Basic Questions from a Newbie Cruiser

[justjudie]

Hello,

I am in the process of persuading my husband to consent to a cruise for our 30th anniversary! Although we have traveled fairly extensively over the years, he has always been adverse to cruises, seeing them as huge "cattle calls" etc. We have always had our own boats and love the water, so thats not an issue. Having attained our late 50's we can now afford luxury cruising and after some investigation into small cruise lines I think Seabourn will be the way to win him over! I am leaning towards a South American itinerary as we have only been to Buenos Aires before, nowhere else in South America.

 

These are my questions of you more experienced sailors: As we are new to all this, is it best to find a good cruise type Travel Agent to get the best cruise and pricing available? Or is it not all that difficult to do the research myself? Can I find the best prices? Where do I look? Both my husband & I are pretty good at obtaining good travel deals via the internet, although not experts by any stretch. If you think an experienced travel agent is my best bet, might you have some suggestions on how to find those most experienced in cruise travel, specifically with Seabourn? My last question is for those of you who may have done South American itineraries with Seabourn. Any suggestions re: best times to go, best itineraries or anything else that could be helpful that you might like to share will be so greatly appreciated. Thanks!

justjudie

[Iamboatman]

I think you will find pretty universally that a good cruise travel agent can make a difference; especially if you have never cruised.

 

Is a cruise line the right one for you, because some are not what they market to be. (Seabourn is, by the way, simply the best.) What accommodation do you really want...and where on the ship. Particular ship. Ports. What you really need. What you should really expect and plan for, etc., etc. And what happens if there is a problem or something you didn't even think about?

 

Internet agencies may give you that sort of information and they may give you a good price, but unless you check out a number of agencies, you won't know what truly is good pricing and good service.

 

Boards like this are great, and use them, but...

 

That is my opinion, but of course I am a travel agent.

[simonmary]

Well, I'm not a travel agent. I don't even play one on TV, but I will tell you that if it had not been for our TA, we most likely would not have cruised on Seabourn.

 

I wanted to do a Disney cruise. At Christmas. I honestly thought that would be a good idea.

 

Asked friends of mine who had taken cruises, they both used the same TA (ironically enough, I was the one who introduced the second friend to the TA, but forgot). Called the TA and told her that. Tracy (the TA), was extremely diplomatic, but most emphatic that there would be a significant amount of children on the Disney cruise at Christmas, and was this what I really wanted, or would I rather wait until school was back in session, and enjoy a less crowded Disney cruise. :rolleyes:

 

Long story short(ish), Tracy and I went over almost every cruise line out there and she discussed the pros and cons of them along with the various ports. Through her, Simon and I decided that Seabourn would be the best idea for Christmas.

 

The cruise was a hit, and due entirely to Tracy being such a great TA. If this is your first cruise (it was essentially ours), then going the TA route, to my brain, makes the best sense.

[LaPaloma]

We have gone both routes--do it yourself and TA. We are settled on this system--we scout the Seabourn web site, and pick the cruise that we want--the site is pretty easy and fun to use--we then call the TA and have them book the cruise and do any hotels we need-- and book the air. For many years we did it all ourselves, but we found that it became almost impossible to do the air and get the best deals, and usually the TA's have some better hotel connections. Years ago the do it yourself thing was fun and easy, but for us this is no longer true. You can usually find a TA that has some good connections with Seabourn. Good luck on your cruise planning, and you picked the best with Seabourn! Don

[CruisinMatt]

I agree - Travel Agents are the only way to go!

[ltsally]

If you think an experienced travel agent is my best bet, might you have some suggestions on how to find those most experienced in cruise travel, specifically with Seabourn?

 

I have never used a TA, but perhaps the stars were in alignment when we started seriously considering our first cruise (on Silversea). Because at the same time, I happened on one of those travel magazine "Best of..." roundups that included a TA who specialized in luxury cruises. So that who we called. And who we worked with on our second Silversea cruise and our first Seabourn cruise. And have been extremely satisfied.

 

I could be wrong, but I pretty much think that the TAs who book lots of rooms with a particular line hold a bit of sway (our first SS cruise, we received extraordinarily generous room credits from both SS and the TA, for instance). On our first Seabourn cruise, we were upgraded -- does the upgrade fairy communicate with agents who account for a lot of a ship's booking....who knows!?

 

Bottom line: I think you'll find the answers to many of your questions, including - importantly - assistance with a good cabin location by using a TA. And b/t/w......you're gonna love Seabourn!