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Yes I have. I also would not publicly recommend ANY agency over another as that is unfair to all those other agencies that I don't know that are just as good. I will say that I would have no problem booking through them again though.
Jim
Over the years I've used a TA and I also booked through the cruise . I like booking myself because as the sailing date approaches the cruise line will drop the price in the event all the cabins are not sold so sometimes you can get a great deal. This was the case a few days ago I got a up grade from a 1A to a 8B for the price of the 1a.
I have used Best Price Cruises and where they don't come close to some of the other TA's I've used in service, I went on my cruise, had a good time and they didn't cheat me in any way. I got the cabin I paid for on the ship I wanted.
They need a lesson in Customer Service IMHO but if the price is right and you know what you want, go for it. Sometimes the lowest price is not always the answer but if you can't afford more, than the lowest price will get you on a ship. Just don't expect them to hold your hand and guide you along the way.
I'll follow Jim's advice and not recommend any particular agency and/or travel agent, however, I will echo Tweety's comment about customer service.
They need a lesson in customer contact and customer assistance during the process but if they give you a good price and you don't have major questions or need too much help after you're booked, go for it!
Seems like I may have gotten assigned a good agent on my booking there. <G> Like I said, I can only go on my personal experiance and the particuliar agent I got. What I base my business on now is who has what I want at the price I am willing to pay and service level I want. That changes all the time and not only depends on the agency but which agent I happen to get.
Jim
We've used Best Price for a number of our CruiseMates Group Cruises. They handled our largest one a couple of years ago, 480 people, and the entire thing went very smoothly considering the size.
This last one, on Legend, there was a delay in getting out the documents, but it really wasn't related to what they did, just a glitch in cruise policy relating to groups.
That said, I'm sure the service level one gets is definately determined by the agent you happen to deal with. I'm sure this likely holds true at any of the larger agencies.
All businesses strive for consistency, but are dependant on their staff to deliver it. Not much different than dealing with different sales people in retail store, or a garage, or even in my bar.... some of my wait staff are better than others. Do I like it?? NO! The fact of life is it's sometime difficult hiring great staff.
Especially when you dont pay them.
My suggestion, if you're planning to deal with Best Price or any of the large agencies, try and get a recommendation for a particular agent who people have been happy with.
Best Price Cruises. Here is on example. I finally got my money they owed me. So now I can talk. I just received this week Feb. 12th. my coupon rebate from a booking made in Sept. Sailed the 13th. of Jan. so it has been 1 month since I sailed. Not only did I get just 80% of my coupon but i got it one month after my cruise. This should have come off the top to begin with. Then they keep 20% of your coupon from the cruise line which was a voucher for overcharge of port charges. This is one of many troubles. Starting from the day of booking. But its not the time or place to bash them one sided. Just beware. The people there are very unfriendly and they act like they are doing you a favor! I received my insurance documents in my mail while I was on the ship. Maybe I should have called but I thought maybe I would get them with my documents. Well They did not come in time either as I made the arrangement to pick them up at the pier. I must say that they do return your call after you spend 20 minutes going through voice mails and leaving messages. I would think that there are good people working there. The person I had was terrible. I will not take another chance with them.
I have mixed feeling about this company. In the end, I think I'm starting to come around. I totoally agree with susancruzs above. They may not have the best customer assistance, btu they do have pretty good prices. It seems like if you're a seasoned cruiser and don't have many questions, they'd work out well. But if you're the type that need to have a lot of a questions answered, it might get frustrating. I started my upcoming cruise booking with Carnival and then transferred it over to Best Price Cruises. Kinda the best from both worlds. Once I transferred my booking over to BPC, I got the price discount, plus I can still call Carnival and they help out tremendously as well.
My agent at Best Price Cruises, Helen, did work with Carnival today and a 6 category upgrade when we found out the price of our cruise dropped. Our agent was very helpful and I would probbaly work with them again. It seems to be hit or miss though.
For info....I checked our Apr 20th Millie sailing price at Best Price. I booked the cruise through Celebrity Captains Club a few months ago. I see no difference in what I am paying. Plus, I have NEVER had a problem dealing directly with Celebrity. They have always been very helpful and when the cruise price went down (twice on Millie), I was given the difference with absolutely no problems or time consuming calls. Just because someone says "we have the best prices" does'nt necessarily make it true. Research Research Research.<G>. I am not advocating booking your own cruises......but it has worked out great for us. We have never gotten the "song and dance" of sorry the final payment has been made so we can't give you the cheaper price. I do recommend that you join the C Club. It is well worth the fee (waived if you book future cruise on ship). It has saved us a LOT of money on our Celebrity cruises.
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