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The default search results are ordered by “best value”, unless you specifically click that you’d rather see the results organized by price, cruise length, departure date, or cruise ship. Tripadvisor Cruise, which launched in April 2019, is among the best websites for cruise deals—it lets you nab the lowest price by comparing more than 70,000 ocean and river cruises from some 60 of the best cruise websites. It’s got an attractive, inspiring landing page, and its newest function, “Explore Ship-tinerary pages,” lets you browse full ship profiles, details, photos, and itineraries. Their expertise can help you avoid mistakes, whether you are a first-timer or a repeat cruiser checking out a brand you have not tried before.
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The Best Ways to Book a Cruise - NerdWallet
The Best Ways to Book a Cruise.
Posted: Wed, 17 Apr 2024 16:01:35 GMT [source]
Alternatively, you can call your cruise line of choice to inquire if they have a list of recommended agents. If you'd like to book a cruise through a travel agent, you can pop into a downtown storefront or search for cruise sellers online. If you want to look for agents registered with travel organizations, here are some resources for finding agencies near you. Booking with a travel agent gives your transaction a personal touch -- you have a resource for asking questions and someone to contact if something goes wrong during your travels. But, your relationship with an agent doesn't tend to end after one trip. The agent will keep you in his or her database, alert you to deals or sales and can even suggest future trip ideas.
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The agent might also have first access to sale prices because the cruise lines notify their agent partners and loyalty club members first before they announce a sale to the public. Find out if the travel agent has preferred status with any cruise lines or whether he or she belongs to travel consortiums that would enable him or her to get you better deals, upgrades, etc. But watch out -- some agents will push a particular line too aggressively for your tastes.
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So if you want to sail from Miami, you’ll see all the options from the port for every cruise line. That gives you a better chance of finding something that matches your budget and schedule versus just searching one line. One thing to note is that many websites in this space are actually owned by a single company — Expedia.
Finally, as cruise lines pay agent commissions, you don't have to worry about paying extra for their planning services. Not only should you interview prospective luxury cruise travel agents, but he or she should want to interview you as well. A good agent will want to talk with you about the sorts of travel experiences you've had -- ones that you've loved as well as the ones that have fallen flat. If the travel agent starts recommending cruise lines without getting to know you first, take that as a red flag and look elsewhere.
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Agents will have taken courses courtesy of the cruise lines, sailed the ships and received certification from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). Some agents specialize in certain cruise lines and might even be a preferred agent for one or more companies. If you're interested in a specific type of cruising (such as river cruising or luxury travel), look for agencies that specialize in the line or type of cruising you prefer. They'll often have more complete knowledge of your choices than a generalist. For example, if you want to cruise one of Europe's rivers in an intimate riverboat, you might not want to book with an agent who specializes in selling holidays on 3,000-person mega-ships.
Its cruise-booking interface is simple and straightforward, only requiring you to enter your preferred sailing destination and date range, as well as how many passengers you’ll be bringing along. Then Expedia does the heavy lifting for you, with comprehensive results that make it one of the best cruise search engines. In addition, while aggregator websites will almost always have the same prices you’ll find everywhere else, they often offer perks you won’t find on the cruise lines websites. It all starts with the boldest cruise ships at sea — and ours have won awards for everything from world class dining and spectacular entertainment, to record-setting onboard thrills and groundbreaking innovation. Companies such as Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line provide online directories to help you find an experienced cruise travel agent near you. You aren't just booking general passage on a ship, either, as you will be asked to pick a specific cabin and when you prefer to dine.
There you can search by cruise line, ship, destination, departure date, and departure port. Each of these cruise line websites will allow you to be as narrow or as broad with your search as you wish. You can search all cruises, or search for trips on a specific ship, leaving a specific date, and from a specific port.
For instance, Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, and Orbitz.com, are all part of the Expedia family. Below we lay out the advantages and disadvantage of booking with each different type of website. You can bounce ideas and questions off our cruising-obsessed travel experts who have seen it all.
We pride ourselves in the best service possible, an accomplishment acknowledged by the most authoritative companies in the cruise industry. Cruise.com was named Agency of the Year by Carnival Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. As well as these major industry awards, MSC Cruises named Cruise.com Online Partner of the Year and many other cruise companies have celebrated our years of service to the cruise travel industry. Some travelers prefer doing business with larger agencies that employ dozens or even hundreds of agents.
For instance, one recent search promoted free gratuities on trips booked through the site, but we couldn’t find any mention of this once we actually started the booking process. Digging further, the incentive applied only to certain cruises, despite being heavily promoted. That’s a big help if you’re not entirely sure about which cruise you should book. As well, these sites often have deals and incentives to entice you to book. We think so as they can help you look at every cruise available to find one that fits. Smart cruise shoppers use them to look at all their options and see what sort of incentives they have for booking through their site.
You can book a cruise through a huge travel retailer with branches around the country, a local cruise agency or even a home-based agent who will talk cruising with you at your local coffee shop. You'll find pros and cons of working with the different types of agencies; for example, you might get more personal service from an independent agent but better deals from a large company with a high volume of bookings. Once you’re ready to book, Cruise Critic shows you a variety of offers from some of the best cruise booking sites, including bonuses such as onboard credit and prepaid gratuities. Then you click off to the site of your choice to make your purchase. Expedia’s cruise deals tend to come paired with other enticing offers, including steep discounts on pre-departure hotels when you book both your cruise and hotel through Expedia.
Cruises offer a great value and are an excellent way to see your favorite destinations around the globe. Cruise.com offers cruises on all cruise lines, including Carnival Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises and a host of others. When booking a cruise on Cruise.com you can select your preferred cruise line, destination and many other search options to find the best cruise for your next vacation. Our agents are experts in cruising and are available 24/7 in case you prefer to book over the phone. As one of the largest cruise sellers Cruise.com is able to offer our clients exclusive discounts, onboard credits, upgrades and many other valuable amenities. CruiseDirect is a leading online cruise travel company dedicated to providing customers with better deals than any other cruise website and access to great deals on cruise vacations.
There’s also a dedicated 800 number that lets you speak to Expedia’s cruise experts and, often but not always, a generous amount of onboard credit thrown in for good measure. On Expedia, it’s common to find bookable cruises for 70 percent off face value, with the ability to sort by price so the best cruise deals come up at the top of the list, saving you the scrolling. A sample search for a mid-June cruise to Alaska, for example, quickly came up with a seven-night itinerary starting at $389 per person—that’s less than $56 per person, per night for a mostly inclusive weeklong vacation. It makes sense that if a cruise cabin is about to sail empty the price would drop to fill it up. In fact, cruise lines consistently have occupancy rates above 100% — meaning that more than two passengers are in some cabins.
One of the most important things to know is that agents -- in particular, cruise specialists -- have been onboard the ships and can really give you firsthand advice about different cruise options. They have done a great deal of research through familiarization trips and cruise line seminars, so you don't have to do the work yourself. Even better, agents often have access to special discounts or perks -- or know best where to find them -- and as the cruise lines pay their commissions, you don't pay more for their services and expertise. The cruise travel agent should have questions for you as well, to better understand your dream vacation desires. If you are calling a cruise agency for the first time, the agent should be interviewing you as much as you are interviewing him or her. The agent should be focused on helping you choose the cruise line, ship and cabin that is right for you.
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