Reader G. writes:
“Can you do a post on how you go about booking cruises? Do you use a trusted agent? Or do it online? Can you explain your process in the near future? I am a complete newbie when it comes to cruises but I am determined to blow our Capital One points on a RC cruise in 2012.
Always put it off as traveling by air with miles and staying in nice hotels w/ pts seemed so easy:-)
One more question: Any RC to avoid? Any RC ship that is above the rest? They all look fine to me but, like I said, I am a newb.
Thank you.”
First of all, thanks for your question. This is one I get from friends from time to time, and I’m happy to discuss it here on the blog because I expect a lot of people have the same question. First of all, how do I book? Typically, I book our cruises with our travel agent. I haven’t always used a travel agent to book, but began exploring the possibility in advance of MrsMJonTravel and my honeymoon a few years ago. After seeking a little input on Flyertalk.com about thoughts on using American Express Platinum Travel Service, an experienced traveler commented to me that I should find myself a Virtuoso Travel Agent and stick with them. I did a tiny bit of research on travel agencies and discovered that Virtuoso catered to travel interests that typically mirrored my own. While I kind of suspect that I’m in the middle income range (at best) of a typical Virtuoso customer, I’m pretty certain that our “DINK” status affords us the opportunity to spend a higher portion of our income on travel than many. Rather than word of mouth, I simply submitted my information on Virtuoso’s website and I was contacted the very same day by the person whom it turns out we would be working with still today.
My thinking on travel agents has evolved over time. I certainly don’t need one to book an average 7-night cruise, but I always book through an agent. Frankly, I can list what I believe our next 2 or 3 “big” vacations will be in the next 3 years, and all of them can benefit from the services an experienced, and better yet, connected travel agent can provide. There is no way I would have been able to replicate on my own the experience we and our 4 friends enjoyed on our private tour of Ephesus, Turkey last year with a good Google search and a review on TripAdvisor. So…my advice, find yourself a good travel agent and work with them. If you have friends who have a trusted agent to refer you to, all the better.
There are a lot of online agencies out there, and not just the one’s you know…Expedia, Travelocity, etc. Some online agencies actually specialize in cruises. I’ve never used one, so I can’t comment positively or negatively. I sometimes see deals offered from online agencies that I doubt a typical agent can or will replicate, and I’m ok with that. From my perspective, if you are going to book with an “online” agency, you may as well just book direct with the cruise line.
Which brings me to the next way to do things…yourself. I don’t mind or fear doing things on my own, especially for simple trips. In fact, all things, being equal, I probably prefer some things that way. There’s nothing wrong with any particular method of booking your cruise, I’ve just found something that works for me. The cruise line websites I’ve used are not nearly as well developed at selling their product as your typical airline site. Most of them I’ve looked at are frankly, kind of clunky. That said, they usually work, and our first several cruises were booked directly with the cruise line. In fact, our next big cruise was booked directly with the cruise line, on board our last cruise. That’s an “in person” booking with the onboard booking specialist. In our case, our booking was immediately transferred to our travel agent to manage between now an the cruise next November. That’s a good way to do things because there are typically some perks provided, such as in this case, a $300 dollar on board credit, and we get the benefit of working with our travel agent throughout planning for the trip. Everybody wins. 🙂
Regarding your question about Royal Caribbean ships to avoid. I have to admit that I am a special case when it comes to cruising. I love all the ships, from small to large, Flowrider or no Flowrider. Royal Promenade or a simple 3 to 4 deck centrum…. I just like being at sea. That said, I am always a little leery of recommending someone take their first cruise on a ship like Allure of the Seas or the next smallest ships of the Freedom Class. But I have to admit, I’ve become something of a junkie for the Royal Caribbean ships that offer at least a spectacular Royal Promenade, lined with shops, bars, and entertainment. I would not say you should “avoid” any ship, just be aware that the older ships don’t offer the same number and quality of amenities that the newer and larger ships do.
I typically recommend that someone who has never cruised before begin with a shorter cruise….a test sail if you will. One of the best for that is the 4-night cruise aboard Majesty of the Seas from Miami. Majesty is not the newest ship in the fleet, but is well cared for, fully renovated this century, staffed with a great crew, and the ports of call in Nassau, Coco Cay, and especially Key West are great ones to get your feet wet with cruising. That’s by no means a recommendation you have to follow to do this right, just something to think about. If you take your first cruise on a ship like Allure of the Seas, I’m not sure anything else will ever measure up. Just sayin’. You won’t go wrong with any of the Royal Caribbean Radiance Class ships either. No matter what you decide to book for your first cruise, I hope it’s a great one!!
Thanks again for reading, and by all means, comment to the blog with additional questions.
Everett,
That’s a hearty “that depends.” I haven’t done a great deal of research into this, but the 2 big cruise lines, Carnival and Royal Caribbean each offer their own credit card rewards programs. I believe Princess might have one as well. Otherwise, Membership Rewards points can be redeemed for cruises as well. Others might chime in with ideas.
What are the best credit cards to use to earn and redeem for travel packages and cruises?
I should also add that I tend to accrue miles and hotel points, not generic rewards points so I can’t really use them to book a cruise.
Thank you MJ for your detailed responses! A few more questions please:
1. How is a Virtuoso travel agent different from other regular travel agents? What makes you stick with them? You said that Virtuoso catered to travel interests that mirrored your own… what are they?
2. When you book a trip using a travel agent, you cannot use any airline or hotel points right? The cost would be all out-of-pocket. Why do you choose not to use points?
3. I’ve been checking numerous online websites for cruise prices over the last half year. The prices are all the same on the cruiseline’s own website, airlines’ websites, and online cruise deal sites. Does your travel agent usually offer prices that are lower than these sites?
Thanks for your advice!!
Jenny,
I stick with my travel agent because I like her and the services provided. The fact that she works for a Virtuoso agency is just a bonus.
As far as prices, you aren’t likely to find different price points between agencies and the cruise lines themselves. Some agencies will offer benefits like onboard credit that you might not find from the cruise line or another agency.
Is the $550 on board credit w/ Amex Plat only flr Crystal cruises? I would love it if it was valid for RC cruises, what a deal:-)
I usually take one or two Crystal Cruises a year. I always use a travel agent. I found out what agency books the most cruises with Crystal and used them. They’re not an onlne agency – those seem a bit creepy. I knew the agency would offer the best “perks” i.e. extra onboard credit – and would have pull if a problem arose. Also by charging even part of my cruise to my Amex Plat – it has to be at least the deposit, and the rest of the cruise needs to be charged to some Amex – I get $550 OnBoard Credit. That $550 more than covers the yearly fee of the card.
I have to second what Marshall said about our private tour of Ephesus. Our travel agent, Michelle, hooked us up with Tuba. Tuba’s English is better than mine, she was incredibly knowledgable and answered many questions (including the ones that were probably a little too personal). She helped us to connect with the people of Turkey, and in a way we could never have imagined.
As for booking your first cruise – some questions to ask yourself:
1. Are you prone to seasickness? If the answer might be yes, do look at a shorter itinerary to make sure cruising is a good way for you to travel.
2. What kind of vacation are you looking for? Do you want to rest and relax by the pool? Or do you want to wake up in a different port every day? If you’re looking for a restful trip, consider itineraries with multiple sea days. Sea days offer a relaxed, laid back time to enjoy the ship’s amenities. If you want a new adventure every day, look for an itinerary with multiple ports of call and relatively few sea days.
3. Where do you want to go? Cruise ships are sailing EVERYWHERE these days! We’ve enjoyed the Mediterranean, Mexico, and the Caribbean, but there’s so much more – Asia, Australia, Hawaii, Alaska, New England. And the great thing about traveling by ship is you’ll only have to unpack once!
Touching on the idea of using Capital One points for booking cruises, what other credit cards points can be redeemed for cruises and vacation packages. I also have a Capital One Venture card and am looking at using these points as an option. Can UR or MR points be used to book vacation packages through a travel agent?
Hi
Thanks for answering my questions!
Re Virtuoso agent: Do they get paid a separate fee from you for their time? Or their compensation comes from the package they book for you? I tend to be kind of cheap and generally avoid conscierges in hotel and things of that sort:-) If I call the gal above would she be expecting a certain level of spender?? I am the guy who has not taken a cruise yet since it costs so much while I could put together a family trip on planes with miles & nice hotel with points much easier and I am so used to it. And I LOVE deals/super bargains and I am getting the sense a virtuoso type agent should not be dealing with me:-) Any thoughts?
I guess it comes down to fear dealing with a totally unfamiliar and confusing process!
Should we sign up for the loyalty program before we call the gal? Probably does not matter…
So many RC ships. Maybe Allure of the Seas is too much for a beginner. I am determined to take a 7 day cruise, not the 4 night…too short.
Is internet access fees as exorbitant as I hear? Another reason it has kept me from cruising as I need to be plugged in due to my job in financial services.
To Jenny: I have learned that it is not worth it looking to get miles by booking the cruise as the markup is not worth it. Or maybe I learned wrong? MJ, please comment.
Late last year I did research on which cruise line to try. It was RC all the way!
Travel agents typically work off commission, so you don’t pay them separately. The exception to this is airfare booking which they usually charge a fee for because they don’t receive any commission from the airlines. I don’t think our travel agent or any other would be “expecting” a certain level of spend (believe me, I’ve booked some pretty cheap cruises with them), but I do think there’s probably a typical level they tend to work with. Keep in mind, that is pure speculation on my part. You might benefit from finding a travel agent that specializes in cruises in your local area. Many agents now purely deal in cruises.
I like deals and bargains too. Just happened to hear of one in January on Navigator of the Seas. Called our travel agent and booked it. Since you are new to cruising, you might benefit from visiting cruisecritic.com and taking a look at the message boards there. It’s kind of like Flyertalk for cruisers. 🙂 I don’t want to dissuade you from taking any cruise! If you find a deal for Allure, book it! You’ll love it! It’s just that no other ship has the same level of “stuff” on board, and my personal opinion is that it might make your next cruise on a smaller ship seem sort of blah. Others may disagree with that.
Internet is not cheap. Buy a package of minutes if you need access which will average down your access charges from the routine $.65 cents per minute that they charge.
great post
Thanks for the great post! I’m a cruise newbie as well and am very interested in this topic.
Could you elaborate some more on how a travel agent like yours provides value? I’m curious since I’ve never used a travel agent.
Also, if you book a cruise using a travel agent, aren’t you forgoing a lot of miles that you would have earned if you book using an airline website? They usually offer several miles per dollar spent on cruise bookings. Am I missing something here?
And lastly, have you sailed on Celebrity? How does it compare to Royal Caribbean? I heard their Solstice family of ships are great. Thanks!!
Think of it this way, if you like the idea of having a professional person looking out for your interests when you’re on vacation, a travel agent can do that. In my case, I don’t necessarily need one to help me book a basic vacation, but I use them anyway. It’s like any other service provider, you build a relationship over time. I know some of the airlines have a miles for cruises program, but I have not explored using them. I’m not sure the amount of miles I receive meets my threshold of being worth not dealing with a trusted service provider, my travel agent.
I’ve sailed on Celebrity twice, including Celebrity Equinox last year, and have booked a 14-night Mediterranean Empires cruise aboard Celebrity Reflection next year. I think the Solstice Class ships may be my absolute favorite all around cruise ships. In comparison to Royal Caribbean, I would say Celebrity is slightly more refined, and probably attracts a slightly older crowd, but is very much worth a look if they are offering an itinerary that interests you.