$300 more on Aussie websites than US, any way around it?

Hi there

Looking at booking a cruise around Alaska

Have done my online research and have found that the US sites are a fair bit cheaper than the Australian ones. Problem being that the US ones say us need to be a US citizen. Anyone know a way around this?

Thanks

Maybe find a TA in the USA?

There are ways around everything....

most folks outside the USA get a USA postal address box or mailing address and list it as the billing address on the credit card....of course you need to make your CC company aware of the change so it does match when verified.

also, the US online travel agencies that i use only ask for passport info, not citizen info, now I'm sure that if your CC is in another currency then you would need to convert it over to US currency, or get a US prepaid debit/credit card and it would work.

american express offers a no fee prepaid credit card that you load with greendot cards. good luck.

Hi there

 

Looking at booking a cruise around Alaska

Have done my online research and have found that the US sites are a fair bit cheaper than the Australian ones. Problem being that the US ones say us need to be a US citizen. Anyone know a way around this?

 

Thanks

For some cruiselines the passenger has to have a US or Canadian address, not nationality/citizenship, in order to book through a US T/A. But doesn't apply to all cruiselines, & some US T/As flout the rules.

Dig a little deeper.;)

Good luck

JB :)

Hi there

 

Looking at booking a cruise around Alaska

Have done my online research and have found that the US sites are a fair bit cheaper than the Australian ones. Problem being that the US ones say us need to be a US citizen. Anyone know a way around this?

 

Thanks

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

There is a board on Cruise Critic for Aussies and New Zealanders and if this was me I would post there so you can ask others from Aussie what they do when it comes to this item.

This link will take you there.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=712

Keith

Check this out for useful info.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1119

you,ll find your getting the bumb deal like us brits were paying higher prices to keep american cruisers prices low .:(

pure and simple protectionism.:rolleyes:

Some of the lines are now doing away with tips for Aussies--including them in the cruise price. Perhaps this explains the discrepency?

I hardly think it's a subversive plot to force Brits and Aussies to pay the cost of American cruises.

you,ll find your getting the bumb deal like us brits were paying higher prices to keep american cruisers prices low .:(

pure and simple protectionism.:rolleyes:

I believe that you may have that backwards... you're the ones getting protected by your laws which is what makes your prices higher. From what I understand the UK requires different/higher standards than what we have in the US.

Only way around it is to book with a company that accepts direct bookings from Australians. in one of the links above there is mentioned an American travel agent which has a list of companies that Australian's can't book via their site, but there are still some that you can book through. That being said, if you shop around with pricing, its not all that bad. Have recently booked a RCI cruise and yes, I may have pay a bit extra than my american counterparts at the time I booked, but since that time, for the same or lower inside cabin both Americans and Australian's are now paying nearly triple what I paid, due to the boat selling really well. Prices go up and down, try not to worry what everyone else pays, because you will always get someone who may find a better deal, in the end look at what you want to see, what you are willing to pay for the experience and then enjoy the trip and dont stress over the small details. (at the end of the day Australians get free health cover, so it kind of evens out I think :p )

I believe that you may have that backwards... you're the ones getting protected by your laws which is what makes your prices higher. From what I understand the UK requires different/higher standards than what we have in the US.

Exactly ... different contract laws and requirements resulting in different costs and protections.

Carnival, Celebrity, Crystal, MSC, Norwegian and P&O are the main stream lines that do accept bookings of non USA residents throught that online TA.

Cunard, HAL, Oceania, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Star Clippers do not.

Not sure if it will be cheaper for you (it was for me) but check out website http://http://www.cruisemagic.com You dont mention where you wish to embark from.

I live in australia and booked my southern carribean cruise with carnival embarking barbados. It was cheaper then the uk and australian sites prices i found.

We have used 2 online sites to book our cruises from Australia (both of them Caribbean cruises) without any problems. A number of them also offer a 24 hour international phone service specifically for customers outside USA.

In talking with others on our last trip from what I understand, we paid the same as our fellow American passengers (although with the Australian Dollar doing so well, in reality we have actually paid less :)). Trick can be in your timing, if you can wait till the Oz dollar climbs a bit more than where it is right now, you will grab an even better deal with the conversion in our favour. Some sites also offer added bonuses such as prepaid gratuties, travel insurance, OBC. Try ecruises and cruise(dot)com (The site wont allow me to put this last one in properly...it is deleting it, so you need to put a full stop between cruise and com!)

Good luck - there are great deals to be had for anyone around the globe, you just have to do some searching.