Saturday, January 1, 2011

Lynn's Cruise Planner


This can be used to research / review cruises + get a feel for what folks are saying about their experiences on various cruise lines as well as specific cruise ships. This is perfect to pick a cruise departing from Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego or San Francisco for a short curise to Mexico or Canada. If you have a flexible schedule as many seniors, you likely can get huge discounts.

This page within their site is the one I mentioned that searches for "Just the cruise you want" by offering more advanced filtering options. Their prices seem OK, but I have never booked with them. Their search engine is the best I've found. My most recent search filtered for cruises with these parameters:
  • Minimum of 7 days & maximum of 21 days
  • Stateroom = "Cheapest Suite"
  • Cruise Lines = Celebrity or Holland America or Royal Caribbean
  • Departure Ports = Los Angeles or Long Beach or San Diego or San Francisco
The results were only cruises that met each of our 5 requirements. They have a more basic search page also like most of the sites offer but I find this one the best.

This page is great for doing research on a particular ship. Details for virtually every ship can be viewed here. Ships are listed alphabetically and grouped by cruise line. For example, if I want to explore deck plans for the Celebrity Infinity, I scroll to that listing & click the name. Once at that page, there is a tab toward the top labeled "Deck Plans". I can then select any of the 11 decks for a detailed look at how the cabins or public areas are arranged.

Cruise Critic - Message Boards, Etc.
The above site can be used to research / review cruises + get a feel for what folks are saying about their experiences on various cruise lines as well as specific cruise ships.

Another site to check for cruises.

Sometimes you can get a great deal if you buy a cruise at the last minute.

Travelocity - Ship Finder Page
This page is great for doing research on a particular ship. Details for virtually every ship can be viewed here. Ships are listed alphabetically and grouped by cruise line. For example, if I want to explore deck plans for the Celebrity Infinity, I scroll to that listing & click the name. Once at that page, there is a tab toward the top labeled "Deck Plans". I can then select any of the 11 decks for a detailed look at how the cabins or public areas are arranged.

Travel Insurance - Comparison & Quotes
This is another link that I find useful when buying trip insurance. In fact I just used their services to buy insurance for our upcoming cruise. I entered requested info then compared 12 different policies. I think you can compare up to 6 at a time. These are a few of the best pages I use when planning a cruise.