Planning a cruise and I need help!?

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RzrLens

How much fun you will have!!! We are planning on going in November and I can't wait!

There are differeing opinions on cruiselines. Some people really dog Carnival, and although it is the only one I have been on, I LOVE it! If you want a fun atmosphere that has alot of stuff going on and asks for passenger involvement (ie, Casino, tournaments, newlywed game, bingo, etc) then Carnival is the way to go. Carnival is also the cheapest out of all of the lines, but don't let that make you think that it is a cheapy place to be-- every one of my cruises was first class and I had excellent service. If you want a more laid back atmosphere with a bit of an older crowd, then Royal Carribean would be the best choice for you. Expect to pay atleast $100 per person more than Carnival, however they do have more onboard activities such as rock climbing, ice skating, onboard surfing, etc. There rooms are a bit smaller than Carnivals (I think that Carnival actually has the biggest staterooms out of the most popular cruise lines).

Obviously there are other lines, but those are my 2 picks for what you are going on the cruise for... check out cruisereview.com and cruisecritic.com for insightful reviews from past passengers regarding specific ships, ports of call and more.

As far as who you should book through, I have always used an internet travel agent. They are real people, you just can't see them in person. I have never had a local TA able to match the prices I have found online. Below are the steps I use to make sure I get the best deal on a cruise. Let me know if you have any questions; I track the price of vacations for a hobby :)

Follow the steps below and you will get a knock out price on your cruise:
1. Start out at vacationstogo.com. They have reasonable rates and it's the easiest to see all of the ports and embarkation dates. They generally have good deals, but you can get it cheaper (also, note that their prices do not include government taxes, and the prices quoted are for guaranteed rooms).
2.Go to cruisecheap.com. THey will generally have better rates than vacationtogo.com.
3. Use the rate from cruisecheap.com to get a quote from beatanycruiseprice.com. They will beat that price!
4. Finally, go to cruisecompete.com; They will beat the quote from beatanycruiseprice.com. I still book with beatanycruiseprice.com, just because I trust them and they are SUPER nice. Make them fight for you-- the cruise industry is so oversaturated right now that most places will fight over getting a cruiser to book with them, and you will get a good deal. I just booked a Carnival 7 night Eastern Carribean for $986 for both me and my husband! You CAN cruise CHEAP!

PS: Note that the major vacation carriers (ie Travelocity, Expedia, etc) are more commercialized than say a smaller agency such as the ones I have listed above.

tech_fanatic

My recommendation would be to use an online travel agent. Not to be confused with sites like Travelocity, Expedia, etc. These are travel engines and nothing like using a real agent. I have used a regular travel agent in the past and I have had much more success using an online agent. They are more knowledgeable and really work much harder than my local agents do, i.e. AAA. I've used AAA a few times and had more problems and mistakes than it was worth, they really were no help and most of the time the answer I received was "we can't take care of this, but here is the number to call" My online agent always takes care of everything, big or small. Ever since finding my online agent, I have used her for every trip I plan and don't ever book trips on my own and would never even think about using another agent/agency.

Personally, I feel that using a travel agent is the best bet that you will get everything you want out of your vacation. So many problems can occur when you book directly on your own that you may not realize now or notice once you have it booked. However, if you have a travel agent that deals with this every day, they will be able to spot the problems and fix them. There have been many instances with my family where the travel company, i.e. Princess, Cunard, Disney, etc. did something incorrectly and I could have been charged a fee or something but my agent was able to fix it and get the fee waived. Something that I can almost guarentee I would not have been able to do. My agent deals with these companies daily and is able to get more than I can.

Plus, most of the time an agent is going to offer you a lower rate than going directly. For example, agents can book group rates that will offer you lower rates, they may offer special upgrades to get a better category/cabin, onboard credit, etc. these are special incentives that the agents are offerred by the cruise line that the cruise line may not offer directly to clients.

Since 90% of the time I save money or get the same rate with my agent, I see no other reason to book it myself. Less problems, worries, hassels etc. everything is taken care of for me and I get a ton of service for no extra charge.

There are a lot of options for who to book with. I can't recommend you to a local agent since I don't know where you live and everything, but I use an online agency and they are really great. I've included a link to the agency site for you to look at. Whichever agency you choose, just be sure that you are going with a good agency, there are some out there just trying to earn your business but don't do a good job like some of the others after you book. And my biggest suggestion is to stay away from sites like Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline and places like Sams Club, if you go this way you are much safer booking on your own, but that is a whole nother story.

Best cruise line is something that will be different based on who you talk to. Carnival is the least expensive, for some people it is the favorite line, personally it is my least favorite. Royal Caribbean goes up a little in price, but is well worth the extra money, in my opinion. I think that since you will be turning 30 you will find a lot of people that are around your age. Carnival will have more low to mid-20s and then families with young children. Some of the nicer lines like Princess, Cunard, etc. are going to have a slightly older age group, around 40 or 50. Disney is a great line but is a little more popular with families, though it is one of my favorite lines and I go by myself the majority of the time,or with my parents and my adult brother, we all love the line.

Your destination of choice is also important. For instance, Princess is great for Alaskan cruises while NCL is great for Hawaii, so that can make some difference as well.

There are a ton of lines with a lot of ships to choose from. The best thing is to decide where you want to go, then price some cruises with a few lines and then look up reviews for the specific boat you are looking at. That will give you a good place to start.

Good luck with your planning.

Katie

#1-Go ona carnival cruise they cater mostlt to the 25-35 group.
#2-Go to you local AAA and plan your cruise with a travel agent.

cruise junkie

simple answer..use a agent and go carnival

Crystal W

My husband and I have always traveled on Royal Caribbean, and we love it! The people are great, the food is great, and they always have plenty of options for things to do, both on the boat, and off. But if you think you might drink a lot, you might want to look at Carnival. Royal Caribbean does not allow you to bring your own alcohol on board, but I've been told that some Carnival ships do. The rest of the lines, I don't know about.

As far as booking online versus a travel agent, I would say it's up to your personal preference. We've done it through a travel agent, but she's messed up several times (even forgetting to book our airline one year). We've also booked directly through Royal Caribbean. If you have questions, I'm sure you can always call, and they'll help you out. I would say it depends on how much you want to deal with. Travel agents tend to know who to call, what to say, and get results seemingly without trying too hard. And the best part is...you don't have to do it yourself. If you do book through a travel agent, they can sometimes get you free upgrades. When we went on our honeymoon, we were able to get a balcony room for the price of an interior cabin, since it was a special occasion (I wouldn't know how to do that without the agent, though). Since it's for a birthday, you may be able to do that.

Amanda

Use a travel agent. (I am slightly biased b/c I used to be one LOL) but seriously, if there is a problem, like they put you in the wrong room or they don't have you listed for one of the excursions you paid for, etc. then you want someone who will take care of it FOR you (ie: you can go on with the trip as usual while someone else waits on hold for you to figure out what's going on). But either way, you should pick the cruise line based on what you want out of it. If children are going, if seniors are going, if it is couples only, or if it is a group of singles, etc. all make a big difference on which line is better. (You don't want to end up on a Disney cruise with Cinderella when you didn't bring kids.) Also, you could pick one based on the ship, (some ships have better restaurants, clubs, pools, rooms, etc.) these vary within each line so the ship itself might matter to you. The dates, length & cost of the cruise will ulitmately decide which one you take so if none of the things I mentioned are extremely important to you then pick one based on the dates & cost. Every ship goes to different destinations so if there is a particular place you want to stop all of the ships (even within a line) won't stop there while others will. Hope this helps!
PS- "themed" cruises are always fun

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