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CNN Live Saturday
"Weekend Getaways"
Aired November 08, 2003 - 12:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD CNN ANCHOR: Are you dreaming of a vacation on the high seas, maybe?
Peak booking season is coming up. And if you want a deal on a cruise, you have to act fast now, says Stewart Chiron. He's the president of Leisure Pro's and is known in the business as the cruise guys. He's Dallas for this Saturday's "Weekend Getaways."
Good to see you, Stewart.
Fredricka, it's great to be here
WHITFIELD: The economy is perking up a little bit. Folks are finding jobs. You say they need to spend money on booking a cruise.
Hey, any time is a great time to get away
WHITFIELD: All right lets talk about some of the places where you can find the best deal.
Are we talking about Caribbean cruises or are we talking about over seas, maybe to the Mediterranean?
STEWART CHIRON, "THE CRUISE GUY": That's right. I think some of the best deals is aboard the Royal Caribbean's voyager class ships the Explorer and the Navigator are (UNINTELLIGIBLE) southern or eastern or western Carribien from Miami. And, I mean, these are the largest ships in the world. Any time you can get either of these two ships under $1,000, you're doing great. Right now you can find these prices starting as low as $699.
WHITFIELD: And does that usually include airfare?
Because I know sometimes those packages do include airfare.
CHIRON: Actually most people book them separately because they have their own air miles and their own ways of getting to the various ports because know they are all over. No, these are cruise only. The airfares are not that more expensive. I mean, these ships are just monsters. We're showing the voyager class ships and these ships as I mentioned, 142,000 tons. To put in propsective, the Titanic was only 46,000 ton. And there's so much to do, which is why these ships have so much to offer.
WHITFIELD: What makes this peak season as folks get ready for the holidays, people are saving money trying to figure out how they are going to stretch their money for the holidays, are they thinking about vacations already?
CHIRON: Sure. People are looking to go -- there are people right now that are looking go next week. People looking to go away for New Year's, forget it. There's still availability for Christmas. Obviously, the airfares playing into that. There is stuff for Thanksgiving. But fill in those weeks. If you go a few weeks before, a few weeks after, you can save thousands of dollars.
WHITFIELD: OK, to save that money, is it best to book directly through the cruise line or do still want to go through the travel agent?
CHIRON: I always recommend, if you're not buying a coast-to- coast ticket. Always use a travel agent. They will always be your best friends. The crews lines are different. They offer different products. They go to different ports. They're going to be your best friend in making sure you get the right vacation that right price that fits anybody's budget.
WHITFIELD: Stewart Chiron, sounds like good deals out there. And folks have to look ahead and expect that it's going to be about a week vacation time on those cruise ships?
CHIRON: Well, it can be anywhere from three to four days, five day, seven nights. Or you also got your two week cruises, off to Europe on some incredible lines. And there's some incredible bargain.
WHITFIELD: Stewart Chiron, the cruise guy of the thecruiseguy.com.
Thanks very much. We'll be booking reservation on those cruises.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 8, 2003 - 12:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD CNN ANCHOR: Are you dreaming of a vacation on the high seas, maybe?
Peak booking season is coming up. And if you want a deal on a cruise, you have to act fast now, says Stewart Chiron. He's the president of Leisure Pro's and is known in the business as the cruise guys. He's Dallas for this Saturday's "Weekend Getaways."
Good to see you, Stewart.
Fredricka, it's great to be here
WHITFIELD: The economy is perking up a little bit. Folks are finding jobs. You say they need to spend money on booking a cruise.
Hey, any time is a great time to get away
WHITFIELD: All right lets talk about some of the places where you can find the best deal.
Are we talking about Caribbean cruises or are we talking about over seas, maybe to the Mediterranean?
STEWART CHIRON, "THE CRUISE GUY": That's right. I think some of the best deals is aboard the Royal Caribbean's voyager class ships the Explorer and the Navigator are (UNINTELLIGIBLE) southern or eastern or western Carribien from Miami. And, I mean, these are the largest ships in the world. Any time you can get either of these two ships under $1,000, you're doing great. Right now you can find these prices starting as low as $699.
WHITFIELD: And does that usually include airfare?
Because I know sometimes those packages do include airfare.
CHIRON: Actually most people book them separately because they have their own air miles and their own ways of getting to the various ports because know they are all over. No, these are cruise only. The airfares are not that more expensive. I mean, these ships are just monsters. We're showing the voyager class ships and these ships as I mentioned, 142,000 tons. To put in propsective, the Titanic was only 46,000 ton. And there's so much to do, which is why these ships have so much to offer.
WHITFIELD: What makes this peak season as folks get ready for the holidays, people are saving money trying to figure out how they are going to stretch their money for the holidays, are they thinking about vacations already?
CHIRON: Sure. People are looking to go -- there are people right now that are looking go next week. People looking to go away for New Year's, forget it. There's still availability for Christmas. Obviously, the airfares playing into that. There is stuff for Thanksgiving. But fill in those weeks. If you go a few weeks before, a few weeks after, you can save thousands of dollars.
WHITFIELD: OK, to save that money, is it best to book directly through the cruise line or do still want to go through the travel agent?
CHIRON: I always recommend, if you're not buying a coast-to- coast ticket. Always use a travel agent. They will always be your best friends. The crews lines are different. They offer different products. They go to different ports. They're going to be your best friend in making sure you get the right vacation that right price that fits anybody's budget.
WHITFIELD: Stewart Chiron, sounds like good deals out there. And folks have to look ahead and expect that it's going to be about a week vacation time on those cruise ships?
CHIRON: Well, it can be anywhere from three to four days, five day, seven nights. Or you also got your two week cruises, off to Europe on some incredible lines. And there's some incredible bargain.
WHITFIELD: Stewart Chiron, the cruise guy of the thecruiseguy.com.
Thanks very much. We'll be booking reservation on those cruises.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
