Cruise Booking - Cruise operator or travel agent or a cruising web site?

[cosi]

First time cruiser seeking advice on the best way to book a cruise.

Direct with cruise company?
or
Travel agent?
or
Cruising web site?

Look forward to reading your recommendations and any other tips.

Thank you

 

[RooFlyer]

Travel agent - bricks and mortar type, not online. They know their way around the Cabin types, pricing, payment, deadlines and a lot of other ins and outs. When I first looked at my first cruise, I looked at the cruise line website and talked to the cruise people on the phone and I was completely put off the whole concept. Travel agent took it in hand and made it all work.

Book as early as you can. As with Airlines, as time goes on the cheaper cabins get sold off and you only get left with the more expensive ones. Refund policies vary too so have a look at those but usually there’s not a lot of downside in booking early.

 

[cosi]

Travel agent - bricks and mortar type, not online. They know their way around the Cabin types, pricing, payment, deadlines and a lot of other ins and outs. When I first looked at my first cruise, I looked at the cruise line website and talked to the cruise people on the phone and I was completely put off the whole concept. Travel agent took it in hand and made it all work.

Book as early as you can. As with Airlines, as time goes on the cheaper cabins get sold off and you only get left with the more expensive ones. Refund policies vary too so have a look at those but usually there’s not a lot of downside in booking early.

Thank you

 

[tgh]

..bbbut.. not all (bricks and mortar) ta's are competent and not all know the cruise industry.
For mainstream cruise lines , an experienced ta will have limited "leverage' but should also understand the "ropes".
For "luxury" cruise lines, an experienced cruising ta will likely have personal cruise line contacts and this is invaluable.
Cruiselines , like many travel service providers tend to have excellent "fences" to protect them from clents with issues.
An experienced ta should know how to cut through the fence get stuff done.

 

[Pushka]

I do my own research and book direct with the cruise line. There are many sites that show you exactly the cabin you are after, and there's one site that lets you overlay the various decks so you can see what's under and over the desired cabin. Golden rule, the lower the deck and the more middle the ship the less likely you may experience sea sickness if prone. Have a cabin directly above and directly below the deck you want to minimise noise. TA's sometimes charge their own cancellation fee if you change your mind. On top of the cruise line fees.

 

[RooFlyer]

..bbbut.. not all (bricks and mortar) ta's are competent and not all know the cruise industry.

Quite right. I should’ve qualified my answer by saying a travel agent who specialises in cruises. There are various accreditations they should have to demonstrate this.

 

[drron]

Both @tgh and @RooFlyer as well as myself use a Virtuoso Travel Agent. They will give you either a good complimentary excursion or On Board Credit.

Luxury Ocean, Expedition, and River Cruises | Virtuoso

Search through the best expedition, ocean and river cruises around the world with bespoke experiences available only through a Virtuoso travel advisor.

www.virtuoso.com

You can look up to see if the cruise you would like is on their list.

Another option I have become aware of is Imagine travel UK. They sell discounted cruises even on lines such as Silversea. We met up with a fellow from Wales recently who did a cruise from India. For the same price as the cruise line was charging they also gave him a 7 day tour of India which he said was very good - his pictures looked fantastic.
I haven't done this yet but may consider it in the future.

Cruise & Touring | Imagine Cruising

At Imagine Cruising our cruise holidays offer much more than just a cruise. Discover unforgettable experiences & book your once in a lifetime adventure now.

www.imaginecruising.co.uk

 

[FishFood]

This depends on the cruise line, but the general advice from my last cruise is that by booking with a travel agent you will likely pay the same price. However travel agents have access to 'credits' that can offset some of your onboard spend. I'll be looking to go with a travel agent next time

 

[straitman]

We use an agent from Travel Managers. As a few mentioned the prices are about the same but there are frequent extras thrown in and great followup service if/when needed. happy to pass her details on if anyone wants them.

 

[drron]

We use an agent from Travel Managers. As a few mentioned the prices are about the same but there are frequent extras thrown in and great followup service if/when needed. happy to pass her details on if anyone wants them.

Yes another reason to use a TA.
The best reason is help when things go wrong. We had a few problems on our Irrawaddy cruise with Belmond. We complained and they just said tough luck. That annoyed me so I asked our TA to pursue compensation. We ended up being refunded 30% of our costs. Much more than our wildest dreams.