Which Cruiselines allow Aussies to book thru US agencies (and which don't ?)

[downundermatt]

I believe there are some Cruiselines that will not deal with Australians booking thru US Travel agents.

 

Can someone kindly enlighten me as to which Cruiselines will accept our money, no matter where we book ?

 

Have had no issues with Cunard/Celebrity/CarnivalNorwegian previously - just don't want to be left at the dock ....

[Tara Jane]

I tried today to book a cruise on Holland American for the Artic/Baltic region and the US company was unable to book me.

Pity as the cruise was $2000 cheaper than buying from Australia. Even taking into account I need to add about 10% for taxes as US prices dont include tax it would still be a great deal. $2000 x 2 people is a lot of money, basically the cost of the flights to Europe. Unfortunately any of the lines I can book through the USA agents dont do the route.

Edited July 6, 2014 by Tara Jane

[zoncom]

I asked my big US discount cruise agency about foreigners booking with them. They said you need a US address. I heard some US agencies allow foreign cruisers to use them as address.

[MMDown Under]

I tried today to book a cruise on Holland American for the Artic/Baltic region and the US company was unable to book me.

Pity as the cruise was $2000 cheaper than buying from Australia. Even taking into account I need to add about 10% for taxes as US prices dont include tax it would still be a great deal. $2000 x 2 people is a lot of money, basically the cost of the flights to Europe. Unfortunately any of the lines I can book through the USA agents dont do the route.

 

Have you considered Fred.Olsen Cruises or Hurtigruen, which you can book direct overseas or via overseas TAs? Should be other cruiselines as well in that region, if you do a search.

 

There is absolutely no need to book overpriced overseas cruises in Australia!

[cassamanda]

Royal Caribbean allow US bookings.

[icat2000]

Ring up Holland America in Australia and ask then to match the price. They probably waffle on about regional pricing but it cant hurt to ask. There is no reason why australians or new zelanders should be paying so much difference.

[icat2000]

I believe carnival does for their ships not sailing down or two and from here. Celebrity does too.

[Fletch1]

I recently booked a Celebrity cruise in South America through a US Agent I have used before. They took my deposit but 24 hours later, I was notified by the US TA that RCI had cancelled my booking as I had a non US address.

 

It took about 3 weeks for my deposit to be returned.

 

Princess definitely don't allow you to book through US agents. They use to but not any more.

Edited July 7, 2014 by Fletch1

[icat2000]

Wow. So now celebrity out now.

[Bodogbodog]

Crystal Cruises allow you to use a US based TA to book their cruises

The benefit of using a US based agent (there are some in Canada as well) is that they will usually rebate some of their fee back as an On Board Credit - that's always nice to have to spend on-board on tours or shopping

[fishtaco]

Royal Caribbean allow US bookings.

 

So does Carnival USA but unlike Royal Carribean Australians can book direct with Carnivals USA site or a US T/A.

 

I think this is because Carnival USA is a separate company to Carnival Australia with different sailings and ships so there would be no other way to book a Carnival USA cruise?

 

Carnival US isnt everyones cup of tea but their booking site is to me the most user friendly.

[Boof80]

Has any company ever given an actual valid reason why we pay more?

The only reason I booked our upcoming cruise with Carnival is because they were the only ones willing to work with us. I flat out refused to over pay and as such won't use those companies.

 

I can understand higher fees for cruises leaving from Aussie port since they are using Aussie suppliers to supply the ship and probably have a fair few Australian staff @ higher cost than those from developing countries. But for cruises leaving from other countries (like the USA) it is just plain price gauging.

Edited July 7, 2014 by Boof80

[The_Big_M]

Simple supply and demand.

 

We also pay the same, or less, at times.

[aussie cruzer]

Wow. So now celebrity out now.

I recently recommened a US TA I use to a friend of mine who did B2B Celebrity Med cruise.

 

He had no problems booking and had all the perks that were offer.....this was in May.

[MMDown Under]

Has any company ever given an actual valid reason why we pay more?

The only reason I booked our upcoming cruise with Carnival is because they were the only ones willing to work with us. I flat out refused to over pay and as such won't use those companies.

 

I can understand higher fees for cruises leaving from Aussie port since they are using Aussie suppliers to supply the ship and probably have a fair few Australian staff @ higher cost than those from developing countries. But for cruises leaving from other countries (like the USA) it is just plain price gauging.

 

Simply because they can. They call it regional pricing, without any shame!

 

I can also understand them charging higher prices for cruises from Australia, because we are an island, and there is lack of true competition.

 

However, most of the cruise supplies come from the USA and they employ few Australian staff. In addition, depending on demand, Americans can often buy cruises to/from Australia/NZ for less than we pay.

 

BTW I use my Australian address for all overseas cruise bookings.

[MicCanberra]

OP, it really depends on the US TA. Some will allow any booking while others will not. Our US TA will allow any booking except Princess due to our address, we could use a work around but choose to use an Aussie TA or book direct for their cruises depending on the offer.:D

[sheridan318]

I have used a US agent for a Celebrity cruise last year great service and I have also used a German agent for a Holland America cruise and once again great service and no problems at all :D

Jacquie

[lizzy77]

I have used a US TA to book a Celebrity cruise just a couple of weeks ago however my TA tried to use my future cruise booking no for some extra OBC, and Celebrity wouldn't accept it:confused: they said as it was purchased Internationally I couldn't use it. Made me a little annoyed as I purchased 3 on Celebrity Solstice and paid in US $'s!!

It was still worth booking in the US as this TA gave us an upgrade to the Premium Drink Package, $100 OBC and Free gratuities:p. As well as being cheaper.

[oskarNZ]

Disney allow you to book with a US Agent.

 

I was close to doing so for my cruise last year, but changed my mind at the last minute and decided to do the booking myself. I wanted to be online the second hard-to-get bookings opened up and decided that the OBC wasn't worth the chance of missing out on a couple of experiences that I had my heart set on.

 

For my Celebrity cruise this year I am booked in NZ dollars. For once the deal I found here in NZ was equal to any I could find overseas. Plus it's a nice feeling not worrying about changes to the NZ dollar or overseas exchange rates chipping into my overall savings.

 

Good luck finding a deal that works for you :)

[shieldsboy]

In the last week or so we have booked 3 cabins on a short Royal Caribbean cruise.

 

In each case I tried to book on-line but at the last stage (after selecting a cabin and providing details of each occupant) the website stated words to the effect "This option is not currently available. Try Later"

 

So I then booked via the telephone and, in each case, dealt with a call centre in Guatamala.

 

Yesterday I tried, on-line, to book a 4th cabin and had the same error message.

However, when I switched to the telephone method of booking, I was advised (from the Call Centre in Guatamala) that the price was $200 more than the price on my screen.

Whilst connected to them I did a totally new booking attempt (several times) on-line with exactly the same results.

 

As you can imagine I was not pleased.

 

It is interesting to note that in this whole booking process I have not been able to speak with one Australian based representative. So why do we so often have to pay more than other countries (although I have to admit for this cruise our prices seemed to be less than that offered in the USA)?

 

And whilst on this subject, why do we have to pay a larger deposit ($A400 compared to $US250 than our American friends), and lose our deposit if we cancel within 150 days whilst the Americans don't until within 90 days?

Is this the influence of the local TAs?

 

Don

[Whoey]

It should be one price worldwide and the only variance is for the currency you use to purchase.

 

Anything else is a rip off.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Ditto airfares!

 

Don't get me started on those :D

[MicCanberra]

It should be one price worldwide and the only variance is for the currency you use to purchase.

 

Anything else is a rip off.

That would be lovely but I cannot see it happening in my lifetime.:D

[fishtaco]

That would be lovely but I cannot see it happening in my lifetime.:D

 

Thats how it used to be before Internet IP hijacking! Didnt Princess start it all with the must book from a home based T/A or home based site?

[fishtaco]

In the last week or so we have booked 3 cabins on a short Royal Caribbean cruise.

 

In each case I tried to book on-line but at the last stage (after selecting a cabin and providing details of each occupant) the website stated words to the effect "This option is not currently available. Try Later"

 

So I then booked via the telephone and, in each case, dealt with a call centre in Guatamala.

 

Yesterday I tried, on-line, to book a 4th cabin and had the same error message.

However, when I switched to the telephone method of booking, I was advised (from the Call Centre in Guatamala) that the price was $200 more than the price on my screen.

Whilst connected to them I did a totally new booking attempt (several times) on-line with exactly the same results.

 

As you can imagine I was not pleased.

 

It is interesting to note that in this whole booking process I have not been able to speak with one Australian based representative. So why do we so often have to pay more than other countries (although I have to admit for this cruise our prices seemed to be less than that offered in the USA)?

 

And whilst on this subject, why do we have to pay a larger deposit ($A400 compared to $US250 than our American friends), and lose our deposit if we cancel within 150 days whilst the Americans don't until within 90 days?

Is this the influence of the local TAs?

 

Don

 

 

You havnt been able to speak to an Australian based rep because there is none lol

 

Even though you are made to book and pay in Australian dollars it is converted back to US Dollars at your expense by your bank when it is forwarded from RCI Australia (Website) to Florida accounts lol.This fact alone shows that there is no RCI Australia just an internet company in name thats run from USA and purely devised to stop cruisers getting US favourable prices deals and T&C,s.

 

Even when you email RCI Australia the replies come back from RCI USA:D

 

This is where Carnival USA wins hands down! You book on the same website as US citizens, get the same deals, price drops, sales and T&C,s

 

You cannot book Australian Carnival cruises on the US site and you cannot book US cruises on the Australian site even North Americans, because its a separate company!

 

Some believe its all rightly done for our own good due to our consumer protection laws but thats Balony! Buy outside Australia and you dont expect Australian consumer conditions.

 

The choice is taken away for one reason only, greater profits:) Same as not being allowed to bring Duty free booze on-board and consume it, profit not drunken louts as P&O professed was the case for years "And people believed it"? lol.

Edited July 8, 2014 by fishtaco