Has anyone ever booked a cruise through Priceline?

Question

I am looking to book a Carnival cruise shortly... has anyone booked a cruise through Priceline? Were you satisfied with the service? How did everything turn out??

Answer 1

I would second the person above and say that the more commercial sites (travelocity, priceline, expedia) might seem to have a good deal up front, but they are a mess with customer service and alot of times the service is outsourced to a foreign country. Cruise industries have regulated their prices for the most part, so unless you qualify for a discounted rate, you will pretty much get the same rate from the cruiseline itself, or a smaller online agency. I recommend using The Cruise Line Ltd. I have listed their website below. I have booked with them twice and never had any problems. If something does come up they talk to the cruise line for me so I don't have to wait on the phone and they are really good at making sure all of your needs are met.

Answer 2

Yeah I had a friend that had a very hard time getting a cruise rescheduled on Priceline due to a sudden family emergency.  This is typical for all the big travel websites.  Happy to take your money -just don't ask for any service.

I much prefer dealing with a good travel agent that will work their tail off to get an equally good deal as Priceline, etc.  

But they will answer all your questions, make changes, contact the cruise lines with any special request you have and be available for any other needs you have.

I use a good one that has been terrific for me for many years, email her at: [e-mail] for a quote.

Or try one of your own but it's best to have someone recommended as some travel agents are new and working at a high pressure agency that aren't much better than using Priceline.

Good luck.

Answer 3

My sister booked a cruise last May thru orbitz and she had no problems!  Me I prefer to use a good old fashioned travel agent, but if you are the type of person who likes to read the fine print and are not afraid of taking a chance (like my sister) then I would say go for it.  I mean obviously people do book these types of trips through the websites otherwise they wouldnt offer them right, and if there were too many people with problems then I think it would be stopped.  There is always a chance of something going wrong, but you only live once.  Good luck to you and have an amazing cruise, although I would have booked on Royal Caribbean, but that is me.  Bon Voyage!

Answer 4

Didn't book a cruise but did book a Vegas package. Turned out that for a few more bucks I could have gotten a better deal from orbitz.

Answer 5

Never

Answer 6

I really would suggest staying away from sites like Priceline, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. They offer better deals, but you can also find yourself in a really bad situation. If, for some reaso, you need to contact them personally, it can take forever to get to a human, once you do they usually just pass you around from department to department and you really never get the issue resolved.

I read stories all the time about the problems people have with these type sites. Also, don't expect to get much info from them as they usually aren't knowledgeable in what they sell.

Just one example of a story. A person booked with one of these sites, got a really good deal and was very pleased. A few weeks later they received an e-mail from the site stating they owed double what they were told their total was. They called the company, waited several hours to talk to someone and get someone that could help them, basically in the end they were told that the site was showing an incorrect price when they booked and their rate had increased. If they didn't pay the additonal money their cruise would be cancelled and they would not receive their deposit back. Apparently the cruise line had this happen to a couple of people, one person even experience this that was using a travel agent. The person that booked with the online discounter site ended up paying more for the same cruise, while the person using a travel agent was able to get their cruise at the discount rate. The agent worked with the company daily, had the proof of what had happened and the cruise line not only honored the rate, but gave the traveler a few additional things because of the worry and upset. Because they were not in charge of the reservation and the company the other person had booked with had to handle the reservation, nothing was done for them.

This is just one of the stories I have heard and I have heard much worse. I would rather pay twice as much (or more) for my cruise to be sure I get what I want. These type sites are often inaccurate and you may not always get what you think you are booking.

Of course a lot of people have had good luck with these type sites, it is just a matter of whether or not you want to take the gamble.