Anyone book online thru cruises.com ?
 

Just wondering about your experience using this site. Cost totals nearly $1,000 less than booking thru royal caribbean directly - after all OBCs & discounts applied. Thanks for your feedback!

No I haven't...been satisfied with Daniel at Vacations to go.com

I have not used them. Have used only cruise lines directly and vacationstogo. Be sure everything is exactly the same, taxes, port charges, cabins, etc. and look at reviews on line. Buy separate insurance.

Booking direct through the cruise lines has one big disadvantage: cruise lines are trying to keep prices up, so as not to hurt their brand so they rarely ever have the cheapest price. We learned that years ago when we contacted bestpricecruises.com and found a Princess cruise to Greek islands for $631; Princess wanted $1299 and would not budge even though they had to pay the travel agent 10-15%. Some discounters, I believe, are not allowed to advertise their lowest rates for this reason. In the last year or so, cruise lines have mostly dropped all of their discount prices and instead are offering lots of "perks", free internet, on-board spending money, free drinks, etc., as their way of discounting, without making the top line price seem low. But discount they need to do because there are so many new staterooms out there.

Our last two cruises, we used the website cruisecompete.com. Without providing a lot of identifying info that will get someone to bug you, you can get offers from various travel companies. In both cases, we saved a ton going that route. The booking shows up immediately with the cruise line (in our case Celebrity) and we were still able to use their airplane booking system (that, at least, for transatlantic travel cannot be beat because they have great one-way fares).

I've never used cruises.com, but have had good luck with some of the other discount cruise websites, such as cruisecompete.com, cruisesonly.com, and vacationstogo.com. I rarely book through the cruise lines anymore. These other sites are always cheaper, and I've never had an issue using them!

Do any of these discount websites offer deals on Seabourn or Silversea? Or Windstar?

I cannot believe how cheap some of the cruises on other lines are. My neighbors just got back from a week-long trip in the Caribbean on one of the big-name lines and they paid $1500 for two, for a week, in a cabin with a balcony. They work with a discounter.

I've only used vacationstogo, you can look at their website to see what's on offer by sorting by cruise line.

Yes all of those cruiselines are on offer.

I always compare with the cruise companies, especially if I have prior cruiser status. It makes changes a bit easier if you go through the cruise line than the third party company. But VTG has been fine.

PS don't use Expedia for cruises!

Yes, all cruise lines at times, especially in this competitive environment, need to find ways to discount their cruises, without sullying their brand.

I found that the cruise lines prices and the prices on theh discount websites were identical for Seabourn Cruises.

Usually steep discounts crop up if you are booking very last minute (can't speak to Seabourn).

I have booked through Cruises.com, Crucon.com, Vacationstogo.com and sometimes through the individual cruiseline's website. It all depends on who has the lowest price with the most perks included. I get newsletters from various websites regularly and I keep track of pricing, etc., through them. I love to cruise but need cost effectiveness!

Hope this helps,
Chris