I have booked through three of the companies on that list before with no problems (including Cruise Value Center which you mentioned). All of the ones on the list are well known cruise companies that are reputable. When you book a cruise you will give your credit card information to the agent but the actual credit card charge is always done by the cruise line itself.

Even if you find a good deal online you should go to www.cruisecompete.com and get quotes. Put the best price you have found in the comments section. I have used cruisecompete several times and only once did the offers not beat the best price I found on my own.

Alaska is beautiful, you will love the cruise there. You are smart going in May because the prices increase noticably for Alaska once June starts. Be warned that excursions are more expensive in Alaska and you'll spend a bit more on them then on a Caribbean cruise.

David

bump

CRUISE HAWAII NEXT WEEK FOR LESS THAN $40PP/per night OCEANVIEW!!!!!!

http://www.cruises-n-more.com/deals1.asp?choice=&sailID=14462

$399, with taxes and fees comes to about $450PP 11 nights.

Great thread all! I might as well jump in as well.

* I have found an "allure" starting to form with some agencies offering crazy-low cruise prices only to skyrocket the "taxes and port charges" portion. While I cannot confirm the following, I believe "taxes and port charges" dollars are a bit misleading as that money represents more. Just my opinion. Some sites (e.g. http://www.cruisequick.com/) show taxes w/o going into booking process making bargain searching easier.
* There are several companies out there that are national in scope yet have local reps. I have used CruiseOne before. The pricing was just a tad over the cheapest found on CruiseCompete, but it was a local person trying to make a living. Plus, the service was very personable. You can run down your closest agent from their website (zip code, map, etc).
* As far as pricing of cabins on cruises, certainly prices increase as the rooms go to higher levels and outside is almost always higher than inside. I booked an inside cabin on the highest level/deck (adjacent to suites) last cruise. We were just steps from the pool (actually one flight up from pool level.) The pricing was around $50 PP more than the lowest deck inside. While we didn't have a window, and it certainly wasn't a suite, we didn't have to take a hike to get to/from our cabin to anywhere. It was very, very nice! This was the best bang for the buck as far as any of the cruises I have taken. Take a moment when pricing, look at not just the catagories, but what deck. Most sites will allow you to pick a cabin before pricing. Comparing this with several agencies (many book blocks of cabins), you can also get an idea of how many cabins are remaining (a potential crystal ball to increase of rates).

Have fun all! And best of luck in your bargain hunting!!

I saw a great deal on a Cruise Discount website and then found the same deal on Continental [w/ 3000 OnePass miles]. Booked w/ Continental.

Tip: f you find a good deal on an unknown website, just look around and you'll see someone familiar matching it w/ perks.

cyberpitstop said:First time here in your wonderful Cruise forum, very good stuff!!! I have a quick question all these places like cruises-n-more etc. seem to always change the price by $30 to $50 when I check prices with a child why is that?? Is that for the child's ticket too?? I checked many fares for just two adults and as soon as i added a child those same prices went up $30 to $50 thanks in advance for anyone answering my question.


Most cruise lines do not differentiate between adults and children when it comes to ticket prices. For example, let's say you have 2 adults in the cabin, at a ticket price of $599 per passenger. If just 1 adult and 1 child went, those ticket prices would be the same. Most cruise lines (RCCL is definitely one) offer a discount for the 3rd and 4th persons in the cabin. For example, persons #1 and #2 might be $599 per person, but persons #3 and #4 might only be $399 per person.

I usually find it beneficial to establish a base price for a particular cruise by checking the 'official' website first...for example, www.rccl.com or www.ncl.com, etc and THEN search for deals.

Be sure to check out the forums at cruisecritic.com too.

how reasonable is the threshold of $60 pp/pn for longer cruises of say 10-12 nights? I want to look for a 12 night cruise to nrothern europe/russia, and I saw an ad on travelzoo for a 14 night cruise (incld. airfare) to Russia and the surrounding areas on Celebrity for $2700. Initially seemed a bit a good deal, but after seeing the deals here, I think I can definitely do better.

CaptainAlias said:how reasonable is the threshold of $60 pp/pn for longer cruises of say 10-12 nights? I want to look for a 12 night cruise to nrothern europe/russia, and I saw an ad on travelzoo for a 14 night cruise (incld. airfare) to Russia and the surrounding areas on Celebrity for $2700. Initially seemed a bit a good deal, but after seeing the deals here, I think I can definitely do better.
It really all depends on when you are planning to travel. I am not sure about the hot times for that area of the world. I do know that mid-summer when school is out is really big for Caribbean cruises. Prices are usually fairly high, along with the regular holidays.

Just a reminder that Discover is offering 5% back on Airlines, Cruises, Hotels, Car Rentals, Trains, and Buses for their Get More Program this quarter. I'm planning a trip for this Spring Break and definitely plan on using my card.

Hi everyone. I used to be a groups agent for Royal Caribbean, so here's some general information about getting the best deals on their cruises.

0. It's been said before, but I'll say again that the biggest factor in cruise price is WHEN you travel. If you can go off season, you could either go cheaply or stay in a huge suite for the same price as people traveling when school is out. If you have to go in the summer, later is usually cheaper, so pick August. This may be related to hurricane season (I think August is worse than June) but seems to hold true for Alaska, too.

The cheapest itineraries are repositioning cruises except for Panama Canal and one way Hawaii (Transatlantic, Miami to Newark etc.--these are often $50/day).

1. Royal Caribbean doesn't allow discounting. Therefore, unless you find a travel agent who booked group space earlier, odds are, you won't get a cheaper price from a travel agent. I'm sure I saw mostly the big problems, but keep in mind that if you go through an agent, Royal Caribbean will not talk to you. Yes, that's right--if you have a mistake on your booking, the agency that made it will need to correct it, even though it's your money. Usually, I think it's best to not use a travel agent. Keep in mind that websites such as Expedia, Travelocity etc. are online agents and you would need to call them rather than RCI if you have any problems. I'm not dissing travel agents--a good one can really help you get the best deal and you WON'T get a cheaper price going through RCI even though there's no commission involved. It's just that a bad agent can ruin your trip and I've seen it happen many times.

If you are going with a group you can often get amenity points (here's a case where a travel agent may help because a group is 8 rooms with an agent but 10 rooms without one). Groups get a free berth for every 8 staterooms if booked through an agent. I'm not sure if it's every 8 or every 10 for direct bookings since that was a different department than the one I worked in.

2. If you have a specific date/itinerary and it's during a popular time (Summer, Spring Break (generally late February through April), Thanksgiving week or Christmas) make your reservations insanely early--more than a year ahead of time. This also goes for those who want balconies off the back of the ship or on the hump in the middle, no matter when it's sailing.

Keep checking because if the price goes down, you can get a price adjustment. Check back for resident and senior specials, too, because they don't usually show up until a few months before sailing. RCI used to only have military rates through SATO, but they were adding them for all agents just about the time I left, so if you're in the military, let them know.

Reserving early gets you the best choice of rooms. Generally prices start low and go up. They often dip a couple months before sailing, then skyrocket way up in the last few weeks.

3. If you are more relaxed about where you are going and where you are on the ship, RCI does its Happy Hour specials on Tuesdays. Those are usually very cheap and already in their penalty period--ie, you have to pay, and there's no getting your money back if you change your mind. The prices are for new bookings only, so this is a price drop you can't get if you've already booked.

4. If you ever have to change your plans and it is before the penalty period, DO NOT (DO NOT!) let the agent at RCI talk you into keeping the same booking and just changing the ship and sail date. That is the standard practice and is completely to RCI's advantage. Why? Because penalties start from the dates they would have been on the original booking. If you had to change or cancel again, you may not be able to without paying for it, even if your cruise is months away. What stinks is RCI's computers don't even show this--accountants catch it later. Do yourself a favor and cancel the booking, get a refund, and put new money on your new booking that has a new booking number.

5. Shore excursions--The company line is book through the cruiseline for safety. It is true the ship will wait for you if your excursion gets held up, but I think you can get better deals and better, less crowded excursions by looking online (cruisecritic.com is a great resource) and arranging them yourself.

All this is for Royal Caribbean International only, but would probably be true for Celebrity also. I know it isn't for other cruiselines--my dad usually goes Holland America, and they do allow discounting, making travel agents the way to go with that line.