Who do u Book your CRUISES with?

[T. Lynn]

I am departing from Baltimore traveling Royal Caribbean and booked through BJ's Travel

 

[mrsklamc]

We used cruisecompete. Different agencies compete for the lowest bid. We got a great deal through them for our Hawaii cruise. Much better deal than I was able to get directly with the cruiseline. I did tons of research however.

Did you do the NCL RT Honolulu? If so I would be oh so grateful if you were willing to share any of the research you did on getting the best price!

 

[Denise W]

We did the NCL Hawaiian cruise in 2008. We and several other families booked through All Seasons Travel. I highly recommend them.

Denise

 

[Muushka]

I find if you are familiar with the cruise line and ships and can pretty much figure out what you want, I book with the cruise line first, while on a cruise (for the future cruise credit ($200 on this upcoming cruise and $300 on one in Dec)). Then I transfer it to an agency that gives OBC and/or free gratuities. Works out great. Ends up being about $600 savings on a 12 night cruise and $700 on a 2 week cruise.

 

[findmewdw]

Did you do the NCL RT Honolulu? If so I would be oh so grateful if you were willing to share any of the research you did on getting the best price!

Yes, it was through NCL. We went last October and loved it. It was our first trip to Hawaii and we took our kids with us. We used the ship as our floating hotel and was able to experience the different islands. Once you decide on your date, go to cruisecompete. Then several agencies will bid on a price. I remember doing this a couple of times. I think the bids do expire and perhaps, that is why. . . Can't remember for sure now. I spoke to several agencies and the one that we went with was Cruise Vacation Outlet. There were a couple of others that had close prices and seemed fine, too. Don't remember their names. I was a bit hesitant booking myself, but I checked the agency with BBB and through forum boards. It worked out fine for us and we saved money. I know there was a thread on cruise critic I believe about what to ask for to be sure that you don't get scammed. Read through those boards. Be sure your deposit goes directly through to the cruiseline. I remember calling the ship and verifying.
I saw another post on All Seas Travel. We have booked through them, too. They are very nice and very informative. Not sure if the price was any better than going directly with cruiseline, however.
Good luck!

 

[mrsklamc]

Yes, it was through NCL. We went last October and loved it. It was our first trip to Hawaii and we took our kids with us. We used the ship as our floating hotel and was able to experience the different islands. Once you decide on your date, go to cruisecompete. Then several agencies will bid on a price. I remember doing this a couple of times. I think the bids do expire and perhaps, that is why. . . Can't remember for sure now. I spoke to several agencies and the one that we went with was Cruise Vacation Outlet. There were a couple of others that had close prices and seemed fine, too. Don't remember their names. I was a bit hesitant booking myself, but I checked the agency with BBB and through forum boards. It worked out fine for us and we saved money. I know there was a thread on cruise critic I believe about what to ask for to be sure that you don't get scammed. Read through those boards. Be sure your deposit goes directly through to the cruiseline. I remember calling the ship and verifying.
I saw another post on All Seas Travel. We have booked through them, too. They are very nice and very informative. Not sure if the price was any better than going directly with cruiseline, however.
Good luck!

Thanks! This is my dream cruise...did you find October to be the cheapest time of year to go?

 

[AllesonWonderland]

I've done it both ways. Our last two cruises I booked direct, watched for price drops up until final payment, then transferred them right before to get the perks from our TA. We use cruise vacation outlet, our gal has been very helpful. Looking to book a cruise on Royal Caribbean next year, and I just hear about their policy where you only have 60 days to transfer, so I think we'll book direct with the agency this time. I'll still watch for price drops, though it's a spring break cruise and I rarely see drops on them. I use cruisecompete as well.

I, too, am looking at doing the Hawaii NCL sailing for DH and my anniversary. Glad to hear others enjoyed it!

 

[findmewdw]

Thanks! This is my dream cruise...did you find October to be the cheapest time of year to go?

Our schools have a fall break. My kids play sports and it is so hard to find a time that we can have family vacations with everyone's schedule. My DD is 17 and DS is 13. October is normally our family vacation time for this reason. We loved the cruise and Hawaii. It gave us a taste of the islands. Hopefully, my hubby and I will be able to visit again someday. There were some negative reviews on NCL's ship, but we loved it and didn't have any problems. Again, we didn't spend too much time on the ship, who would when you are in Hawaii!
I would recommend staying a couple days before and after the cruise if you could. We only stayed one day before the cruise and we needed more time for jet lag. We live in Kentucky. The time change really bothered us. Good luck with airfare, too. We spent a fortune on airfare!
Aloha!

 

[TifffanyD]

We are doing the NCL Hawaii cruise next summer! We used a former DU agent who started her own agency

 

[DVCMAUREEN]

A few posters have mentioned booking direct and then transferring to a TA. How do you do that?

 

[Muushka]

A few posters have mentioned booking direct and then transferring to a TA. How do you do that?

For Celebrity and RCI it is a matter of downloading their transfer form on the internet, filling it in and faxing it. Easy!