Please help! I don't want to make a financial mistake

[lgmg]

I AM CONSIDERING BOOKING AN ALASKA TRIP ON THE CORAL PRINCESS THIS SUMMER. AM I BETTER OFF BOOKING THROUGH MY TRAVEL AGENT OR THROUGH THE CRUISE LINE? I WANT TO PICK A DECENT BALCONY CABIN AND DON'T WANT TO WAIT TO LONG TO BOOK, AT THE SAME TIME, I DON'T WANT TO BOOK TO EARLY JUST IN CASE THE PRICE LOWERS. PLEASE ADVISE!!!:eek:

[asctony]

I AM CONSIDERING BOOKING AN ALASKA TRIP ON THE CORAL PRINCESS THIS SUMMER. AM I BETTER OFF BOOKING THROUGH MY TRAVEL AGENT OR THROUGH THE CRUISE LINE? I WANT TO PICK A DECENT BALCONY CABIN AND DON'T WANT TO WAIT TO LONG TO BOOK, AT THE SAME TIME, I DON'T WANT TO BOOK TO EARLY JUST IN CASE THE PRICE LOWERS. PLEASE ADVISE!!!:eek:

 

Use lower case, UPPER CASE is shouting!!!

Why not check them both out, TA & Princess and see what is the better deal. You can always get a price adjustment if you find a better price before final payment.

Good Luck! Happy Crusing!

[-Lew-]

If you have a TA you usually work with, check Princess' prices online then give your TA a call. Go with the lower price. If the cost of your cruise goes down prior to final payment, your TA or Princess should honor the lower price. Your TA, however, may charge a fee for this...ask in advance.

 

Your TA and Princess will have access to the same cabin inventory, so it should not make a difference with respect to cabin selection.

 

By the way, all CAPS is considered yelling in online forums as well as being a bit more difficult for some to read.

 

Lew

[paul929207]

I would also book with the cheapest source you can find.

[Captain Canuck]

we normally book with one of the cruise agencies that advertise here...they have a great search engine...they have always discounted the cruise lines direct website prices...not sure why..if you get a great deal and the price moves down they will normally honor it or get on board credit...but if the deal was good enough to book I can live with a lower price..i need to book early as i normally fly on points so to get ok flights i have to book early

 

enjoy your cruise..and shouting is ok as i am going deaf in one ear

[DeltaOne]

AM I BETTER OFF BOOKING THROUGH MY TRAVEL AGENT OR THROUGH THE CRUISE LINE? I WANT TO PICK A DECENT BALCONY CABIN AND DON'T WANT TO WAIT TO LONG TO BOOK, AT THE SAME TIME, I DON'T WANT TO BOOK TO EARLY JUST IN CASE THE PRICE LOWERS. PLEASE ADVISE!!!:eek:

The best way...book now with the cruise line. Choose the room, iron out all the details. Then take your time looking for a TA with a good price. When you find that TA, transfer the booking to the TA. You get the best of both worlds...you're in control at the beginning and get exactly what you want, then take your time looking for the best price.

[lgmg]

Thanks for the info. Sorry about all caps. I really don't know the proper posting rules.

[Tina G]

In your eagerness to save money, don't forget to buy travel insurance! That can be a very expensive mistake!:eek:

[cynbar]

Also, remember to be proactive and watch for price reductions for your cabin category, after you've booked but before final payment. Even if you book with a TA, they are busy with many clients and can't constantly be checking for you.You can call and ask for the new price. But after final payment, you're usually locked in, so we stop looking at that time so any new sales to fill the ship don't drive us crazy. We usually book through Princess unless we see a much lower price somewhere else. Also, when comparing prices, make sure you are comparing apples to apples, so to speak ---- same cabin category, taxes included or not.

[Iamcruzin]

The best way...book now with the cruise line. Choose the room, iron out all the details. Then take your time looking for a TA with a good price. When you find that TA, transfer the booking to the TA. You get the best of both worlds...you're in control at the beginning and get exactly what you want, then take your time looking for the best price.

 

I have to agree with Paul. I just booked a cruise directly with Princess. I was up late one night and found a bargain that I couldn’t resist. I called and booked with them because the price was so low that I thought maybe it was a flash promotion and I didn’t want to miss out. After I got things squared away with Princess I started to do research with online agencies and my local TA. Nobody would touch the booking for the price I paid. I couldn’t even find a TA who would give me an OBC to transfer my 2 bookings. I know that many have found better deals with online TAs but I think that they also book very early when the price is high. I am more of a last minute booker 5 to 6 months out. We have only been able to afford Caribbean cruises during off peak times so I don’t think that there is much profit margin for the TAs to work with.

[kymbakitty]

I AM CONSIDERING BOOKING AN ALASKA TRIP ON THE CORAL PRINCESS THIS SUMMER. AM I BETTER OFF BOOKING THROUGH MY TRAVEL AGENT OR THROUGH THE CRUISE LINE? I WANT TO PICK A DECENT BALCONY CABIN AND DON'T WANT TO WAIT TO LONG TO BOOK, AT THE SAME TIME, I DON'T WANT TO BOOK TO EARLY JUST IN CASE THE PRICE LOWERS. PLEASE ADVISE!!!:eek:

 

How did you book your cruise in July 2009? It may have been a different cruise line, but for the most part, the type of information you are seeking is the same.

 

There is truly no reason to ever book directly with a cruise line. You are forfeiting, at the very least, 10% of the cost of your cruise. I booked a cruise not too long ago and Princess gave me a cost of $4,600...booked with a TA online for $3,600....you can do the math. I had about 3 TAs give me this price....all within a $100 or so of each other. I had my cabin already secured with a booking number. I just had to hand off my booking number to the TA of my choice. I chose someone that has been in the biz for 30+ years.

 

Dawn

[Admin]

The name does not seem to disappear if it is one of their advertisers

Actually, it's a board violation no matter what company it is. Advertisers on the board don't get special exemptions. It's a board violation to name ANY travel agent/agency.

 

Cecilia

[Pam in CA]

Whether you book directly through Princess or through a TA really depends on a number of things. Some TAs have occasional $100/pp deposit promotions so if you dont' have a Future Cruise Credit, you'd have to pay the full deposit amount if you booked directly through Princess. Good TAs have cabins on hold for their clients at great rates that you won't find through Princess. You can always book directly through Princess and then get quotes from different TAs as to what their price would be and transfer your booking to the agent with the lowest price.

[kymbakitty]

I have to agree with Paul. I just booked a cruise directly with Princess. I was up late one night and found a bargain that I couldn’t resist. I called and booked with them because the price was so low that I thought maybe it was a flash promotion and I didn’t want to miss out. After I got things squared away with Princess I started to do research with online agencies and my local TA. Nobody would touch the booking for the price I paid. I couldn’t even find a TA who would give me an OBC to transfer my 2 bookings. I know that many have found better deals with online TAs but I think that they also book very early when the price is high. I am more of a last minute booker 5 to 6 months out. We have only been able to afford Caribbean cruises during off peak times so I don’t think that there is much profit margin for the TAs to work with.

 

I think it is a very good idea to book with a cruise line direct, in this case, Princess. You can always hand it off to a TA after the fact, but you can't always get the cabin you want--so grab it if it is available. For us, we've never been on a cruise where we left it up to somebody else to decide where we were going to spend the next two weeks. In fact, where we are going to stay (what cabin) is actually a big part of our research.

 

Anyway, I think getting the best price directly with a cruise line is an anomoly. Or I should say, the anomoly is that you couldn't find a TA to beat the price. I find that very odd as it has never happened in any of our cruises (can't speak for our first one....didn't know better back then, but fortunately, got a great price from a TA).

 

We just booked are 14 night Collection Caribbean a month or so ago...so it is just 5 months out and the TA gave us nearly $1,000 off the "sale" price from Princess.

 

Just research a couple TAs...throw an online TA in the mix too--especially if you know what ship, what itinerary, what cabin....and if you do use a online TA (or local TA for that matter), see if they monitor cruise prices in the event they drop. Some TAs are notorious for doing this...many say they do, but unless YOU find out the price has dropped and contact them, they would never automatically do this for you (there are a couple).

 

Dawn

[Iamcruzin]

Anyway, I think getting the best price directly with a cruise line is an anomoly. Or I should say, the anomoly is that you couldn't find a TA to beat the price. I find that very odd as it has never happened in any of our cruises (can't speak for our first one....didn't know better back then, but fortunately, got a great price from a TA).

 

 

 

Dawn

 

This cruise will be costing us $364 pp plus taxes and port charges. I have 2 inside cabins booked for the 4 of us. I think that if I were booking a balcony or higher category that a TA could beat the cruise line price. Maybe I'm doing something wrong when searching but all of the other offers have been the same price or higher. I even used the online site that allows different TA's to bid on your curise and most of the offers have been higher than Princess. They did offer OBC's and coupon books but it was still a better deal with Princess. My local TA who has booked my last two cruises usually can book me into an obstructed view for the price of an inside. She told me I did very well for myself with this booking. I haven't given up searching. I found an online TA who will match the price and give me 10% off on excursions. It's not worth transfering the booking for that but at least I am getting closer. Final payment isn't until Feb so the search continues.

[Pia1913]

This cruise will be costing us $364 pp plus taxes and port charges. I have 2 inside cabins booked for the 4 of us. I think that if I were booking a balcony or higher category that a TA could beat the cruise line price. Maybe I'm doing something wrong when searching but all of the other offers have been the same price or higher. I even used the online site that allows different TA's to bid on your curise and most of the offers have been higher than Princess. They did offer OBC's and coupon books but it was still a better deal with Princess. My local TA who has booked my last two cruises usually can book me into an obstructed view for the price of an inside. She told me I did very well for myself with this booking. I haven't given up searching. I found an online TA who will match the price and give me 10% off on excursions. It's not worth transfering the booking for that but at least I am getting closer. Final payment isn't until Feb so the search continues.

 

If you have a JJ or higher, your price should already include port charges + $71 taxes/fees. This is Princess price, so if you're paying more it's too much.

[Iamcruzin]

If you have a JJ or higher, your price should already include port charges + $71 taxes/fees. This is Princess price, so if you're paying more it's too much.

 

We have KK. So what should the charges be?

[Pia1913]

We have KK. So what should the charges be?

 

KK showing $364; my error. JJ showing $374. But you said plus port. Port should be included.

[Iamcruzin]

KK showing $364; my error. JJ showing $374. But you said plus port. Port should be included.

Gov't taxes and fees are $71.03. is this correct?

 

Thanks Pia

 

Mike

[Pia1913]

Gov't taxes and fees are $71.03. is this correct?

 

Thanks Pia

 

Mike

 

Correct. Even though this price is a giveaway, you should be able to save a little more by turning it over to a TA. Had we been booking this cruise we would have opted for an F,or a G guarantee. Only a bit more $$$, but my husband wouldn't spend one night in an inside cabin.

[Iamcruzin]

Correct. Even though this price is a giveaway, you should be able to save a little more by turning it over to a TA. Had we been booking this cruise we would have opted for an F,or a G guarantee. Only a bit more $$$, but my husband wouldn't spend one night in an inside cabin.

I couldn't book a guarantee because I need 2 rooms together so we can be close to our children. I couldn't risk one of us being upgraded and not the other. Trust me if we weren't bringing the kids I would be booking a balcony. It was actually cheaper to book 2 rooms than one room with 4 people in any category. This will be our first time in an inside. We don't spend much time in the room so I think we will be fine.

 

Thank you for your advise

 

Mike

[kymbakitty]

This cruise will be costing us $364 pp plus taxes and port charges. I have 2 inside cabins booked for the 4 of us. I think that if I were booking a balcony or higher category that a TA could beat the cruise line price. Maybe I'm doing something wrong when searching but all of the other offers have been the same price or higher. I even used the online site that allows different TA's to bid on your curise and most of the offers have been higher than Princess. They did offer OBC's and coupon books but it was still a better deal with Princess. My local TA who has booked my last two cruises usually can book me into an obstructed view for the price of an inside. She told me I did very well for myself with this booking. I haven't given up searching. I found an online TA who will match the price and give me 10% off on excursions. It's not worth transfering the booking for that but at least I am getting closer. Final payment isn't until Feb so the search continues.

 

I didn't say it was impossible--but it is the exception and certainly not the rule.

 

I would agree...it is not worth transferring. You got a great deal and you also did research to back it up.

 

Dawn