Some of the notable bargains include:
There are more deals from other cruise lines on the National Cruise Week website
There are some seriously good deals on the Transatlantic/Repositioning route here. Example: Depart late November,17 days Genoa (Italy) to Santos (Brazil) in a balcony cabin for under AUS$1000 per person. You leave the northern winter behind quickly and by the time you hit Madeira its more like summer, almost two weeks to go and it just gets hotter all the way to Brazil. We did this route with RCL two years ago and it was a blast. The passenger list was loaded with Brazilians going home after shopping in Europe and do they like to party!! Highly recommended and you're getting the whole thing for AUS$59 a day. Holiday value that's almost impossible to better….Great find OP!!
Are there extras, like port charges on top of these? Any idea how much the mandatory tipping is per head?
You can adjust the €6-$12pp/day gratuity (read as: remove) and technically leave the ship paying no more than the original purchase price (includes port fees). But they're hoping that you'll feel sorry for the hard working slaves employees on board, and splash out on your holiday of a lifetime and maybe buy some alcoholic drinks, shore excursions, raffle tickets, premium restaurant cover charges and of course visit the onboard casino & shops - to help recoup their lost profit margin on the discounted fares. Little do they know, who you are.
There is also the matter of food and drink. From the FAQ:
All food, drink and related services not included in the cruise price shall be paid at the end of the cruise. A 15% service charge will be added and detailed in the final billl. No tips are therefore required for bar and restaurant staff.
No info I can find on what the food costs, just listings of pre-bought drink packages without prices.
You an eat in the main restaurants/buffet for free - (water/tea/coffee usually free).
A nice little hack is to take buffet food back to your room in the morning, and with it pack your own takeaway lunch in the event you're not intending to return to the ship for lunch :-P
Not according to the FAQ.
From the bottom of this page:
With all main meals, entertainment, port charges, gala dinners, Captain's cocktail party and Children's club included in your cruise fare, a cruise holiday, surprisingly, is ideal for those seeking style on a budget.
When I go to try and purchase this is shows a different price. Am I doing something wrong?
Probably a bait and switch.
Try booking again from 2/9/13
Join MSC Cruises, as we celebrate the inaurgural CLIA National Cruise Week between 2 Sep - 9 Sep 2013
That to me seems really cheap.. and onya! for that, but how much are they usually? Is there a percentage off the normal price that can be seen?