Booking everything separate or via travel agent?

[fritzov]

For regular trips i have not used a travel agency for several years but i am now looking to go on my first cruise and wonder what's the best way to go. Do i save money on book cruise/flight/hotel separately or should i go for packages at a travel agent?.

[beachbum53]

For regular trips i have not used a travel agency for several years but i am now looking to go on my first cruise and wonder what's the best way to go. Do i save money on book cruise/flight/hotel separately or should i go for packages at a travel agent?.

 

Have your travel agent give you a printed statement showing you what it would cost to have everything booked together as a package. Then, go online at home and see what it would cost for you to book each thing separately. Keep in mind, the travel agent probably won't use any web sites that would offer a discount for hotels or airfare. Booking everything together through a travel agency will be a convenience for you, but you'll spend more than if you do the work yourself. Whichever you choose, don't forget to purchase travelers' insurance.

[klfrodo]

For regular trips i have not used a travel agency for several years but i am now looking to go on my first cruise and wonder what's the best way to go. Do i save money on book cruise/flight/hotel separately or should i go for packages at a travel agent?.

 

I see you are from Sweden.

Most advice that you receive here may be from North Americans.

Whichever you decide, remember that many countries have different consumer protection laws which can drastically change the pricing structure.

 

Here in the US, we are not required to have travel insurance. UK's pricing structure may include travel insurance (or something to that affect)

 

Cruiseing is fun and is simple, but can be very confusing the first time.

 

Our first time,, we went with a TA.

now, I book everything on our own.

First time, probably saved money by going thru the TA, but ran into some things that were important to me that caused issues by going thru TA.

 

Our travel day with TA was 14 hours vs. 6 hours on a more expense albeit non stop flight. The TA fare didn't give us miles, plus no assigned seats.

The hotel was much more expensive than what we could have gotten on our own.

 

There are pluses and minuses.

 

if concerned, use a TA. Most are very knowledgeable.

 

If you have traveled before and know what you are doing,,,, do it on your own.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I am not certain what Sweden laws are concerning cruising, insurance, etc. This you should research on.

We book our cruise through a TA whom we have used for over 25 years.

I book all our flights, hotels, limos, etc., -- much cheaper.

[hallasm]

For regular trips i have not used a travel agency for several years but i am now looking to go on my first cruise and wonder what's the best way to go. Do i save money on book cruise/flight/hotel separately or should i go for packages at a travel agent?.

I'm from Denmark and have almost 20 years experience in cruising.

For most of the cruises I have booked flights, hotels and the cruise separately, but I normally check prices with a TA. I have found that if I buy a cruise out of Denmark/Scandinavia the price might be lower from a local TA, however booking a cruise at any other destination I can create 'my own package' at an attractive price considering Airline, Hotel chain and cruise line - But as a frequent traveler I do have some airline/hotel benefits which counts.

Check prices at the cruise line, airline and hotel web pages and compare the price with the TA packets/deal.

Just remember to fly into you departure port at least the day before to avoid problems in case of delays or cancellations.- I normally fly 3 to 4 days in advance but is going home the same day the cruise ends, except if airfare savings by staying an extra day.

Cruising is really an excelent way to travel - and a good way to discover the world. Highly recommended.

Rules are different from US to Scandinavia - buying in Scandinavia the local rules are followed - an example is that final payment is due closer to the departure date than in US.

[Steviewonder1]

We used a TA for our first cruise in 1997. After that we booked direct including hotels, limo's and excursions on the cruise. Having several hundred thousand airline miles on Delta, I also book all of our airline flights including two sets to and from Europe in the last 4 years. A calendar with events on the dates before during and after makes it easy to see what is going on and when. BTW we always arrive a day ahead for all cruises so we do not have a chance to have a flight issue.

Good Luck with which ever way you choose to do.