Best deal?

[addictedtocruising2]

OK all you Princess veterans...
I know sometimes TA's can get deals by buying blocks of rooms at a time and can pass the savings on to us. Does Princess do that? I guess my question really is...have to book months in advance...cannot wait until last minute...from your experience, will I get a better deal by going through a TA or booking directly with Princess?
Thanks

[f-mattox]

There is really no way to answer your question. Prices fluctuate according to demand whether it is an agency or Princess. The only way to know is to comparison shop; and make sure you are comparing the same catagory cabin on the same ship on the same sailing.

My personal experience has been that I get the best price by booking very early (a year or more) directly from Princess. I get mailings from several agencies that I have used and out of curiosity I compare the prices with princess.com and Princess is always cheaper.

But I am sure others here have had different experiences. If you absolutely have to have the lowest price then you are going to have to do some legwork. After many years of cruising my approach is, if I see a cabin I like at a price I like, I take it. There are too many variables to go hunting for the "best" price.

[penny3333]

I have always booked directly with Princess and have not seen any deals that have beat their prices, too. I have had my fare go down a couple of time, called and they have either reduced the amount owed (if I haven't paid in full) or given me an on board credit (if I have paid in full). However, travel agents can give you the personal service that booking direct can't. Best wishes on your endeavor!

[travel bugs]

Hi there, I found that using a travel agent is the best because as penny3333 says, you get the personal touch, plus they have access to many cruise lines, hotels and airlines that it would take days for us to check out.
I just booked my cruise a couple of weeks ago and I had constantly searched the cruise websites finding deals I thought would be good, called my agent, had her do all the legwork till I found something that worked for me.
Good luck to you.