Best prices for cruises?

[cheerdee57]

I am getting tons of e-mails from different sites that "claim" they have the best prices on a cruise, 85% off, 75% off and etc. However when I check at least 10 different sites and compare apples to apples (same cruise ship, date, destination and etc. ALL PRICES ARE THE SAME no matter what cruise site I visit. Does anyone know if there is something different out there? and why would they all be the same if they are trying to get your business?

Thanks

CheerDee57

[barante]

The basic pricing may often look similar but some agencies may offer some extras. I use a plain vanilla internet site as my guide, then ask for bids from various other agencies on a compete site, and then make my selection. For example, this week I booked a 28-day sailing from Rio de Janeiro to Fort Lauderdale.

All were pretty much in the same ballpark, give or take perhaps $200. I went with an Internet provider I have used with success in the past. They threw in a $125 onboard credit that other agencies may not have offered.

Two areas where agencies make profits:

-- insurance (I had an existing policy that I modified):

-- flights. The various agencies offered flights to from Baltimore to Rio and from FLL to BWi for a total of $1,250 pp. I was able to find offers from other sources that cut that amount to a total of somewhat less than that for TWO persons.

[sjcruiser]

I got five emails today, and get around five everyday from various sites offering prepaid gratuities, free hotel stays, OBC, specialty dining for two. I usually book directly with the cruiseline, but next time around, I may go with one of the online sites, that I've used for travel for years, but never a cruise.

[janina]

The online sites are in reality just travel agencies. Talk to a local agent, and see if they can match the prices your getting, or give you a cut. I do this to support business in my local area...plus I get great prices.

[trophy_23]

The online sites are in reality just travel agencies. Talk to a local agent, and see if they can match the prices your getting, or give you a cut. I do this to support business in my local area...plus I get great prices.

 

We booked our first couple cruises locally, then the last couple I have booked through large online sites. In both cases I called my local TA and gave them an opportunity to match (or even come close) and the difference was atleast $400/pp which is enough to make me book online. I am all for supporting the local TA, but with that kind of difference, I can buy airfare or something. I will always give them a chance though.

[Hlitner]

The mass market cruise lines have imposed policies that are similar to price fixing. But this does not mean everything is the same. Some TAs will be authorized to charge a lower rate because they get special group rates or promotions. In addition, the big savings can often be found when certain agencies offer certain other promotions such as pre-paid gratuities (worth about $25 per day per cabin) or onboard credits. For example, we recently booked a Holland America Cruise. The prices were the same at all 5 TAs we normally use and also at the cruise line. However, one of our favored TAs was offering a $1050 onboard credit for that particular cruise so we took advantage of that deal. It does mean spending some time shopping around. Also keep in mind that there are often very good deals for last minute (inside of 60 days prior to cruise) bookings which are generally only available for new bookings. The lastest cruise line pricing policies seem to favor those who wait...especially for cruises in a very competitive market place such as the Caribbean. We recently got a very good deal on a 14 day Caribbean cruise that we booked about 7 weeks before the cruise. In our case we are paying about the same price for a balcony cabin that others are paying for an inside.

 

Hank

[cheerdee57]

Thank you everyone for your advice, please keep the comments coming.

It helped me so much! I have been on 10 cruises with Carnival, however I was never aware of when you see the same price over and over, some will offer "deals" along with the price. Once I got advice from all of you I called and found a great deal (so far) with priceline, offering a 7 cat. upgrade with an extended balcony as well as a free 2 night stay in a hotel. We were planning on going to Florida early anyway and staying, so that was a great savings! We are planning on going in Nov of this year. Some of you said "last minute deals" are the best. Should I wait a little longer or should I go with it now? There are only 8 cabins left on the deck we want and we want side by side cabins with my parents. Thanks again, I love this site!

Cheerdee57

[firefly333]

Thank you everyone for your advice, please keep the comments coming.

It helped me so much! I have been on 10 cruises with Carnival, however I was never aware of when you see the same price over and over, some will offer "deals" along with the price. Once I got advice from all of you I called and found a great deal (so far) with XXX, offering a 7 cat. upgrade with an extended balcony as well as a free 2 night stay in a hotel. We were planning on going to Florida early anyway and staying, so that was a great savings! We are planning on going in Nov of this year. Some of you said "last minute deals" are the best. Should I wait a little longer or should I go with it now? There are only 8 cabins left on the deck we want and we want side by side cabins with my parents. Thanks again, I love this site!

Cheerdee57

 

Sounds to me like you got hood winked and think thats a special deal ... as people are trying to tell you. NO TA CAN ADVERTISE A LOWER PRICE for Carnival (note the word advertise as they may do it privately). If you found a great price .. you could have gotten the exact same deal direct from carnival and not had to deal with a online TA that now if the price drops you have to go thru. Carnival will have the exact same price. Sorry had to go back and edit your post as we are not allowed to mention who we booked with...

 

Carnival and RCL do not allow any TA to advertise lower prices.

 

The "deals" people are talking about are not allowed to be advertised .. you would get them privately via email or over the phone. Some TAs will give you OBC or a bottle of wine, perks, on the side. Carnival now supposedly TAs cant offer a perk worth more than $25, so some TAs have quit selling Carnival cruises.

[Putterdude]

Like most I have trouble peering through the smoke and mirrors of T/A promotions and advertising. However what we do is check the newspaper ads, email promotions, online agency prices and then call our TA who does personally does over $3m of business ($1m of which is with Princess) and he always delivers us the best price.

[cheerdee57]

Read your answer to me. Sorry I don't quite understand how or what the "hood winked" means? I still have not booked the cruise. I have went through carnival in the past. Can you explain what it means if the price drops? you said I would be "stuck" Also the TA I was going to go through on -line offered a 2 night stay in a hotel or a one night worth $140.00 HOWEVER I found out I HAVE TO use the "name your price and pay (use the voucher) and then they will tell you what hotel you get. You can pick a 3 or 4 star hotel and where you might want it located, but you won't see where you pick before you book it and use your "free" voucher. I am not sure I like that as I want to be close to the terminal and know what I am getting. So maybe the "free" offer wasn't worth it? Does anyone feel I should book directly with Carnival to save me any grief? The price for the cabin, upgrade, ship and date is exactly the same as carnival is offering directly. The only "perk" was the free voucher for a hotel.

 

Thanks for any advice.

CheerDee57

[pacarolinagirl]

If it were me, I would just take a lost (so to speak) on the free hotel stay if they couldn't tell me exactly where I'd be staying before I booked it. If the cruise, etc is the same price as Carnival's, I'd book straight with Carnival. I'm a planner & I like to know exactly where I'll be and when. For me, it would most certainly be a deal breaker. Good luck deciding & happy cruising. :)