Anyone use icruise.com?? Reliable??
Apr 15th, 2002, 02:45 PM
#4
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I use them every year and got good results even got two upgrades this year, I checked my cruise weekly to see if price dropped and I started on 4th floor and now have been upgraded to 8th floor, if you see price drop on your cruise get on live chat with them and you can upgrade , i dont know what other charges that person is talking about as you get total once you set cat
Apr 18th, 2002, 04:58 AM
#6
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Julie: Let me explain what I mean by "icruise only advertising JUST the cruise price". <BR>Almost all reputable cruise agents will tell the the full cost of the cruise in their advertising. Here is a comparison I did by using two different web agents for the same exact cruise: <BR>"7 day cruise on the Carnival Destiny with prices starting at 699.00 per person, port charges and taxs included".<BR>Icruise uses what I think is a VERY deceptive but legal practice and here is what I mean. I went to their web page and looked up the same cruise I just showed you and it says the following:<BR>"Carnival Cruise Lines, Carnival Destiny, from $594 per person Inside".<BR>Sounds great right! Wrong! You must then go thru several more steps and register with them (which means you'll get endless emails), and get a password and then..... finally they tell you the rest of the story which is that the cruise is only $594.00 PLUS $161.38 for the port charges. <BR>In other words.... their cruise price is really $755.38. This is not a bad price, but the way they advertise is deceptive to say the least. <BR>Since everyone else posts prices with "port charges and taxs included" they should do the same.<BR>Hope this helps. Tom
Apr 22nd, 2002, 03:53 PM
#9
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To Mike ([email protected]):<BR>What?<BR>What does "quote unquote from tom terrific you dont know anything you goof ball" mean? <BR>I think someone forgot their medication today! <BR>
Apr 23rd, 2002, 11:38 AM
#12
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I cruise should stop this deceptive practice. Let them know we don't appreciate this non-sense. <BR>Of course on the other hand, how different are they from the cruise lines who say "an all-inclusive vacation" and then use every trick in the book to charge you for extras? Anyway, stop it Icruise.
Apr 23rd, 2002, 01:00 PM
#14
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I booked with them and did not find their prices deceptive. I didn't have to register and get a password either. Just click on the cat. you want & the quote will be including port & taxes & insurance which gives you a choice to delete. Buycruises.com advertises the same way.When I called them they could not beat icruises price, so I went with them They also have an 800 # if you do not want to book online.
Apr 24th, 2002, 06:10 AM
#15
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icruise does have good prices, but I agree that people need to understand that not all travel agents play by the same set of rules. <BR>Most list prices as including "cruise, port charges and taxs" in their advertising. icruise is one of only a few that advertise only the cruise price and later will tell you the cost for port charges and taxs. This makes it very difficult to compare Apples and Apples.<BR>This makes their (icruise) "advertised" prices look lower than the competition when in fact, they are most likely about the same price. I've always found Cruise.Com to have lower prices than icruise and I don't have to go thru several steps to find the total price of the cruise like I do when I check with icruise.
Apr 25th, 2002, 04:51 AM
#16
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Agreed. Let's all tell travel agents to quote the full cost UP FRONT. It's no different than car dealers who tell you the car you're thinking about costs $19,900 and later the total bill comes to $23,900 because they didn't tell you about dealer prep, delivery, etc. etc. etc.<BR>It's also misleading in that if you buy anything else in America you have a good idea how much the tax's will be on your purchase, but cruises include port charges that are all but impossible to estimate since each cruise must be calculated on the ports they visit.<BR>PLEASE icruise. Stop this practice and "get on board" with the other agencies and tell us up front what the full cost of the trip is.
Apr 25th, 2002, 12:40 PM
#17
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Honestly, what a nightmare these cruise lines create. They post a cruise price, lets say $1000 for a 7 day cruise and then run ads on TV touting how (as Carnivals ads state) "just about everything is included in the price" then:<BR>They add on port charges,<BR>Taxs,<BR>Tips for the waiters, bus-boys, room steward, drink servers, the staff that work in the serve yourself buffet, etc., etc. etc!<BR><BR>For heaven sake cruise lines, charge us one price that includes all taxs, port charges and tips UP FRONT and put THAT in your advertising!!!!
Apr 26th, 2002, 09:32 AM
#19
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I found icruise.com and bestpricecruises.com to have excellent prices. bestpricecruises.com has an on line booking process which lets you see the cost of the cabin, port charges and taxes broken out and summed up. I called bestpricecruise.com because I too was nervous about booking online and got a price that was cheaper than what they had online. As with any process, it's always wise to ask for around and be sure that you're comparing apples to apples. I started asking agents to break down the charges because not every one charged the same amount for their port charges and taxes (and I was looking at the same itinerary). Go figure. <BR><BR>And I agree with Theodore - put all the charges, taxes, tips, etc. up front. The folks at the bar make sure they get their 15%. If the others (room steward, waiter, waitstaff) etc., rely on that tip, get it up front because I bet quite a few people skimp on those tips not realizing just how little those folks get paid.<BR><BR>This is my first time visiting this forum. It's pretty colorful and interesting. Thanks for all the good advice, opinions and entertainment.
