Booking

[ab2008]

We've only ever sailed DCL, but this time my Dad is coming with us and he enjoys the casinos, so we are going with RCCL. Is there anyone you would recommend using to book, or should we go direct with RCCL? I wasn't sure if we could get OBC by using a TA or prepaid gratuities? I figure every little bit helps

Thanks!!

 

[jenf22]

We've been using Costco for our non-DCL cruises. So far it's worked out ok.

 

[bumbershoot]

We used Costco for our recent Royal cruise. Got OBC which was helpful.

To be fair, though I have chosen to not use them, Dreams Unlimited (sponsor/owner of the boards) books Royal, too, now.

 

[vacation_junkie]

We've only ever sailed DCL, but this time my Dad is coming with us and he enjoys the casinos, so we are going with RCCL. Is there anyone you would recommend using to book, or should we go direct with RCCL? I wasn't sure if we could get OBC by using a TA or prepaid gratuities? I figure every little bit helps

Thanks!!

We book direct. The obc thats offered isn't worth losing control of our reservation for us. If you book with a TA you can't call Royal yourself..they have to handle it for you.

When we did use a TA In the past there was several times when we've noticed a price drop or had a question before and had to wait for the TA to get back to us. We missed out of a price drop because of her delay in response.

Its easier to be able to call Royal direct and handle your booking, make changes etc.

This week I popped on and did my normal morning check to see if one of the 3 staterooms I've been watching since May was available. There was a certain premium located stateroom(s) that we wanted to change to if it because available..

Sure enough one of them was open now.
I called Royal right away and they switched our room. Now if we booked with a TA. I would have had to have left them a message because it was before the TA would have would be open.
Then wait for them to get back to me and then probably would have missed out on the new room.

While some love the $100 or so OBC ..I value being able to call myself more.

 

[plutolovr]

Dreams Unlimited Travel, the agency that sponsors these boards books Royal Caribbean as well and offer shipboard credit.

 

[sam_gordon]

We used http://www.cruisedreams.com/home.aspx for our two RCI cruises. (Review & Video in my signature)

 

[ronandannette]

If you enjoy doing your own research, Travelocity's search engine is VERY good for comparing cruises. Their prices are usually fairly close to RCCL-direct, but once you have an idea of the sailing you want and the price, you can shop some of the discount TA's for the best deal. The only issue with using one (or booking through Travelocity for that matter) is that once you do, you will not be able to communicate with RCCL directly about your booking. So make sure you think you'll get decent customer service from any TA you might choose.

 

[plutolovr]

If you enjoy doing your own research, Travelocity's search engine is VERY good for comparing cruises. Their prices are usually fairly close to RCCL-direct, but once you have an idea of the sailing you want and the price, you can shop some of the discount TA's for the best deal. The only issue with using one (or booking through Travelocity for that matter) is that once you do, you will not be able to communicate with RCCL directly about your booking. So make sure you think you'll get decent customer service from any TA you might choose.

Travel agencies are not permitted to discount cruises any more than what the cruise lines themselves offer. Any agency found doing so can get in trouble with the cruise line.

Agencies compete by offering shipboard credit and other onboard amenities.

 

[drb116]

Travel agencies are not permitted to discount cruises any more than what the cruise lines themselves offer. Any agency found doing so can get in trouble with the cruise line.

Agencies compete by offering shipboard credit and other onboard amenities.

While this is generally true, it is not always the case. I have never seen cruise lines like Disney or Royal Caribbean cheaper elsewhere, but Costco often has prices for Norwegian much lower than what is available on ncl.com.

I am sure it is something with the way NCL prices because Costco usually gives a healthy cash back or on board credit, but with NCL, it is often just a reduction in fare.

 

[vacation_junkie]

Travel agencies are not permitted to discount cruises any more than what the cruise lines themselves offer. Any agency found doing so can get in trouble with the cruise line.

Agencies compete by offering shipboard credit and other onboard amenities.

And...the OBC generally comes out of their commission so TA's can be difficult when you find a cheaper fare and call for a price reduction. Alot of times you will be met with "Sorry, new booking only" or "you don't qualify for some reason or another"...or some form of excuse as they don't want to lose further commission. If you book direct 99.9% of the time they will honour the promotions/cheaper prices.

 

[jenf22]

While this is generally true, it is not always the case. I have never seen cruise lines like Disney or Royal Caribbean cheaper elsewhere, but Costco often has prices for Norwegian much lower than what is available on ncl.com.

I am sure it is something with the way NCL prices because Costco usually gives a healthy cash back or on board credit, but with NCL, it is often just a reduction in fare.

I think Costco has a contract with NCL so they can lower the price. For our Europe cruise next year on NCL I was able to get the Costco price, a $25 OBC from them, and the $300 OBC from NCL. Not bad.

I'm the biggest control freak I know and I still book with an agent. We got $475 OBC from Costco on our Royal cruise earlier this month. That was definitely worth the small loss of control for me. As long as I'm before the PIF date I have no problem telling them to just cancel my reservation if they aren't willing to honor a lower price for me. I will concede it's more of a pain having to go through someone for changes. But for us, the OBC is worth it.

 

[SevenWonkas]

We book all our cruises through Costco - Royal Caribbean and DCL. We've never had to leave a message and wait to hear back because it's a big company. As long as its during their business hours (which are long!), we've been able to talk to someone. They've been a big help in some cases, where Royal screwed some things up. They knew what to say and who to talk to in order to get some results with our issues.

You don't have to do everything through them. We've always been able to book shore excursions ourselves (either online or by calling Royal).

The onboard credit is very nice, and the reason we started booking through them. (Our first few cruises we booked online.... Didn't even know about Costco Travel!)

Costco will sometimes have "member cruises" where there are additional incentives, like specialty dining vouchers, etc. We booked our most recent cruise a year in advance, and about 6 months later noticed it was a member cruise. Called Costco, and they added the package to our booking. Ended up with additional onboard credit, soda package, specialty dining voucher, spa voucher, amenities on Labadee, and I think some other things I'm forgetting. It was pretty neat!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards