Cruises = CruCon Cruise Outlet.

[riverdees05]

We are looking to take a cruise package with CruCon Cruise Outlet. Has anyone used them and if so, what was your experiences? Is there an agent there that you would recommend?

 

[Art4th]

We booked a cruise with them last year. It was a deal we found on Travel Zoo. Having never used them (or any online cruise company) before we were a bit hesitant, but everything went smoothly. We had no problems whatsoever and I wouldn't hesitate to book with them again.

 

[Passepartout]

We take 2-3 cruises a year and use them almost exclusively. Nice thing, if they have above a certain number of people on the cruise, they will have a representative aboard. We have used Judy L. who was particularly effective for us in dealing with a dining scheduling kerfuffle on a Celebrity cruise.

They also have a loyalty program that offers trinkets and discounts (small, but it's the thought that counts).

Added: Then after you settle on a cruise, go to www.cruisecritic.com get on the boards for information about specific ships, ports and cruises. It's sort of the TUG of cruises.
Some more added: Cruisecritic board members get special 'sail away' parties with ship officers, drinks, and best of all get to meet internet-savvy fellow cruisers before they get on board. Often people will arrange shore excursions at waaay less cost than the cruiseline sells them for.

We are going on a Transatlantic next month, and T-shirts, slot pull parties, trivia teams, card parties, group dinners in specialty restaurants are planned. Hotel recommendations in Europe have been suggested, as well as a lot of ship-specific info, like preferential cabins, available discounts and who's cabin is where onboard if you want to share that info with fellow cruisers. Not unlike the Cruising TUGgers bunch- just more of 'em.


Jim

 

[Fern Modena]

Crucon is fine if you don't have any "special needs." If you do, they aren't the agency that you should use. I had several problems with a booking I used them for. First, they were suppose to mark my cabin "no upgrade," and then they did not. Second, I was doing a back to back on two separate bookings, and asked them to link them. I asked them twice. They never did this, and I had problems getting "intransit passes" on the cruise. I didn't get them until the last morning, which made me nervous, to say the least.

I won't use them again.

If you are special needs, you can't do better than Vacations to Go, believe it or not. They do a lot of special needs bookings, and most of their agents are trained to do them. Once you have an agent you like, you can stick with them, because they send you an email with their extension and work hours.

That's just my experience, and since I require a human booking with special needs, they are the best for me. If you use Crucon, they are ok if you don't need anything special; if you do, make sure you and they are on the same page.

Fern

 

[markbernstein]

We booked a cruise through CruCon a few months ago, sailing in October. Everything went smoothly. In addition, after looking at how prices have dropped, I called them this week to see about upgrading from an outside cabin to a balcony, and the person I spoke to was very helpful.

 

[pedro47]

We booked a cruise with them last year. It was a deal we found on Travel Zoo. Having never used them (or any online cruise company) before we were a bit hesitant, but everything went smoothly. We had no problems whatsoever and I wouldn't hesitate to book with them again.

Thanks for the information.

 

[tompalm]

We just finished our fifth cruise and have been with five different companies. We like Princess the best and have been using Vacations to Go. They have a 90 day listing that provides last minute good deals. Also, the service was excellent.

 

[markbernstein]

If you look back at my previous comment from September 10th, I was a little ambiguous. I did call and ask about an upgrade back then, and decided, after getting the information, that I should wait to see if the cost would come down.

Two days ago, I looked again at prices for the cruise we're taking, and found that they'd come down further. This time, I emailed our assigned customer service rep to ask what an upgrade to a balcony would cost. Today, I got an email from her confirming our *free* upgrade to a balcony cabin right in the middle of the ship. Right now, I'd say I'm happy with Crucon.

 

[beejaybee]

If you look back at my previous comment from September 10th, I was a little ambiguous. I did call and ask about an upgrade back then, and decided, after getting the information, that I should wait to see if the cost would come down.

Two days ago, I looked again at prices for the cruise we're taking, and found that they'd come down further. This time, I emailed our assigned customer service rep to ask what an upgrade to a balcony would cost. Today, I got an email from her confirming our *free* upgrade to a balcony cabin right in the middle of the ship. Right now, I'd say I'm happy with Crucon.

Does Crucon charge to change a booking? Costco does for $25/change so if cabin prices drop there's a fee with them. But their OBC is pretty generous for Celeb (which doesn't discount from what I know)- how about Crucon's OBCs?

 

[markbernstein]

Does Crucon charge to change a booking? Costco does for $25/change so if cabin prices drop there's a fee with them. But their OBC is pretty generous for Celeb (which doesn't discount from what I know)- how about Crucon's OBCs?

Nope, no charge this time. And our original deal included $150 per cabin in OBC, which stayed with us through the upgrade.

 

[markbernstein]

Oh, and our cruise is on NCL, not Celeb.