lizette

Has anyone used Cruise Value Center? They have GREAT prices and seem legitimate, but I'm afraid to book through a company I know nothing about.

Any suggestion on where I can get discounted cruise prices?

Thanks,
Liz

triathlete

Cruise Value Center has a good reputation and will take good care of you.

Julie is only partly. RCL and Celebrity have banned rebating, but Carnival has only banned the advertising of rebates effective January 1st. This DOES NOT MEAN that prices won't continue to vary on RCL & Celebrity, though. Group space, coupons, preferred provider pricing and and other limited promotions will ensure that prices continue to be all over the board. If you think you've found a good rate, you may want to put it into CruiseCompete.com and see if anyone can beat it--often they can.

Cheers!

connette

Julia is right on all accounts. Another thing the cruise lines plan to do is first take away commissions from these agencies and if they still do not comply - they will be put on a stop sell and documents will be held and not be released. So know who you are dealing with. There are several reasons they are doing this. One, they pay commission to these agencies who do not service the bookings. Passengers then call into the cruise lines, with all of their needs and questions, over taxing their workforce. So in essence the cruise lines are paying twice to service a booking. They try to stay in business by volume, not service, and references and repeat business is not a priority. Often you cannot speak to the same agent who booked you. In fact the turnover is so large, they often do not work there by the time you sail.

Budman

jelzie, I just hate it when people like you come on this board and advertise. Your signature gives you away.

Here's hoping that Fodors give you the big boot!!!

triathlete

Connette:

No, Connette, she's not. Of course, as her post isn't there anymore there's no point in arguing about it...

obason

Liz,

I had the same hesitation a month ago. After posting my question here and got some helpful tips I decided to book a Norwegian cruise with CVC. It's as easy as booking a cruise thru other internet travel websites. I got a confirmation thru e-mail from CVC very shortly. I also verified the booking with Norwegian directly and yes the booking was confirmed. And just last week I received the cruise packet in the mail so I'm all set for the cruise for the last week of Sept.

CVC booked my cruise just fine but if you have special requests or require extra service you should inquire with CVC first. As a good practice alwasys check the cancellation policies.

Bon Voyage

allanc

I just booked on CVC and was happy with the service. I made an error on the web (selected incorrect cabin class), called back and they made it right. One question: CVC give you the option of rep or an on line booking (slightly cheaper). I opted for the latter because I knew what I wanted. Will this preclude me from getting any upgrades, comps, etc? I also noticed that my down payment actually showed up as a Princess Cruise charge on my cc.

katybird

We used CVC and got a very good price last Nov. Be aware they charge a $75.00 cancellation fee.