Why you should book with My Vacation Lady - part 2

These days, everyone is looking for a good price when it comes to their vacation but many times, vacation deals you may see online are not equal and this adds to more confusion and frustration.

A couple of days ago, I took a call from a client who is a first time cruiser. They wanted to try cruising, didn't know anything about the types of cabins, ships or itineraries. We spoke quite a few times and I gave her some options and rough pricing for a couple of different ships and cabins. They ended up booking a balcony cabin on an 8 night cruise out of Baltimore that will hold 4 guests with 2 lower beds, 1 sofa bed and 1 upper berth. The cabin, including taxes and fees, was a good deal less than a similar sailing from NYC and in addition, it came with a $240 on board credit. They liked the price, the ship and the cabin and paid in full yesterday.

I purchased insurance for them at a much lower rate than the cruise line, sent them my first time cruiser's guide, info on each port of call they are visiting, info on the dress code and directions to the cruise pier. They were happy and all was set.

Today, the same client called to tell me that her sister recommended an online website to book the cruise and the price was over $300 less. When I asked what category of cabin they were advertising, all she could tell me was that it was a balcony cabin. I went on the website- one that I never heard of before and saw that yes, they were advertising a balcony guarantee cabin for less money. The category of cabin that they were listing was a BL (in Carnival language- a balcony anywhere on the ship). What my client purchased was a category 8E (6 categories higher).

I tried to explain to this first time cruiser that with a balcony guarantee, you won't necessarily know your cabin # until the day you board, and you won't necessarily know the bedding in the cabin until the same time. Carnival uses roll away beds in some cabins and the cabin that these clients might have gotten on a guarantee basis could have had the 2 lower bed, a sofa bed and a roll away which leaves virtually no room on the floor to walk when that roll away is being used. Since the roll away stores under one of the beds, it also means less room to store your luggage in the cabin. These are the things that the online website doesn't tell you.

Yes, the price looked better but you are not comparing apples to apples. An assigned cabin is a better bet when you want to be sure of the type of bedding, location or category. Can you save a few dollars on a cabin guarantee? Yes, but do you want to chance spending 8 nites in a cabin that is cramped with limited floor space?

When you balance out the on board credit that came with the cabin that I booked for them with the price of the balcony guarantee from the online agency, the difference was less than $10 per day.

With all the deals being emailed to consumers, it can be confusing. We, at My Vacation Lady, will help you sort through the maze of price codes and promotions and help you decide on what will be best for your vacation. If you qualify for promotions, we will be able to get them applied. We provide VALUE plus personalized service- a hard combination to find with the online agencies. We don't charge you to answer questions (yes, some online discounters charge every time you call them) and if we don't know the answer, we will find it for you. You will have some one looking out for your best interests from the minute you begin the planning process until you return home.

Before you jump to book a "special" from an online agency, give us a call to see if you are truly getting the deal you think you are.