Companion Cruises????

[mixedcutie23]

Since becoming obsessed with going on a cruise, I have been searching for ways to make this trip cheaper for me since I will be paying for both as a present. I was looking on ebay and found a couple of great cruise deals. There is one that I found quite interesting though. You buy the action, that says companion cruise. What happens when you win is you only pay the real price for the first persons cruise, and then on the second person you only have to pay for the port fees and taxes. It sounds great if it real, but im a little skeptical. Has anyone here ever gone this way? Or even purchased a cruise of ebay? Please let me know...Oh yeah...this package is sold by a travel agent, and he does have a 100 percent rating.....:confused:

[mixedcutie23]

come on PLEASE help. Im serious I really want to know what you think, any advice would be great. thanks in advance.

[mixedcutie23]

anyone??????????????:(:confused:

[Cotton]

Hmmm. Not knowing what cruiseline or ship or itinerary, it's hard to make an educated guess about this deal. There are always 'good' deals to be had by going directly thru a cruiseline or local TA. Have you checked into these first?

 

Questions that come to my mind are: The "real" price you speak of - this could be an inflated or published rate. Most cruiselines (I'm familiar mostly w/Carnival) have a published rate - alongside a 'super special' rate. You always go by the super special rate, never the other. I always book directly with a Carnival PVP, and have gotten some fantastic initial deals, as well as later upgrades and/or shipboard credits.

 

Not saying this TA is not on the up-and-up, mind you. I just think you'd be better off checking with other sources to see if this deal is REALLY the deal it sounds like. Don't grab something just because it looks good at the moment - do some homework before you decide.

 

Sorry I can't be of more help, just offering my thoughts, since you asked.

[pvangordon]

I've never done it either, but I would look at things like what cruise line is being offered, the dates and itinerary, the cabin category, etc. The seller's high rating is also a good thing. If you feel comfortable with all of those things, then it should be fine. It could just be that they acquired a bunch of cabins under a group deal and need to unload them.

 

Also, I would recommend actually calling the TA and asking questions directly. A few months back, I was interested in an NCL cruise listed on eBay that sounded like a fantastic deal. I found the TA's website and called them. Very nice people with great advice. In the end, I did a little more research and went with another line that seemed to fit my style a bit better. But I certainly would have considered bidding or even going directly through that TA (he offered some even better deals on other cruises) if NCL had been my choice.

 

Good luck!

[kitty9]

Be careful if this cruise is with RCCI or Celebrity, or Carnival after Jan 1. Those lines have instituted new rules that prohibit doing what that travel agent is doing on ebay. I would hate for you to pay for this, go to the port and then have the cruise line reject your ticket because this TA violated their rules. I know that RCCI and Celebrity have been charging passengers money when they check in at the dock, when they've booked cruises for which they didn't follow their rules.

 

I would ask a ton of questions such as, where is this cabin, is everything included such as taxes and port fees (this could add a lot of money to the final price), what ship is this cruise on, how many days, and then I would call the cruise line and find out if this is considered legal. To be honest, it doesn't sound kosher to me. I would think that the cruise line could very well charge your companion for the full price of the fare once you get to the dock. They're not in the habit of allowing adults to book a cruise when only paying for taxes and port charges, unless this is a two for one special. If that's the case, you could book this cruise with any travel agent, save the worries about whether this whole thing is legal, and get the same price.

[Cruisechik]

Look for Happy Hour specials. Here are this weeks specials from my TA for RCCL & Celebrity (I left out the TA's name). Happy Hour rates come out on Friday and you can book the following Tuesday. You can compare rates to those available on the big on-line agencies. I'd be alittle leary of the ebay thing.

 

EXPLORER OF THE SEAS

7 Night Western Caribbean

11/7/04

From Miami

Inside 3/4 Person Rate

$699.00 $399.00

 

 

EXPLORER OF THE SEAS

7 Night Western Caribbean

11/21/04

From Miami

Inside Deluxe

$899.00 $1,699.00

 

 

NAVIGATOR OF THE SEAS

7 Night Eastern Caribbean

11/20/04

From Miami

Inside Ocean View Balcony

$799.00 $899.00 $1,099.00

 

 

VOYAGER OF THE SEAS

7 Night Western Caribbean

11/20/04

From Miami

Inside Ocean View Balcony

$799.00 $899.00 $1,099.00

 

 

BRILLIANCE OF THE SEAS

11 Night Southern Caribbean

12/13/04

From San Juan

Ocean View Balcony 3/4 Person Rate

$749.00 $1,199.00 $399.00

 

 

ENCHANTMENT OF THE SEAS

5 Night Western Caribbean

12/11/04

From Ft Lauderdale

Ocean View Deluxe 3/4 Person Rate

$349.00 $659.00 $279.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMIT

10 Night Western Caribbean

11/5/04

From Ft Lauderdale

Ocean View Deluxe 3/4 Rate

$900.00 $1,000.00 $450.00

 

 

SUMMIT

11 Night Western Caribbean

12/6/04

From Ft Lauderdale

Inside Balcony Deluxe 3/4 Rate

$900.00 $1,000.00 $1,300.00 $450.00

 

 

 

 

HORIZON

12 Night Repositioning Caribbean

12/10/04

From Tampa

Inside Ocean View 3/4 Rate

$600.00 $750.00 $300.00

 

 

ZENITH

14 Night Southern Caribbean

12/5/04

From Jacksonville

Inside Ocean View 3/4 Rate

$800.00 $900.00 $450.00

 

 

CENTURY

7 Night Eastern Caribbean

11/13/04

From Ft Lauderdale

Inside Ocean View Concierge Class Deluxe 3/4 Rate

$600.00 $700.00 $911.00 $1,311.00 $300.00

 

 

CENTURY

7 Night Western Caribbean

11/20/04

From Ft Lauderdale

Inside Ocean View 3/4 Rate

$550.00 $650.00 $300.00

 

 

INFINITY

14 Night Panama Canal

10/31/04

From Ft Lauderdale

Ocean View Balcony 3/4 Rate

$1,700.00 $2,200.00 $800.00

 

 

INFINITY

10 Night Hawaii

11/25/04

From Honolulu

Balcony Deluxe 3/4 Rate

$1,200.00 $1,300.00 $700.00

 

 

GALAXY

12 Night Panama Canal

11/13/04

From Galveston

Balcony Concierge Class 3/4 Rate

$1,950.00 $2,200.00 $700.00

 

 

GALAXY

12 Night Panama Canal

12/6/04

From Galveston

Inside Ocean View 3/4 Rate

$1,050.00 $1,250.00 $700.00

 

 

CONSTELLATION

7 Night Southern Caribbean

11/20/04

From San Juan

Inside Ocean View Balcony 3/4 Rate

$550.00 $650.00 $750.00 $400.00

 

 

MILLENNIUM

7 Night Eastern Caribbean

11/21/04

From Ft Lauderdale

Ocean View Deluxe 3/4 Rate

$800.00 $1,750.00 $400.00

 

 

 

The Happy Hour Program is valid for new bookings only and is not

combinable with any other promotion. Prices are per person, based on double

occupancy, and are cruise-only.

[mixedcutie23]

To those of you who responded, thank you very much. Ive been really confused as to what I should do. It sounded great, but Im not cool with the possibility of losing my money, so I am going to go the real and right way. Once again thank you.