How to Get Discounted Cruise Tickets (Carteret County News-Times)
(ARA) - The luxury, the excitement, the open sea ... a cruise can be the perfect vacation. Whether a first-timer, or a seasoned veteran, there are a variety of cruise destination and tailored options that can make the trip perfect for you. But what could make a cruise even better?
We have booked with VacationsToGo in the past and their prices can be quite good. My only real complaint is that they compare everything to brochure prices which are not indicative of the real price. What I was referring to in my post was that we know that we can almost match their prices when we book far in advance and look for specials and we can get the rooms that we want when we do so.
There is a lot of questionable comparisons made by many sellers of cruises.
Cruise prices change almost as fast as airfares.
If they are going to make comparisons the brochures are about all they have to work with.
Even those can change with the next printing.
Although I have not booked with VTG, I am on their email list and have seen some good prices that I have not been able to use at that time.
I've read this article when it came out and VTG does not tell all the story nor are they 100% correct.
For the most part, if prices go down before final payment is made, agents can get the reduction without any problems. However, with that said, occasionally they'll offer a special 'for new bookings only' and will not allow us to get the rate for existing reservations. This applies to VTG as well as all agents.
There are always exceptions and problems since every cruise line is a little different in the way they handle price reductions. For example; if a price goes down for an RCCL cruise even after final payment has been made, we can usually get the reduction. With Carnival, sometimes they won't allow the reduction while other times they may provide an onboard credit for the difference. I've gotten both responses from different people, so it pays to ask more than once if you don't get the answer you want.
In other words, getting the best rate is not a simple matter since there are so many variables.
I also do not listen to VTG because, as I said, they are not 100% correct. For example; they say, and I quote, "I generally recommend staying flexible on ship and departure date and waiting until 60 to 90 days before departure to book. Most ships, though not all, will be marked down during this time, and these prices will frequently prove to have been the lowest ever offered for that departure--lower than early-bird discounts, and lower than prices available within the last couple of weeks prior to departure."
Many times, the lowest rate offered is in the first couple of months after the sailing is open for booking. The price will rise and never go back down, making their statement inaccurate. If you listen to their advice of booking in the last month or two, you could end up paying hundreds of dollars more per person, paying a higher airfare, and getting cabins in undesirable locations.
The best time to book a cruise is as soon as possible and then monitor the rates to see if any specials are offered. With relatively few exceptions, we can usually get the special, provided it's done before final payment has been made. After final payment is made, whether or not we can get the lower rate is based on the individual cruise line's policies.
I've watched rates daily for clients trying to get them a better fare and very rarely see big drops in prices within 60 days. When they do offer these 'last minute specials', alot of times they are often associated with some type of resident special. For example; specials for Florida departures for Florida residents only or for Puerto Rico residents for Puerto Rico departures. Unless you live in those ports, you don't qualify for the specials anyway. It's not very often they will offer big discounts for everyone. Think about it; if they did that on a regular basis, everyone would know about it and no one would book many months in advance. Can you imagine the problems associated with doing that?
The other problem with their 'thinking' is that if you wait until the last minute to book a cruise, whatever saving you may get on the cruise price will be absorbed by the higher price in airfare since airfare almost never goes down.
And lastly, as has already been mentioned, VTG falsely advertises their rates as being "up to 80% off." That is definitely misleading. Their figures are based on the current price versus what was advertised in the brochure. No one, and I mean no one, sells cruises for the brochure rate. Not even the cruise line will sell a cruise for this amount. In fact, I wish they wouldn't put prices in brochures because they are often much higher and tend to scare people away from cruising. VTG sells their cruises for the exact same price as everyone else - they are no better than other booking methods. I could say the exact same things on my website as they do, but it's misleading and inaccurate.
Best advice, use VTG for researching - their site is good for that and I occasionally use it myself. But don't pay alot of attention to what they say or what they're offering since they will alway 'slant' things to make themselves look good when, in fact, you can get the same deal with an agent.
Bottom line is they deal in quantity - that's why they advertise so much. Quite frankly, I'd rather deal with a person who's 'been there done that' and can offer advice based on personal experience and who's willing to spend as much time as necessary to help me and to answer all my questions. I want someone to treat me as a customer and not another number. Sometimes bigger is not necessarily better. Almost always when you call the cruise lines or a large company, you get someone who is just an 'order taker' and has never even been on a cruise or to any of the ports you'll be visiting. So their experience is simply limited to providing pricing.
You'll notice I never said they were bad or good, as I know people who have had excellent dealings with them. They have a place in the business for those who don't mind an impersonal business transaction. This is fine for someone who's cruised alot and doesn't need any questions answered. But obviously, in my opinion, I just think customer service is the most important part of the job and not 'selling', especially to the first-time cruiser who has a ton of questions. I don't look at my job as trying to 'sell' something, but help people gather information so they can make an informed decision on what cruise/vacation is right for them. I try my best not to 'recommend' anything to anyone because what I like they may not like and vice versa. And in my humble opinion, that's the difference between dealing with an agent and dealing with a big online site or directly with the cruise line. It's not unusual to spend an hour or two on the phone with a first-time cruiser - I'll guarantee you these other places won't do that. First, they're not allowed to and second, they don't have the knowledge.
I once had an accountant for my business and all my tax work was done with software. I have no doubt it was accurate, but there was very little personal interaction and I never felt like a customer. Often when I had questions, I couldn't get ahold of him or it would take a while to get answers from him. I finally got rid of him and got another accountant who is interested in me and my business and offers advice and assistance. The returns may still be the same, but needless to say, I now feel more comfortable in our business relationship.
To me, and perhaps it's because I'm so passionate about my business, I feel that personal interaction is vitally important in providing good customer service. Knowing what I know now, if I were not in the business, I would have an agent who was more interested in me than my money. It may cost me an extra $25 or $50 more every now and then, but I would know if I have any problems, they would be there for me.
My main comment when I answered our little bot is that I was amazed at the amount of coverage that vacationsToGo is getting off the initial post. It is almost as if all the cruise writers for all the newspapers know absolutely nothing about the cruise industry and they see one article stating that there is a savings and they all go ga-ga over it. To put it in perspective, it is as if a newspaper found out that you can negotiate with a car dealer and everybody jumped in and said how great a thing this is.
I think that's because for the most part these newspaper writers don't want to spend anytime researching something for their articles, they'd much rather take what others write and use it instead. Saves time and effort. Unfortunately, when they do that, they don't verify the information and incorrect facts continue to take on a life of their own.
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How to Get Discounted Cruise Tickets (Carteret County News-Times)
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How to Get Discounted Cruise Tickets (Carteret County News-Times)
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