I was speaking with the rep at Carnival and he said that if I find freebies like on board credit/gift card, I can transfer the booking to Sams/Costco at the price he quoted, but then I cannot get my questions answered through him.

one quote: Carnival. 7 day Western Carribean Jun 29, $1547 incl taxes and fees.

the above quote was for two people.
The same trip on July 27 is $1707

Anil you can get ANY cruise from Costco from ANY cruise line they use regardless of whether its listed or not. I too thought that way but a rep told me otherwise. So if you see a cruise you like Costco will sell it to you as long as its on a ship line they have. The last two cruises we booked with them were for trips not seen in their brochure. As for info the agents at Costco can help or try posting here or better yet at www.cruisecritic.com. There is a wealth of information there. Larry

I don't know if I should be suspicious but the Carnival rep, Yamil, who called me when I left my phone # at the website wouldn't email me the prices as he said it was against company policy - yet he wanted me to reserve the cruise with a credit card.
Nothing in writing.
He said he will call me again in a day or two when I have decided.

No way should you have to put money on something B4 you know the cost. Usually booking thru the cruise co. directly is the most $$ option. You could try calling again and speak with a different agent to verify this. I would ask to speak with a supervisor as this sounds wrong to me.

surprise, surprise. Costco's rates are higher than any of the quotes from travel agencies - and even higher than Carnival itself.
Triumph July 27 Western Carribean

Costco - $1809. room category 4A.
Carnival - $1707.
Cruise Value - $1559.
Cruise Adventure Travel - $1598.

surprise, surprise. Costco's rates are higher than any of the quotes from travel agencies - and even higher than Carnival itself.

one example:
Triumph July 27 Western Carribean

Costco - $1809. room category 4A.
Carnival - $1707.
Cruise Value - $1559.
Cruise Adventure Travel - $1598.

I joined Costco just to get their cruise quotes!

I find that cruise compete has great rates.

I'm very surprised to hear that Anil. Very surprised. Personally cruisecompete never beat them, at least for me.

I followed up Anil. Yesterday I checked Orbitz, Travelocity and cruisecheap.com. Today I called Carnival. All 4 have the exact same fare for that ship, that date and cabin accomodation. Its $1947.30. Have a nice day.

https://online.mycruisevalue.com/ssl...565:2486-26277
In case this doesn't show its a quote from Cruise value and the price is exactly the same as the previous four noted above

Cruise adventure gave me around $1700.00 and they seem impressive. Hmmm.

Just got off the phone with Costco. Its a mixed bag here. They also gave the $1809.00 rate but for me, if I wanted to go I could get a senior rate of, are U ready, $1539.00.

bookmarking

bookmark

Senior rate is offered by Carnival when available; not by Costco or any other vendor, so one should be able to get it no matter where they book it. On top of senior rate, some agencies would offer a discount.

First cruise? Forget saving a few bucks. You may have something to brag about, but the savings are meaningless. Get a travel agent - a good one with some recommendations from friends. The basic cost could be a little higher, but maybe not. Most of them know a great deal about the ships, the ports, etc. They also know when bargains appear - like inexpensive upgrades, etc. and may end up saving a lot of money and enhance your experience. If you plan poorly and make some bad choices, you may never cruise again. And that would be too bad.