Great Deals For All And $250 Onboard Credit For Military On Emerald Princess Transatlantic Cruise!

Transatlantic repositioning season is upon us and there are some incredible deals on voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. Princess Cruises has thrown their hat into the ring with a great offer on a 15 night cruise onboard Emerald Princess. Space and time are limited in order to get on this ship for as low as $599 per person. Are you a veteran or current member of the armed forces in North America? Even better. Princess offers an amazing onboard credit for our combat heroes.

The Cruise

 

Emerald Princess embarks from Port Everglades at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on this 15 night Transatlantic Repositioning cruise at 4pm on Friday, April 18, 2014. She arrives at Southampton, England, her summer home port, on Saturday, May 3 at 7am. Along the way, the ship makes five port calls, all on the eastern side of the Atlantic. The ports are unique and the time at each port is much lengthier than most other cruises.

After six full days at sea, Emerald Princess makes her first and shortest stop at Ponta Delgada in the Azores Islands of Portugal. On Friday, April 25, Emerald is in port from 7am until 4pm before heading out to sea again for another two full days.

Emerald has two stops in Ireland on consecutive days. On Monday, April 28, she is docked at Cork, Ireland from 8am until 7pm. The following day, guests can experience a long day and a bit of the night in Dublin, Ireland with the ship in port from 10:30am until 10pm.

From Dublin, Emerald Princess takes its last full day at sea before hitting mainland Europe for her final two stops. On Thursday, May 1, Emerald docks at Brussels, Belgium from 8am until 6pm. The following day, it’s a stop on the English Channel at Le Havre, France. The final stop is the longest, arriving at Le Havre at 8am and departing at 9pm in order to cross the Channel to the final destination.

The Price

For a limited time and while there’s still space on the ship, an inside cabin on Emerald Princess for this Transatlantic cruise can be had for as low as $599 per person, based on double occupancy. There is an additional $135 in government fees and taxes. This brings the total for two for an inside stateroom to as low as $1,468.

Princess Cruises has a great offer for current and former members of the military in Canada and the United States. On cruises over 14 days in length, these brave souls qualify for a $250 onboard credit per stateroom. Remember, just one person in the cabin needs to have served. The catch is: you must submit an online form to Princess no later than 14 days prior to sailing. For this particular cruise, that 14 day window is coming up fast!

For this cruise, all suites are sold out already. Ocean View cabins start at $1,199 per person and staterooms with a balcony start at $1,399 per person. The same government fees and taxes apply, no matter the level of stateroom.

The Ship 

Built by Fincantieri on the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea in Italy, Emerald Princess is a Grand Class ship that made her maiden voyage on April 11, 2007. This is a large ship with a gross tonnage of 113,000 and a length of 290 metres or 951 feet. There are 15 decks accessible to the capacity 3,080 guests. 1,200 crew members make Emerald run smooth.

Currently, Emerald Princess is finishing up her winter schedule out of Ft. Lauderdale where she runs a mix of Southern and Eastern Caribbean itineraries of ten or more nights. Once in Southampton for the summer, Emerald will sail a mix of Western Europe, Mediterranean and Baltic/Scandinavia cruises.

The Small Print

·Because of the nature of last minute deals, the pricing printed here is fleeting and could change at any time.

·Prices are in Canadian dollars.

·Most meals are included in a typical cruise price but DRINKS ARE NOT!

·Also not included are gratuities.

·Cruise pricing does not include air fare, ground transfers and hotel accommodations before and after the cruise.

Military Need Not Stress Over Last Minute Deals From Carnival Cruise Lines

This one’s for the military. If you are, or were, active in the U.S. or Canadian military, you don’t need to bother with the stress of holding out for a last minute deal. At least, you don’t have to with Carnival Cruise Lines. To prove it, we’re going to look at a four night Western Caribbean cruise that is nearly two months away.

The Cruise

We’ve looked at this itinerary before but with a different Carnival ship. The Carnival Ecstasy embarks from Miami, Florida on January 27, 2014 at 4pm on a four night journey across the Western Caribbean. Earlier, we looked at the same cruise on board the Carnival Imagination which embarks on December 7, 2014.

Ecstasy stops at Key West, Florida on the Tuesday for a short 6 hour port call. The following day, she visits Cozumel, Mexico, remaining in port from 1:30pm to 10pm. After a full day at sea, the ship returns to Miami at 8am on Friday, January 31, 2014.

The Pricing

***note*** prices for this cruise are given in U.S. dollars.

For this cruise, the normal rate for an interior stateroom starts at $259 per person. This equates to $64.75 per person. With the $81.51 per person in government fees and taxes included, a couple can have this room for 671.30. As opposed to Carnival’s Super Saver rates, with this rate, you have some choice as to where your stateroom is located.

However, if you qualify as a current or former member of the U.S. or Canadian military (see details below), this price changes quite drastically. Keep in mind, this cruise is still nearly two months away so this is by no means last minute pricing.

For an interior stateroom (with some choice, as opposed to Super Saver pricing), the price drops to as low as $142 per person. This equates to just $35.50 per person per night and a room for two can be had for $437, all taxes and fees included.

As for the Super Saver rate, an interior stateroom starts at $189 or $47.25 per person per night. This translates to $531.30 for a room for two. However, as mentioned, with the Super Saver rate, there are some serious restrictions. You have no choice over what stateroom you end up in. All you know before checking in at the ship is that you have an interior room.

 

The Ship

Carnival Ecstasy is the second oldest active ship in the Carnival Cruise Lines fleet. She entered service in 1991 and is the second of eight Fantasy Class ships. All eight ships were built between 1990 and 1998. All eight were built by Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Helsinki, Finland (now part of STX Europe). All eight are still active and include Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Sensation, Carnival Fascination, Carnival Imagination, Carnival Elation and Carnival Paradise.

All ships, including Ecstasy, are relatively small by today’s mass market standards with a gross tonnage of 70,367. Ecstasy is 855 feet or 261 metres in length and has 12 decks, ten accessible to passengers. The ship has a capacity for 2,056 guests and 920 crew members.

Military Small Print

Available to the following members of the United States Military: active personnel, reserve personnel, active cadets, U.S. Coast Guard personnel, active member of the National Guard, Uniformed members of the USPHS (U.S. Public Health Services), retired personnel.

Also available to the following members of Canadian National Defense: active personnel, reserve personnel, retired personnel. Military member can book only one stateroom at this rate and must sail in that stateroom. Verification documents must be submitted for confirmed reservations within 72 hours for cruises outside one week prior to sailing and 24 hours for cruises within one week prior to sailing. Subsequent upgrades in lieu of price protection will no longer be offered.

The Small Print

·Because of the nature of last minute deals, the pricing printed here is fleeting and could change at any time.

·Prices are in Canadian dollars.

·Most meals are included in a typical cruise price but DRINKS ARE NOT!

·Also not included are gratuities.

·Cruise pricing does not include air fare, ground transfers and hotel accommodations before and after the cruise.