How Travel Agents Get You the Best Cruise Deals

A cruise is the ideal dream vacation: International travel, fine dining, entertainment, and a plethora of shore excursions in an all-inclusive package that’s a lot cheaper than any other form of vacationing.

More and more people are getting in on the secret, too. Millennials are cruising in record numbers.

And guess what? They’ve figured out that using a cruise travel agent is the best way to book a cruise.

Across the board, people who’ve planned a cruise with a travel agent say their overall vacation experience was better than past cruises they booked on their own.

A cruise travel agent can get you the best deals on cruises with access to industry-only promotions, so you can save money on your dream vacation. And believe it or not, working with a cruise travel agent won’t cost you a penny.

Plus, a cruise travel agent will do all the work for you, from researching the best cruise line and specific ship for your travel style to booking every part of your itinerary, so you can lean back and start daydreaming of sunshine, relaxation, and adventure.

Put simply, the reason to use a cruise travel agent is you get a better trip that’s designed just for you by someone who knows the industry like the back of their hand, and it won’t cost you any more than if you booked it on your own. You’ll save time, energy, and money.

Let’s dive in for a closer look at the 6 best reasons why you should use a travel agent when booking your next cruise.

1. It Won’t Cost You a Dime

 

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You might assume that hiring a travel agent your vacation will cost you money. But cruise travel agencies like CloudBlue Travel flip that rationale on its head. We don’t charge you for our services — the cruise lines pay us when we bring them new customers.

Not only is working with a cruise travel agency free to you, but it can actually save money.

Because we bring the cruise lines so many guests, we have access to group pricing and special rates that allow us to book you competitively-priced trips, while also using our intimate knowledge of all the cruise options out there to customize a trip that’s just your style (more on that later).

The savings we offer can sometimes extend to other aspects of your vacation, too — hotel rooms, tours, and more. Any time we can access a group rate or industry-only promotion for our customers, we do.

That should be enough of a reason to make the move to a cruise travel agent. But if you need more convincing, keep reading. It gets even better.

2. Access to Special Promotions and Amenities

As travel agents, our full-time job is working with cruise lines to curate the best possible vacations for each of our guests.

We’re communicating with representatives from those cruise companies on a daily basis, getting the inside information on industry-only pricing and special promotions and amenities.

 

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That means we can get you access to extra amenities like spa treatments, free Wi-Fi, cabin upgrades, credits towards future cruises, bottles of wine, and more — at no additional cost to you.

3. Assistance with Complex Travel

 

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Unless you happen to be lucky enough to live in your cruise’s departure port, you’ll likely need to fly there. Flying means shuttles to and from the airport, booking hotels at your port of call, plus taxis or rental cars to get to the boat.

Besides the added complications, flying presents an opportunity to extend your vacation with what we call “complex travel”. Don’t worry, these trips are only complex for us to plan — and easy for you to enjoy.

Imagine you’re taking a cruise that departs from and returns to New Orleans. Complex travel means you can take advantage of the trip to experience The Big Easy and the surrounding region, before or after your cruise.

Dying to take a Ghost and Vampire Tour in the French Quarter? Planning these adventures isn’t scary for us.

Want to hear the Preservation Hall Jazz Band perform in person after trying the beignets at Cafe Du Monde? Piece of cake.

At CloudBlue Travel, we don’t just book your cruise and say, “Bon Voyage!” We’ll plan every aspect of your cruise-centric vacation, including complex travel before and after your time at sea. We can take care of booking tours, dinner reservations, hotels, rental cars, and more.

4. Experience to Help You Choose the Right Cruise

Booking a cruise isn’t difficult, but booking the best one to suit your personal travel style? That’s another story.

When you set out trying to book a cruise for yourself, how are you supposed to know which is the right one for you? Especially if you’ve never even been on a cruise before?

You can’t go wrong on any cruise you choose, but everyone has their own tastes and priorities when it comes to vacationing.

Not only is each cruise line unique, but there are many differences between each ship in any given fleet. Dining options, wine lists, onboard entertainment, shore excursions, and more vary from line to line and ship to ship.

Some cruises are more family-centric, others are better for romantic getaways. There are even cruises dedicated to singles and LGBTQ+ travelers.

If you find the perfect cruise line and ship for your travel style, there’s still the issue of choosing your cabin. Your cruise experience is totally dependent on where in the ship your cabin is situated.

Certain areas of a ship are likely to be quieter, while others will be better if seasickness is something that concerns you. Plus, some cabins have seaward facing private balconies and some are full suites with a dining table and private bar.

Each type of cabin comes at different pricing, but whatever your preference, CloudBlue can help you find the right cruise line, ship, and cabin at the best price possible.

5. Help with Special Arrangements and Needs

If you’re planning a wedding, reunion, or special event aboard a cruise, a travel agent can help with all the arrangements and unique challenges presented by events at sea.

And if you have any special medical needs or a disability, like needing to travel with a wheelchair, an oxygen tank, or particular medication, we can make sure you’ll be taken care of during your trip.

The same goes for dietary needs. We’ll make sure you’re traveling on a ship with the dining options that best suit your dietary restrictions, and will coordinate with the cruise line to inform their staff of your dietary restrictions or allergies including being gluten-free, lactose intolerant, vegan, or vegetarian.

6. Working with a Cruise Agent Saves You Time and Energy

Booking the perfect cruise vacation takes time and energy. Doing it on your own will take hours when you add up everything that goes into planning a trip like this.

Just a few of the things you’ll have to do if you decide to book a trip on your own include:
• Researching all your options
• Trying to find the best prices
• Choosing the right cruise line, ship, and cabin
• Deciding on upgrades and shore excursions
• Planning your pre- and post-cruise travel

When you contact CloudBlue, we save you a boatload of time, stress, and of course, money.

Cruising is our passion. CloudBlue founders Jon and Deb Kleppe personally went on over 30 cruises and explored every nook and cranny of dozens of ports of call before starting this travel agency — and they continue to be avid cruisers to this day. So you know you’re in experienced hands when you work with us.

This is your dream vacation. Do you really want to book it with the click of a button, or do you want to know that you’re getting your perfect vacation at the best price possible?

If you’re ready to get the best cruise travel deals for your next dream vacation, you’ve come to the right place. Tell us about your ideal cruise vacation and we’ll start handcrafting it today. Get started today »


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