Your Questions About Travel

The Expert answers:

Try ldctravels.com there are some really neat getaways on this website and they even have a number where you can reach the person to help you out. Give it a try.

The Expert answers:

Go to the best cheap travel sites and look. Expedia, Priceline and the one with the gnome are more hype and clever marketing than a place to find the best deals. Both Shermans travel and travelzoo have an email mailing list for the best in last minute deals. I’ve had great luck with those two and suggest them over anything else.

Try these:

www.shermanstravel.com (My Favorite)

http://www.shermanstravel.com/top25/signup/?refer=GoogleEF-top25-2007A99&gclid=CLT15oWPz5UCFQtZHgodgyDyig&ef_id=1585:3:s_838a8a854882897f27cf748afbf2633e_1982223950_sherman%2520travel:8Lpn1NB6B2YAAAh3o2kAAAAF:20080909162221

www.travelzoo.com (My 2nd favorite)
www.cruise.com
www.cheapcruises.com

The Expert answers:

If you plan on cruising in July, I would book the cruise now. Carnival will have no problem filling the ship during that month. Remember, school is closed and families are traveling during July. Try to book the early saver rate with Carnival. I have done that several times and saved money. One good site to get good cruise deals is http://vacationstogo.com/index.cfm
Sign up, its free!

Hope I helped!

The Expert answers:

Whether you get the best price booking far in advance or at the last minute depends on how well the cruise lines have estimated demand for the particular sailing. Here’s how it works:

The cruise lines look at how popular similar sailings have been in the past, and they consider current factors like the state of the economy and changes in capacity. Then, they make a guess as to how high they can prices the various cabin categories on a particular sailing and still sell out the ship.

Next, the lines wait to see what happens. If they’ve guessed too low and a particular sail date is filling up faster than expected, they raise the prices. If bookings are slow, then they lower prices or add incentives like onboard credits or reduced deposits to try to stimulate demand.

The closer it gets to the sail date, the harder it is sell a given number of cabins-even with reduced prices. So if there’s a lot of unsold inventory after final payments are due (usually 65-75 days prior to sailing) then prices will drop. If the ship is nearly full, prices will go up.

To get the best rate, look for listings of “last minute specials” like this one:

http://www.cruisecompete.com/specials/deals/last_minute_cruises/1

Once you’ve identified a sailing with a good price, shop around. You will need to contact agents directly and ask for custom price quotes (they can’t advertise their lowest rates online) and/or use a site like CruiseCompete.com (http://www.cruisecompete.com) where you select a sailing then let agents compete to offer you the best deal.

Good luck!

The Expert answers:

Summer is “prime time” for Caribbean cruising, as kids are out of school and that’s when most people take vacations. This, despite the fact that it’s also hurricane season in the Caribbean. Thus, the cruises will not be “cheap”.

“Last minute” in the cruise business means < 60 days out [which is when most final payments are due].

There are good travel agents in your town [AAA is good, if you're a member] and there are the "usual" on-line sites. I would not advise using an on-line site unless you've cruised before [which I suspect you haven't] or have done extensive research. There are many variables you'll need to choose from before you are ready to book, although you do already have a departure port and destination in mind.

You don't mention a travel companion, so if you're traveling solo, you'll be charged "double", basically, as cabins are sold double-occupancy.

Carnival is probably your best bet for the lowest cost. That being said, the three or four day cruises to the Bahamas are not the best cruise experience, but you'll be OK if it's your first cruise.