It's Official: I Booked A Cruise

[mt_goodrich]

Our first cruise ever.

 

Grand Princess sailing out of Galveston on January 8, 2005.

 

Category BB (Balcony) on the Caribe Deck, Room C704.

 

I did the online pricing, as well as ask for quotes. I got a total of eight quotes e-mailed to me from various TAs. The price I got was over $200 lower than the highest quote I got for same category. I figure that is $200 I can spend towards the fun things on the ship. It pays to research and shop around.

 

Now...how to I get one of those countdown clocks?

[DX_Chic72]

Congrads on booking your first cruise. :) Now the question is, will you be able to wait until next January before you do the "I received my cruise documents" dance? ;)

[LARGIN]

More than happy to assist a newbie cruiser..

Go here and follow the instructions..

http://www.geocities.com/quietman01970/maker.htm :)

[mt_goodrich]

Thanks for the help LARGIN :)

[mii]

Congrat's on your first cruise. I am excited for you. In fact just today we got our pre cruise doc's for our cruise in Oct. No matter if it is your 1st cruise or 7th like us you stil get excited when you get your documents.

 

 

Marilyn

[sue d. miller]

Welcome to Princess, MT!!!! :D Be prepared to be hooked. Any questions you have, just throw them right out. We are glad to help any way we can!!! The Grand is a beauty, and the BB's on Caribe are awesome. Great choice!!:D

[Coolmama_1]

I am sooooooooo jealous! We just got back from our first cruise on Monday! Congratulations! You will have a ball:)

[Jeepers385]

Yeahh MT, you'll have a ball. We did the Grand last year, it was our 1st Princess cruise and we loved it. As for the countdown clock go to the Technical Boards and there's a lot of good info on there.

 

Debbie

[Shelli]

Welcome to cruising-- you'll soon be as hooked on it as the rest of us! :) Good job on your research... an informed cruiser is a happy (and wealthier!) cruiser.

[WillB]

"I did the online pricing, as well as ask for quotes. I got a total of eight quotes e-mailed to me from various TAs. The price I got was over $200 lower than the highest quote I got for same category. I figure that is $200 I can spend towards the fun things on the ship. It pays to research and shop around."

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I certainly hope you enjoy your first cruise. I remember mine very well, even after the next 2 dozen.

 

Certainly it is your right to get the best deal, you can. But, I am going to stick up for the agent a little bit.

 

It payed you to shop around, but it didn't do much for the seven travel agents that spent time putting together your quote. I can understand 2 or 3 quotes, but eight?

 

The cruise line sets the price. The agent makes a modest, fixed commission from the cruise line. Seldom, if ever, does the price differ much between one agent and the next.

 

You may, at some point, need assistance from that agent. How many hoops will the low ball agent, that gave away some of their commission, be willing to jump through?

 

Just something to think about.

[CruiseFever]

You're just going to love this. Let us know if we can help!

[mt_goodrich]

WillB....point well taken. I know that these folks are in the business to make money and I have nothing against that.

 

However, there is a good reason I ended up with eight quotes. It is because six of the TAs acted as if they didn't want my business.

 

I started with three quotes. I called each agent. Two didn't answer their phones and I tried several times. And, the third was so surly that there was no way I would deal with that person ever again.

 

Discouraged isn't the word to describe how I felt.

 

Okay....decided to do this again.

 

I requested three more quotes. Guess what? The fourth TA said they were busy and would call me back (oh...it has been three days...no call back).

 

Fifth TA was very nice and was a pleasure to talk to; however, when they sent me a price quote, it didn't include tax and port charges, which added another $200.00 to the price. I could book online and gotten a much cheaper price.

 

Sixth TA has yet to return my call as well.

 

I requested two more quotes and TA #7 passed me onto someone that handled "new cruisers". This one tried to sell me a package I did not want and was high pressure. When I told them exactly what I wanted, they became rude. I ended up hanging up the phone.

 

TA #8 (the one I ended up booking with) was WONDERFUL and was able to answer all my questions. He went step by step on the booking procedure and was sure to let me know that my deposit was being charged by Princess and not by the travel agency, thus, I would be protected if something happened to the TA or his agency.

 

I was concerned about a location on the ship where my cabin would be. He called Princess on my behalf and was able to determine if I would be under the pool area or not.

 

Since then, this TA has been prompt to e-mail me my information and explained that I needed to log into the Princess web site to begin filling out my Profile.

 

So, as you can tell, I could have stopped at the first three quotes; however, I felt that with the amount of money I will be spending, and this being my first cruise, it would have been negligent on my part to not get additional quotes.

[stoneharborlady]

We returned July 10 from our first cruise, and it wont be the last. Best vacation I ever had. You will love it!!! Dont know what I would have ever done without the help from these good folks at CC. They are terrific. You have a question, just ask. You are guaranteed answers. You will be hooked for sure, on cruising, and on these boards. Enjoy!!

[Kaye from Chicagoland]

A lot of work you went to! Well worth it I guess! Welcome to the wonderful world of cruising! You will have soooo much fun!!!! This will be my husband's first cruise too!!!!

 

Have a terrific trip! & Bon Voyage!

Kaye

[mt_goodrich]

Thank for all of the encouragement. I almost gave up as I had run into the trouble I did.

 

Back in 1998, my wife and I were to go on a cruise with my parents. They had been on over ten cruises and absolutely loved it. They were going on two cruises a year.

 

Unfortunately, four months before we were to sail, my father was diagnoised with an aggressive form of cancer. He passed away within five months. We had to cancel our cruise and never got around to booking another.

 

Over five years has passed and my mother just returned on a cruise she took with her best friend. She enjoyed it so much that she convinced my wife and I we need to go.

 

So, now the waiting begins. We are both excited and a little nervous. But I am glad that I found this board to help answer questions I may have.

 

At the moment, I am trying to find pictures that someone has taken while they have been on the Grand Princess so I can get a better overview of things.

[sue d. miller]

MT, You are going to love it. Just stick with us while waiting, and the ship will feel like home when you board. Just ask anything you like, and we will do our best to answer. You can also have fun, and make lots of new friends while you are getting all your info!!!! :D Here are some pictures you can start with!!! http://webshots.com/search?query=grand+princess&start=0

[geocruiser]

MT

 

Congrads on booking your first cruise, you will love it. I still remember my first cruise. It was in the 1970's on the Oceanic (Home Lines). That's when I got hook. Enjoy the time leading up to your cruise.

 

Geo