Best way to book

So we are almost ready to book. Likely will wait until next month to book our cruise for April 2016 but may go ahead and book now and use some of our tax refund to pay the deposit.

Anyway, the other night we were in Costco and I saw one of their travel books. I have been playing around on the Costco travel website and our cruise is offered on there for roughly the same price as online through RCI, however booking through Costco nets us a $75/$95 shipboard credit (amount depends on what room we book; we are considering outside or balcony).

Has anyone ever booked through Costco before? Would you? Should I call the agents at RCI and book through them (and maybe mention the Costco offer) or would you book through Costco? And for whichever way, would you call or do it online?

Thnaks in advance........

........or should we reconsider joining AAA again or go through a travel agent??????

We're not allowed to discuss specific agencies or agents.

Roz

So we are almost ready to book. Likely will wait until next month to book our cruise for April 2016 but may go ahead and book now and use some of our tax refund to pay the deposit.

 

Anyway, the other night we were in Costco and I saw one of their travel books. I have been playing around on the Costco travel website and our cruise is offered on there for roughly the same price as online through RCI, however booking through Costco nets us a $75/$95 shipboard credit (amount depends on what room we book; we are considering outside or balcony).

 

Has anyone ever booked through Costco before? Would you? Should I call the agents at RCI and book through them (and maybe mention the Costco offer) or would you book through Costco? And for whichever way, would you call or do it online?

 

Thnaks in advance........

 

........or should we reconsider joining AAA again or go through a travel agent??????

when looking at other agencies-- make sure the amount is the total amount due. some people quote cruise only. some do not include the tax. what do they charge to make any changes.? what is the policy regarding cancelling.

some agents give some incentive to book through them. I like Carnival and know that carnival does not allow discounting. but if i can get cabin credit from an agent-- Im going with the agent.

Note: that when you book using an outside agent the cruise lines will not talk with you regarding your booking. The agent owns that. and only the agent can do stuff on your behalf--

PS- I would book the deposit now.

Our cruise we booked a few weeks ago is now over 200 more per cab then what we paid

when looking at other agencies-- make sure the amount is the total amount due. some people quote cruise only. some do not include the tax. what do they charge to make any changes.? what is the policy regarding cancelling.

 

some agents give some incentive to book through them. I like Carnival and know that carnival does not allow discounting. but if i can get cabin credit from an agent-- Im going with the agent.

 

Note: that when you book using an outside agent the cruise lines will not talk with you regarding your booking. The agent owns that. and only the agent can do stuff on your behalf--

Also, if you are new to cruising, you may want to go with a cruise specialist who can answer your questions as they pop up. that's a travel agent who is knowledgeable about the different cruise lines, ships, on board life, etc. So if you have friends, family, co-workers who have been on many cruises, ask them for recommendations of a TA. (unfortunately, as someone pointed out, it's forbidden to name names here) Don't go with an online service just to save money as you might end up regretting it because you can't get help. Make sure there's no cancellation or change fees. If you luck out with a good TA, you may end up using him or her for future trips and send many referrals. An online booker won't care about pleasing you.

And just remember: don't fly in the day of your cruise (unless, of course, you're within a quick drive) and don't try to cram too many activities on port or sea days.

We are not allowed to discussed travel agents on Cruise Critic ... but if you find a cruise you want to take, go ahead and book it while you still have a good selection of cabins. ;)

Discussing the merits of specific travel agents on Cruise Critic is not permitted.

A useful resource on the subject can be found here:

Finding a Cruise Travel Agent

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Welcome to Cruise Critic.

You do not mention which cruise line you are planning to sail with. Most lines do not allow a TA to discount the fares. Some get around that by offering some OBC as in the offer you mentioned.

However, some line do allow a TA to discount. We sail with Princess and they allow a TA to discount If asked for a quote. We typically save about 15% of the current Princess fare when we book.

Thanks all for the comments. I apologize for the faux pas and didn't realize such things couldn't be talked about. I've been reading these boards off and on for the past week or so, but hadn't come across a mention of it. So many boards, so much info........

The cruise line will be Royal Carribean.

I must say though that many good points have been raised for me to take into consideration. The only worry I have about the trip is if for some reason we weren't able to go and had to cancel.

I will talk things over with the hubster, giving him each point to consider and we will go from there.