If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
7 tips for the best cruise deal !!!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10776498/from/RSS/
7 tips for the best cruise deal Get the best possible cruise for your money! By Anita Dunham-Potter Tripso.com Updated: 2:06 p.m. ET Jan. 9, 2006 Winter cruises are no longer the indulgence of the rich and privileged few. In fact, cruises are the fastest-growing sector of the travel industry. According to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which represents 19 major cruise lines, more than 10 million people worldwide took a cruise in 2005, and that number is expected to more than double in the next five years. Purchasing a cruise was once as simple as going to your local travel agent and leafing through a couple of brochures. But with the growth of the industry has come an almost overwhelming array of itineraries, packages, purchasing options and prices. How do you navigate through all the information to find the best deals? The tips that follow will help you clinch the best possible cruise for your money. 1. Catch the wave The January-through-March “wave period” is traditionally the cruise industry’s busiest booking period. During this time, cruise lines make about 35 percent of their annual sales. This is the time when they pull out all the stops, offering consumers many hot deals. This year the deals may be a little cooler. Unlike the past five years, when a dozen or more new cruise ships were launched each year, only six new vessels are being launched in 2006. With the slowdown in growth, supply is a little tighter. Still, some cruise lines are making special offers to entice travelers. For example, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line was recently offering BlackBerries and RAZR phones as booking incentives on selected cruises. 2. Call the cruise line first Talk with a cruise line representative about the particular cruises and stateroom categories that interest you. Ask for any specials and be sure to mention your age and state of residence, as well as whether you are traveling in a group or have sailed with the cruise line before; all of these circumstances could qualify you for additional discounts. Use the quote given by the cruise line as your starting price point. 3. Check the Sunday papers Sunday newspapers often carry ads for big cruise bargains in their travel sections. Larger metropolitan-area papers and papers in or near cruise embarkation cities are especially good for finding deals. For example, to find discounts for Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Port Canaveral embarkations, you should check the newspapers in those cities. You can purchase a short-term subscription to these papers or research them at your local library. If you’re looking to cruise out of Galveston, check the Houston Chronicle and the Dallas Morning News, whose travel ads are online. 4. Check cruise booking Web sites Large online cruise discount agencies like cruise.com, icruise.com, 1- 800-cruises.com and cruise411.com offer some of the lowest cruise rates anywhere. Travel megasites like Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity often have excellent deals as well, particularly on last-minute cruises. Recent comparison-shopping found that prices with the large dedicated cruise sites tended to fall within a few dollars of each other. Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity all offered similar prices that were slightly higher. While the abovementioned sites may be selling cruises cheaper, be sure to inquire about additional and hidden fees, particularly cancellation penalties, which can range anywhere from $35 to $75. 5. Call a travel agent Many consumers feel more comfortable working with a travel agent face to face. Try both local independent agents and large national agencies like AAA and American Express. If the cruise line you’re researching has an agent-finder function on its Web site, use it to find agents near you. The CLIA Web site, for example, has a “Cruise Expert Locator.” When you meet with a travel agent, try not to waste your time or the agent’s. Be direct: Tell him exactly what you’re looking for and that you are comparison-shopping. One thing to know before you meet with a local travel agent is that many charge consulting fees for their time with you. Like many independent travel agents, luxury cruise specialist Lucy Hirleman, president of Berkshire Travel in Newfoundland, N.J., charges new clients a $50 nonrefundable trip deposit fee. “We charge this fee to discourage the shopping around,” Hirleman says. “But if you book the trip with us, the fee is then applied toward the total cost of the cruise. If you cancel the trip we keep the fee; however, we allow customers one year to use the fee toward another cruise or vacation package.” Local agents are especially useful for consumers who have special requests or needs and for cruise itineraries that require visas and other special documentation. 6. Place a “Cruise Wanted” ad online Check out CruiseCompete.com. After you complete a quick registration, you can post an anonymous ad to which travel agents can respond with their best offers. The key is to be specific about what you are looking for. An agent or agents will often get back to you with price quotes the first day. 7. Negotiate Once you’ve received several quotes, try to negotiate a lower price or some additional onboard extras. Online, use icruise.com’s “Beat Your Quote” feature to see if it will bring your cost down a bit further (this only works when icruise has agents online; the function will appear in the “Click to speak with a live agent” section). Cruise411 also offers a lowest-price guarantee: Should you ever book a cruise with Cruise411 and later find a lower advertised rate for which you qualify from a competitor, Crusie411 will beat it. In today’s ultracompetitive travel market, many independent agents will do their best to beat the lowest quote you’ve found. So if a travel agent quotes you the same rate as the cruise line, you should keep shopping around. There is a cruise deal out there that will fit your budget and lifestyle. All it takes is a little detective work to ward off that big winter chill. Anita Dunham-Potter is a Pittsburgh-based travel journalist specializing in cruise travel. Anita's columns have appeared in major newspapers and many Internet outlets, and she is a contributor to Fodor's "Complete Guide to Caribbean |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
7 tips for the best cruise deal !!!
"steinbrenner" wrote in message news:MTEzNzExNjcyMy5wb25kZXJ0ZQ.1137116723@nulluse r.com... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10776498/from/RSS/ One thing to know before you meet with a local travel agent is that many charge consulting fees for their time with you. Like many independent travel agents, luxury cruise specialist Lucy Hirleman, president of Berkshire Travel in Newfoundland, N.J., charges new clients a $50 nonrefundable trip deposit fee. "We charge this fee to discourage the shopping around," Hirleman says. "But if you book the trip with us, the fee is then applied toward the total cost of the cruise. If you cancel the trip we keep the fee; however, we allow customers one year to use the fee toward another cruise or vacation package." I don't quite understand how charging a booking fee encourages new business when their prices aren't any better that any one else's. It seems as thought they have so much business they can't be bothered to give out prices. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
7 tips for the best cruise deal !!!
"I don't quite understand how charging a booking fee encourages new
business when their prices aren't any better that any one else's. It seems as thought they have so much business they can't be bothered to give out prices. " Many booking fees are applied to the cost of the travel, so the traveler isn't paying any more . Charging a fee is meant to discourage someone from wasting an agents time, ie. having them spend hours researching cruises, flights, shore excursions, etc, and then the consumer, armed with all of the research that the agent did, goes and books the trip themself. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
7 tips for the best cruise deal !!!
"RichC" posted the exciting
message news I don't quite understand how charging a booking fee encourages new business when their prices aren't any better that any one else's. It's sort of like Sony claiming their CD copy protection BS is there for improved music quality. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
7 tips for the best cruise deal !!!
I can understand not wanting to waste time and therefore money
researching something for someone who isn't going to buy anyway. You can do lots of FREE research yourself on the Internet and get an idea of what the price range for a cruise, flight, etc should be. I know many people are far to lazy to do that so they shop around TA's. I do this a lot myself before calling my TA and having her book the trip (I basically plan the trip - I think it's fun!). I could do it myself but if she can get the commission from the booking (even if it costs me a small fee - which it usually doesn't), I'm happy to do that for her. In return, she knows me, I know her, and she looks out for my interests concerning traveling. I only strayed from my TA once over the many years we've known each other with another local agent and got screwed. Never again! If I can't afford a booking fee, they I can't afford to go on the trip at all - it's part of the cost of the trip. On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 22:54:02 -0600, Prime wrote: "RichC" posted the exciting message news I don't quite understand how charging a booking fee encourages new business when their prices aren't any better that any one else's. It's sort of like Sony claiming their CD copy protection BS is there for improved music quality. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
7 tips for the best cruise deal !!!
When we book a cruise,we have everything done ,all the travel agent has
to do is book it,and sometimes find out the airfare for us. She usually can get it lower than we can. (.a cruise lover.) |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
7 tips for the best cruise deal !!!
It's not a "booking fee"--it's a cancellation fee. Big difference
there... |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Cruise Ships to Serve as Floating Hotels! | Ray Goldenberg | Cruises | 9 | February 9th, 2005 02:53 AM |
Mexico beach towns say NO to cruise ships!!! | steinbrenner | Cruises | 13 | September 8th, 2004 07:55 PM |
Cruising Suits Lifestyle! | Ray Goldenberg | Cruises | 0 | August 2nd, 2004 07:08 PM |
Carnival Earnings Rise Sharply! | Ray Goldenberg | Cruises | 2 | March 23rd, 2004 03:56 AM |
Escape Winter Blues: Book A Cruise! | Ray Goldenberg | Cruises | 11 | January 7th, 2004 04:06 AM |