a7800

I am a big fan of both. I have used cruisecompete several times and ended up accepting the bid from Cruise Vacation Outlet. They had excellent customer service and I have no reservations about telling my friends about them.

TraveltheWorld

I used cruisecompete for a specific Carnival cruise, but all the quotes ended up being exactly the same. With Carnival mandating that no TA can undercut published fares, doesn't that make cruisecompete obsolete for Carnival cruises? Am I missing something?

mahasamatman

I believe the TAs can still offer "extras".

SRQ Guy

They can, but they're of minimal value. Cruisecompete is now useless for me. It may be of value for someone else.

Carnival has won, and I'll just book direct from now on.

BurBunny

May I ask why you'd book direct rather than with a travel agent? The commission is there direct or through a TA, and by supporting a TA, you're benefitting 3 entities - the TA, who most often is a small business owner, Carnival (through lowered servicing costs) and yourself (many TAs still provide bon voyage gifts and you have an advocate if need be).

SRQ Guy

A TA just adds another level of bureaucracy to get anything done with my booking. I don't need help picking a cruise line, a ship, an itinerary, or my cabins. I plan my own excursions. I make all my own travel arrangements. I honestly don't see anything that a TA can do to add value for me.

It wouldn't matter much, except that with Carnival's "Early Saver" program it's an extra step to get price reductions via a TA. It was worth it to book with a TA when I could save hundreds of dollars on a booking, but not any more. Basically at the level that I spend for a cruise I'm limited to about $100 worth of perks per cabin. $100 just isn't enough to deal with the hassle of the extra steps involved.

The TAs claim that they wanted Carnival to make this move, but I think ultimately they'll get burned by it.

Goldiemom

I have cruise compete many times. I must say, I had trouble with the fist two TA outlets I used. I then used Cruise Vacation Outlet. I have never had a problem with them, even when I have wanted to change cabins or cabin categories. Todd is very up front with with price, extra perks, etc. I use a credit card for payments and the cruise line actually processes the payments. First TA I used via cruise compete charged my cc and did not send the money in until about three weeks before the cruise. I won't go into the trouble that caused. I highly recommend Todd at Cruise Vacation Outlet.

BurBunny

I can understand your position regarding a layer between you and the cruise line, and you are certainly not alone in that position. However, I can definitely say that the majority of the agencies who wanted Carnival to move to a no discounting rule aren't the ones who will be ultimately hurt by the move. It's the deep discounters who offered nothing but price who will find it difficult to survive. Those who provide true service and value will continue to be profitable.

Now there are other moves by Carnival which were neither asked for nor desired which are an entirely different matter...

glutenhab

I have a much lower offer on my 58 day cruise from 5-7 different agencies through Cruise Complete.
I am nervous about dealing with an on-line T/A but it seems from this thread that I shouldn't be.
My cruise is with HAL & they require a deposit, with final payment 75 days pre-cruise. Is this possible with these people, or is it full payment up front?

I am looking for comments (good & bad) about these different on line bidding agencies.

Tenerife

If the agency you are looking at is "on the level", then the final payment will always be the same as required by the cruise line, generally 70 or 75 days before sailing. If they are requiring total payment far in advance OR by check or cash, look for another agency. People have been "badly burned" by this procedure in the past.