Thread: Ship and Port

We are looking for our first cruise in Jan 2012!. Now I am trying to narrow down the ship and port. We live in Michigan so no port is going to really be close enough to drive to so we will have to fly. Since we are flying, we don't think we have a port preference other than US.

Would you select your cruise based on a port or based on ship reviews? Are some ports just cheaper to fly into and so that should be part of my selection process???

We think we have narrowed it down to Carnival and a Carribean cruise.

Thanks so much for your insights. I would appreciate your thoughts so I can further narrow my choices.


becky

Since you live in Michigan, the flight pricing could vary. To get a rough idea of flight schedules and pricing to the different embarkation port cities you can go to kayak.com and do a search.

One word of advice I'd like to give you is that if you're planning a cruise in January, you could get wintry weather in Michigan so it's best to go to the embarkation city at least a day prior. I don't know if you were planning on using the cruiseline's airfare program, but they don't always give you the most direct or best flight times.

Personally I have found that Ft. Lauderdale is the best port to go out of for several reasons. First, with Southwest flying so many flights into FLL, the air fare has a tendency to be a bit cheaper than Miami, the other big cruise port. Port Canaveral would be another good port, although the drive from Orlando to the port is a bit greater than the distance to the ship from the other two airports.

I try to not fly into or out of Miami when I can help it. I just don't like the airport.

In fact, for our last cruise we fly in and out of FLL and took a cruise ship out of the Miami port. Easy to do, and the cab fare was about $80 for four of us. You can get a limo cheaper, though.

This should give you a few ideas, if you have any other questions, just ask!

It would certainly be Ft.Lauderdale for us in January! This is especially true if you're coming in a day early ... which, hopefully, you will.

Like, Neal, we really don't like the Miami airport.

That is great info! Thank you all. We absolutely will fly in the day before, and fly out the day after our cruise. We completely understand travel delays and have experienced them before with other vacations. it is helpful to understand what airports are cheapest to fly to (in general obviously) when we have to fly anyway-and it helps for planning our cruise and port to go out of.

As others have mentioned, I agree with flying down the day before your cruise. Also, I highly suggest purchasing the travel insurance since Winter in Michigan can be quite unforgiving. But don't get the cruise line's insurance - often they do not cover independent air.

Talk to a reputable travel agent who can help you with this.

Also, at that time of year you can get some really great deals, so for just a few dollars more you can sometimes get a cruise that is head and shoulders above Carnival. So talk to your agent about other options which you may find a whole lot nicer.

Pete

You always give such great advice, cruiseplanner

Originally Posted by SailKeyWest

You always give such great advice, cruiseplanner

Thanks!!!

We just got off the Celebrity Eclipse two weeks ago and I couldn't believe the deals they were offering - so sometimes, last minute purchase can net a great bargain. They were selling balcony cabins for $599!! And this was such a wonderful ship! Forget head and shoulders, it was the whole body above Carnival - can't wait to try another one of the Solstice-class ships. And all this for just a small amount above what Carnival was charging. So worth it!! Takes cruising to a whole new level.

Pete