I am 54 years old and have not been on a cruise in 25 years and I listen to your show every Sunday. I was wondering if you could help me out and tell me what is the best months to travel Royal Caribbean to either the Western Caribbean or Eastern Caribbean.
Best,
Linda LaRocco
Hi Linda,
Thank you so much for tuning in!
Cruises on Royal Caribbean, indeed any cruise line, are always cheapest in September and October. That's partially because it's a slow travel time and partially because it's hurricane season in the Caribbean (so Caribbean cruises are particularly cheap). But you could encounter stormy weather then. Prices are still cheap for the Caribbean in November, but you have very little chance of a hurricane then, making it an ideal time to cruise.
But really, there are cruise deals in every month of the year right now, thanks to the current recession. The key is to use a cruise specialist, by which I mean a travel agency that specializes in cruising, that has the pull to get you the best deals. Cruising is one of the last areas of the travel industry where agents remain strong. They bring the cruiselines the majority of their business and when an agency is particularly successful at moving cabins, the cruiseline will reward it with extra perks to pass on to its customers. Perks like free upgrades, on-board ship credits (sometimes totalling $200 per person or more), a waiving of the mandatory gratuities and more. And I've seen some cruise agents throw in free airfare to the port recently to drum up business. These aren't just perks, they can be HUGE money-savers for passengers. It's been estimated that cruisers spend a good 25% of the cost of the cruise on-board the ship, for such extras as specialty meals, drinks (alcohol and soda are extra), shopping, shore excursions, you name it. Having a good chunk of shipboard credit can therefore save you cash.
There are many good cruise agencies out there. Some that have crossed our radar recently include: TravelThemesandDreams.com, VacationsToGo.com, CruisesOnly.com, CruiseStar.com, CruiseBrothers.com and . I'd suggest you search those websites and see if you find an RCL deal that looks good to you.
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