January 29, 2007

CRUISE DEALS? OF COURSE THERE ARE!




Notice all the Dutch Cruise Ship deals...coincidence? I've been told many times there is no such thing as a coincidence...



CRUISING 2007
Deals are out there for Caribbean trips



(Source)--Cruise lines are having trouble filling cabins in the Caribbean this season. That's good news for you. In fact, this may be the best time to nab a bargain.


In a recent conference call to the financial community, Howard Frank, Carnival Corp.'s vice president and chief operating officer, admitted bookings and fares for the giant cruise conglomerate are soft.
"It's been a challenging environment in the Caribbean," Frank told analysts. The hardest hit, he said, were the shorter three-, four- and five-day cruises. To prop up corporate coffers, Carnival Corp. is aggressively cutting prices for its fleet of ships in the Caribbean, Frank noted.


Cruise specialist Rick White of White Travel in Hartford, Conn., summarizes the seascape this way: "As to the current state of Caribbean cruises for this season, it is definitely a buyer's market."



Clever, but overused and transparent marketing excuses


While Frank blames a slowing economy for slow bookings, White thinks it's over-capacity. "There are just too many beds sailing to the Caribbean at the same time,"
he explains. "There was probably a need for one more ship in the Caribbean; unfortunately, 10 lines built the ship. And they built them bigger . . . and bigger . . . and bigger. "A ship of 50,000 tons used to be considered large--now it's simply a large lifeboat, says White. "[Norwegian Cruse Line] is building three more ships of approximately 4,000 passengers; Royal Caribbean is building ships for 5,000 passengers each. That's more than the population of some ports they visit."


Carnival's Frank, though, sees the weakness in the Caribbean as temporary. "We're convinced that we're going through a period with the Caribbean trades that will eventually turn to the better for us," said Frank.
There are no short-term solutions to the problem that he can see, he concedes, but he's hopeful the company will weather this cycle. (Cycle of what? Violence? Crime? Violence and crime = NO FUN on vacation!)


Before bargains dry up, White suggests considering these Caribbean deals that were available at press time. They include:


- Celebrity's Constellation, 11 nights from Cape Liberty to Ft. Lauderdale, Nov. 5, 2007, from $689.

- Holland America's Maasdam, 10-night round trips from Ft. Lauderdale, in April, November and December, from $649.

- Holland America's Oosterdam, 7-night Mexican Riviera round trips from San Diego, in September, November and December, from $649.

- Holland America's Zuiderdam, 7-night Caribbean cruises round-trip Ft. Lauderdale, in October, November and December, from $479.

- Princess' Crown Princess, 7 nights from New York to San Juan, Oct. 20, from $329.

- Princess' Caribbean Princess, 7 night round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale, Dec. 2, from $449,

- NCL's Norwegian Pearl, 9 nights round-trip from Miami, February and April departures, from $559.

- NCL's Norwegian Spirit, 8 nights round-trip from New York, February through August, from $489.




6 comments:

Anonymous said...

If all the cruise lines can give up on Aruba, they may be able to fill more of their cabins with tourists. People are scared to death by the corrupt and brutal Aruban Dutch police. No Body, No Missing Persons. Just runaway Americans!

Anonymous said...

The cheap Aruban roundtrip planes are the old garage sale junky squeaky old jets certified by the Dutch Air Authority. Any of you are flying with them on your own risk.

Anonymous said...

The cruise deals could become a curses deal. The evil Arubans emboden the terrorists to attack the American super class cruise ships. They can kill thousands of innocent tourists in few minutes in the Caribbean Sea. People are recommended not to board any cruise ships until all the evil Dutch are locked up behind bar. The evil Dutch are the new terrorists threat.

Anonymous said...

ok- some facts?-- these ships are the size of mega malls and are being built at an alarming rate.
it IS just a coincidence that the Dutch ships are also on sale, it's because Holland America is not a household name in the US like the biggies Celebrity, RCCL, and Carnival. With only 17% of the American public ever having cruised, it's just overbuild...
and
Just a fact, Aruba is selling out constantly, it's a myth that tourism is down. I'm a travel agent (as well as a minister) and I can't get space for people during the most popular times. And even during non-peak times, there are NO bargains to be had. ARuba is still a hotly sought after destination.

Lastly, People disappear everyday here in the US , and with our sophisticated authorities, cases go unsolved by the hundreds. Children reported missing are found dead in TRUNKS of cars, mere yards from their homes,despite massive TAX payer dollars and hours of US police forces. Please dont' generalize and blame an island nation unfamiliar to this type of crime for the this tragic case.
Also,in my heart, I firmly believe that three young men could not possibly have managed to pull off the perfect crime. Someone would have cracked by now, someone would have made the wrong move..it's just not likely. Were they with her at some point? no doubt. Did they leave her alone on the beach, in a drunken stupor unable to fend for herself.. probably. ARe they responsible for her possibly wandering over the cliffs into the churning sea? or for the possibility that some fishermen from Venezuela came across her passed out on the beach, and simply made off with her? there are just too many variables. Someday Natalee will tell us herself, for now, only God knows for sure.,

Of all the caribbean nations, Aruba is one of the most contemporary, safe, and peaceful.

Anonymous said...

All we know at this point Aruba is in disarray and chaos due to the mass layoff of government and hotel resort workers. Even some church workers are being let go. Some megachurches in US are advising their church members not visiting to all the Dutch islands and boarding Dutch ships. They think the Dutch are Devil, Anti-Christs and Anti-American. Also the presidential candidates are calling their supporters not to gamble on the Aruban casinoes with their offshore online operations, not to break the federal laws. Aruba is currently sitting on top of the pile of bribery and corruption probe investigation files scrutinized by the Congress Foreign Relations and Ethics Committee. The FBI just got some warrants to arrest the law breakers on that unsafe dirty dingy Dutch Aruban colony.

Michelle Says So 2.0 said...

Whoever said "reverends", "pastors" or "priests", etc. were truthful? Look at all the scandals they produce themselves.