Has anyone ever booked using one of the services

[CruisinManiac]

I used one of these services last year for our Infinity cruise. We booked while on board the Summit and had 60 days to find an agent. The one we ended up going with had a group rate and saved us almost $400/person. No one else was close.

 

I was a little uneasy but was able to check them out, they were part of a larger time-share operation in FL that had marginal BBB ratings. I will say the agent was great and when there was a price reduction she was able to get us upgraded which made a real difference!

 

I also talked to at least one other from the "Service" and they seemed good as well. Since then for X cruises we've been using one of the cruise critic advertisers and for HAL cruises a friend of a friend (out of town brick and mortar) who always seems to get the best deal and can get us confirmed seating even when it's "Closed."

 

Whew! What a day. I am sorry I am just now checking this thread, but it has been one of those days where I was gone all day.

 

I wanted to update you on the mystery man TA. :) He did email me this morning (however, I just read it) and he is indeed an independent who works out of his home and can cut prices. However, he made a mistake and subtracted instead of adding, and the new cruise price for two would be $2180. Still better than some if you don't factor in the OBC's that some have offered.

 

Thank you for the post on the different experiences with this service. That's really what I was looking for. At this time, DH and I have decided to put the cruise on the back burner until after Thanksgiving. I've got too much going on right now to book a cruise. I don't want to make any mistakes. At that time, I will email the mystery TA and get a new price. I will also get in touch with a few more that I liked.

 

Thank you again and have a happy Thanksgiving! :)

[Nebr.cruiser]

I'm glad you got things figured out, even if you decided not to book for now.

 

I usually get quotes from the site you are talking about and have booked from a quote on this site a couple of times. Everything turned out fine both times.

 

It can be a challenging to figure out if the quotes are 'apples-to-apples' or not, with different prices, cabin categories, OBC, credits, policies, etc., but we usually manage to save a couple of hundred dollars pp.

[lori450]

I am not familiar with this type of service. Would someone give me an idea of what I would type into Google to do an appropriate search? Thanks

[Hlitner]

We normally avoid doing business with TAs who give us a quote and later say "they made a mistake" and need to hike the quote. Perhaps this is the truth...but more then likely its just a bit of a "come on" where they get your attention and then change the price and/or terms. When we see this kind of agent or agency they immediately fall off our personal radar.

 

Hank

[CruisinManiac]

I am not familiar with this type of service. Would someone give me an idea of what I would type into Google to do an appropriate search? Thanks

 

What you are looking for is a best cruise fare quote, or some such words.

 

We normally avoid doing business with TAs who give us a quote and later say "they made a mistake" and need to hike the quote. Perhaps this is the truth...but more then likely its just a bit of a "come on" where they get your attention and then change the price and/or terms. When we see this kind of agent or agency they immediately fall off our personal radar.

 

Hank

 

I think you are right on, Hank! :rolleyes: ;)

[jdvmd]

I am not familiar with this type of service. Would someone give me an idea of what I would type into Google to do an appropriate search? Thanks

 

There is a website that lets different travel agents "compete" for your "cruise" business. I cannot tell you how many times I have booked cruises with one of the agents that has competed for my business. Haven't had any problems whatsoever.

[lori450]

Thank you!

[Cindy G]

I've also let agents "compete" for my bookings or "cruises." We saved as much as 16% off the price of the cabin (only) not taxes, for categories including Royal and Celebrity Suites. We also booked our Galapagos Xpedition cruise using this site. We have saved thousands of dollars, but we do book suites and the longer duration cruises, So AM, Antartica, HI., Pan. Canal to name a few.

I've not had a bad experience, but we are experienced cruisers, my husband is an Atty. and I let them know up front that we are not people who can be pushed around. We also check with the BBB and other State agencies. For those concerned that he is working out of his home, most do. Cruise (a number less than two), AMEX, Cruise Plan''ers all do. I find it to be the norm and all of my "go to" agents do. I hope that this helps!