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Since we retired, we've taken at least two dozen cruises. At first, in the early 90s, and just before the internet explosion of on-line travel websites, we booked several with a neighborhood travel agency. The results were mixed, and reflecting back on the process, we didn't get particularly efficient service from the agency. There were mistakes, bad choices made without consulting us, and in one case, a missed flight and cruise sailing that any competent agency employee could have prevented.

When the online travel people started advertising, and we first went on the internet, it was like roaming through a candy store where everything is free. Through the next several years, we booked travel and cruises through a couple of the "name" online agencies. The results were often too similar to what we had with the neighborhood bricks'n'mortar agency. Some hotels refused to accept the prices of rooms we thought we had, usually with lame excuses like overbooking or they never got the reservation in the first place. Cruise cabins were on a lower deck than we had requested, and there were annoying disputes about overall cruise prices we thought we had been guaranteed. It wasn't horrible, but there were too many little glitches that made our cruise less enjoyable.

For the past three years and for five cruises, we have booked them directly with the cruise lines. Some were package deals that included air and pre-cruise hotels, which made for one-stop shopping. We found that the prices were at least comparable to those of any kind of travel agency, online or not. In some cases, the prices were much lower, because ... and here's a good tip ... we booked with the cruise line less than two weeks before sailing time.

We're retired, so we have the luxury of picking up and going at a moment's notice. From now on, because of the knowledge we've gained, we are operating our own online cruise agency, and offer the best and least expensive cruises to our best customers ... ourselves!

Learn more about this author, Ted Sherman.
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