Best Way to Book Cruise

[CruiserRose]

Does anyone have an opionion on the best way to book your Carnival cruise.

 

The last cruise we took, we booked through Sams Club Travel Services. This time we went directly through Carnival, we looked online at cruises and rates, we then called and they gave us better rates over the phone versus online. They also had more cabins than listed online available. This leads me to believe that I will call Carnival direclty in the future for booking.

 

How do you all book? What is the best way? What is the cheapest place to find cruises?

[ParrotHead79]

I use my PVP thru Carnival. I love it. Best deals, and they will assist you with upgrades and prices if they change.

[CruiserRose]

please excuse me. What is PVP?

 

thanks

[ParrotHead79]

That is a Personal Vacation Planner. They are the folks that assist you at Carnival. Call Carnival directly and you will be assigned a PVP. They are all VERY helpful, and will do everything in their power to accomadate you.

[likeashrek]

I have booked many cruises. All through a cruise discounter. If you think you have the lowest rate from Carnival, think again. Find a reliable TA or cruise specialist who discounts, book directly with Carnival and then transfer the booking over to your TA or cruise discounter. They will then discount the cruise, thus a lower price than carnival offered you.

 

The bottom line is this. All the cruise lines are trying to squeeze TA's and cruise discounters out of business by marketing directly to their customer base. The one thing the cruise lines don't do is tell you is when there is a sale that lowers the price of your cruise. An on the ball TA or cruise discounter will find this for you.

 

Let the TA's and discounters work for you!!!!

[mrdood]

You will get varied opinions, some like to find a good TA, other like to book directly with the cruiseline, they each have plus and negative points. Mostly it depends on you...

 

Also, mentioning or recommending any specific TA is against the guidelines for this site...

[palmtre2]

We've used an online discounter since our second cruise - the trick is to ask for a personal quote, they cannot advertise a price cheaper than the cruise line is quoting.

[CaptainEdwardJohnSmith]

Does anyone have an opionion on the best way to book your Carnival cruise.

 

The last cruise we took, we booked through Sams Club Travel Services. This time we went directly through Carnival, we looked online at cruises and rates, we then called and they gave us better rates over the phone versus online. They also had more cabins than listed online available. This leads me to believe that I will call Carnival direclty in the future for booking.

 

How do you all book? What is the best way? What is the cheapest place to find cruises?

 

Hi Alex, the Captain sees you are a consultant, if that means that you are self-employed and you and your future Mrs can be flexible with your travel plans/dates/destinations/cabin choice, my advice is:

 

BOOK LAST MINUTE and SHOP AROUND, SHOP AROUND, SHOP AROUND - directly with cruiselines and online travel agencies

 

Many, many opportunities will come along when you can cruise off-season or shoulder season for well under $40 daily, as recent as 2 weeks ago we did an 8-day cruise on the Spirit out of San Diego for under 3 C-Notes each, including taxes, govt fees and port charges!

 

By the way, welcome aboard.:)

[runcassrun_07]

I have booked many cruises. All through a cruise discounter. If you think you have the lowest rate from Carnival, think again. Find a reliable TA or cruise specialist who discounts, book directly with Carnival and then transfer the booking over to your TA or cruise discounter. They will then discount the cruise, thus a lower price than carnival offered you.

 

The bottom line is this. All the cruise lines are trying to squeeze TA's and cruise discounters out of business by marketing directly to their customer base. The one thing the cruise lines don't do is tell you is when there is a sale that lowers the price of your cruise. An on the ball TA or cruise discounter will find this for you.

 

Let the TA's and discounters work for you!!!!

I have'nt tried a TA for a long time, mainly Carnival or Carnival Vacation Club. Is a TA considered online or close by like my TA in town?:o

[Thirsty Cruiser]

As much as I hate to let this "secret" out, don't forget that Carnival has an awesome military discount program. If you are an honorably discharged veteran, mention this to your agent. You will need to provide proof, but digging out your old papers is worth it!

[98Charlie]

We have booked our past 15 cruises through an online cruise TA and have our own personal TA from the company who handles our bookings, etc. She is available to us by phone or e-mail and answers any questions we have within hours, sometimes even minutes via internet.

 

We cruise often and we cruise cheaply by doing much of the homework for booking, i.e., date, cruise line and ship. Our TA has been able to save us dollars over and above what we thought we would be paying.

 

Have not had that type of service through any local TA agency or through any cruise line yet, so we will stick with our online for now.

 

Dianne

[IrishinCO]

Great question! I'll give you my experience...first cruise scheduled for next week!!! Ok, I'm cheap...I have no alliance to anyone when it comes to my money. I knew from my internet research exactly what cruise I was interested in, the exact dates, etc. I booked 2 months in advance. This way I knew I was comparing apples to apples. I started looking at internet sites - Hotwire, Vacations to Go, and the Carnival site. I was thinking that I would spend about $2500 for my trip (2 adults, 2 teens and 1 10 year-old - 2 cabins). I then checked with 2 different travel agents - one that "specializes" in cruises and one that I have used in the past. The TA that is supposed to be a cruise specialist came in with the highest rates $2800, and also tried to talk me into another cruise line.:mad: My regular travel agent came in at about $2500 - he had some problems getting rooms together. I then called the 800# for Hotwire and one other internet site - interestingly both numbers connect with the same cruise outlet. They were able to find me a rate of $2200 - not great rooms. Then, because I had entered some information on the Carnival web-site they called me! I told them where I was at - my Personal Vacation Planner - was able to find a rate of $2014.00 - good rooms (I think!) mid-ship, with a discount for travelers from Colorado!? He then transfered the reservation to my travel agent. We had some friends also interested in going, they checked with the travel agent - who two days later found a rate of $1914.00 :) for the same rooms, etc. He then called Carnival and got us a $100 credit for our reservation. Long story short...check with everyone. A little research can save you hundreds of dollars! Check on the discounts for travelers from your state - who knew? Good luck - have fun!

[TennisLover]

Check with everyone about the price, as others as stated.

 

In addition, make sure you can work with the person who you are booking with. If it feels like you are "bothering" them with your questions, then that might be someone you want to deal with.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Check with everyone about the price, as others as stated.

 

In addition, make sure you can work with the person who you are booking with. If it feels like you are "bothering" them with your questions, then that might be someone you want to deal with.

 

I feel just the opposite. If I get the impression I'm bothering the TA I would run the other way.

 

Bill

[CaptainEdwardJohnSmith]

I feel just the opposite. If I get the impression I'm bothering the TA I would run the other way.

 

Bill

 

:D Bill, the Captain would like to think that's what Tennis Player meant to say!!!! lol :D

But, ya never know. :D

[kujobie]

Does anyone have an opionion on the best way to book your Carnival cruise.

 

The last cruise we took, we booked through Sams Club Travel Services. This time we went directly through Carnival, we looked online at cruises and rates, we then called and they gave us better rates over the phone versus online. They also had more cabins than listed online available. This leads me to believe that I will call Carnival direclty in the future for booking.

 

How do you all book? What is the best way? What is the cheapest place to find cruises?

 

As said, everyone has a different opinion on this. I prefer to book direct with Carnival and I don't use a PVP. I just call the 800 # and book with whoever answers the phone. You are correct in that you will almost always get a better quote over the phone vs. what is shown on the web site, even without discounts. I'm not sure why this is, but it always seems to be the case. I have a funny feeling they do this so they can make up phony "discounts'' and make people think they're getting a good deal. I'm not ex-military, not a senior, and I live in Florida, so I don't qualify for any discounts except past guest which, conveniently, are never available on the cruises I go on.

[kujobie]

Great question! I'll give you my experience...first cruise scheduled for next week!!! Ok, I'm cheap...I have no alliance to anyone when it comes to my money. I knew from my internet research exactly what cruise I was interested in, the exact dates, etc. I booked 2 months in advance. This way I knew I was comparing apples to apples. I started looking at internet sites - Hotwire, Vacations to Go, and the Carnival site. I was thinking that I would spend about $2500 for my trip (2 adults, 2 teens and 1 10 year-old - 2 cabins). I then checked with 2 different travel agents - one that "specializes" in cruises and one that I have used in the past. The TA that is supposed to be a cruise specialist came in with the highest rates $2800, and also tried to talk me into another cruise line.:mad: My regular travel agent came in at about $2500 - he had some problems getting rooms together. I then called the 800# for Hotwire and one other internet site - interestingly both numbers connect with the same cruise outlet. They were able to find me a rate of $2200 - not great rooms. Then, because I had entered some information on the Carnival web-site they called me! I told them where I was at - my Personal Vacation Planner - was able to find a rate of $2014.00 - good rooms (I think!) mid-ship, with a discount for travelers from Colorado!? He then transfered the reservation to my travel agent. We had some friends also interested in going, they checked with the travel agent - who two days later found a rate of $1914.00 :) for the same rooms, etc. He then called Carnival and got us a $100 credit for our reservation. Long story short...check with everyone. A little research can save you hundreds of dollars! Check on the discounts for travelers from your state - who knew? Good luck - have fun!

 

What is the benefit of transferring the booking to a TA? If anything, I would have been miffed that I, as an amatuer, was able to beat a professional TA's price by almost $500. That would have got me thinking that the TA was trying to rip me off.

[westernmom]

I researched, checked online at many sites, called Carnival, etc. I then hooked up with a TA and she did all the work for me, saved us some serious $, sent small gifts, had a nice bon-voyage gift waiting in our cabin, and then gave us credit on our next cruise.

 

She also answers any questions I have and acts like we are good friends. I appreciate the personal relationship as well and the professional courtesy I am shown.

[firefly333]

The Carnival PVP gave me the same rate as their web site as did the TA. Not one red cents different. The TA said she could not beat the price.

 

I feel like Im doing something wrong? I dont get any differences. I once tried Cruise Compete who quoted me $6 difference at the most with the 3 quotes and then closed my bidding.

[IrishinCO]

Well, I am not really sure if there are any advantages, except my tickets were sent to the TA down the street from my house, and he did get me the $100 credit from Carnival when he found a lower fare. Actually the fact that he got that credit for us proves to me that he wasn't trying to rip me off.

[ONaquest99]

Can anyone help with this question?

 

It has been a few years since I have cruised. I remember on NCL they advertised discounted cruises if you book onboard. Does Carnival do this? I can't seem to remember. Is this a good deal if so?