Originally Posted by fvandewouwer

Hi,

Because we are from Belgium, I do not know if a certain TA from the US is reliable or not.
For our next cruise, which I am planning now I used cruise compete and received some good offers.
but how do I know if these cy's are reliable or not, I googled them and did find their website but still ..... in this time of crisis we would not like to take the risk loosing our money.

Originally Posted by Cruise Planner

First, I would not go to cruisecompete - you're looking at agencies who often discount cruises and Carnival does not allow discounting. Those who do are in danger of loosing their credentials of selling Carnival cruises. Carnival requires all agencies to sell the same cruise for the same price, so be careful out there.

You should be getting the same price, if you don't you need to do some homework to find out why they are giving you a lower rate. Bottom line is, do you want to take a chance on paying a little less, or do business with someone you can trust?

Look at Canival's website and see what the prices are so you know if the price you're getting from an agency is valid.

I posted to your comment in another area, but I reiterate what I said;

As you've already read, BBB will only accredidate those who pay the fees - for small businesses, it's rather expensive not really cost effective. The BBB will tell you if they have any complaints, but that's about it. The bad thing is that if you contact BBB about a certain agency and that agency has no complaints, they will tell you. Then they call the agency and pester them to join the BBB. And another bad thing is that a company could be a member in one area, but the local area BBB would not know that. For example; our agency is headquartered out of Florida. If you call the Florda/Caribbean BBB and ask about Cruise Planners, you'll get the latest information. But if you call the local BBB where we're located, you'll get entirely different information, so it's often not the whole picture.

Stick with agencies who are associated with a major corporation - not to push ours, but using such companies as Cruise Planners is a good way to go - they have over 900 agencies across the country, so you know they are a major player. Not saying that local agencies aren't any good, but often the larger agencies get specials not offered to everyone.

Also, look at the agency's website. Those who obviously create their own or who use a company like Online Agency to create their website are suspect - not saying they are not a good company, but just something to be aware of. Most of the big agencies will have a more professional-looking website because they spend the time and money.

And lastly, if they say they are going to charge your credit card, look elsewhere. A reputable agency will not charge your credit card - they are a reseller for the cruise line and the cruise line is the one that should be charging your card. Major reason for this is that should something happen to the agency, such as bankruptcy or going out of business, you're still going on your cruise because the cruise line has your money, not the agency.

But with all this said, it's still better to book with an agency than booking directly with the cruise line. You'll often get better pricing and should any specials be offered, the agency will get the reduced rate for you. An agency will look after you, whereas the cruise line is going to look after them.

I have clients all over the world including Germany, Ireland, England, South Africa, Australia, India, Canada, etc. Many of these people I've never even talked to over the phone. In today's electronic environment it's truly is a small world. But while it's so easy to exchange information, it's also become an easy target for those wanting to take advantage of others. The trick is to find someone you trust while guarding against fraud and abuse. Not an easy situation in this world we live in.

Pete