I am looking into a May cruise on Royal Caribbean, but have never booked a cruise before. Any suggestions on where to get the best price? My head's spinning...

I have booked 4 cruises. 3 of them with AAA and 1 with bestpricecruises.com I was happy with both companies. Bestpricecruises had better deals. They were very good to work with. The price went down 3 times after I booked. 2 times I got an upgraded room and the 3rd time I requested a shipboard credit. I ended up boarding the ship with a $200 credit to spend onboard.

I would check as many websites as possible including cruisequick.com, icruise.com, cruise-n-more.com, etc. etc.. I'd also check with a couple of 'cruise only' TA's in your area. They can be very, very helpful and easily accessible AND can often match, or get close to, any website prices you find.
I booked our first 5 (out of 6) cruises with a TA but have just booked our next cruise on line because the difference was very substantial! Once you've decided the ship, date and category you want, use your PC and your telephone, to find your best deal. Include the two mentioned by mgbozarth but I personally don't like AAA. They have been higher than anyone else the couple of times I've checked and their agents seem to have an attitude problem..at least the couple that I've talked to did. But, hey, this is definately in the 'IMHO' category!

In short, leave no stone unturned in your quest for the best deal out there! Happy hunting AND cruising!

We just recently used crucon.com. they are located in Boston. We were pleased with the prices. I would use them again.

We have used cruisesonly.com 7 times and have been very happy with them. They are part of My Travel Co.

sle:
Totally agree with your choice. CruisesOnly--the largest cruise company in the world. Yet they do a very good, personable job. Have NEVER had a problem with them, and my many cruise reservations.

Do all the comparing you want lisaloo! The more you look around, the more "educated" you become.

Happy cruising!!

As you can probably see from the above posts, there is no one right place to book. As long as you're dealing with a reputable agency (and just about all of them are) go with the lowest price for the particular ship and sail date you want. You can shop around agency to agency (as esd suggests) or use a service like www.CruiseCompete.com which gets you competing quotes from multiple agencies.

Good luck!

For Royal Caribbean I think the best prices may be with cruisequick.com (at least this was the case a year ago). They gave me excellent service as well!

Since this is your first cruise I would book with someone I could at least talk to on the phone. Some .com site you can do this and other you cannot.

I have never seen any deals with AAA. If you are researching- and know what ship and sailing you want. Consider www.cruisecompete.com or listing your selection on the www.cruisemates.com bargain finder site. If you need more service- go with a travel agent you can consult with.

I have booked four cruises with my TA at Cruise.com. I shop the web at all of the aftermentioned sites and she always beats the best price that I find.

The "RULES" (at least as I see them):

1) NEVER pay the brochure price because almost inevitably you can get the same accommodations at a discount if you plan far enough ahead.

2) Decide on the ship(s) and dates and itineraries you want and then COMPARE prices using at LEAST THREE different suppliers, either on the web or not.

3) Deal with somebody that you can contact by phone (at least the first time) and that you know where they are located.

Be aware that different cruise agencies will get different prices from cruise lines based on the amount of business that agency sends to that particular cruise line..the trick is finding out which agency is "the one" for the cruise line you want to use...doing comparison shopping helps a great deal.

Good luck.

There's a lot of good advice so far. I would add to check RCCL's website and see what they offer your cruise for. It will be substantially cheaper than the brochures but generally a little higher than what the on-line prices will be.

Peter