UK residents booking via US travel agents

[gcgold]

Interesting comment about price drops. I didn't think ANY price drop was honoured in the UK although I did know the U.S rules.

 

 

you and me both [emoji32]

[MR_T]

Interesting comment about price drops. I didn't think ANY price drop was honoured in the UK although I did know the U.S rules.

 

 

I guess it depends on who you get to speak too... As the saying goes... Call celebrity uk 3 times and get 3 different answers!! [emoji57]

[villauk]

We use an independent travel agent in the US rather than one of the big online companies. She has our credit card on file but our card is always charged directly by the cruiseline in USD. We always use a credit card that doesn't charge foreign exchange fees.

 

Same here but VillaUK said he paid CelX direct which Is what I would prefer .

 

Like you I use a credit card with no Forex charges. Currently best is according to Money Saving Expert (Martyn Lewis) Halifax Clarity card. best rates and no charges [emoji41]

 

As Sparkle quoted, it goes through the US TA but the amount is charged directly from X in USD. Btw, I'm a she not a he :p!

 

Re: price drops in the UK - getting any changes from X in the UK always seemed to be a major challenge. Recently, I've also read on another thread that X UK are no longer allowing changes to reservations when new promotions come out without incurring cancellations fees - another reason to book in the US.

 

Additionally, I've never received the sort of OBC amounts from UK TAs like I do from my US TA. We had a combined total of $1300 from our TA and X on our last cruise (2 non suite cabins).

[kiwi_sparkles]

Thanks to everyone for the replies - it has set my mind at ease. In fact, so much so that I spent last night researching agents and have found a small independent US agent that we've decided to go with. We swapped emails last night and so far so good - now just waiting for them to get into the office given we're several hours ahead.

 

Pre-paid mastercard is also a good idea and I might give that a go as the cruise we're looking at isn't until December 16 so quite a way out!

 

Thanks again :)

[villauk]

Thanks to everyone for the replies - it has set my mind at ease. In fact, so much so that I spent last night researching agents and have found a small independent US agent that we've decided to go with. We swapped emails last night and so far so good - now just waiting for them to get into the office given we're several hours ahead.

 

Pre-paid mastercard is also a good idea and I might give that a go as the cruise we're looking at isn't until December 16 so quite a way out!

 

Thanks again :)

 

Curious, which cruise in Dec 16? Only asking as we have booked a Millie sailing for Xmas 2016 ;).

[gcgold]

Edited May 21, 2015 by gcgold

[kiwi_sparkles]

Curious, which cruise in Dec 16? Only asking as we have booked a Millie sailing for Xmas 2016 ;).

 

We're pre-christmas, 11 Dec on the Eclipse.

 

Just off the phone from the TA, and it's all gone so smoothly. So glad I posted on here to ask for opinions - it was worth it!

[villauk]

We're pre-christmas, 11 Dec on the Eclipse.

 

Just off the phone from the TA, and it's all gone so smoothly. So glad I posted on here to ask for opinions - it was worth it!

 

Glad you're sorted :). Just remember to keep your eye on prices and offers in case something better comes up ;).

[Jim_Iain]

On 5/19/2015 at 1:50 PM, DYKWIA said:

I found the one TA I looked at required up front details from me before I could look at prices, since then I've been inundated with spam. Additionally, prices look good at the start but then there are all sorts of fees and charges which have to be added, which are included in the UK prices.

All you have to do is at the bottom of the Spam -  Select unsubscribe to receiving future advertisements.   It takes a bout a week to stop.

 

[Violet87]

1 hour ago, buramiko said:

 

I just booked a celebrity cruise via a USA online agent and i don’t live in USA. You just need to call them and place your order by phone and I’m sure most agents will gladly take your reservation (and yes the price+perks are much better in US).

 

About prices, I guess different agents got deals for different cruise lines all you need to do is to check out their price on cruise critic. First download a VPN (there are free ones to install on desktop chrome), then connect yourself to a USA IP, then go to cruise critic and click find cruise on top of homepage. At your desired cruise, you can click ‘view all prices’ and you will see price comparison of major online agents, that’s how I found my deal. So if you don’t have VPN installed you won’t see any prices here because CC blocked these prices from all foreigners. And you can also click ‘get price alerts’ and CC will email you when there are price drops, very helpful.

Thank you so much Buramiko, I have an inbuilt free vpn on my browser and just used it to get the best deals through CC 🙂 

I am going to book right now!

[villauk]

Yes, you can still book in the US, however, you may not have any luck with the Carnival brands.

 

Btw, CC rules do not permit naming any TAs on the boards 😉.

Edited February 19, 2019 by villauk

[villauk]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

All you have to do is at the bottom of the Spam -  Select unsubscribe to receiving future advertisements.   It takes a bout a week to stop.

 

 

DY..’s post was from 4 years ago - let’s hope it was sorted before now 🤣.

[Captain-John]

So my very recent experience of this is that it's harder to do than ever. I was quoted a USD price from an agency that was willing to take the booking that was easily $600 overpriced compared to what I could get the same cruise for in GBP - although that deal did include some OBC but not $600 worth. Another agency that may have taken the booking couldn't come close to the price I could get from an online travel agent that has both UK and US presence (but the UK site is in GBP and counts as a UK booking).

 

I also tried to use a well known cruise 'auction' type site where travel agents bid you with their best deal. They refused to provide any quotes and there is a disclaimer on that site stating US TAs are forbidden from quoting for international guests.

 

I find the opposite true for my NCL bookings - always cheaper through a US TA.

 

I don't know if I've just happened to get a good deal or not but I'm OK with the price for an 11 nt Caribbean on Reflection next year ( c. $155 USD per person, per night for a 1C cabin inc. Classic drinks package, no OBC). For comparison NCL want the same total price ($3450) for a 7 night cruise.

 

 

Edited February 19, 2019 by Captain-John

[villauk]

4 hours ago, Captain-John said:

So my very recent experience of this is that it's harder to do than ever. I was quoted a USD price from an agency that was willing to take the booking that was easily $600 overpriced compared to what I could get the same cruise for in GBP - although that deal did include some OBC but not $600 worth. Another agency that may have taken the booking couldn't come close to the price I could get from an online travel agent that has both UK and US presence (but the UK site is in GBP and counts as a UK booking).

 

I also tried to use a well known cruise 'auction' type site where travel agents bid you with their best deal. They refused to provide any quotes and there is a disclaimer on that site stating US TAs are forbidden from quoting for international guests.

 

I find the opposite true for my NCL bookings - always cheaper through a US TA.

 

I don't know if I've just happened to get a good deal or not but I'm OK with the price for an 11 nt Caribbean on Reflection next year ( c. $155 USD per person, per night for a 1C cabin inc. Classic drinks package, no OBC). For comparison NCL want the same total price ($3450) for a 7 night cruise.

 

 

 

 

It’s swings and roundabouts, always best to check on both sides of the pond before making any booking. The main difference, apart from cost, is the added flexibility one gains from a US reservation. Basically, you have to be happy with whatever your initial U.K. booking is as the chances of you making any ‘free’ changes further down the line are extremely thin 😉. Many moons ago, you could even get the price drops applied in the U.K. - that ceased happening. Prices can vary greatly for many different reasons.

 

Good grief, I can’t believe I’ve been spouting this same phrase for over 10 years here on CC 🙈.