Booking Cruises

[RB]

Just a question from a cruise virgin. It seems that Isabel is based in the US. I thought that I had read previously that it was risky to book cruises with off-shore agents-restrictions on compensation if things went wrong or the agent went broke?

 

[Pushka]

Just a question from a cruise virgin. It seems that Isabel is based in the US. I thought that I had read previously that it was risky to book cruises with off-shore agents-restrictions on compensation if things went wrong or the agent went broke?

That’s a good point. If paying by credit card then a chargeback is in order.

Also my understanding is that recent deregulation of TA’s in Australia means that there is less protection for us now.

 

[tgh]

The travel industry is littered with corporate disasters although the day to day risk is probably quite small
Good luck seeking damages or compensation from a US based operator.

P'rhaps each cruise line presents a different marketing environment.
Silversea seem to be pretty tight on price and discounts are challenging.
Booking on board = 5%(sometimes..) , booking BtoB = 5%, Venetian society = 5% and some sporadic but well publicised marketing discounts.
IMO the local travel agency costs naught to book a cruise and provides a decent conduit for cabin availability etc.

 

[Limewood]

Well done Pushka, just emailed them about a cruse Montreal to Boston, but vacationstogo.com is hard to beat.

 

[Pushka]

Well done Pushka, just emailed them about a cruse Montreal to Boston, but vacationstogo.com is hard to beat.

The VTG can vary but sometimes they just work. Isabel referenced earlier is fabulous to work with also.

 

[Dan_]

I book direct via the website, or when I am on my cruise. Onboard booking through Royal Caribbean usually results in a reduced deposit and some good on board credit.

 

[straitman]

We have just booked a 14 night cruise around Fiji etc for Jan next year. The (Australian) Princess web site for this one is miles ahead of VTG or anyone else that I’ve found. It also has some awesome OBCs available. When taking the credits into consideration a balcony is a better deal than an ocean view. By booking it whilst onboard we also got $100 extra each. We then referred it back to out TravelManagers TA for an extra $85 credit.
We ended up with nearly $1400 OBC of which $500 is refundable.

 

[drron]

The travel industry is littered with corporate disasters although the day to day risk is probably quite small
Good luck seeking damages or compensation from a US based operator.

P'rhaps each cruise line presents a different marketing environment.
Silversea seem to be pretty tight on price and discounts are challenging.
Booking on board = 5%(sometimes..) , booking BtoB = 5%, Venetian society = 5% and some sporadic but well publicised marketing discounts.
IMO the local travel agency costs naught to book a cruise and provides a decent conduit for cabin availability etc.

On our next cruise we pass the 250 day mark on Silverseas.So we get-
5% off for 100 days.
+10% for 250 days.
+5% on Venetian sailings.
+5% book on board.
+5% B2B cruises.
Now to also have one of those offerings of 10% off for paying early and the prices are much more reasonable.

 

[OATEK]

I book direct via the website, or when I am on my cruise. Onboard booking through Royal Caribbean usually results in a reduced deposit and some good on board credit.

i too did the direct booking with RC for a Baltic cruise in June. Very happy with the discount for early booking, saved abt $500 ea. But the .com.au website is rubbish, with Q&A hardly ever working, and the pages do not work happily with Chrome, need to use that bleeding Edge. Found .com better for Q&A.

 

[Dan_]

i too did the direct booking with RC for a Baltic cruise in June. Very happy with the discount for early booking, saved abt $500 ea. But the .com.au website is rubbish, with Q&A hardly ever working, and the pages do not work happily with Chrome, need to use that bleeding Edge. Found .com better for Q&A.

Yeah the website has been less than impressive lately. They have done a relaunch I believe and now all the systems talk to each other, so it should be better from my understanding.

 

[slinky123]

Does anyone know of any recommended TA's for Seabourn?
Many thanks

 

[turtlemichael]

Does anyone know of any recommended TA's for Seabourn?
Many thanks

We use Elizabeth Clarke at the Cruise Centre in Brisbane. They are a Virtuoso Agency so the deal we get is good as has been the service for several cruises.

Luxury Cruises - The Cruise Centre

 

[love_the_life]

We use Elizabeth Clarke at the Cruise Centre in Brisbane. They are a Virtuoso Agency so the deal we get is good as has been the service for several cruises.

Luxury Cruises - The Cruise Centre

Thanks for the link TM. Do the Virtuoso perks get added automatically when you book with the agent?

 

[turtlemichael]

Thanks for the link TM. Do the Virtuoso perks get added automatically when you book with the agent?

We usually take the credits which are added to our onboard account on embarkation. However, there are things which any good luxury cruise agency will do which no one talks about. You have to talk to the agency about them.

 

[love_the_life]

We usually take the credits which are added to our onboard account on embarkation. However, there are things which any good luxury cruise agency will do which no one talks about. You have to talk to the agency about them.

Thanks. Next time I'm after a cruise maybe I'll contact them.