"BD" wrote in message
...
I have been looking for a cruise for myself and 3 kids in April '09. My
kids are 15 year old twin boys and a 9 year old girl. My question for
experienced cruisers on this board (we did cruise on RCCL last Christmas).

1. Since I am flexible should I wait a little longer to see if prices go
down for last minute pricing?

2. I'm leaving from Pittsburgh, so airfares add quite a bit. I saw a
Carnival cruise on the Fantasy leaving from N. Orleans where the airfare
is ony $399 person. This is a 5 night W. Carribean with stops at
Progresso and Cozumel. The total price would be under $4.000.00. Any
thoughts?

Barb


Which RCI ship were you on last time? Was it something new like Voyager
class or Freedom class. The Fantasy is nearly 20 years old at this point.
It's a rather dated design. There are almost no balconies. Life boats are
up near the pool deck, which they don't do anymore. Not many bells and
whistles compared to new ships with ice skating rinks, rock walls, mini golf
courses, etc. The Carnival ships which get the best reviews are the Spirit
Class ships. This ship is 3 generations older. They're moving those older
ships to the secondary markets. If you were on one of the newest RCI ships
last time, Fantasy could be a bit of a disappointment. Unless the ship
itself isn't that important to you.

As to pricing, there are frequently opportunities for last minute pricing
specials, but if you're looking at one of the adjacent Easter weeks - that
could be different. Those weeks tend to price higher and sell out quicker.
And with last minute pricing you risk not being able to find reasonable air.
So that's always a delicate trade off. Also with air, it's almost always
cheaper to do air separately (not through the cruise line).

--Tom