I mentioned in an earlier blog about how much we like doing the short little repositioning cruises. Of course we are blessed because we live in Vancouver, but if you live in California or Seattle you too can take advantage of these repos.
We are booked on the upcoming Golden Vancouver to Los Angeles, and we scooped it up for $175 each person for an inside thru bestpricecruises.com an agency we have been using forever (this is a past passenger price - a little more if you have never sailed Princess before). It should be noted that this price was about two months ago and the price has gone up a bit, but often the price drops closer to sailing date and especially after final payment which I believe is this coming week.
Now think how romantic a short voyage would be. No distractions, great food, great accommodations, great entertainment and time alone with your honey. Normally if you book a hotel, you can't get a price lower than $100 to 150 a night (in fact we just booked Seattle for two nights and we are paying $100 night and that was thru Priceline). Then you still have all your meals and entertainment to pay for, and even parking.
After reviewing this Fall's repositioning cruises in the Pacific you can get cruises for around $55 to $75 a night! Sure you have airfare back but even with that you are still ahead of the game. We got airfare back to Vancouver from Los Angeles for $130 each, so for $305 each total $100 a night each, we have everything covered, minus drinks. And if you know me that could add up, but the price of the drinks on board are comparable to what we would pay on land. In fact just had a Cosmo at a local restaurant called Milestones and it was $8.99 plus tax! So that is more than the ship's price.
So I know I am rambling, but these repos are such a great deal and such a great getaway, and trust me your honey is going to love it. Just think breakfast in bed every day, a movie in the afternoon, latte in the atrium watching a juggler, a game of trivia, cocktails before dinner, fabulous 4 course dinner, checking out a full production show that evening, and then dancing in the disco, then go to bed and get up and do it all over again.
 |
| drinks with some of our friends on the Golden |
Many ask me when should we book a repo, well that has changed as of recent. With the loss of a few ships to Alaska these past two seasons the inventory is less. But next year we are seeing a few more ships coming back, namely one more for Princess, the Star is back. My advice is book early and then take advantage of any price drop before final payment. But saying this, you can always sit and hold out and book last minute -- meaning a month to two weeks prior. But if you are going to wait for a last minute deal be prepared to loose out on the cruise you may have your heart on, and you will probably have to settle for a cabin guarantee, and maybe an inside, however an inside is fine because you really are not going to partake of a balcony on board as it is too cold in the Pacific in September.
Now the other inside information I have - buy stock in the cruise line that you travel most as most lines have a stockholder benefit if you own 100 shares and they give you an on board credits. So with Princess for a cruise of 6 days or less you get $50, 7 - 13 days $100, and more than 14 days $250. So for this voyage we will get $50 on board credit, and we will also get a $25 loyalty credit (21 - 30th cruise with Princess) - so guess where I will be spending my $75 on board credit - yup on wine, or cosmos, or maybe margaritas... notice a trend.
So check then repos out! And bon voyage.
No comments:
Post a Comment