Some cruise lines do not allow U.S. agents to sell to citizens of foreign countries. Holland is one of these, but Celebrity is not. However, there are always legitimate ways around those policies - you just need to deal with an agent who is versed in them. And yes, a reputable U.S. agent will deal directly with you, but they will advise you of any limitations and international requirements as set forth by the cruise lines.

As was already stated, often we have better prices than U.K. agents. For example, I'm working with a U.K. citizen right now who's looking at doing an NCL cruise. Comparing prices with what they got over there, our prices were considerably cheaper by a couple of hundred pounds. So, sometimes it does pay to deal with a U.S. agent.

As for booking the cruise and airfare together or separately, an agent will be able to look at the differences and advise you which is better. Almost always, domestic flights are best booked separately, but occasionally international flights can be similar in prices. But the one bad thing about booking through the cruise line is that often the routing can be rather strange instead of direct flights.

As for Holland versus Celebrity, both are very good. I've been on both several times, having just sailed the new Eurodam last year in the Baltics and the new Eclipse last month in the Caribbean. Of the two, I preferred the Eclipse - those new Solstice-class ships are very nice. Haven't tried the Nieuw Amsterdam yet, but I imagine that's very similar to the Eurodam since they're sister ships. You really can't go wrong with either of these two cruise lines and the prices are pretty similar at that time of year - both offering some good rates.

Let us know if you have any questions.

Pete