Cheap Holiday: 10 cheap

1 – Carnival Cruise Lines (cheapest)

7 nights from: $304 per person
(Miami, Florida → At Sea → Cozumel, Mexico → Belize City, Belize → Mahogany Bay, Honduras → Georgetown, Grand Cayman → At Sea → Miami, Florida)
4 nights from: $154 per person
(Miami, Florida → Key West, Florida → Cozumel, Mexico → At Sea → Miami, Florida)

If you want to leave from one of the Florida ports near a major airport, Carnival Cruise Lines is the low-price leader. The 7-night cruise is on the Carnival Glory, which is now based year-round in Miami and can carry 2,974 passengers.
Carnival and its “Fun Ships” slogan are very popular with first-time cruise passengers, and especially younger people and families, primarily from the United States and Canada.

2 – MSC Cruises

7 nights from: $329
(Miami, Florida → At Sea → At Sea → Philipsburg (St. Maarten), Netherlands Antilles → San Juan, Puerto Rico → At Sea → Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas → Miami, Florida)

Started in Italy, MSC only recently entered the North American cruise market with these winter Caribbean excursions. In the rest of the world, MSC cruises tend to be dominated by European guests, but now with their Miami-based cruises they attract mostly a North American crowd on these. They used to have 2 formal nights per cruise, and now the buffet restaurant is casual all the time, although the main dining room is a bit more formal. This sailing is on the MSC Divina, which can carry as many as 3,959 passengers.

3 – Norwegian Cruise Line

7-nights from: $349
(Miami, Florida → At Sea → At Sea → Ocho Rios, Jamaica → Georgetown, Grand Cayman → Cozumel, Mexico → At Sea → Miami, Florida)

Norwegian Cruise Line is famous for pioneering the “freestyle cruising” concept, where passengers can select from a wide range of restaurants and activities and go whenever they like rather than on a rigid schedule. This cruise is on the Norwegian Epic, carrying a maximum of 4,200 passengers, which counts more than 20 freestyle-dining restaurants on board. This massive ship also has extensive children’s programs, branded by Nickelodeon.

4 – Princess Cruises

7 nights from: $479
(Houston, Texas → At Sea → At Sea → Roatan, Honduras → Belize City, Belize → Cozumel, Mexico → At Sea → Houston, Texas)
4 nights from: $279 per person
(Fort Lauderdale, Florida → At Sea → Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands → At Sea → Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

A slightly upscale division of Carnival, the Princess Cruises leaves from Houston on this run and explores Mexico and Central America rather than the more common islands to their east. The Emerald Princess can carry 3,100 passengers having been recently renovated to include many of the newest and most popular features of the day.

Not as casual and fun-minded as the cheapest Caribbean cruises, the Princess sailings attract a bit more formality and a higher age range, though families with children are mixed in as well. Expect mostly Americans and Canadians on these cruises, with a sprinkling of Brits and other Europeans.

5 – Royal Caribbean International

7 nights from: $484
(Galveston, Texas → At Sea → At Sea → Falmouth, Jamaica → Georgetown, Grand Cayman → Cozumel, Mexico → At Sea → Galveston, Texas)
4 nights from: $327
(Fort Lauderdale, Florida → At Sea → Cozumel, Mexico → At Sea → Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

While its cruises leaving from Ft Lauderdale aren’t quite as cheap as those on Carnival, the Royal Caribbean cruises leaving from Galveston, Texas might be good value if you are already close by, but for most people you’ll get better value if you can get to Florida. This is on the Navigator of the Seas, which carries up to 3,114 passengers, and was one of the first to add such activities as rock climbing walls and an ice skating rink.

As you would expect in this price range, the dress tends to be casual and the ships attract a wide mix of younger and older and families and couples, mostly from the United States and Canada, particularly from Texas and Louisiana on this departure.

5 Looking For the Cheapest Prices on Caribbean Cruises

By far the busiest destination in the Caribbean, Cancun is obviously not an island so it might not count for some people. But Greater Cancun also consists of Playa del Carmen, the Riviera Maya area as well as Cozumel, so it’s a huge cluster of resort areas all served by one busy airport.
With cheap flights from almost everywhere and hotels starting at suspiciously low prices, Cancun is easily the cheapest Caribbean destination and a great choice for the Spring Break crowd as well. It’s worth noting that the cheapest hotels in and around Cancun might not be within walking distance of the beach. The new hotels along the Hotel Zone tend to be good value compared to Caribbean islands. If you want to stay in a lovely town rather than along a strip of new hotels, look for places down in Playa del Carmen, which is only an hour south of the airport by taxi or shuttle.

Cheap 3-star hotel average: $35.50
Cheapest RT airfare from NYC: $346
7-nights + Flight Index: $940
Popular with: Americans, Canadians, budget travelers from all over Europe, Spring Breakers

2 – Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Punta Cana has some modestly priced hotels that include breakfast, but it’s much better known as the best and cheapest place for luxury all-inclusive resorts at amazing rates. In fact, some of these all inclusives only cost a bit more than the ones that only include breakfast. There are really good air+hotel packages available that can keep prices down and offer fantastic value for the Caribbean.

Cheap 3-star hotel average: $56.00
Cheapest RT airfare from NYC: $392
7-nights + Flight Index: $1,080
Popular with: Americans, Canadians, Brits, French, Germans, Spanish, Belgians, Dutch, Swiss, Portuguese, Russians

3 – Varadero, Cuba

While Americans couldn’t legally sun themselves in Varadero or any other Cuban resort city, Canadians and Europeans are very fond of this commercialized stretch of beach out on a restricted peninsula. You’ll find mostly larger all-inclusive resorts here built specifically for the package crowds. Varadero is relatively cheap and good value for the Caribbean, and quality in its beachfront resort hotels is fairly high. Once Americans can visit Cuba solely for leisure, things are bound to change quite a bit. By the way, when I researched prices for Varadero from the US, it came up with the fairly expensive prices listed below. But I’ve included the place here because my Canadian friends assure me that it’s as cheap as the Dominican Republic when you book from Canada.
(included as a service to Canadians and Europeans who wonder where Cuba stacks up from a price standpoint)

Cheap 3-star hotel average: $276.25
Cheapest RT airfare from Toronto: $361
7-nights + Flight Index: $2,655
Popular with: Canadians, Europeans including Russians, almost no Americans…yet

4 – Negril, Jamaica

Negril, which is about 90-minutes from Montego Bay Airport by road, has a beautiful west-facing beach and an abundance of cheap 2-star and 3-star hotels, making it among the Caribbean’s best value destinations. There are also many all-inclusives and upscale & pricey 4-stars, so it’s a good mix rather than just all down-market. The gorgeous area along 7-Mile Beach is lined with smaller hotels and a few larger ones plus a few all-inclusives. THIS is where you want to go in Jamaica if you want to visit the country rather than just visiting the grounds of a hotel.

Cheap 3-star hotel average: $75.25
Cheapest RT airfare from NYC: $377
7-nights + Flight Index: $1,280
Popular with: Americans, Canadians, Brits, Germans, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italians

5 – St. Lucia

A surprisingly good value considering its remote location, St. Lucia has many very nice 3-star beach resorts at very good prices. The problem is that flights are sometimes weirdly expensive, so whether you can afford to come here or not will largely depend on getting good airfare. This is a popular stop for cruise ships and there is also a great mix of upscale resorts, so St. Lucia is justifiably popular for many different groups.

Cheap 3-star hotel average: $83.00
Cheapest RT airfare from NYC: $357
7-nights + Flight Index: $1,295
Popular with: Americans, Canadians, Brits, Germans

6 – Aruba

Almost completely flat, Aruba is another Dutch island without a striking volcano at its center. Still, it has a well developed tourist infrastructure and a busy airport with cheap flights from Europe, so it’s a popular choice for northern Europeans as well as Americans. Most hotels on Aruba are in the mid-range and upper end, but there are enough affordable places that get good reviews to make it pretty high on this list.

Cheap 3-star hotel average: $80.75
Cheapest RT airfare from NYC: $373
7-nights + Flight Index: $1,311
Popular with: Americans, Canadians, Brits, Dutch

7 – Montego Bay, Jamaica

Jamaica’s busiest airport is near the heart of Montego Bay so visitors can be checked-in sooner here than if they went to Negril or Ocho Rios nearby, but hotels here can also generally more expensive for that privilege. This is a very well developed and touristy area along Jamaica’s north shore, with plenty of large all-inclusive resorts all the way up the price scale. All along the north shore you’ll find a string of large hotels (many all-inclusive), and there are a few good activities as well. But the actual town of Montego Bay, centered along the so-called “Hip Strip” is disappointing. In other words, if you want to stay in an independent hotel and try many nearby restaurants and bars, go to Negril. Montego Bay is really only good for its larger resorts.

Cheap 3-star hotel average: $82.25
Cheapest RT airfare from NYC: $377
7-nights + Flight Index: $1,329
Popular with: Americans, Canadians, Brits, Germans, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italians

8 – Barbados

While it’s a bit farther than other cheap Caribbean destinations and flights can cost a bit more, Barbados has many good-value 3-star beach resorts in addition to some very posh and pricey resorts. Barbados has a well developed hotel scene so it won’t feel as exotic as some of the smaller islands nearby. The diving here is excellent so it’s great value for the scuba set.

Cheap 3-star hotel average: $97.50
Cheapest RT airfare from NYC: $350
7-nights + Flight Index: $1,382
Popular with: Americans, Canadians, Brits, Germans

9 – Antigua & Barbuda

Antigua is one of the more accessible Caribbean islands that is known as a playground for the rich and famous. It’s a beautiful place and flight deals are often available, but resorts here range from moderate on up to shockingly expensive. Several celebrities have homes on the island, which tells you something about the crowd that books here. Still, there are some modestly priced hotels that get very good reviews, so it’s a possibility for budget visitors.

Cheap 3-star hotel average: $117.00
Cheapest RT airfare from NYC: $318
7-nights + Flight Index: $1,455
Popular with: Americans, Canadians, Brits, Germans, Italians

Cheap/Excellent 3-star hotel: Catamaran Hotel Marina – US$153/night
Check current Antigua & Barbuda resort and package deals

10 - Curaçao

Officially part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Curaçao has excellent diving and some of the cheaper hotels in the southern part of the Caribbean. It also has a large and busy airport which helps keep airfares reasonable from North America and several key European cities. Curaçao is also seldom in the path of
hurricanes, so autumn trips are a great value here.

Cheap 3-star hotel average: $71.75
Cheapest RT airfare from NYC: $483
7-nights + Flight Index: $1,468
Popular with: Americans, Canadians, Dutch, Germans, Italians, scuba divers from all over

Cheap Holiday

2 Temmuz 2016 Cumartesi