Christmas Cruise options.

My Picks for the best value, best cruising over the Christmas period. NB these prices are in USD and you need to pay taxes of a few hundred extra. Tips are extra at about $10 per person per day total.

If these cruises interest you it would be worth going to the cruise line webpages direct.

These ones are from Vacations to go:

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NB Brand new ship - amazing decor and a step up from Royal Caribbean.

28053
13 nights departing December 10, 2012 on Celebrity's Celebrity Solstice
Who is eligible?
Brochure Inside $1,849 Our Inside $1,299 You Save 30%	Brochure Oceanview $2,199 Our Oceanview $1,299 You Save 41%
Brochure Balcony $2,599 Our Balcony $1,699 Interline Rate $1,049 You Save 60%	Brochure Suite $3,849 Our Suite $3,599 You Save 6%
$$$ Exclusive Offer! Book now and receive a FREE US$150 per cabin onboard credit on select categories. As an added bonus, purchase airfare with Vacations To Go and you will receive an additional per cabin discount of US$600 off select balcony or suite cabins. Click here for details! Celebrity past guests qualify for additional discounts on select categories. Click here for details.
Promotions may not be combinable with all fares.
The prices shown are US dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. They include port charges but do not include airfare or (where applicable) airport or government taxes or fees.

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If you can get leave from 22 Nov this deal can't be beat:

10941 13 nights departing November 22, 2012 on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas Who is eligible? Cheapest Inside $599 Cheapest Oceanview $799 Interline Rate $499 Cheapest Balcony $1,149 Interline Rate $749 Cheapest Suite $1,799 Interline Rate $899 $$$ Exclusive Offer! Book now and receive a FREE US$75 per cabin onboard credit on select categories. Promotions may not be combinable with all fares. No brochure rates were provided by Royal Caribbean. The prices shown are US dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. They include port charges but do not include airfare or (where applicable) airport or government taxes or fees. ITINERARY DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE   DEPART Thu Nov 22 London (Southampton), England 4:30pm Fri Nov 23 At Sea Sat Nov 24 At Sea Sun Nov 25 Lisbon, Portugal 7:00am 4:00pm Mon Nov 26 At Sea Tue Nov 27 Ponta Delgada, Portugal 10:00am 6:00pm Wed Nov 28 At Sea Thu Nov 29 At Sea Fri Nov 30 At Sea Sat Dec 1 At Sea Sun Dec 2 At Sea Mon Dec 3 At Sea Tue Dec 4 Nassau, Bahamas 7:00am 5:00pm Wed Dec 5 Fort Lauderdale, FL 5:30am

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Royal Caribbean are more geared to families as they have great kids clubs, but that being said my partner and I loved this ship, the kids are so well entertained you never see them.

22630 11 nights departing December 7, 2012 on Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas Cheapest Inside $845 Cheapest Oceanview $995 Cheapest Balcony $2,269 Cheapest Suite $2,349 $$$ Early booking bonus! Book now and receive a FREE US$100 per cabin onboard credit on select categories. Promotions may not be combinable with all fares. No brochure rates were provided by Royal Caribbean. The prices shown are US dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. They include port charges but do not include airfare or (where applicable) airport or government taxes or fees. Important Note: Visas are required for this itinerary. ITINERARY DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE   DEPART Fri Dec 7 Sydney, Australia 6:30pm Sat Dec 8 Newcastle, Australia 7:00am 4:00pm Sun Dec 9 At Sea Mon Dec 10 At Sea Tue Dec 11 Cairns, Australia 8:00am Wed Dec 12 Cairns, Australia 5:00pm Thu Dec 13 Willis Island, Australia (Cruising) 1:00pm 3:00pm Fri Dec 14 Airlie Beach, Australia 8:00am 6:00pm Sat Dec 15 At Sea Sun Dec 16 Brisbane, Australia 8:00am 5:00pm Mon Dec 17 At Sea Tue Dec 18 Sydney, Australia 6:30am

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Christmas at Sea.

I don't think this will drop much more than this. 

11061 10 nights departing December 20, 2012 on Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas Cheapest Inside $1,288 Cheapest Oceanview $1,352 Cheapest Balcony $1,869 Cheapest Suite $2,739 $$$ Exclusive Offer! Book now and receive a FREE US$150 per cabin onboard credit on select categories. Promotions may not be combinable with all fares. No brochure rates were provided by Royal Caribbean. The prices shown are US dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. They include port charges but do not include airfare or (where applicable) airport or government taxes or fees. Important Note: Visas are required for this itinerary. ITINERARY DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE   DEPART Thu Dec 20 Sydney, Australia 6:30pm Fri Dec 21 At Sea Sat Dec 22 Brisbane, Australia 8:00am 6:00pm Sun Dec 23 At Sea Mon Dec 24 Airlie Beach, Australia 8:00am 6:00pm Tue Dec 25 Willis Island, Australia (Cruising) Wed Dec 26 Cairns, Australia 8:00am 5:30pm Thu Dec 27 At Sea Fri Dec 28 At Sea Sat Dec 29 Newcastle, Australia 10:00am 8:00pm Sun Dec 30 Sydney, Australia -------------------------- OK Just checkeed the cruise above on the Royal Caribbean website: It is listed at just under $1500 which is about the same price as above because on the Aussie website they include taxes. 6:30am

Welcome to Helen and Family!

Hey Helen,

Welcome to the wonderful world of cruising!

Most of what I've learnt over the years I've posted somewhere on this blog.

There are videos on here of Royal Caribbean ships and pictures and reviews of Oasis of the Seas the one your son was talking about.

If you can't find the info you need let me know.

Cheers,

James

Oasis of the Seas - Pics

Amanda our latest member here at Cruise Crazies has just added the following amazing shots of Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world (well her sister ship to Allure of the Seas is is 50 millimetres (2.0 in) longer than the Oasis, making her technically the largest despite the fact that both ships have identical superstructures. And lucky Amanda has been on both.

Central Park, one of seven neighborhoods on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, is a lush park the size of a football field -- a courtyard of tropical plants and walkways, and a town square with dining and entertainment -- rising five stories from Deck 8 of the 16-deck ship.  It is the first ever living park at sea, with 12,175 plants, 62 vine plants, 56 trees and bamboo, some over 24 feet (7.3 meters) in length.

Amanda tackles the Wave rider - Of which there are two on each ship.

The zip wire - 16 stories above the waterline.

Allure of the Seas - Review

Review by our newest Cruise Crazy! 


Amanda C From QANTAS Direct

My favourite cruise line would have to be Royal Caribbean,  in 2011 I went on a 7night Caribbean cruise in a Ocean View Balcony Cabin on board Allure of the Seas the largest cruise ship in the world. We went to Nassau, St Thomas and St Marrten which is The Eastern Caribbean.  Apart from seeing amazing destinations that are like nothing you have seen before you will need to find time to see and do everything on the boat like walking through Allure of the Seas very own Central Park or take the kids to The Boardwalk. 

Allure of the Seas features include:
4 pools and 10whirlpool including an Adults only area
Solarium pool
Casino
Opal Theatre - Featuring Chicago the Musical
Studio B - Ice Skating Rink
Aqua Theatre - Featuring Live Dive shows
Miniature Golf
Basketball Court
Jogging Track
Carousel
Video Arcades
Adventure Ocean Youth Centre
Teen Centre
2xRock Climbing Walls
2xFlowriders
Golf simulator
Zip Line
Steam Room
Spa Treaments: Daily specials available in the on board Newletter (Compass)
Wet treatment room with roll-in shower
Dry treatment room
Fitness equipment
Sauna

 

Allure of the Seas offers about 18 different dining options most of which are included in you cruise price however there are also speciality restaurants that can be prebooked for a small fee usually $15-$20pp I would strongly suggest these are prebooked as they book out really quickly. I personally have experienced Giovanni's Table which was just to die for definitely well worth paying the extra for a treat one night. The food however in the main dinning room is also amazing with different meal options every night, you have a chose of a 5course meal every night.

AirBnB

AirBnB What is it?

Founded in August of 2008 and based in San Francisco, California, Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world – online or from a mobile phone. Whether an apartment for a night, a castle for a week, or a villa for a month, Airbnb connects people to unique travel experiences, at any price point, in more than 19,000 cities and 192 countries. And with world-class customer service and a growing community of users, Airbnb is the easiest way for people to monetise their extra space and showcase it to an audience of millions.

I discovered Airbnb when we were going on a cruise last November. Our cruise was leaving from South Hampton and we needed affordable (!!!) accommodation in London for 3 people. Crazy I thought .... but then.....

I stumbled across Airbnb and found fairly quickly an amazing two bedroom penthouse apartment with 360 degree views of London, complete with two sweeping balconies and all mod cons including a drop down movie screen. And all for $250 per night. I was shocked and amazed and also rather sceptical. However when we turned up in London the apartment was even better than advertised and was the highlight of our trip.

So from personal experience I can highly recommend, not just Airbnb but also the apartment in London. here is s link to Paul and the page listing his apartment. Make sure you tell him Cruise Crazies sent you.

But Airbnb is even better than a place to simply find accommodation. 

As I was so impressed with how easy it was to use, I thought, we're going away for 6 weeks, I guess we could rent out own place. So one night I listed our little cottage in Melbourne for what I thought was an exorbitant price of $150 per night. I was amazed at the response, within 24 hours I had 3 different people wanting to rent it.

As it transpired we couldn't find some one to mind the dogs and we had to remove the listing - however one couple said they'd be quite happy to look after the dogs while we were away. See my listing here.

So next time you are planning a cruise why not consider using Airbnb to rent out your house while you are away. They make it very easy, will send a photographer around to take pictures for free, and they handle all the credit card billing. You can also add the cost of cleaning to every new rental.

Done right, you could actually make money while you cruise the world.

Hotel Discounts

Cruise Crazies love flash hotels and even flashier discounts.

In this section we will highlight hotels recommended by our members.

These are the best choices for pre or post cruise accommodation, just for a weekend escape or a land based holiday (heaven forbid!!!).

For the moment, until your recommendations come in, these are my personal favourites.

Sydney

Quay Grand Suites

For me there is ONLY one hotel to stay in before or after your cruise. It is Quay Grand an all apartment one smack bang on Circular Quay. Known as the 'Toaster' when it was first built.

It's not cheap at up to $1200 per night full price for a harbour view room - however at Cruise Crazies we never pay full price. If you are lucky you will either be able to find it on wotif.com.au from as low as $450 per night, or they at times offer an industry discount of 50%, dependant on availability.

If you hone them direct please make sure you tell them Cruise Crazies sent you.

$450 is still not cheap, however being a full apartment you get a separate bedroom and sofa bed so the room actually sleeps 4 people, and at the lower rate that is just over $100 per person.

NB make sure you get a Harbour view room  and then you'll be able to see your ship sail in. The other advantage is that on the morning of boarding you simply wander across Circular Quay and board your ship - no taxis required.

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Quay West Apartments

Again smack bang in the heart of the action. Very similar to Quay Grand except located high up behind the Rocks. They offer one and two bed room apartments, but make sure you get a harbour view. Only one bedroom apartments have a balcony.

Being high up in the Rocks it's not very practical to walk with your bags to or from the ship.

Very similar pricing to Quay Grand. If one is full, or is offering no discounts, try the other one.

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Hawaii

Aston Circle Hotel

This is a classic. When it was built it was one of the first high rise in Hawaii. It is a very retro and basic hotel however it has one of the best positions in Waikiki. And by contacting the hotel directly you can usually get a rate close to $100 per night. But make sure you request 'ocean front'. As with most hotels in Hawaii 'ocean view' means that you have to stand on a chair and lean right out over your balcony to even cash a glimpse of the water.

 

As it is so central you don't need a car and there are free hula shows on the beach right out front every night.

OK so what is your fav hotel, please share it below.