EasyCruise - new from EasyJet

[Carolinian]

The founders of EasyJet have a new project, EasyCruise, and it sails the Caribbean in winter (the Med in summer) with cabins starting at $16 / night.
Meals are not included and can either be purchased aboard or onshore.

www.easycruise.com

 

[jfbookers]

I don't understand

I have looked at the website and am not sure how it works. Is it just one ship and why don't they stop somewhere with more and cheaper airfare?

 

[JoeMid]

I have looked at the website and am not sure how it works. Is it just one ship and why don't they stop somewhere with more and cheaper airfare?

Airfare is relative. They are catering to the EasyJet crowd from Europe and airfare to all the Caribbean is about the same I would suppose.

Yes, I think it's just one ship right now acting as a floating hotel that is not all-inclusive.

 

[JoeMid]

From TravelZoo

Special Offer from easyCruise:
$25 & up -- Mediterranean "easyCruise" (per night)

Seven Mediterranean Ports
Travel dates: May 13 through Oct. 30

Top 20 deal - sells out quickly!

We've already told you about the easyCruise Caribbean sale, but this summer you can get 30% OFF all its cruises in the Mediterranean too! From May 13 to Oct. 30, cabin nights are as low as $25.20 per person, per night. We found this rate on weeknights throughout October, but you can get the 30% discount on all rates during easyCruise's Mediterranean season.

Here's how it works:

• The ship acts like a floating hotel, each morning docking at a different French Riviera port and not departing until after midnight.
• Choose where and what date you want to board, with a minimum stay of two nights.
• So, if you’d like to hop from from Cannes to Monaco, just join easyCruiseOne on Saturday and Sunday and get off Monday (click below for full schedule).
• To arrive back at your departure point, you could cruise roundtrip for 7 days from any of the islands that easyCruise serves.

This offer is based on two people traveling together and is valid for cruising May 13 through Oct. 30. Weekly ports of call include: St Tropez, Cannes, Nice, Monaco, Imperia/San Remo, Genoa and Portofino. You must book by January 31.

How to book: Click here to see the offer on the easyCruise website. Click 'book now' and enter the code etzooriv to get the low rates. During booking, prices are displayed as 'per cabin', rather than the 'per person' rate.

About easyCruise
easyCruise is the latest holiday innovation from the founders of easyJet -- a popular UK based, low-cost airline. It is particularly aimed at people in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Onboard amenities includes a café, sports bar/restaurant with drinks, meals and an evening DJ, and on-deck outdoor cocktail bar with hot tub and gym.

Travelzoo Tip: Booking dates on the easyCruise website are displayed in European format (day/month/year), so please remember to convert when making your booking.

 

[Carolinian]

I have looked at the website and am not sure how it works. Is it just one ship and why don't they stop somewhere with more and cheaper airfare?

There is a section on the website on ''newbuilding'' with designs for new ships under construction.

Maybe they could add some EasyJet flights from Miami to Barbados at typical EasyJet prices - which make Southwest look expensive.

Where I think this could be quite interesting is island hopping before or after a timeshare vacation. One could use an open jaw ticket combined with a couple of nights on Easy Cruise to see a couple of other islands. Say, fly into Grenada preceding a Barbados t/s exchange on Thursday, take Easy Cruise to St. Lucia and then to Barbados for the exchange, and fly home from Barbados.
Alternatively, one could do St. Vincent and Martinique after a t/s exchange on Barbados.

I don't know that I would want to do a no frills cruise for 7 days, but island hopping for a couple of days could be quite attractive.

 

[elaineUK]

Thanks for the tip on the EasyJet cruise. I like the idea and can't wait for them to introduce more destinations. Not sure that the beautiful people of Cannes, Nice and Monte Carlo will welcome the budget backpackers its aimed at!

The cheapest night I could find on the european cruise was in May at GB £55. The rest of the year dates ranged from £70 to £150 for a standard 2 bed cabin per night ($40-90).

I thought it would be a great way to skip along the coast, but there is a minimum stay of 2 nights, so its more of a hop than a skip. Ensure your itinerary allows you to hop off at your preferred destination!!

For anyone who can go to the caribbean immediately, there are some excellent bargains of £33 per cabin per night in January and February.

Elaine

 

[Keitht]

This isn't a criticism of the concept, but I have heard it referred to as more akin to a ferry service than a conventional cruise. Don't expect all the service and frills that you get on most cruises. It really is intended to be the cruise equivalent of the low cost airline.

 

[hibbeln]

There's an article about the EasyCruise in the Feb. 2006 Arthur Frommer's BUDGET TRAVEL magazine. They sent a guy on the cruise and had him report back. He gives tips for being on the cruise, etc. (like, eat on shore..).