Does anyone know "Vacations to go"?
 

Hello,I`m new to this forum and hope that anybody of the experienced cruiser can explain this:I`m a reader of the website from the booking agent Vac to go since some years and never could find a cruise that really thrilled me.Last week it happened:great cruise at a fantastic rate and after looking for flights and hotel rooms I filled out the contact request form at 7am US time.In the comment I asked for a reply as soon as possible via mail because my English isn`t good enough for dealing by phone.I asked them to hold the booking if possible.
30 minutes later I went to the website to see if "my cruise" was still on offer.But what I saw was astonishing and irritating:the price had doubled,which made the wanted inside stateroom to a much more expensive cabin than oceanside and balcony.I waited for another 7 hours,because I thought that this is perhaps their method to "hold a room".Nobody will book an inside stateroom for1900 when the oceanview and the balcony cabins are 1500.These 2 had not changed the price,only the inside stateroom had risen from 999 to 1900.But then I decided to call and first was connected to a young man who told me that my contact request form had not been read yet.After I`d explained my irritation about the risen price he said "wait a minute,I`ll ask somebody".Then I was connected with a lady who wanted to know the name of my travel agent.I said "I thought you were" but she denied and insisted that I only can make booking with a travel agency.Then we were disconnected and I was connected to a young lady who said:"the price has risen because of the flu".When I asked why only my stateroom had risen but not the oceanview or the balcony she said that she can do nothing for me,but she would be pleased to sell me the oceanview or the balcony.As this is much more than I intended to invest in this trip,I said goodbye.
Is there any chance that the price will go down again?The last 7 days it was a reduction of 68% and now only 36%.In all the years I`ve been watching this website,I`ve never seenthat the price for the cheapest category is lifted up over the better cabins.Is it possible that the cruise line realized how cheap the stateroom was just at the moment when I showed interest and adjusted it?But why only one room category and not the others?For me this all is mysterious and I`m not sure if I should ever try again booking with Vac. to go.And why does Vac to go not inform interested people about the sudden change in price?
I would be happy if somebody could give an explanation.
30 minutes

Cabin prices are like airline ticket prices, they can change hour by hour. Did you look at the cruise ship website? They may still have the cheaper price.

I highly recommend http://cruisecompete.com/.

I've never actually booked with vacationstogo, but often have been tempted. I did once look them up on BetterBusinessBureau and found they have had some issues over the past.

I have booked through www.cheapertravel.com (Pavlus) and have always had good luck with them. While I've not booked a cruise with them, I have booked many land tours with them.

Romelle

There might also be an issue with time differences.

I know some of the cruise lines have 24 hour sales. So if you saw a price that was really cheap and it was gone within a few hours, the 24 hour sale may have ended. This could explain the difference in cabin prices. The lowest, cheapest cabin category sold out and the better cabins were now 'cheaper" than the lower categories.

Cruise fares are like airfares. If it's what you want and it's the right price you'd better buy it then. I think VacationsToGo even says this on their limited time offers. They say to call right away to book the fare.

I ditto this recommendation.... highly recommend them.

I've gotten quotes from cruisecompete.com before. I found this last time, were more expensive than booking directly with the cruise line. I was comparing apples to apples, fees, freebies, etc. I booked a cheap 5 day Carnival cruise and Carnival was about $90 cheaper than the best cruisecompete quote and I could get the price match rate directly with Carnival.

I can always transfer the booking to a travel agent but I was really happy with the Carnival associate I am dealing with. I will deal exclusively with her, unless I want to change to someone else. Easy process with a really nice person.

If anyone wants to book a Carnival cruise, I'll pass on her name and e-mail at Carnival.

FWIW, I've used vacations to go for booking all my cruises so far. I use a specific agent there (that my parents actually recommended, she's the one they've been using for theirs). I can't complain about the service that I've gotten from her. (Heck, she was even in her office the Monday after a hurricane went through Houston which is where they're based).

Now, that said, I don't know that I'm saving much if anything over what I could find myself, but I'm also not paying more than I could really find myself. She's also helped out in a couple of trickier bookings (including one that probably netted her no commision at all), so I feel a little loyalty to her as a result. But I'm probably one of her easiest clients to deal with because I generally know exactly what I want, down to cabin number, before I call her.

As for the OP's situation, I don't know that the prices they list on their site are updated as you look at them, so it's entirely possible the prices change, cruise lines certainly do that. And I've certainly seen some crazy pricing at times (my upcoming alaska cruise, when I booked it, BD balconies were running double what a BC balcony was running, even though theoretically BC is the better class).

(Oh, and cruiselines can do some really funny things for people that aren't in the US too. Prices you see on a US website might not be allowed to be booked by someone not in the US. Specifically, the vacations to go website says "Costa, Holland America, Oceania, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Star Clippers no prohibit US travel agencies, including Vacations To Go, from selling cruises to customers who do not have a residence in the US or Canada).

Thanks to all of you
 

Thanks to the tip for cruisecompete.com.I`v just made my booking with one of their partners.

We have used Vacationstogo for at least 9 cruises - have always been happy with service and prices - as a matter of fact, one time found a cheaper price somewhere else and they matched the price. Service has always been good and we have no complaints whatsoever. Like previous posters have indicated, cruise prices, like airline tickets can change very quickly.

you can search to the cruise websites. there you will find your required info. like: cruise price, cabin cost, food cost casino etc.

We have found the following booking company (and agent) to have the best prices of any we have used, and not just on cruises (bus tours too). They routinely beat out Costco. Use your ff card to book, no issue!

Pam Tafoya
Travel Planner
Pavlus Travel & Cruise
2033 Wyoming, NE
Albuquerque, NM 87112
Toll Free: 866-436-9445
Web: www.cheapertravel.com
Email: [email protected]

Get a quote and compare. Then you decide. IF you decide they have the best deal for you, then you might give them my referral number 62666 ( I get $50). If you don't want to get involved in the referral, then just enjoy the lower prices and have a great vacation!

I check out their site every now and again, just for s**** and giggles. I have also verified that the prices they offer are also offered by the cruise lines themselves after a bit of research. They claim to offer big discounts, but the discounted rates they offer are off the full brochure rates, and I have never heard of anyone paying the brochure rates. You should look at the site, find the cruise and the fares you want and then go book on the cruise lines website directly.

I don't think anyone pays brochure rates..All the TA's are supposed to offer the same rates it's just the extras (i.e on board credits,free insurance) where the difference lies since it comes out of their commission. Sometimes if a TA has group space on a popular cruise it can be cheaper so that's something to watch out for.
Cheers
Howie

Have also looked at Vacations to Go and have always found that their deeply discounted prices really are full price. They play games with advertising cruises without air or taxes and comparing them to prices with air and taxes.

I have gotten the best prices by using CruiseCompete.com You can typically get 4 or 5 quotes on a cruise and choose the best price. Key is making sure you know what you want.

I agree cruisecompete.com is a good place to start looking at prices. However, I have never actually booked via cruisecompete. I have always been able to find even better fares by doing just a little more research. The trick is to know exactly what you are looking for, be flexible on the dates, and be ready to put a deposit down immediately.

I recently used vacationstogo to book a cruise to Patagonia. I worked with an excellent agent who was able to get me the last mini-suite at a very good rate. Prior to calling vacationstogo, I had called NCL directly and was told the category was sold out, but vacationstogo was able to prevail and get me the cabin I wanted for the advertised price. Bookings/cancellations can happen very quickly when inventory is tight.

I have also found that booking direct provides no benefit. In fact, sometimes the result is counter-intuitive. On a cruise I was booking this summer, my direct call to MSC resulted in a quote $500 higher than an agent was able to obtain. The only explanation for that is that cruise lines may prefer you use a travel agent so they can reduce costly staffing and administrative expenses.

Your best success lies with the combination of the person you work with and the allowances available within their organizations contracts with the cruise lines.

My experience with vacationstogo and their land based resortvacationstogo is that when a quote is generated, they will honour that price - just remember to record the quote number for future reference.

Vacations To Go
 

Vacations to Go should not be trusted! I lost $3600 in connection with them and a sales organization they were using some years ago and after reading some of the threads I don't see how I could ever trust them.

I've currently got a cruise booked with vacationstogo.com. They had a clearance price (a week if not 3 after the final payment window) which at the time was some $400 or 22% lower than the fares available to almost all other agencies and the cruise line itself. One of the ones that the cruise line dumps inventory through had the teaser online but one couldn't find it when making an online booking. The agent I talked to at VTG managed to find it. He's also quite responsive to requests.

love vacations to go. I have used them for my Honeymoon and 5 subsequent cruises. No problems ever.

I generally (not always) find when people complain about cruise agents it is because of a change, late arrival, mistake, or rule breaking by the customer.

Book the cruise, confirm with the line, then show up on time (early!) to the dock with required documentation. Nothing can really go wrong if those 3 things happen.

Used Vacations To Go once, for an Azamara cruise to Norway in 2011. We were completely satisfied with the service, with our agent, with the price (which I readily admit might also have been available elsewhere) and everything else. We expect to use them again.

VTG has a great search engine. Prices/incentives are beatable with a little effort.

3 cruises booked...satisfied....great OBC and service....their pricing is for the cheapest rooms which arent always midships....of course thats more

I agree.... vacationstogo is legit and has good deals

E-mailed my VTG consultant reminding him to contact me if the cruise line decides to send upsells my way and he called them and got a free upgrade from N (cheapest bowels of the ship inside) to a decent window cabin (F that would have cost nearly $1,000 more each at the prevailing rates (rock bottom as it is)

My husband always looks at VTG for cruise prices, but I've found United Cruises prices pretty much the same as VTG offers. The added benefit of United Cruises is you get UAL miles for it.

THIS. I've used VTG with absolutely no problem. They were great.

The next time, I found the sailing on VTG and forwarded it to the travel agent. They matched price and added an upgrade and some extras. It's a very easy commission since you've done all the research and selection.