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Hi. Any ideas of best place to book a cruise through? We are looking at Royal Caribbean or Carnival out of NY or NJ. Thanks
Unless you are seasoned cruisers you are best to go to a good travel agent, one that does specialize in cruising. Most of the mass marketed lines, the ones you are considering have, what used to be referred to as "fair market: pricing, so there isn't any difference. Some on line agentcies will offer discounted rates but they are not allowed to, so if you use a TA you might get a perk or two. Plus the portection of their knowledge and services. After you have cruised a few times, you might decide to tackle your booking some other way..
Hi. Any ideas of best place to book a cruise through? We are looking at Royal Caribbean or Carnival out of NY or NJ. Thanks
I've booked both with a brick and mortar site that specializes in the line we wanted to take and directly with the cruise line. I don't think the price changes much for a particular cabin on a particular date for a particular ship in any scenario. I've booked cruises more than a year in advance just to get the cabin we wanted on the back of the ship.
When we booked directly with the cruiseline and the price dropped months later, our price was adjusted with the drop. If the price goes up, the cost stays at the lower rate. Not sure a travel agent would adjust the same way or not.
I believe both lines you are interested in offer shipboard credits from $50 to up to $500 or more if you own 100 shares of stock. Did this one time and sold the stock immediately afterwards and made a small profit along with the $250 in credit used onboard.
I've booked both with a brick and mortar site that specializes in the line we wanted to take and directly with the cruise line. I don't think the price changes much for a particular cabin on a particular date for a particular ship in any scenario. I've booked cruises more than a year in advance just to get the cabin we wanted on the back of the ship.
When we booked directly with the cruiseline and the price dropped months later, our price was adjusted with the drop. If the price goes up, the cost stays at the lower rate. Not sure a travel agent would adjust the same way or not.
I believe both lines you are interested in offer shipboard credits from $50 to up to $500 or more if you own 100 shares of stock. Did this one time and sold the stock immediately afterwards and made a small profit along with the $250 in credit used onboard.
yes, travel agents do the same now days, at least brick and mortar ones do as well as the large cruise specialist franchises. In fact, on some lines, Carnival is one, will automatically adjust the price if it goes down prior to final payment date unless you are on a guaranteed price program. They are lower prices but will not change. After final payment date, price adjustments get a little more sticky and every line handles differently, but the agents will get the adjustments for their clients just like the lines. This didn't always used to be the case.
Nita
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