How do you get the best deal

[astraman]

Hi,

Any tips on how to get the best deal. I would like to take my wife away in early may to somewhere warm, dont realy mind where; we are uk based and can cruise from Southampton or fly cruise if we need to. Is it best I use the cruise line sites themselves or a travel agent or via this site. Just looking to get the best prices because the last two times we have cruised we always meet couples that have got the same deal as us but have paid a fraction of the price How do they do it.

Thanks

[gsrunyan]

We've always received our best deals from a travel agent. Quite often they will give up some commission in order to get your business. It is not unusual to play one off against another.

 

Glenn:cool::cool::cool:

[Keith1010]

I recommend a TA who can usually often you amenities that you can't get from the cruise line.

 

Keith

[CruiserBruce]

You need to do the research, plain and simple. A travel agent will help you with this.

 

I wouldn't spend a lot of effort beliving everything you hear on board about prices. Some people like to talk too much about things that aren't always true.

[navybankerteacher]

Your best bet is to sit down with a travel agent - AFTER having done some homework, so you have a fair idea of what you want. Off the top of my head, I would suggest flying somewhwere - in early May the first and last day or so from Southampton are likely to be chilly and you mentioned wanting "warm".

 

Once on board, you should not pay much attention to others bragging about the great deals they got: some folk just like to make things up, and even a truthful person is not likely to talk about how he/she paid too much: comparing is not going to make you feel good - unless you a) know you got a great deal, and b) like to boast.

[Hlitner]

How to get the best deal? Simply shop around among reputable high volume cruise agencies, register your e-mail with those same agencies (many of the best deals will not be on web sites) and compare their offerings with the cruise line sites. Keep in mind that many cruise lines impose very strict price controls on agencies which prohibit them from advertising lower prices. But, you can often find "amenties" such as On Board Credits (OBCs) which are as good as cash on the ship, pre-paid gratuities, special deals on drink packages, etc.

 

Hank

[babs135]

Look in the papers, Saturday is a popular day for cruise advertising. See if there is something that you fancy and then check prices both with the actual cruiseline and also with other online travel agents. Visit your local travel agent, but unless you live in an area with an agent who is clued up on cruising you may have some difficulty. Unlike the States the UK is trailing badly with high street cruise agents. They try hard but still struggle. One High Street travel agent we visited couldn't find the Queen Mary 2 even when we gave them the sailing date - and this is a company that has it's own cruise ships!!!!!

[jocap]

We've had a couple of good deals by booking after the 90 day pay up time, but it's not always a good thing to wait. We have emails from a few TAs with last minute offers, and are retired so can go at short notice. Usually it's because we need a break; we book well in advance for a particular itinerary or ship.

[Reina del Mar]

Wish I knew the answer.

 

We do not seem to have any specialist cruise travel agencies in the locality.

 

Many larger agencies, like the one with their own ships, specialise in their products ( and in many cases I use the word 'specialise' lightly).

 

Have a look at some online agencies to get an idea of prices and perks, then see if cruise line or local agency can match it.

 

We haven't used an online agency..heard some good, other not so good reports about some of them. Have booked with cruise lines direct, but for our next cruise £500 per person dearer, so the high street it was.

 

You need to know exactly what you want. Get the quotes and compare the minute details.

 

Would be interested to know how others manage to get the amazing deals sometimes mentioned on here and aboard.

[iancal]

Now retired, we typically on book inside the final payment window when prices often drop. When shopping we track several ship offerings. When our target price for a balcony hits, we buy. We also deal with a TA who provides generous OBC's.

 

We typically deal with an on line TA. We also check cruise prices on international sites. We booked an Australian cruise directly with RCI Australia because their quote on a late booking cruse was 30 percent less than the price for our North American on line TA or from RCI in North America. DS did the same when booking a Baltic cruise on Celebrity. The UK price was 15 percent less than the NA price for this lae booking cruise.