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Cruise Reports Ports of Call
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Which Cruise Line?
This question really varies depending on your preference. Some people really care about food, luxury, and being pampered. Our philosophy is simple: we love to travel. We like to sample authentic food on land. We usually choose our cruises based on itinerary and price.
How to Find the Best Deals?
I like to google for the best deals on the internet every time I shop. But when I started shopping for my cruise, I discovered my googling for deals did not work! It seems that ALL the internet prices come back with exacty the same quotes. I realized then that there must have been some kind of price fixing going on because conventional wisdom dictates that some big cruise agents should be able to quote better prices. Due to huge volume of business, the bigger companies should be able to rebate part of their commision to the customers. The advertised prices are all the same because the cruise lines regulate advertised prices as explained so clearly by this article: Price Shopping? Pick Up the Phone.
I wised up and started calling after reading this article. However, after 5 phone calls, I got discouraged because it seemed that I am not getting much discounts and was wasting a lot of time! A lot of googlings led me to the website, Cruise Compete, which asks you to enter a specific cruise line, date, and category so that 300 agents will compete for your business.
I was desperate so I tried it out. I entered my cruise line preferences at night, and the next morning I received email notifications that there are quotes for me to review. Sure enough, the quotes are all very competitive, varying from OBC offerings to actual price differences. I didn't get 300 quotes but I got 6 quotes. I am not sure it's because of the approaching Thanksgiving Holidays or only limitted TA bothered to respond.
The table below shows the different quotes that I received for a Royal Caribbean cruise. As you can see, the prices are pretty competitive. It comes with a personal comment from the TA.
| Travel Agent | Quote | OBC |
|---|---|---|
| www.cruise.com (and most other websites) |
$3784 | $100 |
| My Personal TA | $3784 | $100 |
| TA - 1 on www.cruisecompete.com |
$3,415 | $0 |
| TA - 2 on www.cruisecompete.com | $3,785 | $300 |
| TA - 3 on www.cruisecompete.com | $3785 | $400 |
| TA - 4 on www.cruisecompete.com | $3409 | $0 |
I tried the MSC cruise line and below are the different quotes that I received. This time I followed the lead and called TA - 2. However, before I called TA - 2, I called their company and request a quote. The amazing thing is that they didn't give me the lowest price until I mentioned about quote that I got on cruisecompete.com! Anyways, I booked it by paying the deposit of $200 and seems like everything is legit. I already logged on to the MSC website and registered myself. At the end, I can also give feedback on the TA on cruisecompete.com!
| Travel Agent | Quote | OBC |
|---|---|---|
| www.cruise.com (and most other websites) |
$2700 | $0 |
| My personal TA | $2600 | $0 |
| TA - 1 on www.cruisecompete.com |
$2464 | $0 |
| TA - 2 on www.cruisecompete.com | $2418 | $0 |
| TA - 3 on www.cruisecompete.com | $2675 | $0 |
A couple things about booking a MSC Cruise:
- The price difference between RCI and MSC is a result of MSC's Kids Sail Free program. I looked at the cost itemization list and adults pay for the taxes on the cabins + fees. And Kids pay around $32 for Government fees and taxes .
- Another funny thing about MSC is that it's pretty tough to get an online price. I am used to going to a website to look at prices and select a cabin. The online places that I checked required calling. The only place that didn't requirem calling was cruise.com. And when I called their database actually was not up-to-date. There were 2 cabins available but their system didn't show it and they themselves had to call MSC.
When your plans finalize, go to get the best prices at Cruise Compete website.