pipsil

I received an excellent offer in the mail for a 21 day cruise on the Princess Star to South America and Mexico [$3199 including air from San Francisco to Santiago] from a Travel Agent called "Travel of America". They don't appear to have a web site and I can't find out anything about them. Has anyone had dealings with this company?

spurs

There are easy ways to check it. Call Princess or any major cruise travel agency and compare their prices to this one. See if they are on www.bbb.com. Is it 04/11/08 cruise? Given the price is per person for inside cabin, my guess is this is not too good to be true price, and you may be able to find better if you do some shopping.

traveller69

I have used Travel of America in the past. It is an agency in Los Angeles and they do a big cruise business. I checked their website and they do just give an 800 number but I think they are getting a website together. It sounds to me that this is an itinerary they have put together as a repositioning cruise. When do they say it is? The fact that it does Mexico as well would indicate that it is probably done at the end of the Season for Antarctic so you wouldn't find it under the regular cruise schedule for Antarctic. The price is really no bargain as it is probably for the lowest cabin - they usually say "from". The Princess website will give you the itinerary for the Star. If you can do the cruise I highly recommend it. We did it last January on Princess from Rio to Valparaiso (Santiago airport) We did a side trip to Iguazu Falls which was spectacular so check into that as well. (I still get mailings from Travel of America but haven't used them as I have found a better cruise company)

traveller69

HI again - sorry I didn't really read your post all that well because
Santiago immediately meant Antarctic to me. OK - I checked and that is what I thought. Star Princess leaves Valparaiso and cruises north in April and does ports in SA on the way up. She then goes to Mexico on her way up to do Alaska. So the travel company has put together that cruise (16 day) with one from Acapulco to San Francisco. Before you booked it I would double check prices with other cruise companies eg Cruise-Connections.com and Cruise.com etc. Usually there are certainly better deals on the repositioning cruises.

pipsil

Thanks for your replies. I had no idea that one can get better deals than the one from Travel of America.Shows you how much I know. And yes, it is for the April 11th sailing. I will follow your advice and look into other offers.

traveller69

Hi Pipsil

I looked at the other cruise companies and they have their specials sailing from Valparaiso to either Acapulco or Seattle. Airfare is not included in their prices so I would call just to check. I know Travel America is quite large so probably booked space on the plane as well so you could certainly be better off with them. I would check on the prices of the different categories of cabins. You would want to be able to choose a midship cabin inside or outside but midships for sure (it could start to get a little bumpy as it is their fall in South America) Let us know how you make out.

pipsil

Thanks for your explanation regarding repositioning cruises. I had never heard that term used.I will look into other options but I must say your comment about bumpy seas has me somewhat concerned as my partner and I are poor sailors. So far we have been most fortunate with the weather even on transatlantic crossings which, I believe, can be quite rough.I'll report on the results of my search for other offers.

traveller69

Pipsil - I didn't mean to scare you as you can never tell what the seas are going to be like at any given time. I have been in rough seas in areas that are calm normally and we had a smooth sailing back across the straits from Antarctica when that is usually very rough. There is a great medication generic name Meclazene (Bonine) that works wonders. You can take that and not have any of the drowsy side effects that some of the other meds can cause. Costco sells it as the generic - you get way more than you need but the price is certainly right compared to what they charge for the brand name in the pharmacies. Good Luck with finding your cruise.