Where do you book your cruise?

[chrisdar1]

Quick question: was doing comparison shopping for an upcoming cruise I'm looking to book and the price was a lot cheaper on a fairly well known travel site versus going directly to the cruiseline website...

 

Do you all usually book directly from the cruiseline website, a different travel site, or through a travel agent?

 

All of the promos and perks were available through the "well known" travel site, just wasn't sure why the cruise is coming up $300 cheaper...

 

Thanks for any advice!

[mskaufman]

Without getting into specific sites or agents I would say if you trust the source go with it. I have been on a dozen cruises and have never booked directly with the cruiseline.

[KeithJenner]

People book at various places, depending on their particular situations.

 

Some people book with travel agents to get the extra discounts you are seeing, or to get a helping hand with the process. Others book direct and cut out that extra person in the chain. Others book with either for their own particular reasons.

 

There is no right or wrong. It's whatever suits you best.

[Kamloops50]

Some people always use TA's. They can't be bothered or don't want to work with cruise line directly.

[NoDayButToday00]

We book with Travel Sites just for the extra perks. This year we got an extra $525 in OBC and our gratuties paid for twice. This is in addition to the OBC offered with the Free at Sea. So definitely worth it to us.

 

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[lenquixote66]

Quick question: was doing comparison shopping for an upcoming cruise I'm looking to book and the price was a lot cheaper on a fairly well known travel site versus going directly to the cruiseline website...

 

Do you all usually book directly from the cruiseline website, a different travel site, or through a travel agent?

 

All of the promos and perks were available through the "well known" travel site, just wasn't sure why the cruise is coming up $300 cheaper...

 

Thanks for any advice!

 

We book with a private cruise agency that offers FREE travel insurance .They also give points for every cruise booked that can be used for OBC on future cruises.

The agency located in NY is open 7 days a week.

[Kamloops50]

Used to book with travel agents. When cancellation and change became to high. Also never got anything than what the cruise line was offering. Started booking direct , more control over my booking with n middle person.

 

 

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[Laszlo]

Quick question: was doing comparison shopping for an upcoming cruise I'm looking to book and the price was a lot cheaper on a fairly well known travel site versus going directly to the cruiseline website...

 

Do you all usually book directly from the cruiseline website, a different travel site, or through a travel agent?

 

All of the promos and perks were available through the "well known" travel site, just wasn't sure why the cruise is coming up $300 cheaper...

 

Thanks for any advice!

 

 

 

I've booked our last two cruises with a place out of Princeton, NJ. Google it, I'm sure you'll find it. Anyway they saved me over $600 on each cruise, compared to NCL best pricing. I should have starting using them a long time ago. Not only is the overall price cheaper we have $250 OBC

[Kamloops50]

I Canada I hard to find a Travel Agent who discounts and gives extra perks. If I book in USD no problems.

 

 

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[dbsb3233]

I always check the cruiseline's website and a few other sites for the same cruise, but so far I've always found the same price for the cruise itself for the cabin class I wanted (it's not really apples-to-apples until you compare the actual cabin class). I always end up booking through the same TA (large membership warehouse) because they've always issued about 8% refundable OBC and I really like being able to do the booking online. I'm kind of a control freak that way, preferring to do all the research and type all the booking details in myself online rather than talking to someone on the phone (although that's available too, of course).

[easyboy]

People book at various places, depending on their particular situations.

 

Some people book with travel agents to get the extra discounts you are seeing, or to get a helping hand with the process. Others book direct and cut out that extra person in the chain. Others book with either for their own particular reasons.

 

There is no right or wrong. It's whatever suits you best.

Exactly!!

[thatjoeguy]

I usually book through our big box store's travel agency. Even though the Cost is usually the same, we get extra OBC. This time, however, I'm booking direct since we're doing a group. I could have set the group up with the TA, but it was a lot more hoops to jump through with them.

[Rosaleen]

For land vacations I usually book myself on-line and get great deals. However, for the cruise it self I go with a travel agent, Expedia Cruise Ship Centres here in Ontario, Canada. I find that they seem to know the inside scoop on deals (since they work directly with the cruise line) and have given us great advice in the past.

[Buford T Justiice]

As others have noted, its a price v. service mental computation we all do. Some TA's will discount, some won't. Some TA's provide service, and some don't. Some NCL customer rep.'s will provide good service, some YOU have to educate.

 

My opinion is that if you've done the research here on cc, and know what you want its better to minimize cost.

 

It's not too hard to get discounts, but just be aware that TA's generally cannot advertise rates below NCL's rack rate.

 

We shoot for about a 7% discount off rack rate when we book, to go along with the NCL credit card (3%).

[greenstuff]

I Canada I hard to find a Travel Agent who discounts and gives extra perks. If I book in USD no problems.

 

 

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Check out warehouse club canadian site

[Linda the Book Lover]

We started out with a large travel agency, then moved to NCL, and finally with a military site. Offerings vary and we usually shop around for what the offers are before booking.

[dam64]

Book through the cruise! I cut out the middle man no need to wait around! The perks TA offer not worth my headache to wait for them to switch or fix a problem.

 

 

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[CruisingUS]

We book with a private cruise agency that offers FREE travel insurance .They also give points for every cruise booked that can be used for OBC on future cruises.

The agency located in NY is open 7 days a week.

Please share the name :D

[Kamloops50]

Please share the name :D

 

 

 

Can't share names on this site.

 

 

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[Oldgoat61]

I book my cruises thru the cruise line first, and then have it transferred to my TA. That way I get the cabin I want, and all perks NCL offers, plus the perks my TA offers (which is usually several hundred $) . I know which cruise to book long before I make a call.....I have a lot of time on my hands, which allows me to search a lot.

[Cruising...our happy place]

While we have used NCL direct a few times, we normally book directly with a TA. Each time we check our 3 or 4 trusted TA sites. It is never the same TA that offers the best deal each time. If you have the time, it's worth checking around. If you like one TA, many will match the other offers.

 

 

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[phillyguy31]

We use a time share TA the savings were great but initially the wanted a sizable upfront non refundable deposit. With the cruise being almost a year out that was a deal breaker for me. They ten waved their deposit and all i had to pay was NCL'S deposit.

 

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[KeithJenner]

Everyone seems to mention booking NCL. What about the extra perks for other cruises lines like Princess or Celebrity. Not everyone cruises NCL.

 

 

 

Well, this is the NCL Forum.

[Kamloops50]

Well, this is the NCL Forum.

 

It is but there are probably people on the NCL forum that cruise other cruise lines.

[KeithJenner]

It is but there are probably people on the NCL forum that cruise other cruise lines.

 

 

 

I'm sure there are.

 

But your point would apply to any thread. Why don't we discuss the other lines when anyone asks about speciality dining, or dress codes, or anything really?

 

It's the NCL board, so we are talking about NCL. That's what happens.