Booking directly with the Cruise line (Royal Caribbean)

Michael, I can understand your frustration with some TA's. It may take a
few attempts to develop a good relationship with one. You said that your
contact was mostly by phone. I suggest you go into a few agencies in
person. It is much easier to deal directly with someone face to face. I
had such a LAME agent for my first cruise... whenever I called he was
either out of the office or with another client and never returned my
calls. I had to keep on top of his job for him... well lets just say
that was my first and last booking with him. I have booked directly with
the cruise lines and never had a problem so don't worry if you decide to
take that route. But now fortunately I found a TRUE agent that loves her
job and takes out the time to call and inform me of deals, price
reductions, etc. she is a 'gem' and I have used her to book my last 3
cruises! Good Luck with what you decide.

"MMB" wrote in message ...
Hi Mike,

I have a number of friends in the travel industry, and as much as I hate to
say it, you are usually better off booking the cruise yourself through the
cruise line. As long as you know what you want in a cruise and you know all
the details of your trip.

The key is research, research, research. Royal Caribbean in particular,
often offers some excellent deals over the internet but they sometimes only
last a day or two. That is why you have to know exactly what you want and
when you want it, then you just have to keep watching the website for the
best deal. We have booked a number of RCI cruises and got some great deals,
even on the airfare, which I would normally book on my own. They recently
had a airfare special flying from the East coast to San Diego, cruise to
Hawaii and returning from Honolulu for $99 pp round trip. You cant book it
that cheap yourself. But the special was only available for a couple days,
so we had to jump on it quickly.

The sad part in all of this is for the TAs involved. I have done my
research on a number of cruises and had a price quote over the internet but
when I went to the TA that I usually deal with they would not quote him the
same price for EXACTLY the same itinerary. My attitude was always that if
it was only a few bucks more I would much rather give the business to a
local TA but when it comes down to hundreds of dollars more.........well,
I, like many others, just can't afford to do that.

The cruise lines don't want to say it but I believe they are trying to phase
out the TAs. Just compare customer service in the cruise industry today
compared to a few years ago. When I went on my first cruise you could not
get one bit of information from the cruise line directly, you were always
told "contact your travel agent" but today customer service is actually
there to help make and change reservations along with giving out all kinds
of information.

I apologize for going off on a tangent here by giving my opinion but I am
kind of torn about my feelings. I LOVE cruising but I don't think that it
is right the way the cruise lines are secretly screwing the TAs out there.


"Mike" wrote in message
ble.rogers.com...
Hello All,
Just wanted to get an opinion from those who have booked cruises
directly with cruise lines instead of going through a travel agent. My
wife and I are thinking about booking a cruise on the Royal Caribbean
Explorer for the last week of February. I've made a few calls to local
TA's and they have been as helpful as a rubber crutch for the most part.
Some don't return calls and those that do can't seem to come up with a
travel plan that I want. We live in Canada and I want to travel a day
before the cruise and land in Florida a little early. One TA suggested I
stay overnight in Toronto. Great plan that is. Who the hell wants to
stay in Toronto in late February when you could be staying in warm
Florida! Sheeesh.

Having been frustrated with the lack of help from the TA's I decided to
call Royal Caribbean directly. They seemed helpful and had no problem
making arrangements that I wanted.

I haven't yet committed to them but wanted to ask your opinion.
- How safe is booking directly with the cruise line?
- Anyone have any troubles booking directly with the cruise line?
- Any gotchas that I should be aware of?

I know the guy from Royal Caribbean said that if they make all
arrangements for me then they are responsible for getting me to the
ship. He even said the ship won't leave without me if my flight was
delayed for a few hours. Now if the flight was delayed for a day or
something like that then it wouldn't wait of course, but they would put
me on another cruise of my choosing.
- Truthfully, is this something I can bank on?
- Has anyone booked with RC and gone through something like this? I'd
be interested to know how you were treated.

Thanks
Michael

No need for hours of research ! Just go to www.tripquote.com and you
will be surprised how easy and fast you get the lowest rates. Regards
Harry

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 04:42:12 GMT, "MMB" wrote:

The sad part in all of this is for the TAs involved. I have done my
research on a number of cruises and had a price quote over the internet but
when I went to the TA that I usually deal with they would not quote him the
same price for EXACTLY the same itinerary. My attitude was always that if
it was only a few bucks more I would much rather give the business to a
local TA but when it comes down to hundreds of dollars more.........well,
I, like many others, just can't afford to do that.

Hi,

The vast majority of the cruise lines have a policy of never offering
a lower fare directly to the public. If a cruise line gives you what
you think is a superior price, ask for the promo code and then give
your travel agent a call.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com

You've gotten a lot of good advice here, but I think the following statement
is troublesome...

I know the guy from Royal Caribbean said that if they make all
arrangements for me then they are responsible for getting me to the
ship. He even said the ship won't leave without me if my flight was
delayed for a few hours.

That is NOT something you can "bank on." A few hours late? If your flight is
a charter or has a great many of your ship's passengers onboard, the ship
might wait. I've seen that happen. However, many people have "missed the
boat" by relying on that type of info. Yes, the cruise line will take
responsibility for getting you to the ship if they handle your
arrangements... but, if you are delayed a few hours, count on boarding the
ship in its first port of call, not the embarkation port. Realistically,
that is a more likely scenario.

Your idea of flying in a day early is the best plan. However, if you make
your own air and hotel arrangements, you can save a substantial amount--more
than likely you'll be able to purchase travel insurance with the difference
and most experienced cruisers will recommend insurance from a third-party
supplier, not the cruise line. Check out http://www.insuremytrip.com for
rate comparisons.

I wonder if the Royal Caribbean guy you spoke to on the phone has ever been
on a cruise or flown into an embarkation port on sailing day. More than
likely, the answer is no. You will get better, more accurate information
here on RTC or from a really knowledgeable travel professional. Ray
Goldenberg, Lori Cunningham, and George Leppla are but a few of the cruise
specialists who post here and, from personal experience, you CAN "bank on"
them.

Linda
CruiseDiva.com
http://cruisediva.com

On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 14:09:01 GMT, Mike wrote:

I know the guy from Royal Caribbean said that if they make all
arrangements for me then they are responsible for getting me to the
ship. He even said the ship won't leave without me if my flight was
delayed for a few hours. Now if the flight was delayed for a day or
something like that then it wouldn't wait of course, but they would put
me on another cruise of my choosing.
- Truthfully, is this something I can bank on?

Hi Michael,

The above inaccurate information is why you need a travel agent.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com

In article , Harry
wrote:


No need for hours of research ! Just go to www.tripquote.com and you
will be surprised how easy and fast you get the lowest rates. Regards
Harry

And of course, here is a travel agent not willing to say that they are
one. But if you go to www.barrett-carlysle.com and tripquote.com you
will find an alarming similarity

This is just a troll, and not a very good one.

--
Lloyd

Carnival Tropicale 2000
GGC2002 Carnival Sensation
GGC2003 Golden Princess
GGC2004 Radiance of the Seas
GLC2005 Celebrity Millenium

Another one of Ray's "cruise line policies".

This is similar to their other policy of press releases. You know the one
where they send a special Press Release exclusively to Lighthouse Travel and
then a standard Press Release to everyone else.

Trouble is, now one has ever seen either of these policies except Ray.

And how about his suggestion that consumers do all the research and then
book through Ray or his Travel Agent buddies so they can collect a big fat
commission for doing absolutely nothing.

Well, although I am retired, I will start a collect money for doing nothing
Travel Agency. Anyone who wants to can do all the work and then call me
with the booking. I can make one phone call to book the cruise and then
charge a fifteen percent commission just as well as Ray!

(And he wonders why Travel Agents have the reputation they do.)

"Ray Goldenberg" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 04:42:12 GMT, "MMB" wrote:

The sad part in all of this is for the TAs involved. I have done my
research on a number of cruises and had a price quote over the internet
but
when I went to the TA that I usually deal with they would not quote him
the
same price for EXACTLY the same itinerary. My attitude was always that
if
it was only a few bucks more I would much rather give the business to a
local TA but when it comes down to hundreds of dollars
more.........well,
I, like many others, just can't afford to do that.

Hi,

The vast majority of the cruise lines have a policy of never offering
a lower fare directly to the public. If a cruise line gives you what
you think is a superior price, ask for the promo code and then give
your travel agent a call.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com

snip Now if the flight was delayed for a day or
something like that then it wouldn't wait of course, but they would put
me on another cruise of my choosing.
- Truthfully, is this something I can bank on?

Hi Michael,
The above inaccurate information is why you need a travel agent.
Best regards,
Ray

Good catch, Ray! I was so focused on the first part of the erroneous info
that I totally missed that "put me on another cruise of my choosing" part.
Sheesh... Michael, did the RCI guy REALLY say that?!? Someone should report
him to his supervisor!

Linda
CruiseDiva.com
http://cruisediva.com

Now one except all the other travel agents and cruise agents on the board.

Good English there.

"Paul" wrote in message
...

Trouble is, now one has ever seen either of these policies except Ray.

Is Goober Mike saying that our resident troll travel agents and cruise
agents have different rules than real Travel Agents? And what is this about
"on the board", on the board of what?

Does anyone have any idea at all what the goob is trying to say?

No? Me neither.

He still lives in a world all his own.

"Mike Cordelli" wrote in message
m...
Now one except all the other travel agents and cruise agents on the board.

Good English there.

"Paul" wrote in message
...

Trouble is, now one has ever seen either of these policies except Ray.