Reader S writes:
Hey MJ, I’ve been following your blog for a few years and want to thank you for the content and I wanted to ask you, the Cruise Expert, a question as I’ve only taken one cruise before in my life.
I’m in the process of making travel arrangements for my in-laws (yes, I deserve an award 🙂 to fly to Sicily for a vacation and subsequent cruise on the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas around the eastern Mediterranean. Anyway, my question is about booking cruises, specifically Royal Caribbean cruises, and what site/method you normally choose in order to find the best price. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!
MJ Responds:
Hello. Thanks for reading, and your email. There is no best way to book a cruise. In the past, I’ve booked cruises on my own direct with the cruise line. However, since about 2008, I’ve been working with a local travel agent I like. I don’t necessarily need an agent to help me book a cruise…especially a basic Bahamas or Caribbean run, but I like working with our agent, so we use her exclusively. Not to mention, it helps them begin to know your likes and dislikes. We took a big trip to Europe in 2010 which included an 11-night cruise of the Med. Our travel agent arranged a private tour of the ancient city of Ephesus for us and our friends, a total of 6 people. We had our own guide and our own transportation.
Just came across a very kind comment from ColoneireWes mentioning our business. Discounts aside, which we are great at, we appreciate his comments about our service level provided to our guests. We believe our guests seek the highest level of service with prices that are competitive as well in the marketplace. We solved that issue by guaranteeing our prices to be the lowest.
Craig P.
We agree with most comments mentioned. Our advise is to not only compare prices but just as important are the service levels provided by your final agency choice. Thanks for the recommendations on this board.
Thanks MJ, nice you have found a local TA (Trvl Agent) you like and who had earned your loyalty. Over the last eight years, we have booked over a dozen cruises with agencies listed at the link below: (imo, wwwluxurycruisebible.com is premier site on web for one stop cruise information) http://www.luxurycruisebible.com/links#Travel-Agencies-Luxury-Cruise-Specialists Agree, with Mike and Jason, that cruisecompete is very competitive, our experience (have used Cruiseprofessionals, Browneandkeene, GoldringTravel, Vacationstogo, et. al) is that no agency beats Pavlus Travel rates. (e.g., cruisecompete have offered us up to 11.25% of your cruise fare (SBC or cash back) on your booked cruise–Pavlus Travel… Read more »
Another shout out for Cruise Compete, you end up booking through one of the well known TAs but this lets you find the best deal. The price of the cruises are all the same but we were offered about 8=10% off in on board credit. Helps pay for the drinks 🙂
We went on a luxury cruise and used an agent that specialized with that cruise line (we found them online). The agent gave us some extra onboard credit and we also got onboard credit for using our AMEX Plat.
The agent was able to advise us on the best room selection.
Didn’t cost us a thing and we got great service.
Just wanted to add that I’ve saved money with cruisecompete.com. I’ve met some nice, informative, and economical travel agents through this service. You simply choose a ship, date, cabin, etc and agents submit quotes automatically. It’s great and free!
It’s great that you know a local travel agent and sees you as a trusted client instead of just another commission check, which sadly is the case with most all of the big online agencies. Based on my own experience, I would recommend one avoid booking through any travel agency that advertises on Cruise Critic.
I have been working lately with Crucon and despite the name they got recently as an on-line agency, they are really not that.
They can get very significant discounts with the cruise line they are working with closely (mainly Celebrity).
They do take a non-refundable booking fee though – but if you are sure you are going to take the cruise it is still worth while to book through them.