals out of NYC are on NCL hands-down! Early and Late-season 7-night cruises to Bermuda are currently starting at less than $500.00pp, and Bahamas/Florida 9-night cruises are starting at less than $600.00pp on that line. Celebrity is also offering some good pricing out of the NY/NJ ports to Bermuda as well, but they are more limited on itineraries to that destination than NCL is. Finding a short 5-night or shorter cruise is impossible out of ANY northern port, so forget doing a cruise unless you are willing to fly down to Florida.

Vacationstogo.com is an excellent source for finding the best, cheapest and last-minute bargains, but a little-known site called "Cruise-Compete" (cruisecompete.com) is also fantastic for different reasons. It is a site that is funded by the Cruise-Agent industry. What you do is provide the site with all your specifics such as date, preferred port of departure, price, type of cabin, and any other details that can further-help agents find you a deal. From there, any participating agent on that site can get to work finding you the best deal around. This has independent agents competing for your business and in essence working for you, rather than some faceless cruise-line agent who works for the the cruise-line. I have used this resource previously with fairly-good results.

Lastly, if you are looking for a short (less than 7-nights) cruise, you are really eliminating yourself if you are unwilling to consider a cruise out of Port Canaveral (Orlando), Miami, Ft.Lauderdale, Tampa or Jacksonville. Flights out of Westchester, LaGuardia, JFK, or or Newark on JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Air-Tran or one of the big-boy airlines can still be had at less than $100.00 each-way including all fees and taxes, making a short 3, 4 or 5-night cruise a bargain if you hurry. As long as you have a MINIMUM of 7 days advance-notice, you should be able to find a flight out of one of those airports for the price I quoted above.






Answer :
There aren't going to be any three or four-day cruises from NYC at this time of year - they can't go anyplace warm in that timeframe. In the summer, you can sometimes find short cruises to Canada from NYC.





Answer :
If you want to leave from NY NCL has the 7day cruise on NCL Gem. Also if you want to avoid the plane you can consider maybe a cruise from Baltimore the drive is not that far.