Best way to book a cruise
 

We want to book a cruise from London to Stockholm on the Seven Seas Voyager.

What are the pros and cons of booking the cruise directly through Regent Seven Seas instead of using our own independent travel agent?

I have booked 2 cruises on line and 1 through a travel agent. I really didn't see much difference. I suppose if something went wrong you might be better off with a travel agent, but the online agents handled everything we needed.

There's no advantage to booking directly with the cruise line. You'll pay significantly more money than by using a high-volume cruise agent, and you won't have an advocate to deal with the cruise line for you in the rare case that something goes wrong.

A lot of people on this board use a site called CruiseCompete.com (http://www.cruisecompete.com).

You pick the cruise, then let agents compete to offer you the best deal. I would suggest you at least try this site to see what kind of pricing you're offered (and see how much you will save) before making a decision to go with either the line or a generalist travel agent. On a high-end cruise like Regent, you could easily save hundreds of dollars.

Use an agent, one who specializes in Regent and/or luxury lines. You will get the kind of advice you need about cabin selection, and they will go to bat for you in case of problems.

Regent is one of the cruise lines which doesn't allow discounts so chances are prices will be the same across the board. But as was said, you save when booking with agent anyway, as instead of discount, a good TA will give you onboard credit, or free insurance etc. You may check with my agent Alex at [email protected].

I never knew the prices were the same..... I always thought you got the best deals booking on your own. Good to know.

ncounty,
How do you book on your own? If you mean without agent and directly with cruise line, forget about best deals. Cruise lines prices are the highest.