Carnival Still Looking Out For Canadians On This 5 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise

The Canadian dollar has dipped to levels against the greenback not seen in several years. Should this deter you from heading south for your winter vacation? Carnival Cruise Lines doesn’t think so. Carnival is looking out for Canadian residents with special rates on certain itineraries this winter. One of those deals is coming up soon on a five night Eastern Caribbean journey out of Miami, Florida. Canadian residents can be on the ship for as low as $209 each (USD).

The Cruise

 

Carnival Victory embarks from Miami, Florida on Monday, January 20 at 4pm on a five night Eastern Caribbean cruise. The first full day, Tuesday, is spent at sea as Victory powers her way south to her furthest port of call before meandering back home.

On Wednesday, January 22, Carnival Victory docks at Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos. She remains in port from 7am until 2:30pm. A short stay, yes but plenty of time to spend on the beachfront, right next to the ship and to sip margaritas at the adjacent Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville.

Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas is the port call for Thursday, January 23. Formerly known as Little San Salvador Island, Victory is anchored offshore from 9:30 to 5:30. The environmentally sensitive island does not have docking facilities and passengers must be tendered via small boat from ship to shore. Half Moon Cay was purchased by Holland America Line (under the Carnival umbrella) in 1996 from Norwegian Cruise Line.

Have a Kindle? If you're heading to Half Moon Cay, you should check out the ebook by uber-cruise expert Bob Haefliger advertised below. Haefliger's guidebooks are highly rated and specialized. At 112 pages long, this is needless to say, a very detailed guide that is up to date. The best part about 'CruisePortInsider Guide to Half Moon Cay' is that at a price of just $4.99, it's about half the price of just one beer at a Toronto Maple Leafs game!

For her last port of call, Carnival Victory travels overnight the great distance of 100 miles to the northwest and docks at Nassau, Bahamas. On Friday, January 24, she hangs out at the largest city in the Bahamas from 7am until 5pm.

Victory returns to Miami on Saturday, January 25, 2014 at 8am.

The Price (note – Carnival prices are all in U.S. Dollars)

Carnival does the best of any cruise line in the Caribbean to take care of Canadian residents and the Military of both the U.S. and Canada. The Canadian Resident rate for this cruise puts an inside stateroom as low as $209 per person. Government fees and taxes are an additional $94.55 per person. This means that an interior stateroom for two can be had for as low as 607.10, including taxes.

The Military rate is slightly more at from $212 per person, based on double occupancy. However, this rate includes a $25 onboard credit per stateroom. Any current or past members of the American or Canadian military qualify for this rate.

Just to compare how great this deal is, the Super Saver rate for the same stateroom is $249. The Super Saver is Carnival’s ultra low rate and usually there is nothing less expensive.

The Ship 

Carnival Victory is one of three Triumph Class ships in the Carnival Cruise Lines fleet. Built by Fincantieri in Italy, Victory made her maiden voyage on October 15, 2000. She is a fairly large ship with a gross tonnage of 101,509 and a length of 272 metres or 896 feet. There are 13 decks accessible to the capacity 2,754 passengers. 1,100 crew members can be found onboard.

Victory is the newest of the three Triumph Class ships. Carnival Sunshine was the first, in service in 1996. Sunshine was known as Carnival Destiny until a major overhaul and name change in 2013. The other ship is the class is the Carnival Triumph, in service since 1999. Triumph is, of course, the ill-fated ship that was stuck at sea in February, 2014. After four months of repairs, Triumph was back on the high seas and is now operating flawlessly.

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.

4 Night Bahamas Cruise As Low As $149 Per Person

Right in the middle of the high season, a four night Bahamas cruise out of Miami, Florida can still be had for as low as $149 per person. Norwegian Pearl embarks on Wednesday, February 26, 2014 and arrives back in Miami on Sunday March 2, making two port calls along the way.

The Cruise

 

The four night Bahamas itinerary embarks from Miami at 4pm on Wednesday, February 26. This is a very short distance cruise with Norwegian Pearl probably never getting close to full speed.

On the first full day, Thursday, Pearl stops at Great Stirrup Cay from 8am until 6pm. Great Stirrup Cay is a small island in the Berry Islands of the Bahamas. The island is privately owned by Norwegian Cruise Line but is also used by MSC Cruises and their only Caribbean ship, the MSC Divina.

The Kindle book by Bob Haefliger, advertised to the left, is a very indepth and up-to-date ebook guide to Great Stirrup Cay. Reviews are exceptional and at $4.99 we're still in the range of a bottle of water at the airport or cruise port. This is definitely a must read for anyone taking on a Norwegian Cruise with Great Stirrup Cay included in the itinerary.

The ship then possibly goes in reverse to spend a full day at sea before arriving at Freeport on Grand Bahama Island on Saturday, March 1. The distance from Great Stirrup Cay to Freeport is just over 100 kilometres or 60 miles. She docks in Freeport from 8am until 6pm before starting the short and slow journey back to Miami. Pearl arrives back at her home port at 8am on Sunday, March 2, 2014.

It wouldn’t be fair to ignore the fact that these dates are within the U.S. College Spring Break season. However, it is before grade school aged children take off school for a week.

The Price

Inside staterooms can be had on this sailing of the Norwegian Pearl for as low as $149 CAD per person. There is an additional $101.68 per person in government fees and taxes. The total, including taxes, for two can be booked today from $501.36.

Right now, Norwegian is also offering one coupon book per stateroom, good for up to $300 worth of onboard savings.

The Ship 

Norwegian Pearl is one of four Norwegian Cruise Line Jewel Class ships. The four ships are nearly identical and were all built between 2005 and 2007. The three sister ships are the Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Gem and Norwegian Jade.

Pearl is a decent sized ship with a gross tonnage of 93,530. She is 294 metres or 965 feet in length with 12 decks accessible to passengers. The ship has a capacity for 2,394 guests based on double occupancy. There are 1,099 crew members onboard, making for a decent guest to crew ratio for a contemporary ship.

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.

For Those Who Really, Really Love Disney

Let’s go in a different direction today. Instead of looking for the cheapest cubby hole to last out a week on a cruise ship, let’s take a look at one of the most expensive staterooms available over the next couple months. For a seven night cruise, there’s nothing more pricy than the March Break seven night Western Caribbean cruise on board the Disney Fantasy.

The Cruise

 

Disney Fantasy embarks from Port Canaveral, Florida at 3:45pm on Saturday, March 15, 2014 on a seven night Western Caribbean itinerary that really no different than any other seven night Western Caribbean cruise.

There are four ports of call on the journey with time on shore actually much less than any other major cruise line. But then, the boat is the destination, right? After a full day at sea, the first port call is at Georgetown, Grand Cayman on Monday, March 17. The stay is short, making planning ahead for the famous Stingray Bay that much more important. Fantasy is docked at Georgetown from just 11:30am to 4:45pm.

The following day, Disney Fantasy arrives at Costa Maya, Mexico at 1pm and leaves shortly after at 5:30pm. On Wednesday, she makes up for it with a full day at Cozumel, Mexico. Fantasy is at the Mexican Island Paradise from 8:30am to 5:30pm.

After another full day at sea travelling across the top of Cuba, Fantasy arrives at Castaway Cay on Friday, March 21. She stays at this private island from 9:30am until 4:30pm. Castaway Cay is located in the Bahamas and was previously known as Gorda Cay until Disney purchased a 99 year lease on the island in 1997. Unlike most private islands and beaches belonging to cruise lines, Castaway Cay actually has a dock so passengers can just walk off the ship instead of having to be tendered from a distance out at sea.

Disney Fantasy arrives back at Port Canaveral bright and early Saturday morning, March 22, 2014.

The Price

Nothing but the best for our March Break cruise. We’re looking at the still available Concierge Royal Suite on Deck 12, cabin number 12502. This is a 1,781 square foot living space, including the private veranda. There are two bathrooms with a whirlpool tub in each. There is a third whirlpool tub on the veranda.

The suite includes a living room, dining salon, wet bar and walk-in closets. To go along with the two 42” televisions, there is an extensive media library full of music CD’s and Blue-Ray movies. This stateroom can fit five guests but if more space is needed, the adjoining Concierge Family Ocean View Stateroom can also be purchased.

For the March 15, 2014 sailing, the Royal Suite can be had for the low, low price of $12,250 per person, based on double occupancy. That does not include government taxes and fees. That price is in U.S. Dollars. For additional guests, the price for the next three guests is $2,898 each. If the additional guests are children, the price is discounted to $2,548 each.

Want to take a closer look at this floating palatial suite that is larger than my house? Here’s the official Disney Fantasy website page: Concierge Royal Suite.

The Ship 

Disney Fantasy is one of two Dream Class ships and one of four cruise ships in the Disney Cruise Line fleet. She made her maiden voyage on March 31, 2012 and is the newest Disney cruise ship. Her sister is the Disney Dream, a ship that began service the year before. The other two ships in the fleet are the Disney Magic – 1998, and the Disney Wonder – 1999.

Fantasy is a large ship with a gross tonnage of 129,690. Her length of 340 metres or 1,116 feet makes her fourth longest cruise ship on the high seas today. She is just five metres shorter than Cunard’s Queen Mary 2. There are 14 decks accessible to the capacity 2,500 guest. 1,450 crew members ensures one of the best crew to guest ratios on the market today.

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.