Help! First timer with a cruisecompete.com question

[bialy]

We have been getting quotes for an RCCL cruise. I have been reading and have been told that there are no discounts, the price is what it is, etc on RC. There is a TA on *****.com that is giving us a quote that is considerably less than the others. I have called and spoken with the agent and she just said that is their price (not that I don't want to pay less, but it just makes me wonder). I checked the Better Business Bureau site and saw that they have been in business for 30 years, how many complaints over the last 3 months, if they've been settled and so on and they seem on the up and up. For all you cruise vets....does this sound legit? HELP!!! :confused:

 

I believe that giving their name is not allowed on this website, but if you want to discuss this further, please E mail me.

 

Thanks so much!

[CaptData]

Yes, it is. They are cutting their commision. Some companies are now giving away pre-post cruise stays ect. Good luck and have fun.

[mitchmagi]

What often happens is that the travel agent makes a group booking well in advance ( and hence gets heavily discounted group rates )

 

The travel agent then sells these cabins at the lower rate to individuals - hence the big price saving.

[sportsterjohn]

I have booked 2 cruises through companies I found via cruise compete. No problems, they are legit.

[richandcindy]

We have used ***** for three years now. We use a different agent each time going just by price. RCCL and Celebrity do not allow TA's to giveback their commission thus you cannot get a better price for a standard listing. The only exception is for group bookings when an agency buys a bunch of cabins hoping the price will go up but then having to sell at a big discount when they have left over cabins. For example expedia.com bought the entire ship for the Norwegian Dream Apprentice Show sailing in Sept out of NYC. They are now forced to sell them for $399 inside. No other agency has that same sailing.

[vmom]

I noticed the same thing, one bid was considerably lower. Some cruise agencies buy a large block of rooms at a group rate and then are able to sell them lower than what an individual booking would be. You are likely getting the group rate.

 

I'd say go for it!

[kruzkupple]

I've used them a couple of times, and in fact one of my current bookings on NCL Jewel was made with a TA off a Cruise Compete referral. Funny thing was, I had consulted that agency prior to checking with CC and had received a quotation. One of the quotes I got from CC was for an at-home TA representing that same agency, but offering a lower price. Apparently many such TAs work out of their houses and are willing to lower their commission in order to make sales. It all worked out fine for me, and saved me mucho bucks. I'd recommend Cruise Compete without reservation.:)

 

Jack

[lel5344]

When we booked our 11/7/05 Celebrity Cruise in March of 05, we got quotes from several ***** agents. We then went to the TA of our choice who matched the best quote we received and threw in a bonus celebration package to boot. We ended up with a spectacular deal.

[KalenaD]

we have booked a cruise for Dec with an agent from *****. I did the same checking because this deal seemed too good to be true, she told me she bought these cabins over a year ago and has been sitting on them since. We got a balcony room on a Holland america ship for 780$ each, and she kicked in 4 bottles of wine, dinner at the pinnacle, and a photo credit. I'll reserve judgement on the perks when I see them, but the price of the cruise alone is great and everything was up to snuff. Now if I can only get a decent deal on airfare from Seattle we should get our whole cruise including hotel for around 2000$ for both of us. I'll always check ***** from now on.:)