internet travel agencies

[tylerdad]

Hello we are looking at booking the Spirit to Alaska in sept/08

Has anyone every used on of the online agencies to book?

Good results or bad?

We have always used our regular agent but her pricing is rather high in comparison.

 

Thanks

Terry

[AdrenalineRush]

Hello we are looking at booking the Spirit to Alaska in sept/08

Has anyone every used on of the online agencies to book?

Good results or bad?

We have always used our regular agent but her pricing is rather high in comparison.

 

Thanks

Terry

 

They dont allow us to post names of travel agencies. I usually book with Carnival direct. Some of the online agencies have low prices, but make sure you find out about extra fees they charge to make changes or if you need to cancel.

[MaryZ]

We've booked with our own travel agent, thru the cruise line itself, with online agencies and thru those pay to belong warehouse clubs.

All have been fine. Some of the online ones offer incentives, such as prepaid gratuities, onboard credit, free insurance when you use them. The cruise line itself doesn't do that usually, except if they advertise they are.

The warehouse one, I haven't done that since the mid 90's but back then one of them offered 10% cash back aside from a lower fare than the cruise line itself offered. A regular brick and mortar travel agent, I havent used one of them since 1991, so I can't really say how they are now, but back then it was fine. The cruiseline itself, I just booked my upcoming cruise direct with carnival. It was just easier at 2am to book with them, since I was up and so were they ;) Plus it made it easy for me, when I switched ships a few days later. Had I booked with any agency, I would have had to go thru them and more than likely been unable to change since I was in penalty period and carnival just was nice about it as they checked my cruise history when I was talking (pleading, asking really really nicely, begging, complimenting the girl on the phone, telling her she'd make me the happiest cruiser on earth etc etc etc...lol) and switched me to the cabin and ship I wanted.

My other cruise is booked with an online agency. They doubled the onboard credit, and paid the travel insurance. Plus it's so far out I booked, that I got a nice price. The only thing when not booking direct, is if you want to change something you have to go thru the agent. which if you are looking to switch your cabin might be a problem at times. Since you need to wait on them to do it for you.

If you are sure of exactly what you want and an online agency has nice incentives, I'd say use them. But if you are unsure, you are better off booking directly with the cruiseline, because if you cancel you won't be charged a fee, as you will be using most online agencies.

I had one who didn't charge me, because they screwed up my cancellation and had I not checked back 10 days later, on the last day before penalty I would've lost my deposit due to their carelessness. So make sure, if you need anything changed or you need to cancel that you don't assume they did what was asked. Always check back and make sure.

good luck in whatever way you choose to book.

[chasetf]

Hello we are looking at booking the Spirit to Alaska in sept/08 Has anyone every used on of the online agencies to book? Good results or bad? We have always used our regular agent but her pricing is rather high in comparison. Thanks

Terry

We tell our TA what we find online and ask if she can match or get real close. She has never failed us. ;)

 

We would rather deal with our well known TA if we can.

[woodey]

I think having a online TA, Brick and Mortar TA, or a PVP does not matter...as long as you feel comfortable with who your dealing with...i personally like talking to a body when it comes to cruises when i have questions or want to make changes...I use a TA whom was recommended and turned out to be great...:)

[mombuddy]

i used an online agency and was able to speak with a live person and got much better rates than the line or a t/a. yes at first i was a little leery but got docs and confirmed with line and everything was perfect-t

[serene56]

The price your agent is quoting probably is for the total price.

Lots of online agencies do not include government taxes in their price.

Some dont even have the port tax and is only giving you cruise fare.

 

Make sure the price you see is the WHOLE amount.

 

When looking to book with an online agency--some charge if you need to cancel- that fee can be high as $75.00

cruiselines only charge after final payment comes due.

 

Some agencies charge to make changes- ask if there is any hidden fees.

 

You should also ask your at home agent about hidden fees

[cruisernh]

I use an on-line agency never had a problem. When I e-mail I get responses very quickly even on Sundays.

 

I am booked for the Spirit in July enjoy Alaska.

[Prairie_Gal]

I booked with an on-line agency, but when I discovered a discount for 55+, and a price drop, she told me that Carnival did not honor price drops after final payment. Many people on this board have reported getting OBC after final payment, but I did not feel like arguing with her, just made a mental note that if we cruise again sometime in the future I would probably book directly with the cruiseline.

 

I should state that we did get a very good price, better than Carnival was offering at the time, so in the end we probably were not out much money, it was just the principle.

[firefly333]

The warehouse one, I haven't done that since the mid 90's but back then one of them offered 10% cash back aside from a lower fare than the cruise line itself offered.

 

I was not aware it was supposed to be 10% of the cruise portion, thanks for the information. I think on a fare of $269 I was discounted $15 and on a fare of $449 I got discounted $27. A lot of the price is the port charges so 10% might be about right. Nice to know. Im booked with one of those warehousers.

 

PS I actually book thru a PVP first. She then gets credit too. she doesnt lose the credit just because you transfer the booking to a TA later on closer to the travel date. The TA I use then you can get cheaper insurance and it starts as if a new policy from the date you transfer the policy.

[#1PATSFAN]

I booked with an on-line agency, but when I discovered a discount for 55+, and a price drop, she told me that Carnival did not honor price drops after final payment. Many people on this board have reported getting OBC after final payment, but I did not feel like arguing with her, just made a mental note that if we cruise again sometime in the future I would probably book directly with the cruiseline.

 

I should state that we did get a very good price, better than Carnival was offering at the time, so in the end we probably were not out much money, it was just the principle.

 

The same thing has happened to us recently with our online T/A not honoring OBC or lower pricing. I can't say who we used but they do compete with cruise pricing. wink wink

My advice would be to call & ask what the online T/A's policy is if your cruise price drops before booking.

Good Luck

[serene56]

The same thing has happened to us recently with our online T/A not honoring OBC or lower pricing. I can't say who we used but they do compete with cruise pricing. wink wink

My advice would be to call & ask what the online T/A's policy is if your cruise price drops before booking.

Good Luck

 

 

cruise compete is not an agency-- it is a service that allows different agencies to bid for your travel $$. it is still up to you to do your research.