Best Deals

I am trying to get my family together to do another group cruise. We went directly through Carnival last year since I purchased the wedding package and they gave us a good deal w/$100 onboard credit. I was wondering if I could even get a better deal by dealing with a travel agent. Looks like Carnival gives pretty much the same group deal as a travel agent would, but I wanted to make sure. Any advice/suggestions??

Thanks!

The only thing I can say is talk to some travel agents. See what they will offer. You possibly could get more with a TA than with Carnival directly. It's best to do your research.

I don't know about Carnival but the best deals I've ever gotten were when the cruise line sent us an e-mail with a special past customer price. Even our travel agent couldn't find that price without calling the cruise line to inquire about it. It happened to us on both Princess and Holland America.

Shop! Check prices from more than one or two TAs! I don't know why people don't do this! Everyone does when buying a car so why not with a cruise. Many TAs will meet the lowest price you find and some take something off that. Call different cruise TAs including companies that you book with on the net (include the ones here on criusecritic's specials), and, check out each cruise line's prices too. We have found some really good prices on cruise line's site. Just got a $57 per day for 14 days email offer from Princess, cruised 7 days, Costa, for $299 for BALCONY cabin on deck 9! Bargains are out there but you may have to hunt for them