Southern Caribbean Cruise From Just $753 For 2, Taxes and Fees Included!

Looking for a cruise that’s a bit unique and also a hell of a deal? A seven night Southern Caribbean cruise out of Colon, Panama in March, 2014 might be just what you’re looking for. Why? Colon is typically a port of call for ships passing through the Panama Canal. Royal Caribbean is the only major cruise line to be using Colon as a home port in 2014.

To sweeten the deal, right now, Royal Caribbean has a Panama BOGO promotion, meaning a couple can get on the Vision of the Seas for a very low price. Starting from Colon also gives you a chance to spend time before or after at a great Panama beach resort, exploring the Panama Canal or visiting the rainforest.

The Cruise

 

Everyone longs for a Southern Caribbean cruise and what better home port than a Central American city right in the thick of things. Embarking from Colon, Panama means there is no long, at sea, journey from Florida. This means more destinations in a much shorter time.

Vision of the Seas embarks from Colon for this seven night journey at 5:30pm on Saturday, March 29, 2014. She makes four port calls before arriving back at Colon on Saturday, April 5 at 6:30am. This could be subtitled the ABC Cruise as the ship makes a stop at all of the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao), along with Cartegena, Colombia.

Cartegena is the first stop and a good long one. Vision of the Seas reaches the Panamanian neighbour at 10:30am on Sunday, March 30 and doesn’t depart until 9:30 at night. After a day at sea, she arrives at Kralendijk, Bonaire on Tuesday, April 1 and stays from 10am to 6pm.

Vision continues her journey eastward and arrives at Oranjestad, Aruba on Wednesday, April 2. A ten hour stop, the ship is docked in Aruba from 8am to 6pm. The final port call is on Thursday, April 3 from 7am until 4pm at Willemstad, Curacao. Vision of the Seas arrives back at Colon at 6:30am on Saturday, April 5.

The Price

As mentioned, this is a Royal Caribbean Panama BOGO (buy one, get one free) promotion so staterooms can’t be expected to stay empty for long. This deal is only available on inside staterooms and is similar to Carnival’s Super Saver fares, in that the room is not assigned until the time of check-in.

An interior stateroom for 2 can be had for as low as $753 CAD, government taxes and fees included! This is equates to just over $53 per person per night – a rate tough to find on other cruises with taxes not included.

The Ship

Vision of the Seas has been in service since 1998 and is one of six Royal Caribbean Vision Class ships. Vision Class includes Legend of the Seas, Splendour of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas, all built between 1995 and 1998 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France.

Vision is in the smaller range by today’s standards with a gross tonnage of 78,340. She is 279 metres or 915 feet in length and has eleven decks accessible to passengers. The ship has a capacity for 2,435 guests with 765 crew members on board.

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.

A Euro Experience in the Caribbean With MSC Divina From Just $451

Not a new player to the world of high seas cruising but a relative newcomer to the Caribbean, MSC Cruises offers a Euro style experience while cruising on this side of the Atlantic. Cruisers can experience a six night Western Caribbean journey on board the MSC Divina from a taxes included price of just $451.04 USD per person. This is an extreme hot deal and you have to act quick.

The Cruise

 

MSC Divina embarks from Miami,Florida at 7pm on Sunday, January 12, 2014 for a six night Western Caribbean cruise. She makes three port calls along the way before arriving back at Miami at 7am on Saturday, January 18, 2014.

The first port call is at Georgetown on Grand Cayman Island. The ship makes this stop on Tuesday, January 14 from 7am until 4pm. The following day, it’s off to Cozumel, Mexico where Divina will dock from 8am to 5pm.

The final stop is at Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. Great Stirrup Cay is a small island in the Berry Islands of the Bahamas. This is a private island that is owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines.

The Price (note: prices for MSC in American currency)

For as low as $451.04 per person, including taxes and fees, an interior stateroom can be had on this cruise, based on double occupancy. This means, a couple can be on board the MSC Divina for just over $900 USD.

This is a hot deal which is already mostly sold out. If the price tickles your fancy, you’ve got to act fast.

The Ship



MSC Divina is a new ship, making her maiden voyage on May 27, 2012. She was named in honour of Sophia Loren. Divina is one of four MSCCruises Fantasia Class ships, along with MSC Fantasia, MSC Splendida and MSC Preziosa.

Divina is a large ship. With a gross tonnage of 139,072, she is the tenth heaviest cruise ship on the high seas today. Her length of 333 metres or 1,093 feet currently ranks her ninth in the world. The ship has 18 decks with 14 accessible to passengers. Divina has a capacity for 3,502 passengers with around 1,388 crew members also on board.

For 2014, Divina is the only one of the 12 ships belonging to MSC Cruises to be full-time in the Caribbean. MSC Musica is the only one of the 12 to spend at least some time in the Caribbean. MSC Cruises is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and was founded in 1987.

 

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.

Cross the Atlantic on Norwegian Epic From Just $499!

Not a last minute deal, but a great chance at sailing across the Atlantic on the world’s third largest cruise ship. As far as gross tonnage is concerned, Norwegian Epic is behind only the Royal Caribbean twins, Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas. In April, 2014, Epic repositions from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean. You can be on that cruise for as low as $499 per person!

The Cruise

 

On Sunday, April 27, 2014, Norwegian Epic leaves her winter home in Miami, Florida to make the eleven night journey to Barcelona, Spain. Epic arrives in Barcelona at 5am on Thursday, May 8, making just one port call along the way.

Her one stop? Funchal, a city on the Portuguese island of Madeira. Epic stops at Funchal on Monday, May 5 from 10am to 6pm. Funchal is the largest city in the Maderan Archipelago of Portugal with a population around 112,000.

In May, the average day time high on Madeira is around 22 celcius, or 71 fahrenheit. Tourism is fast becoming the island’s biggest industry. The port of Madeira now only handles cruise ships and ferry boats. All industrial shipping traffic has been moved to a different port around 20 kilometres away. For soccer fans, Funchal is the birth place of Cristiano Ronaldo, star of Real Madrid and the Portugal national team.

The Price

An interior stateroom, located on deck 11, for this cruise can be had for as low as $499 per person. The ‘normal’ rate for one of these rooms is around $899. Additional government fees and taxes are considerably less than a Caribbean or Mediterranean cruise at just $63.88 per person. This all means that an interior stateroom for two can right now be had for as low as $1,125.76, taxes included.

Norwegian Cruise Line has recently sweetened the deal on their cruises, offering an additional coupon book with each cruise booked before April, 2014. The coupon book offers up to $300 in onboard savings (not on the price of the cruise..).

The Ship

Norwegian Epic is a destination in itself. The flagship of Norwegian Cruise Line is the third heaviest cruise ship on the high seas, behind Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas from Royal Caribbean.

Built by STX France (Chantiers de l’Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire, France), Epic entered service in 2010. She was to have a twin sister but the second ship was cancelled in 2008. Epic has a gross tonnage of 155,873 and is 329 metres or 1,081 feet long. She is just 14^th in the world when it comes to length.

Passenger capacity is 4,100 with a crew of 1,753. There are 19 decks on the ship with 15 accessible to passengers. With just one port call over eleven nights, Norwegian Epic has to have endless entertainment, and it does. Highlights on the ship include rock climbing, 10 pin bowling, the biggest spa at sea, an aqua park and live entertainment featuring the Blue Man Group at the head of the list.

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.