Is it better to book your cruise direct?

Question

Has anyone here booked a cruise with GO CRUISE. Hubby thinks that as they are on the internet they may not be kosher and wonders if we should book our cruise direct with the cruise line.

Answer 1

I never book directly with the cruise line as there prices tend to be higher. Try cruisecompete.com, just put in your info and you'll get multiple offers from various agents and online agencies. Other good sites are american express travel, vacationstogo.com. bookit.com, cruisesonly.com, and onlinevacationcenter.com.

Answer 2

Do some research through the internet for pricing.  Then book through a Travel Agent.  They will get you the best possible price.

Answer 3

you can book with a internet agency on the internet and probably save some money.

Answer 4

Unless you want to over pay and loose out on some booking perks I would not book direct.

Check around and what for a good/great deal!

Answer 5

Get a good travel agent. They are worth their weight in gold. Generally they will save you more than they cost and usually have excellent insider tips to share.

As for cruses, one tip is that you should book early and only pay for the minimum level of cabin that you can live with. In most cases everybody gets "upgraded" on a space available basis. In other words, if you pay for the interior bowls of the ship room it is quite possible that you will be moved up a couple of decks. The risk, of course, is that you won't be upgraded. OTOH, how much time do you plan on spending in your room anyway?

Answer 6

I go through my travel agent on cruises only because she will wait on the flight until we get the best rate... if you go through one of the internet places they book your flight right then whether the rates will go up or down later.

Answer 7

Booking through an agent is generally better because they have access to the special offers and combination packages that you cannot get directly.

Using a well know booking agencies web site or any of the well known general sites (Travelocity, etc), should be ok.  If "Go Cruise" isn't very well known, or only offers a small number of choices, I'd look into using one of the bigger businesses.  But, if you use a credit card, you do have some protection there.  If you have questions about the company, perhaps your credit card company has some experience.  If "Go Cruise" lists their home offices you could contact the BBB in that area, or just try the BBB website.  Using Ask.com to search for "comments on go cruise" might help

The URL for BBB online is provided.  I tried the search for Go Cruise and it found nothing.

If you aren't in the U.S. (you don't say) then the national equivalent of the BBB may provide some information.

Answer 8

Generally it's best to get the price from the cruise line web site, then see if an agent can do it cheaper.  Make sure they are ABTA bonded.  I saved a few hundred pounds by going through cruisefinders.co.uk.

Answer 9

I would strongly advise against booking directly because you would probably end up paying the highest rate because travel agencies are usually given access to the best rates.