no actual advantage to using an agency or planner. you'll get the same if you just use the cruiseline. Some people say use expedia, vacationstogo, etc. What they don't ever see is some of these places actually cost more than just going through the cruiseline. After being a road warrior for 26 years I learned that in a comparison you can't beat going direct to the source.

We have used Ocala Travel for several cruises. Always had good results. They have an office in The Villages and are very friendly and helpful. Make sure to buy the travel insurance with any cruise. We have used Allianz. On one cruise our travelling companion had an issue and had to go to a hospital in Puerto Rico and then catch up with the cruise and on another, some travelling companions had a medical issue and could not make the cruise and lost all because they did not have insurance.

Just as an example of why to use CruiseCompete.com , I received the following quotes (net of benefits) over the weekend for a cruise:

$3,738 $3,626 $3,597 $3,378 $3,073 from five well-known cruise travel agencies

For those who don't quote on CC - Vacations-to-Go is quoting $3,852 and Yankee Trails $4,238

Cruise line direct: $4,520

Like Most Things In LIfe, "It Depends"
 

Are you taking a short cruise out of Port Canaveral or Ft. Lauderdale? If so, you can do it yourself. Look up the cruise on Vacations to Go and get all the particulars. Look up the ship on the line's website and have your computer on when you call so you can discuss your options when choosing a stateroom. Either book through VTG or call the cruise line directly.

If you are cruising overseas, use an agent--and an experienced one. The agent will coordinate air flights, hotels, excursions, and transportation. We have used one agent for more than 30 years for, probably, 40 cruises. He knows the cruise lines, their ships, and the hotels in the cities where the cruise begins and ends.

After several years of using the cruise line's transport between the airport or hotel and the ship, the agent convinced us to use a private car and driver and to do the same for shore excursions in the ports. There is little, if any additional cost and the difference in quality, particularly on the shore excursions, is dramatic. Instead of being on a bus with 50 passengers and waiting for the required restroom stop or to visit the driver's cousin's rug shop, we are whisked, in a late-model car, from the ship to the attraction and back. In certain places, Istanbul being one, if you have a private car, driver, and guide, you go to the front of the line. For attractions such as the Blue Mosque or the "James Bond" underground reservoir "From Russia With Love", that line can stretch for two blocks or more.

One of the dirty, little, secrets about cruising is that the cruise lines make a significant amount of their money from selling shore excursions. For two people, the additional cost for a private car and driver/guide is minimal. If you are with another couple or your family, you will save money with a private car and driver/guide. In either case, you will avoid wasting time getting on/off the bus, at a restroom stop, or at the driver's cousin's rug shop, and will get to see what you want to see.

I've taken 27 cruises and find VacatiionsToGo.com website to be the easiest way to search for and compare cruises. When you go there for 1st time, be sure to open free account with them and check off all the possible discounts you may be entitled to, When you click on any cruise, it will then give you the cheapest price for every category based upon the possible discounts you can get. You can then book through them quickly and they will always keep your discounts listed under your account. You may get discounts for Fl. resident, over age 55, retired/active military, airline employees active/retired, police, firefighters, teachers etc. After they give you rates, be sure to click on cruise line websites, to see if they're offering any special deals. VacationsToGo website includes all taxes in their online rate quotes. Cruise line websites don't easily reveal taxes until after you pretend to book and choose everything, then they tell you all the additional taxes at the end. Some cruise lines will have tiny print showing taxes under the starting prices they quote, but you really don't get full price until you pretend to book online and see what final price is. Then you can cancel or go ahead and book. Another thing you can look into is that many cruise lines now offer their own Visa cards that come with a deal that gives you about $300 credit toward their cruises. Highly recommend you check out ships, cruise info etc found on Cruise Critic.com. It's a great reference site for all things about cruises!

Bingo. I also use VacationsToGo.com. Their tool for searching for cruises is excellent, even if you decide to go elsewhere to to buy your ticket. Take the time to learn how to use it. Fill out the profile. When I look at a particular cruise, I also see if a discount of mine will give me a better price. I qualify for FL resident, over age 55, veteran and retired airline employee (my wife qualifies us for an "interline" discount) discounts.

I agree that Vacations to Go is an excellent source of information when researching cruises and ships, but it does have some quirks of which you need to be aware.

For example, if you call up 16985 you'll see the balcony price is $2,050 so you'd pay them $4,100 in total for two people sharing that room.

Click on Singles and you'll see that one person would have to pay them more - $4,328. For some reason, the "per person double occupancy" price has jumped from $2,050 to $2,239 just because you clicked on Singles. So they can claim that the Singles price of $4,328 is 93% of the "new" double occupancy total price of $4,478.

I have pointed this website glitch to them several times over the years and never had an acknowledgment that it exists, or that they intend to fix it.

Regardless, use VTG to get the information but go to CruiseCompete for the best pricing.

Travel Insurance
 

Travel Insurance, don't leave home without it. If at all possible, don't use the insurance provided by the cruise line. If you don't care about recouping the cost of the cruise, the medical coverages are very reasonable. Make sure the coverage is primary payer.