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Our travel experts craft the perfect trip for every traveler through our award-winning customer service. Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection elevates the river cruising experience with its boutique-style ships and itineraries that take travelers to Europe, Egypt and China. A good cruise travel agent will not only help you navigate these tricky questions they will hopefully provide you with some reassurance. When you book a cruise, you are making a vacation decision that goes way beyond a flight or hotel nights. Which ship you choose determines your dining and evening entertainment choices for the duration of your vacation.
Hotels With Cruise Shuttles For Every Major Port in America
High-end travel agents, like those that belong to the Virtuoso or Signature consortiums, will typically charge more, but they're less likely to sell mainstream cruises like Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. Consortiums -- and there are several travel agency consortiums out there -- are groups of agencies that pay a yearly fee to participate in a large selection of shared programs and resources. Remember, you might be a DIY type when booking airlines and hotels, but booking a cruise is more complex. If you enjoy doing your own research, focus on what to do and see in the ports of call. However, when it comes to booking the cruise, we recommend you still contact a travel agent who specializes in cruises to help you learn a few tips and avoid any rookie mistakes.
What are the benefits of using a travel agent?
Rather than leave these issues up to one person in the group, let the travel agent remind everyone about the final payment date and renewing passports. Most of the time, using a travel agent will not cost you anything extra than booking the vacation yourself, either! Based on your preferences, travel agents will help advise you on the best cabin locations. If, for instance, you are prone to sea sickness, they might suggest a cabin on the lower decks.
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Look for travel agencies that are cruise-only or a home-based agent who specializes in cruises. If you are using a full-service travel agency, ask for the cruise desk. If you're concerned that working with an agent will make your cruise more expensive, don't be. Cruise travel agents receive the bulk of their income via commission from the cruise lines. Their service to you is usually free, though some might charge first-time clients a minimal fee.
Lights. Camera. Action at sea.
Travel agent shares tips for booking your next cruise - 12news.com KPNX
Travel agent shares tips for booking your next cruise.
Posted: Fri, 05 Apr 2024 23:20:00 GMT [source]
Remember, you won't just be using the ship as a home base, like you do with a hotel; it will be your home, restaurant and entertainment venue for a week or more. The right ship and itinerary can make your vacation that much more enjoyable -- and an agent can help you determine the best selection for your tastes. In addition, an agent can answer any questions or assuage any apprehensions you might have about taking a cruise for the first time. If you're used to booking travel independently, consider these reasons why you might want to make use of a travel agent to book your next holiday at sea.
When you travel with Cunard, you'll see locations like Africa, the British Isles, and more amazing destinations. Celebrity Cruises make traveling on sea a pleasure, with impeccable customer service, high-end amenities and amazing ship design layout. Below is a list of travel agencies in your area who are knowledgeable and experienced in cruising.
Celebrity Cruises
In addition, the agent can help you with the rest of your travel plans, such as pre- or post-cruise stays, airfare and transfers. You should consider an online booking if you're an experienced cruiser, know exactly which sailing and cabin you prefer and are savvy about finding the best deal. You should also book online if you're the kind of person who enjoys the research process and wants to use Web-based resources to plan the perfect cruise.
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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. The great thing about working with a travel agent is that you can give up as much (or as little) control as you would like. If you let them deal with the booking, you can handle all the fun add-ons, including airfare, pre-cruise hotel stays, dining and show reservations, drink packages, and shore excursions. Additionally, travel agents may have first access to sales, as cruise lines will often notify their partner agents of them before the general public! Since they keep track of current vacation promotions, they can alert you as to when the best time to book is.
Carnival does not verify that the contact information below is accurate or complete. Agents often have access to group pricing (buying cabins in bulk at lower per-room rates), which the agency consortium or franchise group they belong to has been able to negotiate with the cruise lines. Along with group pricing, they might have special perks to offer like onboard spending money, prepaid gratuities, a free bottle of wine or comped dinner in a for-fee restaurant. Even if the price is the same, these additional perks are often where the savings come in.
Before we get too far, however, there’s something you should know about price shopping for cruises online. All prices are per person, in US Dollars, based on double occupancy. Rates are subject to change without notice and cannot be guaranteed until a specific cabin category has been confirmed and a deposit on final payment has been applied. Travel agents, however, can set up automatic payment plans from the time of booking through the period leading up to the final payment date. Avalon Waterways offers serene river cruises through Europe, Egypt, Asia, and South America along with captivating Expedition cruises to the Galapagos Islands.
One thing to note about booking through a travel agent is that if you want to ask any questions about your upcoming trip or your booking, you will have to speak with the specific travel agency that booked your cruise. 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 travel agents also will monitor your cruise fare and, if the price drops, alert you to the difference and try to get you a refund, onboard credit or an upgrade. When you're ready to purchase your cruise, you can either go directly to the cruise line you've chosen, or you can book a cruise with a travel agent. Bookings can be made online or over the phone with either the cruise line or the travel agent. Even if you’ve already experienced a river cruise or two, it’s helpful to have someone like Suzy Schreiner, owner of Azure Blue Vacations in Bothell, Washington, on your side to navigate such choice-filled territory.
You can book a cruise through a huge travel retailer with branches around the country, a local cruise agency or even a home-based agent who will talk cruising with you at your local coffee shop. You'll find pros and cons of working with the different types of agencies; for example, you might get more personal service from an independent agent but better deals from a large company with a high volume of bookings. 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. The more knowledgeable an agent is, the better advice you'll get.
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. In most cases, its located in one of the menus located near the bottom of the page.
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