Cruises

1trainer1

I have found a cruise i want, apart from asking each travel agent what the best price they can get for it is their something like skyscanner for cruises?

also where is the best place to book?

coffee_cake

Well there is Iglu cruises but I'm never using them again - happy to take your money but not giving it back. 5 months and counting trying to sort a refund.

Edit - I believe Planet Cruise is under the same umbrella now, so I probably wouldn't use them either.

NoodleDoodleMan

1trainer1 said:

I have found a cruise i want, apart from asking each travel agent what the best price they can get for it is their something like skyscanner for cruises?

also where is the best place to book?

Which cruise ?

Have you a price from the cruiseline direct ?

snaver

We use Lisa West of cruise.co.uk who always gets us the best price. You can also ask on the more specific cruise Facebook groups or message boards, such as Emma Cruises. Good luck!

daveyjp

The whole system of cruise pricing and quoting is full of dark arts.

Get a price direct from the cruise operator then ask a couple of agents.  Bolsover cruises is well regarded.  Reason being is not all cabins are available on all websites at the same time.  Agents may have access to cabins which aren't on the operator website etc.

If you are happy with a guarantee cabin (i.e. you select a minimum grade, not an actual cabin),known in the trade as GTY, you may get a better deal and could end up in a cabin in a higher grade than you paid for, although cabin grading is a mystery!  Again these may not be available on the cruise operator site, but agents may have access.

Also be aware that extras such as tips, drinks etc need to be considered alongside the base price.  Cruise companies have increased these over the years to keep headline prices attractive.

TELLIT01

I don't know if you may get things included in the price when booking direct with the cruise operator, which would be extra costs if booked through a 3rd party site.  Always worth confirming your are comparing like with like.

Catplan

1trainer1 said:

I have found a cruise i want, apart from asking each travel agent what the best price they can get for it is their something like skyscanner for cruises?

also where is the best place to book?

Not used but recently discovered seascanner.co.uk which as the name suggests is similar to sky scanner. I’ve never been on a cruise, I have noticed some good deals seem to pop up about six weeks before sailing, obviously to fill cabins. 

daveyjp

Catplan said:

1trainer1 said:

I have found a cruise i want, apart from asking each travel agent what the best price they can get for it is their something like skyscanner for cruises?

also where is the best place to book?

Not used but recently discovered seascanner.co.uk which as the name suggests is similar to sky scanner. I’ve never been on a cruise, I have noticed some good deals seem to pop up about six weeks before sailing, obviously to fill cabins. 

That looks like a GCSE IT website to latch onto the 'scanner' name.

Absolutely no mention of who runs it, company details or where they are based unless you dig into the ABTA number and find its another page for www.cruise.co.uk an agent selling cruises.

shykins

there is comparethatcruise which may be worth a look but the difference from one agent to another is not a vast amount usually.   as others say make sure you compare like for like

we usually use Iglu and unlike another poster have not had any prolems but we do usually book last minute

stoneman

I’ve used cruisecompete before. It’s US based. You put in what your looking for and travel agents send in their offer to your account. Usually with sweeteners like on board credit. 

As long as you have a card with no foreign transaction fees you’ll be ok because you have to pay in dollars.