Cruise News

Cruising is a great way to get away from it all.  Everything you need for a great vacation is in one place:  a fine hotel, fabulous dining, exciting entertainment and activities, and of course, your transportation.  Once you step onboard one of these luxurious floating cities you can leave everything behind.  Work, school, bills and even your diet become something to worry about AFTER your cruise.  This is your vacation; you’ve waited months or years to escape to paradise so make the most of it.

The first thing people do when finally realizing that they need a vacation is decide what type of trip they want to take.  Should they drive somewhere, take a plane to an island resort, or maybe splurge and take a cruise.  Wait a second, splurge?  A pretty common misconception is that you will spend a lot more money on a cruise than other types of vacations.  While the total price tag of your cruise may seem like a lot, remember it includes almost all of your vacation expenses.  Once you compare it to the total cost of other getaways, (where hotel, rental car, flights, dining, snacks, entrance fees and other activities are paid for separately), you might just find that a cruise might actually be a better value.

Once you decide on taking a cruise it is time to make some important choices:

1) Do you want a Floating City or an Intimate Vessel?
2) Do you need a Great Ship or a Great Destination?
3) Do Great Beaches or Historical Sites excite you?
4) Do you enjoy Days at Sea or a New Port each day?
5) Do you require a Luxury Suite or a Budget Cabin?
6) Do you like to dress in Casual Attire or dress up in Formal Wear?
7) Do you like to sink your teeth into Good Food or tempt your palate with Gourmet Fare?
8) Do you enjoy the company of others with Assigned Seating or do you prefer Dining Alone?
9) Do you want to enjoy a range of Daily Activities or do you just want to Relax?
10) Finally, do you have a Flexible Budget or are you interested in Saving Money?

Once these questions are answered there are some do’s and don’ts you need to focus on to make sure your vacation is a success.  Over the course of the next few days beginning Monday, June 2, 2008, I will outline these under the following headings:

1) Choosing a Cruise and a Cabin
2) Day of Embarkation
3) Time spent Onboard
4) Dining
5) Excursions and Days in Port
6) Day of Debarkation

Hi Everyone!  I just wanted to pass this message along to those of you interested in booking a Disney Cruise or a Regent Seven Seas Cruise.   Please read below for the information.

Disney Cruise Line

Due to continually rising fuel prices, Disney Cruise Line® is implementing a fuel surcharge.

The surcharge* is $8 per person, per day for the first two Guests in a stateroom and $3 per day for all other Guests. It is effective for new bookings only made on or after May 28, 2008. Additionally, the surcharge will be capped at $112 each for the first and second Guests in a stateroom and $42 each for all other Guests in the stateroom.

Travel Agents should implement additional procedures to ensure that they disclose the exact amount of the applicable fuel surcharge to Clients before they make a decision to book a Disney Cruise Line vacation.

* U.S. Dollars

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

In light of the continued dramatic rise in the cost of fuel worldwide to
unprecedented levels, Regent Seven Seas Cruises will be increasing its
current cruise ship fuel surcharge.*

For all future bookings as of May 1, 2008, the cruise ship fuel
surcharge will increase to $10 per person, per day. Bookings under
deposit prior to that date will be subject to their original cruise ship
fuel surcharge amount.
*Cruise ship fuel surcharges constitute additional revenue for Regent
Seven Seas Cruises.

As most of you know from our name, Skyauction.com, we are first and foremost an auction website.  We have always felt that auctioning off travel not only created great value for our customers, but also brought a level of fun and excitement to the vacation process.  Through the years we have seen the demand for cruises continue to rise and while we continue to offer fantastic cruise auctions, certain cruise lines have asked us not to auction their product.  In addition, certain sailings, dates, and itineraries are not conducive to the bid process.  To make sure that we offered you all the options available, we created the Skyauction.com Cruise Booking Engine. 

Unlike almost all other websites on the Internet, our own team of technicians built our booking engine personally.  We have incorporated technology that allows us to promote specials that we would otherwise be unable to offer.  In the coming months we will be upgrading this area of our site with new features and components that will help you find out more information about the cruise that’s right for you.

Through the years we have continued to add new cruise lines to our booking engine.  Currently our booking engine offers the following cruise lines:  Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Celebrity, Princess, MSC, Cunard, Costa, Windstar, Disney, Oceania, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas, Azamara and Crystal.

Many cruise lines offer rates for seniors, military personnel, past guests, singles, and special regional rates based on where you live.  While we would like to accommodate all of you with auctions pertaining to your individual situation, it is impossible to do that without overwhelming the site.  These types of rates can be found in our booking engine along with some Internet-only specials.

I hope you enjoy the deals on Skyauction.com and remember if you can’t find the cruise you want via auction, post a comment about what you are looking for and I’ll try to accommodate you with an offer.  In the meantime, check out the cruise booking engine for all your cruise needs and remember we also offer our Best Price Guarantee which guarantees you will receive the best price on any cruise we sell or we will give you $50 SkyCash.

Click here for the Skyauction.com Cruise Booking Engine

Bon Voyage!!!

Well this has certainly been an enlightening week.  I have really enjoyed reading and responding to the comments I have received on my first blog post and I look forward to more communications with all of you.  Some of your suggestions have already started to be put into place, while others will begin to show up on our new offers.

This week I would like to touch on a topic that may have stopped you from trying a cruise vacation:

The Top Ten Cruise Myths and Misconceptions

1) I get motion sickness and will become seasick
First off, certain people do suffer from motion sickness and become seasick.  There are different remedies to either reduce the suffering from this or to possibly eliminate it altogether.  Most of the ships have motion sickness tablets available for free at the ship’s infirmary, so you might want to grab a couple of packets before embarkation. Today’s ships are equipped with state of the art stabilizers, which keep the motion of the ocean to a minimum, but guess what, you’re floating on a giant body of water and some movement is to be expected.  If you’re not sure how you would fair, take a weekend cruise or even a one nighter and test it out.  You might find that you’ve being missing out on a lot of fun.

2) Cruises are only for older people
This used to be the case, but no longer.  A few decades ago cruises were so comparatively expensive that it seemed that only older guests were able to afford them. Today the cruise lines are catering more and more to the younger generations and while there are some cruises that are predominantly for seniors, most of the sailings have a rich mix of ages onboard.

3) I’ll have to eat my meals with people I don’t know
Ah, getting stuck at a table with people you don’t know, that’s always fun, right?  Maybe they don’t speak your language, maybe their kids will be disruptive, but maybe you might make new friends, some of which you will continue to keep in contact with long after your cruise is over.  Some vacationers love meeting new people and ask to be seated with strangers, while others request that only their traveling companions and family be seated together.  Either way the choice is yours and who knows, maybe that person across the table will wind up being a life long friend.  Hey, it could happen!

4) I’ll have to get dressed up for dinner
Some people love to get dressed up for any occasion, while others dread having to wear a suit and tie or walking around in stockings and high heels.  On most cruises the choice is yours.  I’ve seen people dressed in jeans for formal night and others dressed in suits for themed party dinners.  If dressing up is not your style you can always kick back in your shorts and sandals at the buffet on formal or semi formal night.  Trust me, you won’t be alone!

5) Cabins on the ship are so small I’ll get claustrophobic
While it is true that ship cabins are smaller than most hotel rooms, they are certainly large enough to accommodate 2 to 4 people in most cases.  Some ships even separate the shower from the toilet area which gives the cabins two sinks and some much needed space.  And by the way, you are traveling on a floating resort, get out of your cabin and have some fun!  There’s never enough time when you’re on vacation so don’t waste it inside.

6) I always hear about virus outbreaks and I don’t want to get sick
It is true that norovirus outbreaks have happened on cruise ships.  While it is big news when a virus outbreak happens aboard a ship, these outbreaks can happen anywhere a large number of people are congregating in a relatively small space.  The cruise lines have taken steps to combat this with anti-bacterial gels and hand wipes in almost all areas of the ships.  Most ships even have crewmembers handing them out in front of all dining areas. 

7) All there is to do onboard is eat and I don’t want to gain weight
I don’t think I have ever seen so much food in my life as I did on my last cruise, but that doesn’t mean I ate it all.  If you are going on a cruise to eat you will not be disappointed; there is food everywhere and at anytime.  For those of us who are watching our weight (myself included) there are low calorie alternatives available at every meal.  If you still want to eat your fill, keep in mind that every cruise ship has state of the art exercise facilities and fitness classes available. So eat what you like — just try to leave some room for the chocolate or midnight buffet, Yum!

8) Days at sea are boring
Personally I love days at sea.  I try to explore the whole ship and get involved in as many activities as I can.  Whether it’s reading a book, taking a swim, getting a massage or winning at bingo (hurray!) there is so much happening onboard you will never get to do everything.  Just a little hint, each night you will get the next day’s schedule of events — study it and keep it with you all day, you will find yourself checking it constantly so you do not miss anything.

9) The shipboard entertainment will be terrible
I have been on many cruises and let me tell you the entertainment is usually fantastic.  I have seen Broadway quality performances, wonderful singers, jugglers, magicians, acrobats and comedians.  I always look forward to sitting back in the ship’s beautifully appointed theater and enjoying a nice performance.  Also, most ships have movies showing either in their theaters or on-deck which is always included and always fun.

10) Cruising is not a good vacation for families with young children
Cruising is a GREAT vacation for families with young children.  Almost every ship has fully staffed children’s areas, which are complete with video game systems, toys, movies and craft activities.  They are usually open late on a few of the nights, which allow parents a rare adult night out without the hassle of finding a babysitter.  Every restaurant has a kid’s menu and most will have crayons and coloring pages available. And if the kids want to, they may even be able to eat their dinner at the kids club with their friends.

I hope this eliminates some of your apprehensions about cruising — and if you haven’t sailed on one yet, what are you waiting for?

Bon Voyage!!!

Welcome travelers to the first posting of Cruise News. To introduce myself, I am Don Freno, Vice President of Operations and your Cruise Director of Skyauction.com.  I am one of the company’s original founders and actually posted the first auctions on our site on a rainy President’s Day back in 1999.  Almost three quarters of a million auctions later, I finally get to personally say welcome to our first time users and welcome back to our loyal customers.

When Skyauction.com first opened for business more than 9 years ago, our company did not offer cruises. As the business grew, cruising seemed like a perfect fit for our website. We began with a few groups on selected sailings, which quickly grew to become thousands of cabins, as you, our users greeted every auction we posted enthusiastically.  A few years later we had our technology department develop our own cruise booking engine which enabled us to offer a wider spectrum of cruise lines and sailing dates.  Tens of thousands of cruise passengers later this decision has been easily justified.

In the leisure travel market, cruising is considered to have the most exciting growth potential.  Over the last decade, the industry has transformed itself with dozens of new and refurbished ships, each one seemingly larger and more innovative then the previous one.  The market has opened up for new exotic ports of call, updated itineraries of all lengths, new U.S. embarkation ports, exciting onboard and onshore activities and a variety of themed cruises for all ages and family sizes.

Today, there is literally a cruise for everyone.  The demand for new and different experiences on the seas is steadily increasing and the cruise lines keep responding with new options and more extravagant offerings.  Almost every major cruise line has mega ships coming online in the next couple of years that will excite new and past cruisers alike.  The future of cruising looks bright and we at Skyauction.com will strive to continue to bring you good value for your dollar with exciting auctions waiting to be won.

Bon Voyage!!!