When is a deal not a deal?

As I've mentioned below, I'm in charge of putting together a cruisetrip to Alaska out of Vancouver (returning to Seattle) for me and hubby and inlaws. And even in this economy, finding two hotel rooms in downtown Vancouver that's not an arm and a leg has been somewhat challenging. (Yes, Vancouver tends to be expensive -- but $200 USD a night for a decent basic room in a decent location? Seriously? It hurts my deal-searching wallet.)

So I was excited to see a lead in the Washington Post for CheapOStay.com. And the rates look pretty good, at first. But here's the (very big) catch; when you search, the room price only lists the room itself -- not any government taxes or fees.

Not only did the final price almost double the price of a room -- it often was more expensive than the same room on the hotel's website. Or, at least for the two four-star plus properties I investigated.

Now, maybe CheapOStay was listing all the prices in Canadian dollars -- though there was no such disclaimer. And maybe lesser-star properties, or US properties, are indeed a deal. But if I have to do that much homework to ensure I'm getting the best deal, why not just use kayak.com or one of the mainstream booking sites as a comparable to the hotel's site?

Just goes to show you -- caveat emptor at all times, lads and lasses. Having said that, I'm still looking for good deals. With a couple of months to go, there's still time. At least, given the current economy, I think there is. :-)

a cool new internet tool

Thanks to a very intrepid member of cruisecritic.com (which, by the way, is a great resource for good and bad feedback about all things cruising), there is now a really awesome tool that can help you track Royal Caribbean cruises for price drops. (RCCL is one of the few cruise lines that honor price drops after final payment, unless it's for a 'new-reservation only' promotion.)

If you don't have Microsoft .net, you'll need to download it, but it's pretty blonde-proof, which I can attest to personally. :-) Then you plug in the cruise you're on (or hoping to book), and it'll do all the work for you.

I'm testing it now for our May cruise to Alaska -- as we booked it for under $1,000 for the week interior cabin, I don't think we'll get lucky again! But you can also try it out at www.cruiseshark.com.

If it's Monday, there must be a sale somewhere . . .

Hey! Don't you hate it when life gets in the way of things like vacation planning???

So, after a month-long delay, we're back. And guess what? There are still killer deals to be had. Especially last-minute deals.

Royal Caribbean, every Tuesday, has last-minute sales for cruises within, roughly, a 60 day window (those cruises where final payments have been made -- or not, as the case may be). Go to www.royalcaribbean.com and search based on where you want to go, when, and -- if applicable -- if you're over 60 or live in a specific state. You never know what you'll find.

And while most of the deals can be found during that post-final-payment window, it never hurts to check other times, too -- that's how we landed our cruise to Alaska in early May for less than $1,000 for the week. Yes, that's for both me and LSH. It helped that there was a Virginia resident discount (don't ask me why!), that we were content with a interior cabin, and that it left from Vancouver but came back to Seattle (which is much more manageable than you might think). Add a frequent cruiser discount coupon and voila! We're off to Alaska, with extra money for fun port excursions.

It pays to surf the cruise companies websites, just for fun. Because you never know what you might stumble across.

Go cruise, young (wo)man, go cruise

Sigh. If only I could take advantage of these deals -- my work schedule allows no time off unless somebody dies for the first four months of the year. But that doesn't mean YOU can't.

Yet another reason why: American, United, JetBlue, AirTran and other major airlines just cut prices on flights through April. And if you're flying out of the DC metro area, there's some great stuff -- especially if you can fly mid-week. But you gotta book by January 14th (that would be the day after tomorrow).

Hey, you know, there are worse ways to boost the economy. I'm just sayin . . . .

Feel the 'wave'!

January is often called "Wave" season -- where cruise lines assess their open inventory and discount as appropriate. With the tanking economy, if you can sneak away in the first four months of this year, there are fabulous deals to be had. Royal Caribbean is offering discounted deposits and rates; Princess is slashing costs for certain Caribbean sailings; and everywhere you turn, there are great deals to be had -- if you can go NOW!!

Having said that, here's my surprise deal:

Nine days out of Baltimore on Celebrity on December 12th. Goes to Charleston, NC; Key West, FL; Nassau, Bahamas; and CocoCay (Celebrity/Royal Caribbean's private island), along with three sea days. A whopping $700 ++ per person for an interior cabin -- roughly $1,550 for two for nine days for a couple, or $87 per person per day. Seriously??? On Celebrity???

Don't say I didn't warn you.

What's it to you?

People ask me a lot -- you find really good deals all the time, it seems. How do you decide what cruise to book and when? There are so many!


And that's true -- there are lot of options. a LOT of options! So you really need to know what is most important to you in a vacation experience -- and where your comfort level is when visiting new cities (English and non-English speaking). The cost of YOUR perfect cruise, and the happiness you have with it, will be dependent upon these factors.

For example -- are you the kind of person who doesn't need, or expects to be, entertained 24-7? Who prefers a quiet place to read over a party by the pool? Wants to dance until sun-up, or greet the sunrise with a few laps on the promenade deck? Has high expectations regarding cuisine options and environments, or is happy with a burger and fries in your cut-offs and tee?

Same thing goes with cabins. Do you have to have as much room in your private space as possible? Do you care if you have a view above your bed? Is it imperative that you have a bathtub? Is physical accessibility a requirement?

Finally, ports of call. If you're in a country where you don't know the language, are you comfortable with striking out on your own with a guidebook and a taxi or tour guide, if that's an option? Will you enjoy the day more if you're within the relative security of a ship-offered shore excursion? Would you rather be someplace you can hike around on foot, or want to/need to travel in comfort from point A to B?

LSH and I can travel on the cheap for three very important reasons:

--> we can go on cruises during 'low season', when inventory is up and demand is down;

--> we're the types who use our cabins for sleeping and showering and not much else; and

--> we gravitate towards ports of call that can be self-driven. Mind you, with proper research and planning, especially in non-English speaking countries, but still 'on our own (mostly so that LSH can spend as much time as he likes photographing things he likes).

We've only sailed three lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Holland America or HAL). We know that HAL will have a more elegant experience overall, but that the shore excursions will be more sedate or more over our budget. We know that Carnival will have a party going on someplace at any given time, but that the overall experience is somewhat more, um, rugged; however, their interior cabins tend to be larger than other lines, and we haven't done the newer, longer sailings on them.

Royal Caribbean is somewhere in the middle, though I am completely enamoured of the Radiance class of ships -- though LSH finds them 'gaudy' compared to HAL, which just goes to show you that preference is, first and foremost, personal.

We know, regardless of itinerary, that there are many things that factor into any experience on any sailing. But we have different overall expectations on a Carnival sailing than what we would have on a HAL ship. Not necessarily good or bad, just different.

UPDATE: And, as if cruisecritic.com was reading my mind, they just posted a decent summary that might help you decide. Go to http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=66.

And finally -- no matter how good or bad things are, they are what you make them. And if you're on vacation on a ship heading to somewhere different or new, it can't be THAT bad, no matter what!

[Veen]dam fine vacation!

We just returned from a week upon HAL's Veendam. Which is aging pretty graciously, though you can tell she's due for a major drydock (in April, as a matter of fact).

LSH is enamoured of HAL's overall understated elegance and superior service; I agree (though did miss the adults-only Solarium pool that's on the Radiance Class of Royal Caribbean -- more on that later).

Even when challenged with a 'Code Red' -- the cruise before us had an outbreak of Norovirus that held embarkation until 2:00 pm and prevented self-service in the Lido until three days into our trip -- the service never faltered. Granted, some mornings found performers helping to serve up food on the line, and we were practically attacked by Purell-toting staff every time we re-entered the ship, but everyone still smiled and greeted you as you passed in the hallways. If only some of our fellow passengers were as friendly or patient. Seriously -- how cranky do you need to be if your english muffin takes a couple more minutes to get to you?

I'll talk about some of the ports we visited later on. But suffice to say that the only thing that made it easier to leave the ship on Sunday was that we've already lined up our next cheapo cruise -- in May for our first Alaska cruise on Royal Caribbean. :-)