booking a cruise

Is it better to book a cruise online, call the cruise number & speak w/a person or through a travel agent? I've been told that if you don't book directly through the cruise line then if a problem occurs they won't help you. Thank you for any information on this topic. I'm looking to book a Royal Caribbean cruise before the WOW sale ends.

If you have a question/problem/change, then you will have to go thru who you booked with. This can be either a TA or the cruise line. While it is true that the cruise line will not help you if you have a problem, it is also true that the TA will be on your side, not the cruise line.

We have booked for years thru a TA. Not only does she give us excellent service and handle any problems that arise, but she gives us a 15% or so discount off the cruise line rate and some OBC.

How do you go about finding TA's?

For the last 20+ cruises of mine with RCI I have continued to book directly with them by phone...yes I sometimes will put a24 hour hold on certain cruises at times...I still then always call to confirm the details etc.

This has provided me with complete ownership of my bookings as I prefer to have no middle man involved..I've always been more than capable of being my own best advocate...when and if ever needed.

Best of luck and however you decide is best for you personally...enjoy your cruise.

How do you go about finding TA's?

Talk to any friends, family members or co-workers who do a lot of cruising.

How do you go about finding TA's?

Check out Conde Nast Traveler. They have regular "best of..." lists, including TA's who are "cruise specialists."

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I guess it depends on whatever makes you happy. If you feel good and think that dealing directly with a cruise line is for you , then go for it. If you like a local TA and what to toss money their way then that is what you should do. But if you want to get the best deal (save money) then you need to shop around among multiple reputable major cruise agencies. You can do this online (they all have decent web sites) or you can call them on toll free numbers. Some agencies actually will offer slightly lower prices online then via phone, so if you do call you should check out the online offerings around the same time.

Personally, DW and I have probably been on about 100 cruises (some longer then 60 days) and have booked all but 2 cruises through several different cruise agencies. On the longer more expensive cruises we can often save thousands of dollars when compared to booking direct with a line. On shorter cruises (i.e. 7 days) the savings will be a lot less but can still exceed $100.

Hank

P.S. One poster mentioned booking direct with RCI. We were Diamond on this line about 20 years ago (our DD was a Diamond member before age 18) and we always booked their cruises through several different online cruise agencies. The reason? We always saved money. If you shop around for any cruise you can usually save 7-10% when compared to the cruise line's direct deals.

We've also found that booking our next cruise while onboard our current one (on RCI) has worked well for us. We get OBC from RCI when we do that. And usually the prices never fall below the one we got while booking onboard.

One time the price did fall lower during a WOW sale (before final payment date). That time we called RCI, and they gave us the new lower price, and we still kept the OBC. You are never locked in if you book your next cruise on board. You can change the date, destination, ship, etc., later.

Talk to any friends' date=' family members or co-workers who do a lot of cruising.[/quote']

We don't have any lol

Looking only for the lowest price is fine if you know exactly what you want and are willing to take responsibility for your own decisions. If you end up on a ship that's wrong for you, you've just wasted a lot of money.

On the other hand, there are a lot of incompetent agents selling products they're completely ignorant of, or even worse, instead of saying "I don't know, if it's important I'll find out before I take your booking" they say anything to get your credit card number. A live agent, at least you know who to complain to. A good question is, Have you sailed on the ship you're recommending?

We've had a few bad experiences with TAs and find booking online or by phone direct to be the easiest as well as give us the best deal.

Just realised I left put a phrase "A competent agent can save you from an expensive mistake, on the other hand..."