Have any UK cruisers booked Princess through a US TA recently?

[sarahuk]

As we are new to cruising we have not booked independently yet. Can the cruisers from the UK tell me which airlines do you you use to the USA and what sort of prices are they. Do you save a lot of money by booking with US TA.Do they book your air fare. Sorry for so mant questions

[suekay]

Sarahuk

 

Different airlines have different price deals at different times (but all are cheaper from Nov 1st through the winter - don't know when they rise again) I monitor prices on Kelkoo or travelsupermarket.com, and book when I see a good deal. Prices go up and down daily, so grab a good deal when you see one. I paid £269 pp for flights on US Airways Manchester to Miami on 10/12 returning on 18/12/04. US TA's are not allowed by law to book flights originating outside America. I need to look into this ....they often run "free airfare deals" from US cities to the various ports - don't know if we could qualify if we got ourselves to a gateway in the US, then could maybe link up with one of these deals (could be a cheap way to get to Hawaii etc)

 

US TA's are usually cheaper than the UK (unless you can get a special offer - often for late deals, and usually inside/outside cabins) cabins) but there are other advantages as well......

If the price drops you get the benefit of the lower price, but if it increases you still pay the price you booked at

If your TA runs a promotion on a different grade of cabin you can change without any charge to get the benefit of the lower price

You can cancel up to 60 days (or is it now 70?) before the cruise, and receive a full refund of your deposit

If you receive "money-off" coupons from the Crown & Anchor Society, they will be applied to any cruise you already have booked - they are not restricted to new bookings as they are in the UK

 

Any more questions just ask - there are many of us who go down this road (and most are more experienced than me!)

[UK Cruiser]

SarahUK - I check flight prices on e-bookers and dial-a-flight. One or other usually comes in with the best price and it is a great way of monitoring price trends as they both price flights on many airlines.

 

SueKay - you can usually use the flights offered on promotions providing it originates in the US, so a cheap flight to, for example, New York is possible. I checked this info out recently and it's something I hadn't previously thought about.

 

For those who know TrueBrit, aka John - I have had an e-mail conversation with him over the last week and he is fine. He is just too busy holidaying, having birthdays and doting over his new grandchild to bother talking to us!

[sarahuk]

Thanks Suekay and UK cruiser. I may try it next time. By the way what is the Crown and Anchor society?

[suekay]

Sarahuk

You can join the Crown & Anchor Sosiety online on the RCI website after you have completed your first cruise. You then get various benefits such as money off future cruises, a coupon booklet to spend, small gift in your cabin on subsequent cruises.....it's worth joining

 

UK Cruiser

Thanks for the info about air-inclusive deals being available to us if we can get to the US. That may save us quite a bit of money - I'll keep my eyes open for 2005.

Don't know if you've tried Kelkoo - it monitors prices at ebookers, opodo, lastminute.com, travelbag