Wheres the cheapest place to buy a cruise?

[hott_michelle2001]

Wheres the cheapest place you can buy a carnival cruise on the web? Have you had a good experience with that place?:rolleyes:

[scchasgal]

Rules of cruise critic don't allow us to mention specific ta websites but the cost of the cabin will be same for all Carnival the only difference will be some TA perks that may be thrown in.

[*Mach*]

We are not allowed to request or offer travel agent of personal vacation planner information on this forum... sorry...

:)

[hott_michelle2001]

awwwww man...OK!

[AWCHIEF]

Sorry, but we cannot name names here. Just start searching and find the best deal for you. Good Luck

[sunsailsand]

Rules of cruise critic don't allow us to mention specific ta websites but the cost of the cabin will be same for all Carnival the only difference will be some TA perks that may be thrown in.

So what kind of perks are we talking about? I personaly would take a lower cost cruise and not a higher cost with perks.SO what im asking is ....is it worth it?

[Lydia B.]

Also please note that as for Carnival it is my understanding that what Carnival charges is the exact amount that your travel agent must charge. This is a farily new ruling, so like another poster said you might get some perks, like a shipboard credit from your travel agent. But for the actual cruise price they can not deviate.

[BratDet]

Just an FYI...if you use a TA- you will not get upsell/upgrade offers.....

(So Carnival rep told me).....so that is something to consider when choosing where to book...

 

bernadette

[firefly333]

I stopped using a TA when they started to charge $25 pp for processing a price drop. They used to discount a small amount, on RCL it was OBC for about the same discounted amount, because they were not allowed to discount.

 

If I book ES I would book direct so I can put in for my own prices changes. I had a TA tell me $60 price drop wasnt worth their time to process. To me $60 would be worth my time.

[RayJacki]

Maybe try some of the online auction sites? I've seen what appear to be much less expensive options there. ;)

[5waldos]

The price that is advertised will be the same or the agency will have their rights to sell Carnival pulled. Beyond that you might find some "perks"- discounts on excursions, OBC, hotel rooms before the cruise or after- for that you need to look around and see what is being offered.

[silkhair1]

Just do a search and see what you can find on your own. I was told that if I was booking early saver, to book directly with CCL. It was easier to do the price drops on my ownthan through a TA. I did this (no price drops)and of course it has gone up $85.00 pp. now. Oh well.

[Martini Mom]

I used a TA in my hometown. I knew exactly what I wanted and just let her book it and have the commission. Why not support my local mom and pop business. :)

[firefly333]

I used a TA in my hometown. I knew exactly what I wanted and just let her book it and have the commission. Why not support my local mom and pop business. :)

 

I have 700 shares of Carnival stock. Why would I want Carnival to have to pay a TA when they can keep the profit within? I love my PVP. Im for supporting Carnival's bottom line.

 

PS Im just pulling your leg .. I really couldnt care less who uses whom to book.

[cdamion]

I stopped using a TA when they started to charge $25 pp for processing a price drop. They used to discount a small amount, on RCL it was OBC for about the same discounted amount, because they were not allowed to discount.

 

If I book ES I would book direct so I can put in for my own prices changes. I had a TA tell me $60 price drop wasnt worth their time to process. To me $60 would be worth my time.

 

There are travel agents out there that will not charge the fees. A GOOD travel agent will provide services beyond booking a trip and collecting a check. If they offer the ES fare, they should be willing to submit the form even if it is for a $1 price drop.

 

$25 fee for doing it is truly ridiculous.

[Jolimont]

From what I've seen discounts have a lot to do with the popularity of the home port. For instance in Spain cruises out of Barcelona cost more than cruises out of Malaga. Cruises out of Venice cost more for Italy. I think cruises out of San Juan also costs less than similar cruises out of Miami. So, if you happen to be close to a less popular port, you will probably find some great deals, particularly as sailing date comes close.

[Jason26]

Techincally speaking, TAs are not supposed to lower prices beyond a certain point; meaning a TA is not supposed to offer or advertise a price, for example lower than what Carnival would charge someone directly. I've been on approximately 8 cruises and have booked the last 6 on a particular online site that will offer discounts anywhere from 5% to 15% off the best prices you can get booking directly through Carnival of some of the other large online booking sites. The drawback is that you are reruired to do your own reserach and they do not provide services that a traditional TA provides. That being said, if you are willing to do your own reserach and follow things such as pricing drops, etc. on your own, there are better deals, at least from a pricing perspective.

 

The way it works is this particular site provided pricing and offers on on board credit (above an beyond any other credit offers). For example, I have a cruise booked the week of Thanksgiving, a balcony with 3 people. The standard pricing at the time of booking from my TA's site matched the price for Carnival and most of the other major booking site (some were more expensive). So my price was approximately $2,300 with $210 on board credit. Once I made my deposit, the price from my cruise was lowered by $210 without the onboard credit. If I look at my booking online on Carnival, it still shows that I owe the full $2,300, but that is all settled when I make my final payment, which by the way is charged directly through the cruiseline. Anyway, if you do a search, you might find what you are looking for.

[Sundiego]

I've used online TA's to book cruises with other lines, but never with Carnival if I am booking ES. Our next cruise has had 5 price drops so far. One was $5, yes, FIVE DOLLARS, lol. I watch the fare like a hawk and put in a price drop form at every opportunity. TA's don't make that much off a booking. Frankly, I would be embarrassed to ask a TA to put in all these price drop requests on a single booking. And I'm such a control freak, I like doing it myself. Having to contact a TA to do it (regardless of the dollar amount of the ES savings) just feels like a hassle to me.

[zqvol]

There are travel agents out there that will not charge the fees. A GOOD travel agent will provide services beyond booking a trip and collecting a check. If they offer the ES fare, they should be willing to submit the form even if it is for a $1 price drop.

 

$25 fee for doing it is truly ridiculous.

 

 

BTW doing a price drop without a charge is the same the boss asking an hourly work to work overtime without pay.

 

ES was created by Carnival as a way to take business from TAs. It is a lot cheaper for Carnival to give price reductions on a booking than it is to pay commissions.

[Carnival Platinum Cruiser]

Wheres the cheapest place you can buy a carnival cruise on the web? Have you had a good experience with that place?:rolleyes:

 

Prices are the same using any travel agency compared to directly booking with CCL. The difference is many TAs offer perks specifically OBC which CCL does not. Many here tell of perks being no more than 5% of the cruise price but that is not the case. Many TAs offer group bookings with added perks (OBC) greater than the 5%. There is one agency I use that will always get you between $60 - $250 OBC on any CCL 7 night cruise depending on what cabin category and price you pay.

 

For other cruiselines is can be even more. Our upcoming NCL transatlantic 15 night cruise we paid $1223 total or $612 per person including all taxes, fees etc. This travel agency was offering $225 OBC and another $50 latitudes OBC for a total of $275 OBC. This is OVER 20% OBC from our cruise price. They also wnet to bat for us getting us a free upgrade to an OV on a higher deck from an Inside cabin on a lower deck when I discovered a matching fare price drop well after final payment.

 

If you are an experienced cruiser there IMO is no need to book directly with any cruiseline. Why not get the free perks? Find one that does not change for changes/price drop submittals etc. and you have yourself an advantage.

[5PUPS]

Techincally speaking, TAs are not supposed to lower prices beyond a certain point; meaning a TA is not supposed to offer or advertise a price, for example lower than what Carnival would charge someone directly. I've been on approximately 8 cruises and have booked the last 6 on a particular online site that will offer discounts anywhere from 5% to 15% off the best prices you can get booking directly through Carnival of some of the other large online booking sites. The drawback is that you are reruired to do your own reserach and they do not provide services that a traditional TA provides. That being said, if you are willing to do your own reserach and follow things such as pricing drops, etc. on your own, there are better deals, at least from a pricing perspective.

 

The way it works is this particular site provided pricing and offers on on board credit (above an beyond any other credit offers). For example, I have a cruise booked the week of Thanksgiving, a balcony with 3 people. The standard pricing at the time of booking from my TA's site matched the price for Carnival and most of the other major booking site (some were more expensive). So my price was approximately $2,300 with $210 on board credit. Once I made my deposit, the price from my cruise was lowered by $210 without the onboard credit. If I look at my booking online on Carnival, it still shows that I owe the full $2,300, but that is all settled when I make my final payment, which by the way is charged directly through the cruiseline. Anyway, if you do a search, you might find what you are looking for.

 

Sounds like we use the same online TA.....they don't take phone calls.

I've been very happy with them and the way they reduce the final cruise price instead of giving the OBC.:)

[golfadj]

We have used a pvp for past 8 or so cruises. He left and we gave a TA a try on the next two we will do. They gave us nice obc for using them

 

For first one we have had them put in for credit on ES and they did so.

 

However as the price went down their commission has come down and the obc has dropped. Not their fault at all.

 

Will evaluate what we will do after the next two cruises but at the moment leaning towards using pvp in the future for more control over our booking..

[dclark]

Sometimes you can perks from the agent. For example, when I booked a RCL four day cruise, TA price was same as everyone elses (RCL has similar rules) but they threw in vouchers to pay for all of our tips, including maitre'd.

Next cruise we do, we will book through an airline. Airline's use an agency who has the same price as everyone else, but will will give miles , sometimes double (2 miles for every dollar) the cost of cruise, plus you can get miles from using your airline cc.

Every little bit helps.

[Jason26]

Sounds like we use the same online TA.....they don't take phone calls.

I've been very happy with them and the way they reduce the final cruise price instead of giving the OBC.:)

 

5PUPS,

 

You are absolutely correct. They have been in business many years and we always book through them. Your payment is charged directly by the cruise line, which is a plus considering some of the stories I've heard with TAs going under.

 

I was concerned at first about the email only communication. But I actually prefer that method because not only does it create a paper trail, you normally get responses within an hours, 8 AM to 9 PM (few hours less on the weekend).

 

Jason

[donaldsc]

Wheres the cheapest place you can buy a carnival cruise on the web? Have you had a good experience with that place?:rolleyes:

 

Depends upon what sort of deals the agency has done on the cruise you are interested in and what sort of perks they can offer.

 

You are going to have to sit down and devote a bit of time and effort to find your best deal. Even if we were allowed to mention specific sites, our data could easily be out of date.

 

I will mention that there are sites out there that let you enter the cruise that you want and several companies will try to get your business by sending you quotes. Again, by CC rules, you will have to find these sites by yourself.

 

DON