Manhattan Articles
New York Cruises: Tips
on Scoring the
Best Cruise Deals
A wealthy friend decided to take a one-month
vacation with
Seabourn Cruises and knew the ship, itinerary, departure
date and stateroom she wanted. She decided to conduct an
experiment in cruise bargain hunting by calling three
travel agents and, after relaying the specifics of her
desired voyage, advised each agent that whoever gave her
the best price would get her business. She saved thousands
of dollars.
The travel agent who won her business did it by rebating.
If there is one dirty word in the cruise industry it's
rebating, which means an agent kicks back part of his or
her commission (generally 15% of the cruise fare) to pass
along a lower fare.
After 15 years of writing about the cruise industry I still
don't see why rebating is bad - don't real estate agents
and car salesmen do the same thing? Isn't this just basic
competition? Still, several cruise lines won't let any
travel agent rebate cruise fares, including Royal
Caribbean, Celebrity, Crystal Cruises, Regent Seven Sea
Cruises and, to a large part, Norwegian Cruise Line.
The remaining cruise lines do allow rebating, but won't
permit travel agents to advertise or promote a lower price
to the public. You have to ask.
This means that if your sights are set on a Princess,
Holland America, Cunard, Oceania, Carnival and Seabourn
cruise, it's worth your time to ask travel agents if he/she
can come up with a lower price than the one you're first
quoted.
Of course your chances are better in some cruising regions.
Right now, sales of Caribbean, Mexico and South America are
soft. Hence, here you stand a better chance of getting a
lower price than on Alaska and Greek Island cruises, which
are selling much better this year.
It's all about supply and demand. And timing. For example,
traditionally suites and balcony cabins sell out first. But
now that a bad economy is upon us and there's overcapacity
in the Caribbean and Mexico you still may get a better
deal on the highest-priced categories. So ask. The only
thing a travel agent can say is "sorry, this is the price."
WHEN NOT TO SHOP AROUND: When you have a wonderful travel
agent you trust implicitly, who has steered you towards
good deals in the past. To save $100 or so isn't worth it.
One caveat. Travel agents can only rebate the price of a
cruise. There are fixed costs, like port charges, taxes,
fuel surcharges and airfare that are never negotiable.
About the Author:
For additional information, visit Cruising From New York
(http://www.cruisingfromnewyork.com
) the premier web site
for New York cruises written by Anne Campbell, a journalist
who has been covering the cruise industry for 17 years.