Cruises Only Review: Cruise Vacation Sites

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.

On the Cruises Only website