I am interested in hearing from anyone who knows of a good cruise specialist travel agent. If you've used one that you like, please send contact info. Thanks.

I use Vacations To Go. (www.vacationstogo.com) If you see something interesting, you need to call. I recently used Gabriel @ extension 7105, on advice of a friend.

You can also browse the website for deals, then call the cruise line directly.

If you are a membor of Costco they also do cruise bookings.
Used Expedia once and don't recommend.

https://www.cruisesinternational.com/
Ask for Kathy Biancalana. We have been with here for at least 10 years.

Thanks.

I've found Vacations to Go and Costco to be pretty competitive. I booked my last two cruises through Costco because they had slightly better offers. Depending on the cruise line, Costco gives you a commission rebate (like most travel agents) in either the form of an onboard credit or a Costco cash card. Costco only partners with 12 cruise lines so if you're looking for something outside of those you'll need to book elsewhere. Also Costco doesn't assign you an agent and there's no way to contact the same person directly. Each time you call, you'll be speaking with a different person. I do my own research on cruisecritic.com and know exactly what I want so it works fine for me.

mlgb,
What happened with Expedia? I've never used them.

Made a number of errors in names and DOB of passengers, stupid mistakes. Not always available, can't get the same person. promised OBC not included at first.

I haven't used them since. I like being able to contact the same agent at VTG.

We did get some OBC from VTG on our most recent cruise (Bliss Panama Canal).

Thanks. Costco does not offer the lines that we are interested in.

I have used Daniel Gonzalez @ Vacations to go every year for 10 years & he is quick to respond
1-800338-4962 x7111

Thanks.

Do you really need a TA to book a cruise? There is so much info on the web today (cruise critic an excellent resource as mentioned). We prefer to have as much control as possible over the process and not have to rely too much on a TA. When we cruise, we select what we want and then we shop price and have found the website cruisecompete.com to get us some very competitive bids from a few agencies. Crown Cruise vacations has twice offered us the best pricing. If you are booking an expensive cruise, the commission may be high enough for a TA to provide a higher level of service than often provided.

Helpful for newbie cruisers who don't understand things like OBC, differences between cruise lines and ships.

I know people who use Auto Club also.

I like the VTG website.

Thanks. You've all given me good information. I found a local agency that specializes in cruises and will check them out next week. The names you've given me will be good back-ups if the local does not work out.

I would only use a travel agent for cruises. We are independent travelers and readily make all of our own arrangements. However, it was recommended that we use a cruise specialist the forst time we took a cruise, and it paid off in discounts and advice re cabins, etc.

It’s all about personal service and the OBC that is given by TAs ( mine included). I don’t feel there is any loss of control by using one.

It seems that Whitehall is a very experienced cruiser who already knows the ins and outs and does not need advice. However, those of us who are not so experienced can be saved lots of headaches using a cruise specialist. We found a wonderful local company The Cruise Shoppe Of Boulder LLC - Cruise Agency | Boulder, CO which only does cruises. Greg and Sian, who have lived and worked on ships for many years, helped us decide on the best cruise, cabin,budget, etc. to meet our needs. They also made us aware of questions that we should be asking. Their services are free as they make a commission on the cruises they book.