This Week’s Handpicked Cruise Deals

Royal Caribbean Month of Romance Offer

Royal Caribbean is celebrating February as the “month of romance” by offering a FREE romance package on select sailings. Receive a bottle of champagne, chocolate covered strawberries and ½ dozen roses. What a great way to make your cruise vacation even more special. This free package is available on 6-nt or longer Royal Caribbean cruises to Bermuda and Europe departing after March 15th, booked between February 1st and February 29th. Of course, I had to do some research and pick out my favorite deal from this offer. Please do take note that this offer is for new bookings only and cannot be combined with any other offer.

You can search all applicable Bermuda sailings here and all applicable Europe sailings here.

Last Call Celebrity Sale: Up to $300 Savings

We are down to the last few days of the Celebrity Sale offering up to $300 savings on almost all Celebrity cruises. Don’t miss out on what I think will be Celebrity’s best offer of the year! Book by Sunday, February 5th. Check out more about this sale here.

On Deck: What’s Coming Up Next Week

Celebrity FREE Prepaid Gratuities

Celebrity really knows how to make my deal finding heart happy. The premium cruise line will be offering a new great promotion, just in time for their current one to end! Starting Monday, February 6th, Celebrity will be offering pre-paid gratuities for balcony cabins and above on select 2012 Bermuda, Alaska and Europe. PLUS, book a suite and receive $100 onboard credit in addition to pre-paid gratuities- a savings of $161 to $420 per stateroom! This amazing offer is only available for two weeks though, so be sure to move on this limited time offer!

What makes me love this offer even more is that is has limited restrictions. We can combine this offer where CruiseDeals.com is already offering an onboard credit AND in many cases where we are offering exclusive reduced rates! Meaning you can triple dip on this one!

Call CruiseDeals.com at 800-668-6414 to book this offer when opens for booking on Monday, February 6th!

Tuesday Price Drops

With each Tuesday comes price drops on a handful of sailings for one day only from both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. These weekly cruise deals provide great savings and I always suggest you act on these limited time offers. But, be sure to move on Tuesday because the rates really are dropped for one day only. Trust me, each Wednesday I see the rates go right back up to where they were prior to the sale. Check out my favorite picks from each:

Regent Seven Seas Voyager

It’s the question we are asked over and over again. “Should I take a large ship or a small ship?”  Typically cruise lines with large ships tend to have lots of extra activities such as rock climbing walls and big screen TVs over the pool deck that simply wouldn’t fit on a small ship. Whereas cruise lines with small ships tend to boast more space, cuisine and better service.

So which is right for you? Cruise Specialists reporter, Ralph Grizzle, who states he likes a “bit of both” cites the BIG differences you will see when travelling on a small ship in his blog report Five Reasons Why I Prefer Cruising On Small Ships. The great news is, there is something for everyone and even many large ship cruise lines have small ship opportunities for those who want to test them out.

Author Note: Alysia Murillo is the marketing specialists for Cruise Specialists, a industry leading luxury cruise agency.   Ralph Grizzle is one of the most well traveled cruise writers in the world… if you’re thinking about cruising on the smaller, more refined cruise ships you’ll want to read his article explaing why he perfers small ship cruising. 

A Transatlantic Crossing - The phrase is evocative of the Golden Age of Ocean Travel. The images it brings to mind – Luxury liners gliding across serene seas beneath starry skies – seem remote from our current reality of travel, tightly packed in polished aluminum tubes, high above waves that appear as tiny specks upon the sea.

Yet, it doesn’t have to be this way. If you are willing to trade eight hectic hours in the air for eight dreamy days at sea, then a transatlantic crossing is the way to go.

You’ll enjoy endless ocean vistas while lounging on deck, contemplating the way early explorers must have felt, literally leagues from land. 

Northern Passage vs. Southern Passage

There are two ocean routes in common use for a transatlantic crossing; a Northern passage and a Southern passage. Both offer advantages and disadvantages. 

The Northern Passage provides a shorter crossing of around six days, but has a greater possibility for rough water.

The Southern Passage, while generally smooth sailing, requires a longer crossing of about eight days.

First off, you had better like Sea Days, because there are six to eight of them… all in a row.

Sea Days, as they’re called in the industry, are the rare jewels of ocean travel. Such days allow you to experience the ship without detracting from port time.

Choosing the right cruise ship for you

Jewel of the Seas

Being on board for eight days straight makes the ship your destination.

Choosing the correct ship for your life style is critically important on an eight day crossing.

Food in the main dining room on some ships rivals many specialty restaurants; on others, eight nights of dining at the same table redefines eternity. Even if for no other reason than a change of venue, a specialty restaurant is in order.

Does the ship have the type of specialty cuisine you prefer? If you’re a steak lover you may not be happy in a sushi restaurant.

A ship with several specialty restaurants provides variety and a better chance of reserving a table. Reserve a table at your favorite restaurants as soon as you get onboard. Remember, there’s no onshore dining in the middle of the Atlantic.

Royal Promenade

Some ships, such as Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas, rejoice in the sea. The ocean is visible from every venue. Other ships hide the ocean away, a necessary nuisance, to be glimpsed only occasionally. Which ship you choose for your crossing depends on your level of comfort with the sea.

The middle of the Atlantic on a small glass walled ship is not the place to decide you don’t like the ocean.

On the other hand, spend your days on a large ship with a promenade, like Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, and you might think you’re still at the dock.

So… does the ship fit your lifestyle?

Most transatlantic cruises (with the exception of Cunard) are repositioning cruises. The ship visits ports that are not on the lines regularly scheduled destinations. This is a great opportunity to visit ports of call that may be unfamiliar to you.

On a recent transatlantic crossing we sailed from sunny Miami, crossed the Atlantic via the Southern passage, cruised the Mediterranean, and finally disembarked in Civitavecchia, Italy for a three day stay in Rome. Just like they did during the Golden Age of Ocean Travel… Now that was a transatlantic crossing dreams are made of.

Pricing in the deal alert is based on availability and is accurate at the time of this posting, 5:15 PM ET 1/29/2012. 

This Week’s Handpicked Cruise Deals

Last Minute Liberty of the Seas Deal

Take a last minute cruise aboard the Liberty of the Seas from only $56 a day!

Rates just recently dropped on this Western Caribbean cruise departing in February aboard the Liberty of the Seas- easily the best ship doing short Caribbean cruises. You just can’t beat these rates that start from only $56 a day! In fact, you can book an Inside, Ocean view or Balcony for less than $100 a day.

How does savings $1,300 Sound?

CruiseDeals.com currently has tons of exclusive rates offering incredible savings over booking with the cruise line. There are some especially good rates on summer cruises where we are beating the cruise line by $520 to $1,300 per cabin, just another reason why it doesn’t pay to book direct with the cruise line. Click here to read more about these offers and how we are using Google+ to display these price advantages.

On Deck: Price Drops on Last Minute Cruises

Price Drop Tuesday

Tuesday is the magic day to book your next cruise, especially if you’re looking for something a little bit more last minute. Why you ask? Both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity offer weekly cruise deals that feature last minute cruises where rates will drop for one day only on Tuesday. These promotions provide truly great savings that shouldn’t be missed. Lucky for you, I’ve done the research and picked out the best offers from each sale:

On Google+, at CruiseDeals.com we are using the platform to display side by side screenshots proving that we are beating the cruise lines prices by huge margins of $520 – $1300 on many Summer Cruises.

The issue is that we have so many sailings where we have price advantages that I don’t have to time post them all… the overall message is do not book your cruise directly with the cruise line.  There is a huge list of reasons of why to work with a travel agent, but the most apparent is that in most cases booking directly with cruise line = paying FULL PRICE.

Some recent Google+ Cruise Deal posts:

Click on the blue links below to view details on Google+

Freedom of the Seas, 7-night Caribbean Cruise departing Port Canaveral on June 3rd, 2012.  CruiseDeals.com has an $800 advantage on Category D3 Balcony Cabins.

Celebrity Millennium, 7-night Alaska Cruise departing Vancouver on June 15th, 2012.  CruiseDeals.com has a $1,300 price advantage on balcony cabins. 

Norwegian Epic, 7-night Mediterranean Cruise departing Barcelona on June 10th, 2012.  CruiseDeals.com has a $520 price advantage on balcony cabins.

CruiseDeals.com has price advantage because we reserved this space months ago.  Thanks to the huge savings, our limited space does sell out.

Today marks the 2 week mark since the tragic Costa Concordia accident.   The Costa Concordia images and video have been streamed live on the TV and Internet from the time that we began covering it on the night of the Concordia incident.

Some news programs shamelessly used this incident to sensationalize everything that could possibly go wrong on a cruise ship…. regardless of the facts.  ABCnews 20/20 did an hour long special and quickly slipped in the fact that cruising is the safest form of vacationing and that cruising is statistically safer than crossing the street.

During the ABCnews 20/20 cruise report, ABCnews 20/20 and I were tweeting back and forth.  During that program they shared this fact with me on Twitter:

Cruising is 8 times safer than crossing the street in New York City. ~ ABCnews 20/20 on Twitter

ABCnews 20/20 Tweet to @CruiseSource about Cruise Safety

The ABC2020 Twitter account only has 36,000 followers… it would’ve been nice if they would have shared this statistic on the air with millions of people watching.

Cruise Ship Safety:

It’s been frustrating watching the media skirt around the facts of cruising during the last 2 weeks.  The good news is that experienced cruisers desire to continue cruising has not been impacted by the incident.  Most share the sentiment of Barbara D. on CruiseDeals.com Facebook page:

“I think now would be the SAFEST time to cruise – no captain is going to deviate from the approved course at this moment!  Sign me up. ” ~ Barbara D.

I agree with Barbara, while cruising has displayed a remarkable safety record over the last 100 years, we are headed into a time of even more safety and security.

I can’t sit here and write that cruising is 100% safe.  But, I can say that it is statistically safer than driving, flying, or even crossing the road.  Driving is one of the most dangerous things that we do in life… we make it safer by wearing seatbelts, defensive driving, not texting, etc.

Since nothing in life is 100% safe, here are some cruise safety tips [most of which apply to all travel]

Cruise Safety Tips

#1:  Drink alcohol in moderation.  No matter if you are on a resort, a local bar, or on a cruise ship; the more intoxicated you get the more likely you will do something that causes bodily injury.  Also, in case of an emergency on land or at sea drinking too much alcohol will make you unable to respond in a necessary manner to save yourself or others.

#2 Pay attention during the Muster [lifeboat] drill.  I’m as guilty as anyone for taking the muster drills lightly.  I have taken pictures and tweeted them at numerous muster drills.  After 20 cruises, I’ve done just about everything except pay really close attention to the drill.  From now on, I will make sure I know multiple routes to my muster station.

#3 Buy Travel Insurance.  We have been recommending travel insurance for years because you never know when an unforeseen medical condition, injury, or weather event can disrupt your vacation.  Travel Insurance can save you $1000s in a medical emergency while on a cruise ship or in a foreign country.

#4 Stay connected with Walkie-Talkies.  Everytime I cruise, I see families and couples with walkie-talkies so they can stay in contact on the ship.  I always say, next cruise I’m getting walkie-talkies because it can be tough to stay connected with your group while at sea.  For my upcoming family spring break cruise, we will have walkie-talkies.

#5 Carry Photocopies of your Passport or travel documents.  We recommend cruising with a Passport even if it is not required by the cruise line for your itinerary.  Photocopy the passport and keep the photocopy on you while leaving the original in the safe.

#6  In port, use common sense.  Don’t flash cash.  Be aware of surroundings, have a map, and if just venturing out on your own plan out your route ahead of time.

#7 Don’t let your kids or early teens run all over the ship without you.  Make sure your older teen stays with groups or friends.  After dinner teens need to be in teen club or in the room.

No matter if you’re in the local grocery store parking lot, at a resort, or even on a cruise ship we can run into the occasional person who has bad intentions.  Cruise ships are safer than other vacation options because it is a controlled environment.  Random people cannot just come and go from the ship.  There are cameras all over most cruise ships.  In the rare case that another passenger or crew member causes harm to you or your possessions on a cruise ship, report it immediately to the pursers desk.

Cruise Ships Sinking

The Costa Concordia accident was caused by a Captain going off the planned route to do a “drive-by” of an island.   Prior to this accident, I’m confident that Captains going of route was extremely rare.   After this accident, it is a guaranty that Captains will not make even the slightest change in the route without proper approvals.   The Costa accident was a once in 100 years event… use the tips I offered above and cruise confidently.

Author note: Rich Tucker is founder/editor of CruiseSource.us and has cruised 20+ times in the last 5 years. Winner of the 2008 Shorty Award for providing the best travel content on Twitter.  Follow @CruiseSource on Twitter

Families have been saving vacation memories in photo albums for generations… so it makes sense that Picaboo, a premier provider of photo products and CruiseDeals.com have teamed up to give away a FREE Cruise!

How to win the 3 or 4 night Carnival Cruise?

2 weeks of love cruise giveaway

Use Picaboo’s easy to use software to create a photo book about something you love or are passionate about it

Fill out the entry form and share your photo album

14 top albums will be choosen – each of the top 14 will be shared and will win a prize

the owner of 1 of the top 14 albums will win the GRAND PRIZE, a 3 – 4 night Carnival Cruise for 2 departing from Miami or Port Canaveral Florida Sept 2012 – April 2013.

You must enter by January 31st, 2012 so Click here to get started.