CRUISING IN STYLE: BEAUTIFUL SHIP, DELICIOUS FOOD, DRESSING UP!

Deal hunting is for me a vocation: I was raised to avoid paying full price, counseled to wait patiently for a sale, trained tirelessly to seek out treasures in thrift stores. This approach has allowed me to punch way above my weight class, so to speak, enabling me to enjoy luxuries that would normally be far outside of my budget. Once more, patience has paid off, literally. Thanks to an irresistible last minute fare on Cunard's Queen Victoria, we will once more be taking to the high seas for 21 days in a deluxe inside cabin for $2,300 per person. We will be cruising roundtrip out of Rome, hitting several French and Italian ports in the Ligurian Sea before heading south, crossing the Straights of Messina, sailing to Türkiye, then hitting Greece before heading back to Rome. How to find low fares like these? Basically, last minute bookings; over the last 16 years, I have consistently found such prices by looking within the 90-day sailing window, meaning looking at a cruise 90 days or less from the date of departure. That's because 90 days out is when most cruises can be canceled and fully refunded without having to resort to insurance claims. Many cruisers book voyages years out, but then life happens, health issues arise, etc. Thus, as a cruise draws nigh, and specifically that 90-day deadline, passengers cancel, cabins open up, and cruiselines get desperate to fill them (passenger spend on board is the primary way that most cruise lines now actually make their profits: ). Cruise Lines therefore start offering very attractive fares with onboard credit, etc. I actually looked at this exact voyage last year, and this same cabin was selling for $4,000 a person. Two months ago that had dropped to $2300 for the deluxe inside. This price includes taxes and fees, but excludes gratuities of $18 per person per day, (which constitutes a completely separate topic worthy of its own diatribe). This fare covers dining in the main dining room, known on Queen Victoria as the Britannia Restaurant; meals in the Lido Buffet on Deck 9; and afternoon tea in the Queen's Room with scones, sandwiches, and pastries. In terms of beverages, the buffet area offers a water, coffee, tea, and a small selection of juice. Anything beyond that must be purchased a la carte or as part of a paid drinks package. Breakfast room service is complimentary, but no longer are other meals or late night room service. When we were on board Queen Victoria this time last year, one could also obtain complimentary sandwiches and pastries in some of the lounges, and a few typical pub dishes were still being offered free of charge in the Golden Lion pub, presented alongside an array of surcharge items. However, Cunard (and other Cruise Lines) has been decreasing the number of items complimentary in the fare and increasing the number of surcharge food items and venues, so I'll be interested to see what is inclusive this time around. No matter what, we are looking forward to being pampered in the elegant retro Art Deco environs of Queen Victoria, to dressing up every night and tripping the light fantastic in the ballroom, to meeting interesting new people and making new friends. And, hopefully, to seeing friends from previous voyages! More details on our plans for the various ports to follow! #cruising #cruisedeals #Cunard #traveltips #travelhacks #dressingup #cruiseship