Thread: Booking a cruise in the UK is expensive so......

To book a cruise in UK it is three time more expensive than USA. Thats the reason we always book in the States. we either book through a American TA, bid on a New York auction, or direct with the Cruise company.

Our forth coming Transatlantic is costing us $797 each which includes US tax The same cruise and cabin, starts at $2087 in the UK. We also have an on-board discount. As we cruise quite a lot we always opt for an inside cabin, unless Ocean View cabins are a reasonable price.

We are not allowed to purchase air tickets in the USA unless we have a US zip code. So we bid for them the auction, and get them very cheap. We also bid for two Orchestra stall tickets for Mama Mia in Broadway and got them and two $50 meal tickets for less than $100. Hotel was also purchases on the Auction, only a fraction of the price advertised. The Auction over the years we have had over 80 items off them, cruises air travel and many incidentals. For the second time running they have given us two water taxi cruise tickets, as well as the lunch cruise we bid for and got.

Norman, I am intrigued. How do you purchase flights on an auction site?

We have many international clients, including several in the UK for this very reason. In fact, I just had a family in Amsterdam book with us and he said he saved a considerable amount over booking it locally or with the cruise line.

Now, with that said, Princess will not allow Europeans to book their cruises with a U.S. agent. But they do offer some really great deals occasionally. We were on the Crown Princess in the So. Carib a couple of years ago and about half the ship was from the UK. They got two back-to-back cruises with airfare for what those in the U.S. were paying for a one-week cruise. So sometimes those in the UK can get great deals.

As for airfare via auction, you can often get some really great prices, but you just have to be very flexible in your travel times. We've done this a couple of times along with bidding on hotels and we just had to make sure we gave ourselves plenty of time by going down a day or two early to make sure the flight times didn't cause any problems. But I would NEVER consider doing it for a cruise - just too many things can go wrong and there are too many unscrupulous types out there. Best to use an agent for cruises - much better than taking a chance with an auction, booking with an online site, or booking directly through the cruise line.

Pete

Originally Posted by NauticalMiss

Norman, I am intrigued. How do you purchase flights on an auction site?

Norman is on his cruise right now, so won't be here to answer for a few days. I'll make sure he knows you asked this question.

I hope he gets back soon this is interesting . Is it the same site to bid on all these items I wonder.

In the past I have booked cruises for my family through Travel Agent(s) based in the USA. However, this has typically been when the exchange rate has been in our favour. This in itself has been a huge incentive to look further afield. To date these sailings have all been on Mediterranean itineraries with Princess. I did once query with PCL whether or not I would be refused boarding if it were discovered at the departure port that I had 'gone overseas to book' and was told I would still be allowed onto the ship. Mind you I wouldn't have liked to have put it to the test had our subterfuge been discovered!

I have always independently booked my own flights, transfers, pre-cruise hotel etc.

Aside from saving money at the time of booking I have been surprised and delighted to have also received a number of reductions in the fare price e.g. when the price has dropped before the final payment has become due. This would not happen in the UK. Normally the price you commit to at the time of booking doesn't change... even if it goes down a few months later. In other words fare drops are not normally honoured over here.

Although I've never had to do it, I like the fact that in the USA deposits are refunded if you cancel before a certain date. Again in the UK I think you would struggle to get your deposit reimbursed if you simply changed your mind. The best you could hope for would be to transfer the booking to another sailing.

However I have found that for some itineraries e.g. the Caribbean the savings for booking overseas have not really been worth my while... with little or no savings to be had.

My advice would be to do your homework first.

Laura

What an interesting thread, I always wondered if other countries had better deals than us in the UK. I thought that with the air fare included with P&O for instance that Caribbean cruises were not TOO bad.
I KNOW all the reasons for & against, but it STILL makes me cross that cruises booked in good faith many months in advance are then offered at thousands of pounds cheaper, not last minute, I can see last minute deals, but a few months away from departure. They used to upgrade people & then sell the less attractive cabins, NOW they leave people in the cheaper insides & sell the more attractive cabins at cheap rates, often cheaper than bilge rat grade on Z deck that was booked in the first place!

If anyone would like to send me a Personal Message, I will gladly discuss our actions. Irrespective of Forum Rules, I much prefer not to mention names ie advertising on a Forum.

We have been doing things for a number of years, so I can say we have a rough idea what we are doing. So I must give the warning "Be Careful".

Of course, being US citizens we always book with a US agent. We also book our air direct with the airline because we like to upgrade to business or first with frequent flyer miles.

Our April transatlantic cruise ends in Southampton so we purchased our upgradeable one way tickets direct from Delta airlines. Imagine our surprise when we were informed a few days ago that our departure tax from Heathrow doubled when they applied the upgrade to business class! It was high already at $95.20 per ticket (this is head tax only...there are also other taxes and fees). Now they have assessed another $95.20 per ticket making the grand total departure tax of $190.40 per ticket just to fly out of Heathrow!

We will think twice next time when we plan a transatlantic cruise.

Originally Posted by ourlolie

My advice would be to do your homework first.

Laura

Laura

Just wanted to say I read your Solstice review and love your style of writing. Couldn't find the correct thread to comment though .