GoToSea Review: Cruise Vacation Sites

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.

On the GoToSea website