Who have you gotten your best bargain from??

[geofg]

Yes I am suffering from PCD, and the only way to make it better is to plan my next cruise. Who would you suggest using for my next vacation. I booked my last trip through Sky Auction and really did not save any money. They have too many hidden costs that I completely overlooked. My own fault of course

[Cotton]

Four cruises booked directly with Carnival PVP....best deals of all my previous cruises. There are many, many threads on the board about the "best" way. Ask ten people, and you'll get ten different answers.:D Good luck.

[kristikae]

Please remember, you are not allowed to link to a TA's website on Cruise Critic.

[maurick]

Was 299,00 for everything in June 03 on The Victory. 5 days from NY city to St. Johns and Halifax. That included everything. We were upgraded to a ocean view. and my son' was upgraded also. Can I say where I got that price??

[CruiseCATnMACK]

Most of our cruises have been booked with Best Price Cruises. Before each booking we do our research but they give us the best deal. I know many people book directly with a Carnival PVP but I have yet to get a quote that was within $200 pp of what BPC has to offer.

We have found that cruising between Thanksgiving and Christmas to be an excellent time to save. As an added bonus there are fewer children.

 

Our absolute best deal was on a reverse auction in November 1999 for the 10-day millennium sailing on the Fascination; $1400 for two, this included all port fees and taxes.

[pugsbest]

We have used cruisequick for the last 3 cruises and their prices were significantly cheaper, but you still need to check around to make sure. Our best deal is our 7 day cruise August 15 on the Elation. We are paying $361 each for an inside guarantee! I have always sailed mini-suites on Princess, so this will be my first time inside, but for that price I couldn't pass it up!

 

Julie

[hstrybuf]

My TA has always given me great prices, service and can usually beat anyone out there. If she can't she'll tell you so and recommend you go with the better price. Gotta love KimsKruises. :D (she's online BTW)

[serene56]

I have not used the same agent twice on any of my cruises I have taken or have booked. I price around until I get the best price available and throw it to the agent to see who can do better. I got really good prices on every cruise so far.

I have used 2 private travel agent= cruises of america = buy cruises=cruise planners- expedia

[serene56]

Please remember, you are not allowed to link to a TA's website on Cruise Critic.

 

 

Remeber this--- it is VERY IMPORTANT

[noodle]

We booked our honeymoon on the Pride through the PVP, and our cruise through Alaska next year through CruCon. I think if we used an agency or crucon, they would have been cheaper for our honeymoon, but we just didn't have time to shop around during the prewedding chaos.

 

I can say, that we booked a 9a for Alaska next year for less than expedia is offering the obstructed view cabins. The suites are also sold out on this cruise on now the 9a is going for around $500 more than what we paid. I think booking early in this instance helped us get a good deal as well as using crucon. Good luck.

[Knights on the Beach]

Our best deal so far was through Crucon -- 7 nights on the Enchantment of the Seas for $377 each, including all taxes.

[RadarContact]

Don't forget, if you are an airline employee, FAA, NATCA, or IATA members ask for the interline rate. I called carnival and they quoted my 8/11 Legend cruise at $1659 pp (it has since gone down to $1559 pp) for an 8I which, BTW was the same price as Priceline, Expedia, Yahoo travel...ect. Since I am an Air Traffic Controller I asked Carnival for the interline rate and was quoted ~$959 pp immediately. Gotta love the interline rates. Will be doing the doc dance in a couple of days, it was sent 7/12. 28 more days till my first cruise.

 

BTW, I asked a coworker of mine that is a frequent cruiser and asked him about the etiquette at dinner. He told me he would open the menu, scan up and down, close the menu, look at the waiter and say "Yes, thank you!" How about that!!!

 

Its All Good

[halos]

For my last cruise I went with Best Price Cruises. We got balcony cabins on the Miracle 7 day out of NY for $850 total. Not bad for a brand new, Spirit class ship out of NY!!

I would book with them again because they were good to work with but I would always shop around first before booking anything!! Just because they were cheaper for that particular cruise, doesn't necesarily mean they'll be cheaper all the time. My advise to you is to choose a cruise that you want, then check all the reputable on line agencies, call them up and ask about their policies on price reductions and how they handle them. If you like what they tell you and the price is the best you've seen, then book.

 

BTW...there are a few threads going right now about Carnival "sales". When I first booked my cruise, I had a 1-A for $850. Each time Carnival had a 'sale' the prices at Best Price Cruises dropped, so I was able to upgrade 5 times...which is how I went from a 1A to a 7A for $850...so the sales are not scams if you 'work' them right.

[luvwater]

My best deal has been Icruse and Sams Club Vacations.

[kristikae]

My best deal was from Carnival. I got a 4 day Fascination cruise for $140 per person. That was the final price with all taxes and port charges. Add that to the $45 round trip airfare I got and it was a cheap vacation!

[cantwait2cruise]

I just got a good deal with onlyfunvacations.com. I had gotten a quote from them on *****.com but the number of people going changed so I just called. Their price was $70 cheaper than the last online agent I used (which I also would recommend checking out) smartcruiser.com and also cheaper than Carnival direct. We used icruise.com for our first two cruises but every time I've searched recently their prices have been significantly higher. I would suggest trying *****.com and going from there. Good luck!!!

[sashapoo]

I have found that my PVP has the bast rate for us at least. We are Military and he gives us the CD rate which is the lowest rate that they have. I shop around quite a bit every time we go on vacation and was actually taken back a bit that it was actually cheaper to go through Carnival directly. Also, military qualifies for interline rates as well and we have booked through Dargal and those rates were great.

[marktac]

Yes I am suffering from PCD, and the only way to make it better is to plan my next cruise. Who would you suggest using for my next vacation. I booked my last trip through Sky Auction and really did not save any money. They have too many hidden costs that I completely overlooked. My own fault of course

 

We've used paymetravel.com the last few times, except for the one upcoming on the Miracle. Then, we booked thru Carnival, but checked the price against others and asked Carnival to match it. They did.

 

Mark T.

[marco]

As you've seen, some folks got the best deal from "A", some from "B" and some from "C" so on and so on. Our experience has been that NO ONE ALWAYS has the best deal on a speicific sailing. I usually check 4-5 sources and between these one may have a better deal than another for a specific sailing. When one is $20-$50 more or less, I don't really consider that significant, but every once in a while, one will come up with a $200-$250 lower price, while the other are all pretty much the same. You have to invest a little bit of time, but for saving $500 (a couple) an hour investment is worth it!

[Aldeya]

cruisequick.com

 

Can't beat the prices and convenience.

[halos]

As you've seen, some folks got the best deal from "A", some from "B" and some from "C" so on and so on. Our experience has been that NO ONE ALWAYS has the best deal on a speicific sailing. I usually check 4-5 sources and between these one may have a better deal than another for a specific sailing. When one is $20-$50 more or less, I don't really consider that significant, but every once in a while, one will come up with a $200-$250 lower price, while the other are all pretty much the same. You have to invest a little bit of time, but for saving $500 (a couple) an hour investment is worth it!

 

 

 

Exactly what Marco said....SHOP. If you aren't a good shopper, ask a woman!!

[NAVY WIFE]

Well, I have only booked one cruise (haven't even been on it yet) and it was with Wal-Mart Travel.

[lalapet]

We booked thorough CVC and paid $379 pp. we have three kids going with us. The one thing that the CVC didn't add was he is Military. I called Carnival and the price she gave was $353 pp. But, I have to contact CVC. I sent them and Email so I guess we'll have to wait. I don't want a price cut or room upgrade but on board credit would be great.