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In other words, if you’re looking for the absolute best deal or the most flexible schedule, you aren’t likely to find it searching only one cruise line. In addition, while aggregator websites will almost always have the same prices you’ll find everywhere else, they often offer perks you won’t find on the cruise lines websites. CruiseCompete.com does not sell travel; it is a free and anonymous service that helps cruisers find the best values for their cruise vacation. Consumers simply submit a ship name and sail date with a few other pieces of relevant information. Top travel agencies then craft custom responses to meet the specific needs of the consumer.
Final Recommendation for the Best Websites to Book a Cruise
Travel agencies pay a fee based on the value of the travel they sell. Just like searching for a hotel room, you can search these websites for a cruise across all of your options. This means being able to search across all the lines at once. They also give you the ability to narrow searches to specific dates of cruising, length of trip, destination, port of departure and more. If you are loyal to one specific cruise line, then that’s ok for you. But if you want to see all your options, it’s better to do a search on an “aggregator” website that will search all the cruise lines for that perfect vacation.
Get the Best Cruise Deals
What about booking last-minute cruise deals on websites? It makes sense that if a cruise cabin is about to sail empty the price would drop to fill it up. In fact, cruise lines consistently have occupancy rates above 100% — meaning that more than two passengers are in some cabins. Cruise line websites only have cruises from that line, so you are limiting your options of prices, ships, dates, and itineraries.
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You don’t always find that with the large aggregation websites. Their staff are also focused on cruises, giving you someone who knows what they are talking about compared to someone with more general travel knowledge. We are not a travel agency or owned by a travel agency, and we provide travel agents with a steady stream of easy-to-manage, highly qualified leads. Money (in magazine only, not online)Best Deals on Everything – Part 1“The real fun of most cruises is exploring when the ship docks. Cruise lines typically mark up guided shore excursions 100%. How do I know if a website is legit to book a cruise?
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It’s a milestone worth celebrating and showcasing to clients, partners, and the industry as a whole. Since 2011, and year after year Kiplinger.com lists CruiseCompete as one of the best 26 secrets to save on travel. Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion. The other disadvantage is that you need to be a member of Costco to book.
We are truly honored every time a guest enters our website. 4 stars because they didn't respond to the email I sent them directly but after the poor review they have really stepped up. We are honored you visited our website and found what you wanted, plus enjoyed excellent service.
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So what do you do if the price does change? In that case, you’ll want to contact the website that you booked through — not the cruise line (unless you booked through the cruise line’s website). For example, if you book through CostcoTravel.com, then contact them first for any price drops you see.
Each of these cruise line websites will allow you to be as narrow or as broad with your search as you wish. You can search all cruises, or search for trips on a specific ship, leaving a specific date, and from a specific port. To help you out, we detailed the pros and cons of the best websites to book your cruise below. Before we get too far, however, there’s something you should know about price shopping for cruises online. Thanks Mario.We travelled to Moorea on a cruise ship and were picked up and dropped off at the pier entrance. The tour got us back to the tender area in the afternoon comfortably in time to get back to our tender and ship.
Booking Direct Through Cruise Line Websites
At the 1st stop I checked my itinerary and as this was not on my tour. Spoke to the Guide who said "oh didn't they tell you. Our tour does not go to that area". I asked for a refund for the tour which I did not have. While many prefer to travel by plane or even automobile, for others, it’s cruisin’ time.
That’s where having the phone number to call an agent of the company directly is a big help in getting things explained. For more on getting the best deal on a cruise, see our 10 Rules to Getting the Best Deal on a Cruise here. As you can see, they all have the exact same rates. That means you don’t have to run yourself ragged trying to find the best deal. We use dedicated people and clever technology to safeguard our platform.
But there are differences on where you book. CruiseCompete travel advisors can assist with deals, details and sailings. It goes against our guidelines to offer incentives for reviews. We also ensure all reviews are published without moderation. I booked 2 tours with Cruise Compete1st tour Exclusive Mykonos Old and New was successful. 2nd tour BOOKED was Highlights of CorfuWith the 2nd tour I reported to Travel Co and duly commenced the tour.
If you are worried about finding the best price for your cruise, there’s some good news and bad news. The good news is that cruise prices are usually the exact same across every single website you search. Some of deals offered did not offer extra OBC which I would have needed and some who did just look like they had higher costs for cruise for same cabins. By waiting until the last minute you aren’t likely to find great deals, but it will mean that you have fewer cabin choices. It’s best to book earlier compared to later. For instance, a cruise might be priced the same as another website, but will have an offer of free onboard credit as an incentive to book through them.
That’s a big help if you’re not entirely sure about which cruise you should book. As well, these sites often have deals and incentives to entice you to book. We think so as they can help you look at every cruise available to find one that fits. Smart cruise shoppers use them to look at all their options and see what sort of incentives they have for booking through their site. Every major cruise line allows you to book online and do everything from find a cruise to make upgrades, buy extras like drink packages, and pay for the trip. In other words, you can book your spot on the ship completely online at any time of the day.
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These perks usually aren’t huge, but are a nice to have. So if you want to sail from Miami, you’ll see all the options from the port for every cruise line. That gives you a better chance of finding something that matches your budget and schedule versus just searching one line. That means you’re going to find the same prices across these sites, along with similar search functions. That’s because some sites can offer perks like onboard credit or even a direct phone number to call to talk to someone with any questions you might have before you cruise. If you’re a deal-hunter, there isn’t some magic website that has cruise fares for dramatically cheaper than everyone else (that we’ve ever found).
This includes Costco Shop Cards — a gift card to the store. In other words, these sites are more akin to having your own travel agent to help you with the booking process compared to only a website. These websites are similar to the large aggregator websites in that they can help you search through every cruise out there to find the best deal. Think of all the options you have to consider — the length of your trip, the cruise line, the ship, the date, ports of call, and more. And that’s before you even decide on which website to use to book your cruise. Digging further, the incentive applied only to certain cruises, despite being heavily promoted.
There are dozens — if not hundreds — of websites that you can use to book your cruise. Frankly, not all of them look professional, so it is understandable you might question the legitimacy of a website or their deals. If the site offers a good incentive for booking through them, then know that you’ve found a good deal. If the incentive isn’t that strong or you don’t want to go through a third-party to your reservation, then booking directly through the cruise line is your best bet. For example, we found a cruise offering a $45 Costco Cash Card for booking the cheapest stateroom for just $409. In other words, that deal is like getting 11% off the price of your cruise.
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