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Executive Members earn 2% back on Costco Travel purchases and receive additional benefits on select packages. Plus, Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi cardholders earn 3% cash back rewards on Costco Travel purchases. If you want to earn hotel points on your cruise, Marriott Cruise with Points is the best cruise website for you.
Shore Excursions Not Run by Cruise Lines Are a Hit With Passengers and Travel Advisors Alike - Skift Travel News
Shore Excursions Not Run by Cruise Lines Are a Hit With Passengers and Travel Advisors Alike.
Posted: Tue, 08 Oct 2019 07:00:00 GMT [source]
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If you're searching for cruises on a third-party website, you may question the legitimacy of that site. This is especially true if the site doesn't look professional or some of the information is outdated. This may be the best approach if you know which cruise line you want to book and which cities you want to visit. However, you may miss out on promotions offered by third-party sites.
How to find a travel agent for a cruise
For your first cruise, you might need help in matching your lifestyle and budget with a cruise line and destination. Choosing a cruise is not the same as picking a hotel or flight, as there are many more options to consider. Travel professionals are there to help you plan your next vacation aboard a Carnival fun ship.
What are the drawbacks of booking a cruise with a travel agent?
Bookings can be made online or over the phone with either the cruise line or the travel agent. You might get more personalized care from smaller agencies than from the huge online agencies, though websites such as icruise.com, Cruise.com and Cruise411.com also have experienced cruise agents. These larger online travel agencies can be a good option for those who prefer to make decisions and ask questions via chat. Just make sure you get the name and phone number of the representative for any follow-up questions. Unfortunately, most cruise lines do not offer free cancellations or changes to take advantage of price drops after you book. Passengers can always negotiate with a booking site or cruise line, but they aren't obligated to refund the difference.
We are here to help if something should go wrong before or during your trip such as canceled flights or revised itineraries. We know your well-earned vacation time is precious, so at all times we are working in your best interest when handling your travel needs. You should also ask if the travel agency offers 24/7 assistance (usually an 800 number) in case you have last-minute questions or something goes wrong before or during your trip.
You can get even more perks by booking your cruise with the right card. Without being able to compare prices, it can be a challenge to determine the best site for booking a cruise. To make it easier to compare, we priced out a 7-night Caribbean cruise for two adults.
Making the correct choices is very important to your overall cruise experience. You can also find experienced and certified cruise travel agents through CLIA, the Cruise Lines International Association, which is the industry's main marketing group. Asking friends who have cruised to recommend a travel agent is another good idea. Question the agents on cruising trends or up-and-coming destinations, and ask them to explain the differences between cruise lines. Find out how many cruises they've taken that year and with which lines they've personally cruised. If the agent has rarely cruised, you might want to take your business elsewhere.
In addition, you can look for affiliations with the National Association of Cruise Oriented Agencies (NACOA), Better Business Bureau (BBB), American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) or even AAA. Booking with a travel agent gives your transaction a personal touch -- you have a resource for asking questions and someone to contact if something goes wrong during your travels. But, your relationship with an agent doesn't tend to end after one trip. The agent will keep you in his or her database, alert you to deals or sales and can even suggest future trip ideas. So, you've decided to go on a cruise -- perhaps your first venture on a vacation at sea -- and you're a little overwhelmed. You have to consider how much you're willing to pay, whether to book an inexpensive inside cabin or splurge on a suite, and which cruise line and ship are right for you.
In addition, an agent can answer any questions or assuage any apprehensions you might have about taking a cruise for the first time. With everyone attached to their phones, laptops and tablets, many people assume that online is the only way to book travel. But, as booking online can often be confusing, a travel agent might be just what you need.
From our findings, here are the top cruise booking sites for your next vacation, plus the pros and cons they offer travelers. If you'd like to book a cruise through a travel agent, you can pop into a downtown storefront or search for cruise sellers online. If you want to look for agents registered with travel organizations, here are some resources for finding agencies near you. Find out if the travel agent has preferred status with any cruise lines or whether he or she belongs to travel consortiums that would enable him or her to get you better deals, upgrades, etc. But watch out -- some agents will push a particular line too aggressively for your tastes.
Generally speaking, the prices that travel agents can provide are the same as what the cruise lines offer. Travel agents are prohibited from rebating their commissions -- in order to lower pricing or give significant onboard credit rewards -- by almost every single cruise line. Some agents still practice rebating, but if they're caught by the cruise lines, they could lose their selling privileges. If you like saving time and money before, during, and after your vacation cruise, contact us today. We have local, regional, and national experienced travel agents located throughout the country ready to assist you with booking your perfect vacation.
If you need to cancel the trip, the agent will also help you through the refund process. You'll have a lot less stress before and during your vacation if you book with an experienced agent. Agents with a CLIA Certification icon below their name have passed a rigorous program of courses designed to elevate their cruise travel expertise. Refer to the key on the right side of the results page to understand CLIA Certification levels. Our local travel agents near you are also very experienced, with many traveling around the world to the hottest vacation destinations. They also have developed special partnerships and business relationships with top travel providers that you will benefit from once you become the travel agent’s client.
How to Book a Cruise: Booking a Cruise FAQ - Cruise Critic
How to Book a Cruise: Booking a Cruise FAQ.
Posted: Tue, 11 Oct 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Other affiliations that are good signs an agent is legitimate are affiliations with the National Association of Cruise Oriented Agencies (NACOA) and the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA). Cruise lines will not talk to you if you have booked through a travel agent. This can be frustrating if your travel agent is out sick or on vacation, or if the travel agent has made a mistake and is not fixing it. As in all professions, some agents are more helpful and easier to work with than others. In rare instances, when working with a travel agent becomes impossible, cruise lines usually will try to get the booking transferred to them. Some cruise travel agents even throw in booking perks, such as a complimentary bottle of Champagne, awaiting your arrival in your cabin.
Beyond the excellent advice and onboard perks cruise sellers can provide, one of the greatest things about working with a travel agent is she or he will have your back if something goes wrong. Travel agents, on the other hand, have much more of an incentive to keep you coming back, as their customer list is significantly smaller than the cruise line's. If something goes wrong with your booking or on the ship itself, a good travel agent will be on the phone with his or her contact at the cruise line immediately to try to get everything fixed. Their expertise can help you avoid mistakes, whether you are a first-timer or a repeat cruiser checking out a brand you have not tried before.
Members get up to 10,000 miles on most cruises and up to 100,000 miles on luxury cruises. You can search for a CLIA-certified travel agent on the organization's website. Use the search tool to locate agents in your area with a variety of levels of CLIA training. Most cruise lines, including Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line, have some version of a "Find a Travel Agency" search tool on their homepage.
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