cruise booking site

[bluewater63]

I no longer have a local travel agent. I have been searching and making my own reservations with the help of various cruise lines. What sites have you found that offer the best prices? Can you count on the cruise line to provide the best price? :confused: I am ready to look for our next cruise and any help from you would be appreciated.:confused::confused:

[cruiserking]

I no longer have a local travel agent. I have been searching and making my own reservations with the help of various cruise lines. What sites have you found that offer the best prices? Can you count on the cruise line to provide the best price? :confused: I am ready to look for our next cruise and any help from you would be appreciated.:confused::confused:

 

We are not allowed to discuss travel websites at Cruise Critic. You might try Googling discount cruise websites and see what you come up with.

 

Jonathan

[dorisis]

There are many reliable internet travel agents but there are also good local agents. If you would be more comfortable with a face to face agent check the Yellow Pages.

[leaveitallbehind]

I no longer have a local travel agent. I have been searching and making my own reservations with the help of various cruise lines. What sites have you found that offer the best prices? Can you count on the cruise line to provide the best price? :confused: I am ready to look for our next cruise and any help from you would be appreciated.:confused::confused:

 

Sorry, specific TA's can not be mentioned here. But regarding price, most mass market cruise lines pricing will be the same whether you book directly with them or through a TA. They do not discount their prices through a TA. Ship, itinerary, length of cruise, time of year, stateroom category, etc., are the drivers regarding differences in prices.

 

What a TA often will do is offer an on board credit, or prepaid gratuities, or free specialty restaurant dinners, or some other form of perk that will not be cruise line sponsored and will come directly from their commission to entice you to book through them. They also may secure blocks of rooms that by volume offer a minor discount that may be passed on to you as well. These perks may be shown as a "discounted" price, but the base stateroom rates are the same.

 

What you need to check for with different TA's is whether or not they also charge any separate fees (separate from the cruise lines) for reserving, modifying, or cancelling a booking made through them. If they do, move on to another as the cruise lines compensate the TA's for their bookings with you and you should not pay anything additional for their service.

Edited January 15, 2014 by leaveitallbehind

[Trainer]

Here's one way to find a travel agent who specializes in cruises. Go to the home page of the cruise line you are considering. Some of them have a way to find preferred agents. This is how I found my agent whom I have now used for quite a few years. you may have to search around or put 'preferred agents' in the search box.