Where to purchase???

[BermudaBell]

I am looking into booking our first cruise.

 

What I need to know is where is the best play to purchase the cruise? Should I be going to a TA, the cruise line direclty, Expedia, etc.?

 

Thanks for all of your help. This site it just full of so much helpful information.

[jcanino]

I am looking into booking our first cruise.

 

What I need to know is where is the best play to purchase the cruise? Should I be going to a TA, the cruise line direclty, Expedia, etc.?

 

Thanks for all of your help. This site it just full of so much helpful information.

 

If this is your first cruise and you are uncertain about the process of reserving, info about various ships, ports, etc., then by all means search out a good, knowledgeable travel agent. Find one that is close to you so that you can pop in with questions and sit there and chat about what you don't understand.

 

Ask friends and family if they utilize the services of a travel agent and whether or not they felt comfortable working with them. You can also go to www.cruising.org and search your area for ACC, MCC or ECC certified travel agents. You can also go to www.thetravelinstitute.com and search for CTA and CTC certified travel agents. The latter has received a more broad training not just in the cruise selling process.

[CaptData]

I agree. Go a local TA and ask some of these questions.

 

What are your cancellation policies? This is a big one as some charge a minimum amount but others will charge almost the cost of a three day cruise.

What is the cruise line's policies?

I don't want the cruiseline insurance but do want insurance. How much is it? This is very important if you have pre-existing conditions such as diabetics, blood pressure ect as you need to purchase this within days of the downpayment.

How much will this cost bottom line, please? Does this include the port and gov't taxes?

Are there additional costs?

Do I need a passport? Visa?

How much is cruiseline air? How much if I book it separate?

How about a hotel for pre-cruise?

You can not book me back before 12 noon on my return day.

 

 

Ask at least two different agents before you go with any. Also check on line too, for a third and fourth one. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples, same ship, date and room type (ie inside x to inside x). Look on here to see if there is a group cruise (these are usually cheaper and have extras).

[captNcrunch]

I am looking into booking our first cruise.

 

What I need to know is where is the best play to purchase the cruise? Should I be going to a TA, the cruise line direclty, Expedia, etc.?

 

Thanks for all of your help. This site it just full of so much helpful information.

 

I would suggest a cruise only TA, they can answer all your questions help you decide whats best based on your preferences. We always use one and have never been dissapointed.

Good Luck

[Bill S]

We have used an independent, sole owner TA, a large travel agency and AAA. I was not totally happy with large agency due to not continuity at all - everytime I called, I was given to a different person. Our best ovrall results came with our sole, cruise only, independent TA; but, I have been pretty pleased so far with the AAA agent, especially with pricing issues. I guess it depends on what matters most to you.

[celbercrz333]

Bermuda,

Our first cruise was to Bermuda!!! Anyway, we've done 2 cruises and both of them we booked ourselves directly with the cruise line on their 1-800 numbers. What we did is our homework. Get the "specials" from the various online sites. Call the cruise line and tell them what you found. See if they can do better. (they always can). In both cases, while the price didn't go down, the level on the ship that we stayed on was upgraded. Our first cruise was on Celebrity Zenith for our 25th anniversary. They asked us if we were going on a cruise for anything special and when we told them we were celebrating an anniversary, we were invited to a special anniversary party with cake and champagne. Ok, a TA might have offered that too. Our second cruise was with Carnival cruise lines. We had gotten an online offer by e-mail from an outside source. We called Carnival and they upgraded us 3 levels on the ship from the lowest down to the third lowest down. We made our plans way ahead of time too. I doubt that any outside source would be able to give you a better deal than the cruise line itself. However, you need to know the important things, like cruise insurance, transfers from the airport/hotel/wherever you are at to the ship. With Celebrity, we didn't know this, but they added on a trip from Baltimore to the port of NYC. It was only about $69 per person--well worth it. Since my brother had done that cruise, he told us about it and we were able to go that route. Celebrity didn't come out and tell us about it automatically. With Carnival they asked if we needed transfers and we said we did. A bus trip was added on from the airport to the port of Miami. If you do use a TA, all this will be done for you, but remember they want their cut of the price. It's up to you. Some people swear by TA's and that's fine. I just like doing it all myself. I feel like that way I know it's done right the way I want it.

[BermudaBell]

Thank you for all of your help.

I did go to TA and learned some things, but I ended up booking the cruise myself. I have a 3 coworkers that cruise often so I went to them for help. I also ended up booking on a cruise that my sister went on last year.

 

celbercrz, I lived in Bermuda when I was in high school. My parents named our dog Bermuda Bell after a ferry that they were on that ran aground. LOL :D

[clackey]

Personally, I have always booked my cruises online, but since this is your first, choosing a good TA would be in your best interest. Joe is knowledgable about these things, so his recommendations make sense.

[comfixit]

Did you book your cruise yourself through the cruise line or via an online agency such as expedia?

[jame_g]

Since this January cruise will be my first, I used a TA to book the cruise because I wanted to make sure things were done right. However, I did a lot of searching online first. This way I knew the pricing and a lot of things in advance.

 

My second cruise will be a group cruise later next year.

 

Through all of the online research and participating here on cruise critic, I will book my next cruise myself now that I am comfortable with the process and learned I was able to find out things the TA or group leader never brought up or didn't know themselves.

[BermudaBell]

Did you book your cruise yourself through the cruise line or via an online agency such as expedia?

 

I booked it online with the cruise line.

[clackey]

Did you book your cruise yourself through the cruise line or via an online agency such as expedia?

We booked ours online and have used two different agencies. No problems so far, but I can see where having a pro to take care of the details could be a plus. Especially on your first cruise.

[comfixit]

I reccomend against booking with an Internet TA. Usually the price can seem favorable but their are instances where the customer service falls short. Those instances are where you want them to negotiate a price reduction with the cruise companies (especialy after final deposit has been accepted).

 

This is only a problem for the extreamly shrewd (but I like saving money when I can)

 

Also you can find regular TA's who are willing to match any legitimate online advertised price. Once you take the price advantage out of the equation I don't see much benefit to using an online TA instead of a regular TA.

 

The question then becomes should you book direct with the cruise company or book with a regular TA.

 

The advantage/disadvantage of booking with the cruise line is you act as your representative for your own reservation. This is good if you enjoy handling all the details, especialy if you can't find the right agent.

 

The area that I think really seperates out the good from the bad as far as agents are concerned is how good of an advocate they can be for you. The right agent is indespensible. They just know more then even the experienced cruiser, have contacts with representatives from the major lines and know exactly what angles they can play and what they can get for you.

 

The best example is my upcoming cruise. A week after deposit, the price dropped for my room balcony category by $200pp. I also noticed my parents room ocean view category increased in value. I asked my agent to see if she could get either a room credit, a refund of the difference or at least an upgrade for my parents room to a balcony. She came back to me saying she got the upgrade, got a refund of $200pp and that the cruise line would not give me any onboard credits.

 

I was astonished, I figured I would get any of the three I would be happy. She got 2 of the three..... I would never have known such was possible and would have stopped after the upgrade. Having a fantastic agent made a big difference.

 

When you look for a TA here is what I would ask them.

 

#1. If I know the exact cruise I want and bring in an online rate, will you try to match it?

 

#2. If the price of the cruise drops after the final deposit will you call the cruise company on my behalf and negotiate for a rate reduction?

 

While these are not the only two questions of importance when choosing a TA, I think they are 2 that you should add to your list of questions when evaluating your options.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[JULIE7]

THIS IS WHAT I DID AND IT TURNED OUT FINE:

 

I did a lot of research being the first time. After I was completely certain which cruise line and where I wanted to go, I called different TA's for prices and more advices. After researching more I discovered. www.*****.com After knowing exactly what I wanted I put all the information there and following many many TA's send me quotes for my cruises. For the same rooms, same floors. I was given a lot of prices from very very high to I guess good pricing for the same rooms. One agency send me the best and cheapest pricing. I paid and I was very concerned, but right away I had a confirmation by Royal Caribbean and I was able to look at my booked sailing on their web (Royals) which made me very comfortable. The travel agent told me I would receive the package within a week and I did and Everything turned out just fine.

I had the best time and no problems whatsover. The agency that I ended up buying the cruise from was Only fun vacations.:D