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Cruise vacations are an experience like no other, combining relaxation, adventure, and a variety of destinations - all while unpacking your bags just once. Whether you're a first-time cruiser looking for a family-friendly getaway or an experienced traveler searching for a luxury experience, online cruise vacation booking sites can help you find the perfect match. These platforms solve common problems, such as comparing different cruise lines, finding the best deals, or narrowing down your options based on specific needs like budget, amenities, or destination.
Some booking sites offer sailings from dozens of cruise lines, from mainstream ones like Carnival and Royal Caribbean to more specialized luxury brands like Seabourn or Oceania. The more options available, the easier it is to find the perfect cruise for your preferences.
Saturday, February 8th
Cruise Direct (and its parent company, International Voyager) were founded by John Maguire, who has a background in creating travel media, managing business development, and who has sailed on over 100 cruise ships.
Curated categories make browsing fun
Browsing for a cruise on Cruise Direct is a pleasure. If you already know your preferences about things like destination, departure port, date, or the cruise line you'd like to sail with, you can start your search for over 47,000 sailings from 14 cruise lines. Otherwise, we'd recommend you check out the section of the landing page titled "Today's Top Cruise Destinations” for a good jumping off point. Each of these pages has an overview of why you might want to cruise in that location, an interactive map of ports, a list of the best shore excursions, and more. For example, Cruise Direct informs you that if you were to sail to Canada/New England, it might be for their incredible seafood, cobblestone streets, or lighthouses. You could enjoy a scenic tour of Prince Edward Island and visit the historic "Anne of Green Gables House” for $105, or take a hop-on hop-off bus tour of Montreal for $65.
Cruise Direct excursions are risk-free
You can book your excursions through Cruise Direct, too. They say their prices can be up to 40% lower than when you book from cruise lines and that their average tour size is just 12 (as opposed to 50). If you don't enjoy your excursion, Cruise Direct offers a Money Back Guarantee. They guarantee your return to your ship, and if you miss it due to your tour's late arrival, they'll cover your transportation to your next port of call, interim accommodation and meals, and give you $1,000 for the trouble.
Agents can help you find the right sailings
Cruise Direct's website is easy to use, but if you want more personalized help, their customer service will take care of you from start to finish of the booking process. One customer said his schedule opened up, so he called asking for help finding a cruise with a departure less than two weeks away. The agent got him all set up, and he recommended her for her patience, expertise, and commitment. We found many reviews like this one.
Exclusive bonuses available
Some deals and bonuses you might see on a Cruise Direct listing include free gratuities, free WiFi, additional guest discounts, onboard credits, Visa gift cards up to $500 (that will be mailed to you after your trip), or, if you're sailing with Disney, a free Walt Disney World Official Autograph Book. The availability of these bonuses will depend on the cruise line and the individual sailing. Always read the fine print on any deals your sailing is eligible for, as there may be time-sensitive forms you need to fill out to redeem them.
Lock in your price, cancel without fees
If you're struggling to decide which cruise booking platform should get your money, you wouldn't be alone. With so many options out there (and with many of them subsidiaries of the same parent companies) it's hard to discern any significant advantages to choosing one over the other. Cruise Direct differentiates itself in a couple of positive ways: they don't charge cancellation fees, and you can put a hold on your price for free. This can be done in the last step of the booking process.
100% Best Price Guarantee
Cruise Direct guarantees you the best price available. If you find the same sailing for cheaper somewhere else and let them know about it within 24 hours of booking, they'll refund you 100% of the difference.
Bonuses save you money where ticket prices are the same
We compared a 3-night repositioning cruise aboard the MSC Preziosa departing from Hamburg, Germany with a port of call in London before arriving in Paris. Cruise Direct listed this sailing for $198 per person (based on two adults sharing an Oceanview stateroom), while it was $199 when booking from MSC. Not much of a deal - however, with Cruise Direct, you'd get bonuses like $99/per person in onboard credits and a 10% discount on shore excursions. You may find even deeper discounts on the base prices of other sailings through Cruise Direct.
Performs well on customer rating sites
Cruise Direct has a near-perfect 4.9-star rating average on Trustpilot from about 1,600 reviews. Their parent company, International Voyager, was given an "A+” by the Better Business Bureau. This is another situation where the majority of positive reviews are about the customer service experience when booking a sailing - not how well they did making good on their promises about bonuses during the sailing - but we aren't too worried about it, given only 1% of reviews are 1-star and the company has followed up with most of them. In many cases, they offer customers refunds for their troubles, which we haven't seen very often from competing cruise booking sites.
Stands out in several ways
Compared to other major booking sites, Cruise Direct stands out significantly. While some competitors charge booking fees (up to $25) and cancellation fees ($100), Cruise Direct charges neither. Unlike other sites that offer bonuses on less than 1% of sailings and have poor customer ratings, Cruise Direct provides extensive perks (free gratuities, WiFi, gift cards) and maintains a 4.9-star rating. Their excursion guarantee with smaller groups (12 vs. industry standard 50 people) and $1,000 missed-ship compensation is unique in this industry. While their base prices may be similar across platforms (as seen in the MSC Preziosa example), Cruise Direct's combination of price matching, bonus perks, free price holds, and stellar customer service makes it a superior choice. Their curated collections and extensive inventory (47,000+ sailings) also surpass other booking platforms' basic interfaces and more limited sailing options.
Earns top recommendation
If you're planning your next cruise vacation, Cruise Direct is your best choice for a hassle-free booking experience with excellent perks. Not only will you get access to 47,000+ sailings with potential bonuses like free gratuities and WiFi, but you'll also benefit from their exceptional customer service and risk-free excursion guarantee - perfect for first-time cruisers who want peace of mind when booking shore activities. With their price match guarantee, no booking fees, and consistently high customer ratings, Cruise Direct offers the most value while eliminating common cruise booking headaches. For all these reasons, they earn our top 5-star rating.
GoToSea operates as a travel agent and can help you book with over 15 cruise lines. They think you should choose them because they don't charge travel agency fees, they offer on board credit, and have Expert Cruise Travel Advisors on staff. At the time of our visit, there were nearly 30,000 sailings listed.
Modern website layout
GoToSea scans the cruise vacations available for booking across the high seas of the web and compiles the best deals on their website for you to browse. You can narrow down the options by destination, departure ports, dates, and cruise lines. You can get even more specific and filter for specific ships from each cruise line. Not sure where to begin? Check out the carousel of Today's Top Deals just below the search bar or the "Last Minute Deals” tab. We found GoToSea's website to be very clean and modern. We especially appreciated the ability to save favorites to a list for later.
Be sure to compare your cruise to buying direct
We compared the price of an 11-night European cruise aboard the Norwegian Dawn when bought through GoToSea versus direct. Norwegian priced an inside cabin at roughly $1,266 USD (converted from euros), or $115/night. GoToSea had a better deal, but just barely: they wanted $1,195 or $109/night for the same cruise and interior cabin.
Bonuses might not be as exciting as they sound
GoToSea's listing for the Norwegian cruise advertised 10% off shore activities, 50% off all guests, and a few other add-on bonuses. Your first thought might be that these automatically make GoToSea's listing a better deal, but you should read the fine print on each one before you get too carried away. For example, the "Premium Open Bar” bonus isn't a free drink package - you're required to pay an additional package fee, and the "bonus” just upgrades the brands you get with it. On the other hand, you might be perfectly happy with your bonus of 10% off excursions through a third-party company, and find that this justifies purchasing through GoToSea instead of direct.
Website isn't as transparent as we'd like
Something we would have liked to see on GoToSea's website is an FAQ with a breakdown of how their deals and bonuses really work. For example, they advertise a "Cyber Sale” where you can get between $25 and $1,000 of onboard credits, which makes it sound like a spin-the-wheel type of situation where only chance stands between you and winning big. However, we've seen this kind of deal from GoToSea's competitors, and the amount of onboard credits you receive scales with the amount you spend on your cruise - usually between 5% and 10% back.
No booking fees, no cancellation fees
While GoToSea proudly advertises that they do not charge booking fees, they don't have a cancellation policy posted on their website - just a lengthy and opaque User Agreement. Luckily, they have a live support chat, and we were able to get ahold of a real person pretty quickly. GoToSea follows the cancellation policy of the cruise line you book with, and does not charge a fee on top.
GoToSea follows the policies of the cruise lines
GoToSea does not offer a loyalty program, but the customer support agent we spoke to told us that they offer extras for repeat guests depending on the sailing and promotion. When we asked about a price match guarantee, we were told it was dependent on the cruise line's policies.
Hard to find detailed customer reviews
GoToSea doesn't have a Trustpilot or Better Business Bureau listing. They have a 4.8-star average on Sitejabber, but we'd take that rating with a grain of salt - the reviews there aren't very detailed, and often no explanation for a 5-star rating is given at all. That makes it hard to evaluate whether they come from real customers. The customer testimonials on their website appear to be pulled from Sitejabber, too.
Earns second place
GoToSea doesn't have a loyalty program, doesn't offer payment plans, and can't guarantee you'll have the best price with them. However, the bonuses they offer are comparable to their competitors, they don't charge cancellation or booking fees, and the browsing experience is enjoyable. It's hard to find customer reviews, but we had a good experience with the agent we spoke to. Our questions were answered frankly and without spin, which makes us think they're trustworthy.
Cruises is a subsidiary of World Travel Holdings. Like their sibling companies in our review, they offer LeisureCare insurance, onboard credit as bonuses, and charge fees to book and cancel. Cruises has been in business since 1998.
Lots of cruise options
Cruises lists nearly 30 commercial and luxury cruise lines and about 11,000 individual sailings. You can start a search based on a particular departure date, cruise length, cruise line, or departure port. Interested in a cheap cruise to Alaska? You can also explore Cruises' options by destination, or check out their last-minute cruise deals.
Bonuses may not be honored
Cruises advertises $50 to $3,000 bonuses "just for booking with [them]” to be spent onboard. The more you spend on your cruise, the higher your bonus will be. You can also choose to receive it in the form of a Visa Prepaid Card. However, when we were reading customer reviews of Cruises, we didn't encounter a single instance where a customer received their bonuses. You'll likely have to purchase onboard extras out of pocket, all while dealing with the disappointment of a broken promise. Some customers have been refunded what they spent after their cruises by harassing Cruises' parent company on their Better Business Bureau page, but that's a hassle no one wants.
Cancellation fees applicable, refunds unlikely
Cruises charges a booking fee of $24.99 and a cancellation fee of $100. Also, this vacation site doesn't seem to have a great track record for refunds. You may never see a dime, or you may get some of your money back but not what you spent on excursions or on optional LeisureCare insurance.
You might spend the same to book direct
We checked out Cruises' last minute cruise deal category and found a 3-night sailing to the Bahamas aboard the Norwegian Jade priced at $353 (per 2 people) for an interior stateroom. Cruises listed two bonuses with this sailing: an "exclusive last-minute bonus” of a maximum $100 reward, and 3rd and 4th guests sailing free. When we looked at the same cruise on Norwegian's website, it was $383 per person: a total difference of $30. Norwegian also offered free 3rd and 4th guests and free cancellation. When you account for Cruises' $24.99 booking fee, you only save $6 by booking through them, and you risk losing $100 if you need to cancel. The takeaway? If you're thinking of booking through Cruises instead of direct, make sure the margin of your savings is wide enough to cover their fees.
No positive reviews about cruising experience
You might be pleased to learn that Cruises has a 4.3-star rating average on Trustpilot, but not so fast. While there were plenty of 5-star reviews, they all dealt with the booking experience itself. Every review we found from customers after they arrived home from their cruises was negative. Issues described included misleading advertisements about the onboard amenities, onboard credits never being received, and agents going back on their word about pricing. One customer lost $16,000 because Cruises assured them that they had all the correct residency documentation required to board the ship, but they were wrong, and the customer was denied boarding in the end.
Slightly higher rating than some of its siblings, otherwise the same
When you compare the World Travel Holdings siblings side-by-side, you'll find they're remarkably similar. Each company charges the same $24.99 booking fee and $100 cancellation fee, offers around 11,000 sailings, and provides LeisureCare insurance options. They all advertise bonuses of $50 to $3,000 in onboard credits, though customer reviews suggest these may not materialize. Cruises has a 4.3-star Trustpilot average rating, the second-best of its siblings. In contrast, our highest-rated cruise booking sites charge no booking or cancellation fees, provide discounted excursions with smaller tour groups, and maintain exceptional customer satisfaction ratings above 4.8 stars with thousands of verified reviews.
Try a higher rated booking site first
Given the high fees, unreliable bonus promises, and concerning post-cruise reviews, we cannot recommend booking through Cruises over most of their competitors. While the initial booking process may seem smooth and their prices slightly lower than booking direct, the potential risks - including fees, undelivered bonuses, and documentation mishaps - will probably outweigh the minimal savings. We suggest exploring our higher-rated cruise booking sites that charge no agency fees and have better customer satisfaction.
Cruises Only is one of a few subsidiaries of World Travel Holdings in this review. They've been in business for nearly 30 years, and at the time of our review, listed over 11,000 cruises.
Easy to browse
When we visited Cruises Only, they listed about 11,300 individual sailings. If the prospect of sifting through these for a good deal feels overwhelming, you'll be glad to know that you can browse their curated categories, like "wallet-friendly cruises” and "last-minute cruises” at the bottom of the landing page. Otherwise, you can dive right in by clicking "View Cruises” under the search bar, then toggle on the filters applicable to the affordable vacation of your dreams.
The same extras as their sibling companies
Like World Travel Holding's other subsidiary travel agencies, Cruises Only offers optional LeisureCare insurance, a Customer Loyalty Club, and a 110% Best Price Guarantee. They offer bonuses like $25 to $3,000 in onboard credits or prepaid Visa cards, drinks and WiFi packages, included gratuities, and free stateroom upgrades. Sadly, if you're after one of these in particular, there's no way to filter for the sailings they apply to.
Fees for booking and canceling
Cruises Only charges a nonrefundable booking fee of $24.99. There's also a $100 fee for cancellations. If you'd rather rebook a cruise for a different date, though, you get to keep the $100. If unexpected fees would break your bank, you should make sure to read the cancellation and refund policies of the cruise line you're sailing with, as they may enforce additional charges or refuse refunds within a certain timeframe.
Not necessarily cheaper - double-check the cruise line's site
We searched Cruises Only and selected a 3-night cruise aboard the MSC Divina with ports of call in Nassau and MSC Cruises' private island, Ocean Cay Marine Reserve. Cruises Only listed sailings starting at $198 for an interior stateroom (per person for a stateroom occupied by 2 adults), including an offer of $50 to be spent on board. When we visited MSC's website, they had hidden the price of their interior staterooms - to get it, you have to call them and risk being railroaded into a purchase you're not sure you want to make. Cruises Only gets points for being upfront about prices, but they may not necessarily be cheaper: both Cruises Only and MSC listed an ocean view stateroom for $268.
Performs about the same as WTH's other subsidiaries
Cruises Only has an "A+” with the Better Business Bureau, but their listing is linked to their parent company, so it becomes impossible to discern whether this subsidiary is rated better than its siblings by their customers. Cruises Only also has no Trustpilot page. We were able to turn up their Google Reviews listing where they have 6,000 reviews and a near-perfect 4.9-star average - but hold your horses: the majority of these deal with the booking process, not the customer's overall satisfaction with Cruises Only's fulfillment of their other duties as a travel agency. When looking at the 1% of reviews that were left with 1-star ratings, we encountered complaints about bonuses never materializing and misleading prices. You'll find the same problems with any of World Travel Holdings' subsidiary cruise booking sites.
Has the best reviews of its sibling companies; otherwise similar
When you compare Cruises Only to its sibling companies under World Travel Holdings, you'll find they're nearly identical in most aspects. All offer around 11,000 cruise options, charge the same fees ($24.99 for booking, $100 for cancellation), and advertise similar bonuses like $50 to $3,000 in onboard credits. The main difference lies in their customer feedback: Cruises Only has a 4.9-star Google rating average (mostly for booking experiences), the highest of its siblings. However, all these companies face similar complaints about undelivered bonuses and misleading prices, which suggests that their shared ownership results in shared shortcomings.
Doesn't stand out
While you'll find slightly more reliable bonus delivery and clearer pricing structures with World Travel Holdings companies compared to the larger corporate travel booking sites in our review, the differences are minimal. When measured against our top-rated independent cruise specialists, Cruises Only seems riskier and less personal. We'd recommend you check out one of our higher-rated choices first, but wouldn't totally write Cruises Only off if you find a really good deal.
Like several cruise vacation booking websites in this review, Cheap Cruises' parent company is World Travel Holdings. At the time of this review, Cheap Cruises offered nearly 5,500 sailings from 10 popular cruise lines.
Website is easy to use
Searching for a cheap cruise is simple. Start by entering your desired vacation destination, then filter by departure date, cruise length, departure port, or cruise line. You can sort your results by price or by Cheap Cruises' recommended options.
Small cash bonuses for booking certain sailings
When you visit Cheap Cruises' website, you'll see pop-up advertisements and banners offering you the chance to "unlock” a $50 to $3,000 bonus if you give them your email address - but don't rush to sign up for spam mail just yet. We read the fine print, so we can tell you that they're referring to their "Double Bonus Offer”, where you can choose between Onboard Spending or a Visa Prepaid Card when you book certain sailings from select cruise lines through their website. If you spent $1,000 on a Norwegian cruise, for example, you unlock a $50 bonus. To reach the upper limit of $3,000 in bonuses, you'd need to spend at least $30,000 on a cruise booked through Cheap Cruises.
Earn loyalty rewards
Cheap Cruises has a loyalty program. Booking 3 vacations through them takes you from Silver to Gold and wins you nice bonuses like $50 vouchers for shore excursions, resorts, and onboard spending. When you reach the Diamond tier after 10 vacations, these vouchers are worth $100.
Price-match guarantee ensures lowest price
In some cases, you may save more by booking directly than through Cheap Cruises. We compared the cost of a 4-night Royal Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas. While Cheap Cruises priced it at $480 ($120 a night), it was only $386 ($96 a night) through Royal Caribbean because they were running a seasonal deal and one for 60% off a second guest. That said, Cheap Cruises has a Best Price Guarantee, and they promise to match any competitor's price on the same cruise (and to give you back 10% of the difference).
Nonrefundable fees for booking and cancellation
Sometimes life gets in the way, and you have to postpone your vacation. It's a tough decision to make, but sometimes you even need to cancel it altogether. Unfortunately, you might be in for further disappointment here when you start the cancellation process: Cheap Cruises charges a $100 cancellation fee per reservation, and you won't get back the $24.99 processing fee you paid to book the cruise in the first place. If the cruise line charges their own cancellation fee, you will be responsible for this as well.
You may be intentionally mislead by agents
Cheap Cruises has a 3.8-star rating average on Trustpilot from under 100 reviews. A discomfiting 26% of these reviews are rated with only 1 star. A common pattern we noticed among these is where customers are given false reassurance when booking over the phone that certain parts of their vacation packages are refundable, only to be told later that "the agent misspoke” and no refund is possible.
Online booking process isn't much better
If you think you can save yourself a headache by booking online instead of through an agent (so you have everything in writing), not so fast. When browsing at Cheap Cruises, you may encounter exciting, time-sensitive deals. As you go through the booking process for these, you'll have the option to lower your price by choosing less expensive accommodations or opting out of certain packages. However, what you might not realize is that these choices may negate the deals that initially drew you in. There may not even be fine print on the page that explains this. It seems the old adage is true for Cheap Cruises: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Not much better or worse than its siblings
When you compare Cheap Cruises to its World Travel Holdings siblings (Vacation Outlet, Cruises, and Cruises Only), you'll won't find much of a difference in their core offerings - most list around 11,000 sailings, have a price guarantee, charge identical booking fees ($24.99) and cancellation fees ($100), and advertise similar bonuses. Cheap Cruises lists fewer sailings, and is in second-to-last place when it comes to customer ratings. All four companies face similar complaints about undelivered bonuses and misleading pricing practices.
Mid-range cruise booking website
In comparison to some major online travel agencies that have dismal customer ratings and unclear policies around fees and refunds, this mid-sized cruise booking site is a bit more transparent and has better perks. However, when compared to our highest-rated booking platforms, it falls short due to its nonrefundable fees, misleading pricing practices, and concerning patterns of customer complaints about denied refunds and unfulfilled bonuses. If you're seeking the most reliable and cost-effective way to book a cruise vacation, we recommend choosing one of our top-rated companies instead of this one.
Vacation Outlet is a subsidiary of World Travel Holdings, along with several other cruise vacation outlets in our review. In its own right, Vacation Outlet has been around since the late 80s. At the time of our visit, they offered just shy of 11,000 individual sailings.
Website is old-fashioned, but gets the job done
Vacation Outlet's website hasn't changed much over the last decade - we checked with the Wayback Machine. But if it ain't broke, why fix it? They might not be the most stylish cruise booking site available, but finding what you're looking for is simple. You can filter your results by destination, cruise length, departure date, cruise line, ship, departure port, and even sailings that offer senior discounts. One thing we appreciated about this website is that listings come with filterable customer reviews of the cruise line.
The best price, guaranteed
Vacation Outlet has a 110% Best Price Guarantee. So if you book through their website and then discover that a competitor offers the same cruise to the general public for cheaper, they will refund you the difference (note: not the whole cost) plus 10% on top as a thank you for choosing Vacation Outlet. Just be aware you only have 48 hours from the time of booking to request this via the online form.
Travel insurance available
When you book your cruise vacation with Vacation Outlet, you have the option to add LeisureCare travel insurance with reimbursement up to the total trip cost for cancellation and interruption. There are also reimbursements for missed connections, illnesses, accidents, emergency evacuation, personal belongings, and bag delay. The cost of your policy will vary depending on your personal circumstances and the cruise you book.
Their agents are vigilant, proactive, and responsive
Vacation Outlet says their travel agents will stay in touch with you throughout the entire process - from booking, to setting sail, to arriving home. They keep up with global events, and if their agents learn of anything that could disrupt your vacation, they'll email or call you immediately. When you get home, they'll reach out for any feedback you might like to share about Vacation Outlet or the cruise line. If you need support at any point, there is someone around to help 24/7, 365 days a year.
Loyalty club earns you vouchers for activities and onboard spending
Just like their sibling cruise vacation websites under World Travel Holdings' umbrella, Vacation Outlet has a loyalty club with Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond tiers. As you ascend the tiers, you'll unlock vouchers for shore excursions, resorts, and onboard spending in amounts of $25 to $100 each. Several cruise booking websites advertise a Double Bonus Offer (where you receive $50 to $3,000 depending on the cost of your cruise in onboard credits or prepaid Visa cards) and Vacation Outlet is no exception.
Booking and cancellation fees
Vacation Outlet is one of a few cruise booking websites in our review that charge both a processing fee ($24.99) and a cancellation fee ($100). The latter can be waived if you book a different cruise over the phone instead of canceling. If they require any advance notice for cancellations, they don't mention it in their policy.
Prices are comparable to buying direct
We compared the price of a 3-night cruise aboard the Disney Wonder from San Diego with a stop in Baja, Mexico. Disney priced a standard inside stateroom at $1,726…while Vacation Outlet priced it at $1,727. Something to keep in mind when you're hunting for deals is that cruise booking sites often display the stateroom cost as split between two adults, while cruise lines may show the total price. This can create the illusion of a better deal. In this case, Vacation Outlet initially appeared cheaper than Disney, listing the price as $973 per person - based loosely on two adults sharing the cost equally.
No customer feedback to be found
World Travel Holdings, Vacation Outlet's parent company, has an "A+” from the Better Business Bureau. We found no complaints for Vacation Outlet here, but that doesn't mean there aren't any. There is no Trustpilot or Sitejabber listing for Vacation Outlet, so unfortunately, there's not much to be said about customer experiences with this cruise booking site.
Doesn't stand out from its sibling companies
When comparing Vacation Outlet to its sibling companies under World Travel Holdings (Cruises, Cruises Only, and Cheap Cruises), they all share remarkably similar features and drawbacks. All four companies offer around 11,000 sailings, LeisureCare insurance options, and loyalty programs with similar rewards ($25 to $100 vouchers). They each advertise bonuses of $50 to $3,000 in onboard credits, charge booking fees of $24.99, and implement $100 cancellation fees. Their prices generally match or come very close to direct booking rates with cruise lines. The main difference appears in customer feedback - Vacation Outlet lacks any substantial customer reviews to differentiate its service quality from its siblings.
Not highly recommended
While Vacation Outlet makes plenty of appealing promises, the lack of customer feedback makes it difficult to verify their reliability. Though you can probably assume their service matches that of their sibling companies under World Travel Holdings, we wouldn't be comfortable with that kind of uncertainty. When you compare their offerings to our top pick - which provides verified excellent service, no booking fees, and extensive perks - Vacation Outlet falls short. With prices matching direct bookings in some cases and only modest onboard credits as incentives, you're better off either booking through our top-rated provider or directly with the cruise line. The potential savings don't justify the added uncertainty in your vacation planning.
Travelocity is part of the Expedia Group and has been in business since 1996. They handle cruise vacation bookings in addition to flights, rental cars, hotel rooms, and other vacation packages.
20 cruise lines, 49,000 sailings
Although cruises aren't Travelocity's primary offering, their search capabilities are still pretty good. You can filter your results by ship, by cruise line (of which there are 20+ options), departure port, price, and cruises eligible for special discounts. At the time of our visit, there were over 49,000 sailings listed on Travelocity. As an aside, we found Travelocity's presentation of their listings to be a bit dull - where other cruise booking sites feature a photo of the ship or a port of call, Travelocity shows you a digital map of the stops on the itinerary. You'll need to click into the listing to see more of the details that will get you excited about your cruise.
Far fewer bonuses on Travelocity-booked sailings than from competitors
One reason to book through a travel agency like Travelocity is for the bonuses they offer that you won't get when booking directly. If that's why you're here, make sure to turn on the "Agency Specials” filter when you search, because unlike other cruise booking sites in our review, less than 1% of Travelocity's listed sailings come with these bonuses.
Go over terms of bonuses with a fine-toothed comb
What are some of these bonuses? Travelocity advertises WiFi packages, dining and drink packages, excursion and onboard credits of $25 or $50, and "agency specials”. Be sure to click on these to read the fine print, though, as it differs by cruise line and type of bonus. For example, if you book a cruise with a dining and beverage package, you're responsible for 20% of the gratuities based on the retail value of that package at the time you booked it.
Cancellation policy determined by cruise lines, no booking fee
Travelocity follows the cancellation policies of the cruise lines they work with. They do not charge booking fees or their own cancellation fees.
May be cheaper to book through Travelocity than direct
We compared a 5-day Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Pearl with stops in Key West, Cozumel, and Great Stirrup Cay. Norwegian priced this cruise at $453 per person for 2 adults occupying an inside stateroom. Travelocity priced it at $402 per person. In this case, Travelocity had the better price. We did notice that the bonuses Travelocity advertised were also available when booked directly.
Doesn't consistently perform travel agent duties
Travelocity has an "A+” from the Better Business Bureau, but a dismal 1.4-star average on Trustpilot from more than 8,600 reviews. One customer complained that a Travelocity agent tried to deceive them when booking over the phone, trying to convince them that the price being $250 higher than advertised by Travelocity was because the cruise line had raised the price while the customer was in the booking process. (The customer checked the cruise line's website, and the price had not changed.) Another customer complained that Travelocity does not fulfill their responsibilities as a travel agent. They claim that their agent dragged their feet on rebooking a delayed flight or issuing a refund for it.
Doesn't work for you the way a travel agency should
Travelocity's deals are less frequent and less unique than competitors, and cruises are not Travelocity's specialty. The main benefits of using a travel agent - having someone work on your behalf rather than the cruise line's - are not fulfilled here. They offer lower onboard credits compared to competitors. While there's potential for savings, Travelocity's poor Trustpilot rating pushes us to recommend you look elsewhere.
Priceline offers online travel agent services for booking hotels, rental cars, flights, experiences, and cruises. They've been operating since 1997 and are a subsidiary of Booking Holdings. At the time of our visit, they listed nearly 11,000 sailings.
Website is user-friendly
Priceline is pretty simple to navigate to find cruises. Although they handle a variety of travel reservations, they have all the functionalities you'd expect to find from a booking site that specializes in cruises, like filtering for specific ships, departure ports, and more. If you get stuck at any point in the process, there's a live chat option that will always connect you to a real person.
Priceline offers sailings that are unavailable by booking direct
We visited Priceline's "Balcony cruise deals” category and found a 12-night luxury cruise of the Panama Canal aboard Holland America's Rotterdam. Priceline listed a balcony room at $1,199 (or $100/night) per person for 2 adults. When we went to compare the price to book directly through Holland America, those sailing dates were not even available. The same itinerary with dates a few weeks later was a few thousand dollars more expensive. So, if you're wondering if you can find good deals through Priceline, the answer is "absolutely.”
Bonuses and onboard credits available
At a glance, most sailings via Priceline are listed with potential bonuses including up to $1,000 in onboard credits, stateroom upgrades, 60% off a second guest, kids sail free, and so on. (It would be nice if you could filter results for those available with specific deals, but it's not a dealbreaker.) The more you spend on your cruise, the more you get back in onboard spending for at-sea luxuries, like spa treatments, alcoholic beverages, and specialty dinners. Most cruise booking sites only start offering these credits on cruises over $1,000, but Priceline starts at $750.
Get refunded 110% of price difference from competitors
Priceline, like several cruise booking sites in this review, offers a 110% Best Price Guarantee: if you find the same cruise for a lower price within 2 days of booking, they'll refund you 100% of the difference plus 10% to sweeten the deal. However, if they lower their own price after you book, they won't necessarily refund you anything, as one chagrined customer found out the hard way.
Fees for booking and canceling
Priceline charges a $24.99 non-refundable booking fee. If you need to cancel your cruise, you'll be on the hook for a cancellation fee of $100. This can be waived if you book another cruise that sets sail within 1 year of your cancellation, but you have to complete your cancellation and new booking over the phone. You'll need to read the cancellation policy of your chosen cruise line to find out how much you'll be refunded and if there are any other applicable fees. (We recommend doing this before you book your cruise - no one likes that kind of surprise.)
Customer reviews can be misleading
Priceline has earned an "A-” from the BBB and an "average” 2.8-star rating on Trustpilot, but the actual rating with the latter is probably lower: we encountered quite a few 5-star reviews that were about the hotels customers stayed at, not about how Priceline performed their services. (Also, Priceline has paid for falsely positive PR in the past - they were confirmed clients of a company that used sock puppet accounts to edit Wikipedia articles to make businesses look better than they deserved.)
Past customers don't trust Priceline
There weren't very many reviews on Trustpilot from customers who had booked cruises through Priceline, but those we did find were negative. One customer was unhappy about having spent $3k on a cruise and only receiving $50 in onboard credits. Another customer booked their vacation package direct, but the cruise line or other agency used Priceline as a third party to book their hotels before their cruise. Priceline booked the hotels for the wrong date (by a lot), and instead of making it right by eating the cost, they kept the customer's money - even after the customer spent four hours on the phone with Priceline. That's the kind of mistake you'd fire your travel agent for.
Can't recommend highly
Priceline is a mixed bag when it comes to cruise bookings. Their website is easy to use and they offer deals you may not find elsewhere, and you can earn onboard credits with less spending than other booking sites require. However, these benefits are overshadowed by booking fees, strict cancellation policies, and numerous customer complaints about poor service. When compared to dedicated cruise booking sites, Priceline falls short in specialized features, reliable customer support, and trustworthiness.
Orbitz has been operating since 2001 and is a sibling company of Expedia, another travel booking service in our review. At the time of our visit, they were listing over 51,000 sailings from 25 cruise lines.
Listings could be more exciting
Searching for cruises on Orbitz is comparable to most of the cruise booking sites in our review. Your initial search will require you to enter a minimum and maximum duration, but you can reset that filter on the next page, and add other filters like cruise line, specific ship, and sailings with special deals. Each listing's first display image is a virtual map of the stops on the itinerary. If you want to see what the ship's exterior looks like, you can click to the next image in the carousel. There are more pictures of the ship's interior available when you click into the listing, but we would have liked to see some of the ports as well. It's easier to get excited about spending hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on a vacation when you can visualize being there.
No convenient curation
One omission from Orbitz's website, which we appreciate in their competitors, is the inclusion of curated categories like "last-minute deals" or "popular destinations" for cruises. On Orbitz, you're left to your own devices, and you'll have to rely solely on filters to find cruises that match your criteria.
Bonuses available on select sailings
Some "Agency Specials” you might encounter here when you enable that filter are onboard credits, shore excursion credits, drink, dining, and WiFi packages, and pre-paid gratuities. (If you're a first-time cruiser, you may not know that gratuities are often-mandatory charges added to your bill to fairly compensate the ship's staff for their service. They typically cover housekeeping, dining, and other onboard service personnel. Gratuities are typically an additional 15%-20% of your bill.)
Orbitz is cagey about fees and policies, and AI support chat is unhelpful
You can find the cancellation policies of individual cruise lines within their listings on Orbitz. If Orbitz charges their own cancellation or booking fees on top of what they cruise lines do, they aren't open about it. Orbitz manages so many other kinds of bookings that it's impossible to sift through all of their policies to find what applies to a cruise vacation. We tried using their Virtual Agent chat to get clarification on these matters, but the bot only prompted us to sign in or enter booking details we didn't have. Other cruise vacation sites in this review connect you with a real person immediately.
Possibility for small savings compared to booking direct
We compared a 4-night sailing out of Galveston, Texas with a stop in Cozumel, Mexico aboard Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas. Orbitz priced this cruise at $527 per adult for 2 adults, and offered 60% off the second guest (though they don't clarify if that discount has already been applied in the rate they display) and a $50 onboard credit. On Royal Caribbean's website, we found the same cruise for $558 with the same 60% off bonus. If Orbitz actually honors the onboard credit, you'd save about $81 in total by booking through them. (Just remember there may be booking and cancellation fees they're not upfront about that could negate any savings.)
Abysmal ratings on third-party review platforms
Virtually nobody likes Orbitz, as evidenced by their "bad” 1.8-star rating average on Trustpilot and their "C-” grade from the Better Business Bureau. The majority of reviews we found on the former platform were from customers who had used this travel agency service to book flights, rental cars, and hotels, but one thing is clear: Orbitz will let you down when you need them most. If you choose to use this service, you'll be in for unexpected fees, poor customer service, and you can say goodbye to any money you've given them - they don't refund their customers even when Orbitz is at fault.
Too risky to recommend
When you use Orbitz for cruise booking, you'll get access to a large selection of sailings and potential savings through Agency Specials, but their website lacks curated collections and inspiring visuals that could make planning more enjoyable. While their search functionality is standard and they offer some onboard perks, their lack of transparency about fees and poor customer service (evidenced by terrible third-party reviews) make them a risky choice. You might save a small amount compared to booking directly with cruise lines, but the potential headaches and hidden fees aren't worth the minimal savings. Our recommendation: skip Orbitz and book directly through cruise lines or use a more reputable travel agency that specializes in cruises.
Expedia is an online travel agency that handles reservations of hotels, rental cars, plane tickets, and cruises. They're a sibling company of Orbitz and Travelocity, and their site listed nearly 30,000 sailings at the time of our review.
You'll have to look for deals yourself
Unlike their sibling company, Expedia's landing page for booking cruises displays curated collections of popular destinations, ports, and cruise lines. However, they don't give you much of a jumping-off point to find last minute deals - something plenty of their competitors do. You'll have to start a search and use the sorting and filtering tools to hunt for these yourself.
Bonuses available, but hard to keep
When you use the "Agency Specials” filter, you'll see cruises with offers like $25 in onboard credit, $50 towards a shore excursion, drink & dining packages, and more. While these sound like a great reason to book through Expedia instead of direct, you'll need to be vigilant about reading the terms and conditions of each deal to make sure you don't accidentally make yourself ineligible for them by changing something about your booking.
Unclear policies and no help from chatbot
The cancellation, gratuities, minor accompaniment, and other policies of the cruise line you're thinking of booking with can be found by clicking into the sailing's listing. Expedia doesn't say whether or not they charge booking fees or cancellation fees. When we asked their AI chatbot any basic question, we were told we had to create an account first - the same issue Expedia's sister company, Orbitz, has.
Booking with Expedia was cheaper in one instance
We looked at a 4-night cruise to the Bahamas with a stop in Key West aboard Celebrity's Summit. Expedia listed this cruise at $315 per person for an interior room with a $50 onboard credit. They claimed that booking through them would save you $137.50 per guest. When we checked out the same itinerary and dates on Celebrity's website, their price was $126 higher.
Even worse ratings than their sibling company
Expedia has a staggeringly disappointing 1.2-star rating average from over 9,000 customer reviews on Trustpilot. What did we learn from these? It's nearly impossible to get in touch with Expedia when you need a refund, and if you do manage to get one, it won't include everything you paid for. You may end up in frustrating back-and-forths between Expedia and the cruise line about who is able to rebook your excursions in the event of a postponed cruise. You won't get your onboard credits unless you find and submit a particular survey before an arbitrary deadline, which Expedia will not tell you anything about. Overall, Expedia gets terrible marks for customer service.
Better choices available
Expedia's cruise booking service could offer you some potential savings compared to booking directly with cruise lines (showing savings up to $126 in one case), along with good search tools and occasional onboard credits. However, you shouldn't ignore the drawbacks - for example, a very low 1.2-star average on Trustpilot, poor customer service, unclear fee policies, and difficulties with refunds. When compared to competitors, Expedia falls short. Some rival platforms offer better perks and are transparent about agency fees, with much higher customer satisfaction rating averages of up to 4.9 stars. Though Expedia might save you money upfront, their poor service record and complicated bonus terms make them a riskier choice for booking cruise vacations.
Some sites focus only on cruise bookings and offer specialized knowledge, perks like onboard credits and included gratuities, and great customer service. Other cruise vacation sites may seem to have lower prices but charge booking and cancellation fees and offer less specialized help. General travel agency sites may include cruise bookings as part of their services, but they may offer fewer perks and don't handle cruise-specific concerns as well as the specialists can.
Some cruise booking services charge booking fees, cancellation fees, or both - sometimes in addition to the cruise line's fees. Look for a booking site that is transparent about their cancellation, refund, and booking policies - and in writing.
When you shop for cruises online, there are several important factors to consider before making a booking. Here's a quick overview to help you navigate your options:
Top Consumer Reviews has evaluated and ranked the best cruise vacation booking sites available. We hope this review helps you find the best service for your cruise adventure. Bon voyage!
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