Why I chose cruisequick over cruisedirectonline

[betsybug]

See my post below for problems I had with cruisedirectonline.com. I canceled the booking today and chose cruisequick.com for the same price. CruiseDirect lost $4750 on the three cabins I booked on Carnival.

Here is why I canceled CruiseDirectOnline:

1. Built-in, expensive, and almost mandatory travel insurance. It was added without my consent with no way to delete it.
2. No e-mail confirmation sent after booked. The web site promised "immediate e-mail" confirmation.
3. No follow-up e-mail on the booking details within 24 hours as promised on site.
4. No e-mail answer to my booking questions after I paid the deposit - after 48 hour wait.
5. No one answers their phone - after multiple tries in two days.
6. Only one post about this site on this board (it was favorable). I found this odd, since the site is geared to experienced cruisers like us.
7. Incredibly difficult site to navigate and use. The log on is ridiculously complicated.


Why quickcruise.com was better:
1. By far the easiest online quote and booking process.
2. Almost immediate e-mail quotes on three cabins - under 10 minutes.
3. Immediate e-mail response to my e-mail questions/changes.
4. Easy to find disclosures on the site of all the booking terms, eg cancellation policies, use of coupons, discounts, etc.
5. They are "open" more hours. Available 8am-9pm EST 7 days a week. The other one was only 9-5 Mon-Fri.
6. Numerous positive posts on this board. A BIG FACTOR! I don't think I saw a negative comment by anyone.
7. Once you've booked one cruise with them, you get unlimited future e-mail quotes.

I saw only two advantages to CruiseDirectOnline.com. First, they have phone agents. But that's not too big since they don't answer the phones. Second, you can get the quotes right on the site - no waiting for e-mail. So use them as a pricing source. But I would be wary of booking with them.

Finally, the price on the three cabins on the two agencies was within dollars. Cuisequick.com, without insurance, came to $2726. My TA was $3824. So I saved $1098 (28% less than TA) by using cruisequick.

Does any one else agree on comparison of these two online agencies?

[This message was edited by betsybug on 05-08-04 at 02:00 PM.]