10 Nights On Cunard's Queen Elizabeth From Just $699

Normally, pricing for a cruise on the MS Queen Elizabeth of the Cunard Line starts at between $125 and over $300 per person per night. If you act fast, an interior stateroom on the Queen Elizabeth for a ten night Baltic / Scandinavia cruise can be had for as low as $69.90 per person per night.

The Cruise

 

This ten night cruise embarks from Southampton in the United Kingdom at 4:30pm on Friday, December 13, 2013. Elizabeth returns back to Southampton for 6am on Monday, December 23. Along the way, she makes just five port calls but the length of stay at each is nearly always longer than a typical cruise.

On Saturday, December 14, Elizabeth docks at Brussels, Belgium for a full day, arriving at 9am and departing at 6pm. The following day allows for a fair share of special brownies, stopping in Amsterdam in the Netherlands from 8am until 11pm.

Copenhagen, Denmark is the highlight of the cruise. Queen Elizabeth docks at 1pm on Tuesday, December 17 and doesn’t leave until the following day at 11pm.

For December, this is not tropical journey. The final two ports of call for the ship are in Sweden and Norway. On Thursday, Elizabeth stops in Gothenburg, Sweden from 10am to 10pm. The following day, she docks at Oslo, Norway from 9am to 8pm.

The Price

There are Flash Fare deals until the ship casts off. A Flash Fare with Cunard is fully non-refundable and must be paid in full at the time of booking. An inside stateroom can be had for as low as $699 per person. With added government fees and taxes coming to $93.98 per person, a couple can have a room on this cruise for a total of $1,585.96.

Other levels of staterooms are also available at sale pricing. An outside stateroom can be had for $799 per person. A balcony or ocean view room is just $899 per person. The same government taxes and fees apply.

The Ship

MS Queen Elizabeth is a Signature Class ship and is one of three vessels currently in the Cunard fleet. Queen Mary 2 is the flagship and came into service in 2004. The middle child is Queen Victoria which began service in 2007. Elizabeth is the baby, taking her maiden voyage on October 12, 2010. She was christened the day before by Queen Elizabeth II.

Elizabeth was built by Fincantieri in Italy. She has a gross tonnage of 90,901 and is 965 feet or 294 metres in length. There are 16 decks on the ship with 12 accessible to passengers. Capacity is for 2,092 guests.

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.

ms Zuiderdam Southern Caribbean: Premium Cruise at a Contemporary Price

It might be called a Southern Caribbean cruise but you get the bonus of the Panama Canal. It might be from $45.25 per person per night but it’s nearly half price. You have to act fast to take advantage of this amazing cruise, but it’ll be more than worth it.

The Cruise

 

Holland America Line is under the same corporate umbrella as Carnival Cruises and Costa Cruises but it is certainly a step above when it comes to quality and luxury. That’s why an 11 night Southern Caribbean cruise onboard the ms Zuiderdam from just $497.77 per person is such an amazing deal. Eleven nights of luxury cruising, topped off by six exotic ports of call and a transit of half the Panama Canal – truly the cruise of a lifetime.

However, this ship leaves Ft. Lauderdale’s Port Everglades on Monday, December 9, 2013 at 4pm. So, hopefully you can ditch work on short notice and grab a Westjet flight down to FLL.

The first port call is on Tuesday, December 10 at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. Half Moon Cay is otherwise known as Little San Salvador Island and is owned by Carnival group, functioning as the company’s ‘private island’.

After a day at sea, Zuiderdam then moves way down south, stopping first at Oranjestad, Aruba. She then makes her way west, stopping at Willemstad, Curacao on Friday the thirteenth and Cartegena, Colombia on Sunday, December 15.

On Monday, December 16, it’s time for the piece de resistance. Zuiderdam travels up the Panama Canal until the halfway point at Gatun Lake. She then spins around and heads back down, stopping at Colon, Panama for a visit before getting back out on the Caribbean.

Finally, Zuiderdam makes one more stop but equally exciting as the previous. A full nine and half hours at Puerto Limon, Costa Rica should be enough to enjoy this tropical rainforest environment. After two full days at sea, the ship reaches Ft. Lauderdale at 7am on Friday, December 20, 2013.

The Pricing

Holland America currently has flash special pricing on this cruise. This is similar to Carnival’s Super Saver rates, in that the stateroom is non-refundable, must be paid in full at time of booking and rooms are not assigned until the time of check-in at the ship.

For $497.77 per person, an interior stateroom can be had, based on double occupancy. This equates to $45.25 per night per person. Of course, with the slightest mention of the Panama Canal, government taxes and fees triple in price. Added to the per person rate is another $329.49 for The Man. For a couple taking advantage of this sale, the interior stateroom can be had for $1,654.52 with all taxes included. This is still cheaper than two weeks at a three star All-Inclusive in Cuba.

The Ship

 

One of four Vista Class ships in the Holland America Line fleet, ms Zuiderdam made her maiden voyage on December 14, 2002. She is the oldest of the four nearly identical ships that were built between 2002 and 2006. All were built by Fincantieri on the northern Adriatic coast of Italy, the same company that builds most ships for Carnival, Princess and Costa, among others. The other three ships are the ms Oosterdam (2003), ms Westerdam (2004) and ms Noordam (2006). Each name represents the four main compass points (east, west, north and south) in Dutch.

Zuiderdam is a medium to large ship with a gross tonnage of 82,305. She is 936 feet or 285 metres in length and has 15 decks, eleven accessible to passengers. Guest capacity on the ms Zuiderdam is 1,916 with 817 crew members on board to make the cruise run smooth.

 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.