Using International CC to pay for Cruise
 

I'm looking to book the Ruby Princess 7 Day Eastern Carribean cruise departing Jan 22. I have the following options to book online:

1/ Expedia - blanket no int't cc accepted. I have done a search on this forum and some people have mentioned the use of 99999 and CA as state but I notice that they ask where to send the cruise documents. I am worried they will send this to the fictional address which will obviously create problems later.

2/ Orbtiz / Priceline - on these sites if you don't have a US zip code they state the following:

If you do not have a U.S. zip code and/or you would like to pay for your cruise using an international credit card, please call 800-735-8000 to speak to a cruise specialist who will assist you with your cruise purchase.
Your Cruise Reference ID: 509582


However, when I call them they say this doesn't exist and they don't accept int'l CCs.

I'm based in HK and the fares online are around $200 cheaper per person for a balcony room so I'm inclined to try any way possible to book online.

Anyone have any experience on this? It would be very helpful.

PS I have a UK credit card but I checked on expedia.co.uk etc and they dont have a cruise function for me to browse through...

Thanks

have you talked to a travel agent?.....what is princess offering on line?, $200 more?....good luck...

Not worth gaming the system
 

It's not worth what you are going to spend to avoid paying a TA. Show the TA what you want, the rate you have been offered and pay the TA's fee to get that for you. If one won't do it, another will. If you have a corporate TA you use for business, ask their leisure travel affiliate and tell them you were referred by corporate.

I wouldn't even remotely consider air/cruise/pre-departure hotel, etc. through a third-party site unless there are truly significant savings in the range of $300-400 per.

Princess has a hard and fast rule that a U.S. based agency can not book a passenger that does not live in the U.S. or Canada. Part of that is the difference in pricing; Princess has different pricing depending on where in the world you live.

I have clients in the U.K. that I used to be able to book on Princess, but now I can't. Celebrity/Azamara/Royal Caribbean will still allow us to book international passengers, but the charge has to be in USD.

I didn't know that. Would that be the same with most other cruise lines?

I had booked for some friends in Guam who were joining us for a Carnival cruise out of NY. Well, Guam is US. I guess that's why there was never any issue.

I live in Canada and we are able to book Princess via US agencies. I believe the two countries that have issues booking via US agencies is Australia and the UK.

I live in Europe and book quite a few cruises for us -- mostly through U.S. agents, because the cruises are much cheaper that way. The problem is generally not about where the CC is issued, but that you need to have a U.S. mailing address (I do, through a very close relative living in the U.S.) connected with your reservation. Princess is one of the strictest cruiselines about this but, even so, keep checking until you find an agent who can (is willing to) use their address for your booking. As someone has already said, it may not be worth a lot of aggravation to save the $200. Be careful if you choose to book with an OTA in the U.S. (as opposed to a "bricks and mortar" agency). A couple of the big online TAs have gone bankrupt in the past couple of years and, unlike booking in the U.K. or Germany, you are not insured if the agency goes "belly-up", especially if your payments went to the agency's account and not directly to the cruise line.

BTW -- I don't think that any of the "standard" cruise lines use anything other than electronic documents anymore, so not much worry about mail going astray (other than sales promotions after you have cruised with the line). You can request printed (as in booklet form) docs, but you may have to pay an extra fee for receiving them that way.