Newbie...needing direction!

[kimberlyk970]

We love to travel..but FINALLY my DH & I are taking our first cruise!! I enjoy researching all aspects of our trips to get the best deal but since this is our first cruise I need some 'seasoned' opinions. We're pretty narrowed down to the Carnival Dream Western Caribbean cruise next June. I'm a bit confused on where to book! I know we can get Carnival's early saver discount, however I've been on a comparison(multiple bid) site and have received bids that are hundreds of dollars cheaper(including port charges, taxes, etc.) I feel like I'm comparing "apples to apples" BUT?!?! Thanks for any advice!

[lilybug23]

I would book with Carnival. If you book with an outside agency and the price for your cruise goes down you will not get the difference in OBC or credited to your overall total. Plus depending on the agency you are wanting to book with, if anything happend and you couldnt go on your cruise you would be out of that money. Carnival will at least refund or put your money towards another cruise. Hope this helps. My DH and I are going on the DREAM 7/24/2010. CAN'T WAIT!!!:D

[Nunu]

I would book with Carnival. If you book with an outside agency and the price for your cruise goes down you will not get the difference in OBC or credited to your overall total. :D

 

:confused: My TA will honor any price drops.

[oceanseagle12]

First- congratulations, I hope you love cruising as much as I do! Just be forewarned- it is habit forming!

 

I feel like I'm comparing "apples to apples" BUT?!?!

 

That is is a big but! :)

 

First, double check the following:

1) Make sure the category matches. Some of the responses on that compete site don't always send you a quote for the cabin you requested. For example, they could be for a category 1A, when you were comparing a 4A.

2) Verify that the cost includes port charges, taxes, and fees. TA's sometimes separate out the portion that they get their commission on, and call that your cruise fare. So on the face, it may look a whole lot cheaper than Carnival, when it really is close to the same. I am not suggesting they are attempting to deceive, but just confirm what the TOTAL amount you owe will be. Get it in writing!

 

Also, keep in mind that some TA's will not work with you on price drops, etc. Also, Carnival will not speak with you about your booking if you book with a TA- you have to go through the TA.

 

Personally, I don't like that aspect. If I have a problem, I want the ability to go straight to the horse's mouth, so I have booked direct on my three cruises, and probably always will.

[lilybug23]

Like I said, it depends on the agency. My mother booked a cruise last year and wound up not being able to go for health reasons and she was out the money. She faught tooth and nail to get her money but they would not refund her. She also had travel insurance. Not sure what went wrong, i just know she did not get her money back. :(

[Baystate]

I booked early saver with a well known online agency so I assume I will receive price reductions until paid in full and then onboard credit after that is done. The last time I cruised a few years ago I booked with the same online agency and received reductions and then finally onboard credit.

[oceanseagle12]

I booked early saver with a well known online agency so I assume I will receive price reductions until paid in full and then onboard credit after that is done. The last time I cruised a few years ago I booked with the same online agency and received reductions and then finally onboard credit.

 

 

You are indeed eligibilefor the price reductions, but it is contingent upon your TA doing the necessary work to get it- you cannot make the claim directly with Carnival.

[Pegs222]

We love to travel..but FINALLY my DH & I are taking our first cruise!! I enjoy researching all aspects of our trips to get the best deal but since this is our first cruise I need some 'seasoned' opinions. We're pretty narrowed down to the Carnival Dream Western Caribbean cruise next June. I'm a bit confused on where to book! I know we can get Carnival's early saver discount, however I've been on a comparison(multiple bid) site and have received bids that are hundreds of dollars cheaper(including port charges, taxes, etc.) I feel like I'm comparing "apples to apples" BUT?!?! Thanks for any advice!

 

I have booked with a PVP twice and the other four with a TA. I would never go with and outside agency if only because I have no idea who they are, where they are, how their business is run and they will not offer you the Carnival guarantee. It would never IMO be comparing apples to apples. Just remember when you book with a TA or a Carnival PVP you get the Carnival guarantee. The "other guys", do not and will not guarantee you that.

[Baystate]

You are indeed eligibilefor the price reductions, but it is contingent upon your TA doing the necessary work to get it- you cannot make the claim directly with Carnival.

 

You are completely right. The last time I cruised I called them each time and they had me hold while they called Carnival. I do have to admit that I would rather talk directly with Carnival, and that should be a real consideration.

[chachi]

I am planning on booking the same cruise in July. I plan on booking through Carnival because I feel that it will be easier to deal with the early saver rate. Like someone else said, make sure you are comparing the same categories. When I go on Carnival's website, the cheapest price the comes up automatically is the 4A. You can change the category yourself to make it 1A and get a cheaper rate. When I look on some of the more popular travel websites, they show me the 1A price first.

[grandmato4]

If booking with any TA be sure you have in writing their policies on cancellations as they may have additional fees beyond any imposed by the cruiseline. They may have a fee for any changes to your original booking, or even if they will honor price reductions may limit the number of times they will do them. As another poster on the board found out a few days ago each time they did get a reduction with their Early Saver rate it reduced the original amount of OBC they were originally going to get through the TA so their great deal didn't turn out to be so great. They'd asked if the TA did price reductions which they were told that they did but had failed to ask if it would effect their OBC and the TA didn't tell them upfront that it would. And yes, be sure you have in writting the total cost before booking anything as the advertised price is not always what your total price will come out to. If you do book with a TA Carnival will not speak to you about your booking or "help" if you have problems with your TA.

 

Quotes from the site you're referring to very often are for guarentee rates when you may be comparing to a specific category OR they may be for a lower category than what you are comparing to. I used the site last year and 9 out of 10 quotes that I got did not quote the specific category that I had requested. All the quotes looked good until I dug a bit deeper. As others have said, amount may not actually include taxes, fees, port charges. If you do narrow your decision down to one or two of those quotes do a google search for information on the specific TA you are thinking of using to see what kind of reviews are out there for them. That simple bit of research can often prevent a lot of problems after the fact for you.

 

Remember that anything that looks to good to be true usually isn't!;)

 

Booking through TA's and/or on-line sites can be great but unfortunately it can also turn out to be a nightmare when someone doesn't do really good research before hand, especially on on-line sites now-a-days. Good to see you are checking everything out BEFORE actually booking:)