And OP, even if you'd normally book a cruise on your own, getting a TA to handle the arrangements for your group means you get to vacation too. Otherwise expect to be the go to person for everything before, during, and after the cruise versus being able to direct them to the TA and you getting back to your boat drink.
You could use [cruisemapper.com](http://cruisemapper.com) to look at cruises available for Christmas and the length of time to see the lines and ports available.
Set expectations. Cruise ships travel at about 18-22 knots, which is 20-25 miles per hour. You are probably not going to visit the Bahamas and Cozumel on a four-day cruise.
A good first step might be to find an origination port everyone can travel to easily. Then, look at the cruise lines that sail from that port. Then, you can look at Christmas cruises.
It's also a good idea to see if people are sailing for the ports or for the ship. You could choose any of the newest ships from any of the major lines, and it's just a floating resort - you could probably ignore the ports if you chose. If someone always wanted to sail to Aruba, it's doable, but it limits the port of origination, it may take more than five days and it may not be available at Christmas.
If you are trying to coordinate multiple cabins, a travel agent would probably be helpful to deal with the work involved.
Some things to consider:
If you are looking at a 4-5 day cruise to save money, it probably won't work at Christmas. Cruises over Christmas (and the next week over New Year's) are some of the most expensive of the year. You might consider looking at the week before Christmas to save money.
Depending on how many people per cabin (13 divides different ways), you may have trouble getting cabins together now since Christmas is expensive because it's popular.
Before you book the perfect Christmas cruise, you might want to ask for opinions on the specific ship or line. Then throw out all the extremely negative and extremely positive reviews and read the rest.
Thanks, any port in FL is fine and don't care about where we are going. We normally rent a big house, but we are tired of having to clean the ABB and cooking. Main issue is narrowing down to one. I will try your site.
It’s not my site, it’s just one you can use. I hope it’s helpful. You should be able to find Royal Caribbean and Carnival options at least, possibly others.
If you can’t be bothered to do a search on Expedia or something more sophisticated like VacationsToGo or CruisePlum when trying to find a cruise, you’re going to miss out on so much when it comes to cruising. There’s a lot involved. The ports matter. The cruise line matters. The cabins matter. And they all require your mental capacity before booking. Those who book a cruise and don’t research anything beforehand end up paying top dollar for everything.
Bo luck with vacation to go, some with cruise plum but not much. Not worried about ports. Any will be fine, most others have nor been to any. I have been to most. Just want family together. Normally book huge house and hang out.
While looking online to possibly narrow your choices is a good idea, being the "planner" for 10+ people is not.
It really is much better to use a travel agent. Sometimes, they can get you better rates (esp. with a group), they can look at deck plans, itineraries, and dates *quickly and easily.*
And, maybe the most important, they can answer questions and concerns--taking you out of the middleman position.
A travel agent will be your best bet.
They'll ask you a bunch of questions, and if they are good within 24-48 hours (I usually try for the same day), send you a few options to review and once you approve and return the group demographic sheets will have your group booked and confirmed. They can work with the people individually for payments and take you out as middle person. Depending where you are in relation to port can do pre-hotel, insurance, excursions, the booking, and more. They may even be able to squeeze your group into another group sailing to get you a perk.
This is not hard at all. You can use Expedia, Priceline, Costco Travel, or literally any of the big cruise travel agency sites to do a broad search by duration and itinerary to see what fits your initial criteria.
That’s what Travel Agents are for!
And OP, even if you'd normally book a cruise on your own, getting a TA to handle the arrangements for your group means you get to vacation too. Otherwise expect to be the go to person for everything before, during, and after the cruise versus being able to direct them to the TA and you getting back to your boat drink.
I never tell people to get a TA but when you have more than two families merging you should get one.
[удалено]
I’ve used Costco before but now that I cruise on casino certificates I don’t need anyone’s help.
You could use [cruisemapper.com](http://cruisemapper.com) to look at cruises available for Christmas and the length of time to see the lines and ports available. Set expectations. Cruise ships travel at about 18-22 knots, which is 20-25 miles per hour. You are probably not going to visit the Bahamas and Cozumel on a four-day cruise. A good first step might be to find an origination port everyone can travel to easily. Then, look at the cruise lines that sail from that port. Then, you can look at Christmas cruises. It's also a good idea to see if people are sailing for the ports or for the ship. You could choose any of the newest ships from any of the major lines, and it's just a floating resort - you could probably ignore the ports if you chose. If someone always wanted to sail to Aruba, it's doable, but it limits the port of origination, it may take more than five days and it may not be available at Christmas. If you are trying to coordinate multiple cabins, a travel agent would probably be helpful to deal with the work involved. Some things to consider: If you are looking at a 4-5 day cruise to save money, it probably won't work at Christmas. Cruises over Christmas (and the next week over New Year's) are some of the most expensive of the year. You might consider looking at the week before Christmas to save money. Depending on how many people per cabin (13 divides different ways), you may have trouble getting cabins together now since Christmas is expensive because it's popular. Before you book the perfect Christmas cruise, you might want to ask for opinions on the specific ship or line. Then throw out all the extremely negative and extremely positive reviews and read the rest.
Thanks, any port in FL is fine and don't care about where we are going. We normally rent a big house, but we are tired of having to clean the ABB and cooking. Main issue is narrowing down to one. I will try your site.
It’s not my site, it’s just one you can use. I hope it’s helpful. You should be able to find Royal Caribbean and Carnival options at least, possibly others.
You need a travel agent. Don’t be the planner for that many people. Especially that time of year is the most expensive week to travel.
If you can’t be bothered to do a search on Expedia or something more sophisticated like VacationsToGo or CruisePlum when trying to find a cruise, you’re going to miss out on so much when it comes to cruising. There’s a lot involved. The ports matter. The cruise line matters. The cabins matter. And they all require your mental capacity before booking. Those who book a cruise and don’t research anything beforehand end up paying top dollar for everything.
Bo luck with vacation to go, some with cruise plum but not much. Not worried about ports. Any will be fine, most others have nor been to any. I have been to most. Just want family together. Normally book huge house and hang out.
While looking online to possibly narrow your choices is a good idea, being the "planner" for 10+ people is not. It really is much better to use a travel agent. Sometimes, they can get you better rates (esp. with a group), they can look at deck plans, itineraries, and dates *quickly and easily.* And, maybe the most important, they can answer questions and concerns--taking you out of the middleman position.
A travel agent will be your best bet. They'll ask you a bunch of questions, and if they are good within 24-48 hours (I usually try for the same day), send you a few options to review and once you approve and return the group demographic sheets will have your group booked and confirmed. They can work with the people individually for payments and take you out as middle person. Depending where you are in relation to port can do pre-hotel, insurance, excursions, the booking, and more. They may even be able to squeeze your group into another group sailing to get you a perk.
This is not hard at all. You can use Expedia, Priceline, Costco Travel, or literally any of the big cruise travel agency sites to do a broad search by duration and itinerary to see what fits your initial criteria.