I read an article where I believe Australian citizens compared the cost of cruises purchased in their homecountry were more after taking into account travel agents + % commission on credit cards, etc. I am a UK citizen that has been living in Czech Republic for over 25 years. The travel agents here are a rip off, offering poor service, higher prices and lower rated cabins and so on. I found a company, based in the USA with which I have now booked 4 cruises and all very successfull & positive. They are available 24 hours a day, online with a really easy to use internet interface. I utilise the service of 2 of their representatives, they call me back if I request at times acceptable taking into account the time difference and I save hundreds of dollars and also usually get best deals by booking at least 9 months in advance. Their website enables me to look at ship deck plans, chose the cabin type, location down to its number. This service is offered by many US based companies and is available to ROW also. Have a look, its worth it
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Advice for non US citizens
6 Answers
I did a comparison just today, utilising NCL online and my agent from the USA. If I booked on line through NCL a balcony mid ship on Deck 13 Norwegian Getaway Baltic leaving on 23.9.2019 it would cost some 3800 euro but only included 2 "freebies". This is about 97 000Kc in my local money. Also this did not include the gratuities that would be added if I was to say take the freebie drink package. On "cruisecheap.com" for example, it would cost exactly the same, BUT, included 5 freebies, gratuities payable on the drink package and the meal package were also included. Thus I get more for my dollar and better deal than online using the cruise line original website. I also pay with my CC which has a 2% cashback on all purchases and so forth thus I save a little bit extra again. A plus for this was, whilst conducting the experiment, the price for my cruise had reduced by 200USD thus I wrote to my agent and will have 200USD added to my onboard shopping account extra. We had 150USD oboard before, now we will have 350USD.
Sounds like you found a great deal. The rewards for shopping around and doing your homework. Congratz.
Good advice. There is also the option of booking yourself directly with the cruise line. We have done both. Being Canadian when booking through the cruise lines we are given the option to do things on US $ or in CDN $. In most cases the conversion rate offered by the cruise lines is better than the rate at the bank and it is locked in at whatever the rate is at time of purchase so fluctuations do not affect that.
I did a comparison just today, utilising NCL online and my agent from the USA. If I booked on line through NCL a balcony mid ship on Deck 13 Norwegian Getaway Baltic leaving on 23.9.2019 it would cost some 3800 euro but only included 2 "freebies". This is about 97 000Kc in my local money. Also this did not include the gratuities that would be added if I was to say take the freebie drink package. On "cruisecheap.com" for example, it would cost exactly the same, BUT, included 5 freebies, gratuities payable on the drink package and the meal package were also included. Thus I get more for my dollar and better deal than online using the cruise line original website. I also pay with my CC which has a 2% cashback on all purchases and so forth thus I save a little bit extra again. A plus for this was, whilst conducting the experiment, the price for my cruise had reduced by 200USD thus I wrote to my agent and will have 200USD added to my onboard shopping account extra. We had 150USD oboard before, now we will have 350USD.
Good advice. There is also the option of booking yourself directly with the cruise line. We have done both. Being Canadian when booking through the cruise lines we are given the option to do things on US $ or in CDN $. In most cases the conversion rate offered by the cruise lines is better than the rate at the bank and it is locked in at whatever the rate is at time of purchase so fluctuations do not affect that.
Thanks for sharing.
I am sure someone out there will appreciate this tip. Thanks for sharing your experience!