Cruising for Cruises
Recently, we were checking out prices and deals for a cruise out of New York this summer to either Bermuda or the Caribbean. We have a 20 month old son so we figured this would be a good option for a vacation since we can basically walk to ship and don’t have to deal with a flight which is always a chore (especially with a young child).
Our main concern were activities on the ship for our son Nate. So after comparing several options, we narrowed it down to either a 5 night cruise to Bermuda on Royal Caribbean - Explorer of the Seas or an 8 night cruise to the Caribbean on Norwegian Cruise Lines. Surprisingly, the 2 cruises were roughly the same price because Norwegian does not charge a fare for children under 2. The main reason that the Royal Caribbean is still an option is because they seem to have a some more activities for young children ( like Mommy and me classes and in room babysitting ). There cabins are also a little larger. Since Nate needs his 2 o’clock nap everyday, we would probably be in our room more often.
Now that I have talked about how we chose a cruise, let’s talk about how to shop for the best price.
From my research, most online travel sites (expedia, travelocity, ect) offer basically the same price for the same cruise (room, deck, date all being the same). So the trick is to look for special incentives offered by the travel site or agent. You usually can find special offers like shipboard credit, gift packs or free insurance. CheapCaribbean.com seemed to have a decent amount of special offers when I last checked.
I would also suggest that you talk directly with a travel rep. As efficient as some of the travel sites are, booking online may not get you the best deal. I found that after I talked to a rep at CheapCaribbean.com, I was entitled to a discounted rate because we had traveled on the cruise line before. Something that I was unaware of and also something the online reservation system would have never caught. The travel rep was extremely helpful and sent me an email with the quoted rate she gave me over the phone. If I decided to take the cruise, I could complete the reservation via the email.
I also found that several travel services like American Express, AAA and USAA offer additional incentives. For example, USAA has a bottle of wine delivered to your cabin and also gives you a hotel voucher at a couple of select resorts.
There are also a couple of sites that have independent travel agencies compete to offer you the best cruise deal. Basically, you enter in your cruise information and you get notified when an offer is made. CruiseCompete.com is the service I tried and found it to be very useful. I have a follow up call with one of the agents that gave me a quote with some good incentives. Since I never booked a cruise through this service, I cannot yet comment on my experience but it’s worth checking out.
So, here’s a summary of what I found.
- Cruise prices seem to be very consistent across the board. The trick is to find a travel site or agent that also offers incentives on top of the cruise itself. (Like shipboard credit, discounted or free insurance rates, gift packs, vouchers, ect)
- Always talk to a rep before you book. If you are checking out an online travel site, call their customer service number. Agents may be able to offer you a better rate based on information that you may not be able to enter online (Like if you have traveled on the cruise line before). Also, the travel rep may be able to put a hold on a quoted price before you book. From what I have seen, you are not able to do this if you book directly online.
- Check out other travel services like American Express, AAA, USAA. These member services sometimes offer generous incentives that are not offered to the general public.
- Try travel bidding sites like CruiseCompete.com. These sites have independent travel agencies compete to offer you the best cruise deal. No commitment, you just get notified of an offer and can either follow up or just ignore it.
Hope this helps a little to those of you looking to book a cruise. Check out Savester for current travel deals. I update deals directly sent to me by some of the biggest online travel sites (Expedia, Travelocity, Southwest Airlines, Orbitz, CheapCaribbean, ect). Feel free to post any comments you may have.
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