How do you book?

tcnoble

So as we get closer to being able to book our honeymoon for 2015, I'm left with the debate about where/who to book through. For family vacations in the past we have always done it through a company like Apple Vacations or Fun Jet. The one major flaw we have found with this is that while on vacation, you are told to meet up with the representative at a certain desk at a certain time... and they are rarely there! One of us was always leaving the beach to go wait on a rep that never showed up. This wasn't a fun way to spend our vacation. BUT we do like that it airfare, hotel, transfers, insurance are all bundled together. 

I've never booked a trip through each carrier - airfare direct through the airline, and hotel direct through the hotel. Have any of you done this?

The cost using either option isn't an issue - merely just two options to consider.

FWIW we are looking at booking the Iberostar Grand in Punta Cana.

cosenti7

My FI and I took a trip to the Majestic Elegance in Punta Cana last year when we got engaged and we booked it through cheapcarribean.com . This site allowed us to bundle airfare, resort, book transfers and add trip insurance easily! The representatives are helpful and we only had to check in once with the front desk rep to get our information about our return trip transfer. It sounds like its a similar method to Apple Vacations/Fun Jet but less annoying!

Maggie0829

Whenever H and I book trips we always have booked them separate.  For our HM we went to Key West and Miami Beach.  I found a hotel that we both loved and booked that.  Then I booked our flights through Jet Blue (since Southwest doesn't fly to Miami) and then I booked our rental car through, I believe, Hertz.  Was pretty simple and easy.

Have you considered a travel agent?  They could be helpful in booking everything if you didn't want to do it yourself or use the companies you have in the past.

MayDay513

I just use Hotwire to book most of my trips. For Honeymoon we booked through sandals website. For our trip to Hawaii this year we are actually just doing flights and hotel separately.

Jells2dot0

cosenti7 said:

My FI and I took a trip to the Majestic Elegance in Punta Cana last year when we got engaged and we booked it through cheapcarribean.com . This site allowed us to bundle airfare, resort, book transfers and add trip insurance easily! The representatives are helpful and we only had to check in once with the front desk rep to get our information about our return trip transfer. It sounds like its a similar method to Apple Vacations/Fun Jet but less annoying!

Apple owns Cheap Caribbean, so you'll get the same service as Apple, if not less, because Cheap Caribbean is known to be more of a discount site.

I recommend booking with a travel agent. Travel agents can use Apple to book trips for their clients, can usually get the same price or better, plus possibly some additional upgrades and amenities, AND you have an advocate if something goes wrong.

edit- removed double quote

CMGragain

Apple, Cheap Caribbean.com, VacationstoGo, Expedia, Travelocity, etc. are all travel agencies.
What, you didn't know that?  Read the fine print.
You might as well get a local travel agent to book it for you.  You can talk directly to them, and if something goes wrong, they are there as an advocate to help you with the problem.  There should be no cost to you.  They are paid by the resort.

emmyg65

Once, I booked a vacation package through Air France Holidays (now Delta Vacations, I think), but otherwise, I always book each thing individually. But I love planning trips and finding great deals, so it's not a hassle for me. 

cruffino

I travel a lot and always book everything separate. I like to book with the actual company I'm using, not a 3rd party.

CMGragain

cruffino said:

I travel a lot and always book everything separate. I like to book with the actual company I'm using, not a 3rd party.

The above works well with hotels and air travel, but not with cruises.  Until a few years ago, cruises did not book passengers themselves, but only accepted bookings from travel agents.  Then they decided to get in on the $$, so they will book you directly, but you won't save any money or get any extra services from them.  If something goes wrong and you need an advocate, you won't have one.
If you are looking at a cruise or an all-inclusive resort, I would book with a travel agent.  Mine has saved me lots of money, and gone to bat for me when the cruise line got greedy.  (Shame on you, Princess Cruises!)

JennyColada

Until I came to TK, I wasn't aware that people still used travel agents (well, physical travel agents at least).

I've always just booked directly myself. If a problem arises, I feel confident that between my American Express card (used for bookings) and the fact that I'm staying at reputable places will solve any potential issues.

delujm0

Normally, i book everything myself separately.  I have done this for trips to Hawaii, twice to Asia, three times to Europe, several times to the Caribbean, and all over the US.  I love to research the locations ahead of time, determine the best areas to stay in and what activities i want to do, and go from there.

 

However, for my honeymoon in South Africa/Mauritius, i very quickly realized that the air portion of the trip was going to be complicated, and that some of the hotels weren't as well-represented online as ones in Europe or parts of Asia are.  Also, due to wedding planning, I didn't have as much time as I normally do to advance plan the trip.  For that reason, I found a travel agent who specializes in travel to Southern Africa and booked through her.  She was able to get us some great hotel deals and put our air travel together in the best possible way.  She also booked our rental cars, and suggested activities for us to do in each location.  We didn't book excursions through her because we plan to explore on our own (which is why we got the rental cars).  But she would have been able to do that as well.  She also provided our trip insurance.  And if anything goes wrong, we can go to her or one of her partners in the countries that we are visiting for assistance.

 

If you are really super into researching and planning your trip on your own, and it shouldn't be too complicated, you can easily do that.  But depending on the complexity of the trip, that could take a lot of time.  You might be better off finding an agent that specializes in the area you are planning to visit, and having him/her do your booking.

Jells2dot0

Jennycolada said:

Until I came to TK, I wasn't aware that people still used travel agents (well, physical travel agents at least). I've always just booked directly myself. If a problem arises, I feel confident that between my American Express card (used for bookings) and the fact that I'm staying at reputable places will solve any potential issues.

I think there are definitely times when using a travel agent is just not necessary. Examples: booking flights only, booking domestic trips to Las Vegas or Florida, or booking primarily using your FF miles or hotel points. I also think if you're a very confident travel, using an agent may not make sense. There are A LOT of people who have rarely traveled and just don't feel confident in planning and in their decisions. There are also people who book a lot on their own, but decide to step out of their normal patterns and go somewhere exotic. Those two scenarios, IMHO, call for the assistance of an expert. And when I say expert, I don't just mean any old travel agent like you can find by calling Costco or by heading to your local agent who only handles Sandals.

delujm0

Jells2dot0 said:

Jennycolada said:

Until I came to TK, I wasn't aware that people still used travel agents (well, physical travel agents at least). I've always just booked directly myself. If a problem arises, I feel confident that between my American Express card (used for bookings) and the fact that I'm staying at reputable places will solve any potential issues.

I think there are definitely times when using a travel agent is just not necessary. Examples: booking flights only, booking domestic trips to Las Vegas or Florida, or booking primarily using your FF miles or hotel points. I also think if you're a very confident travel, using an agent may not make sense. There are A LOT of people who have rarely traveled and just don't feel confident in planning and in their decisions. There are also people who book a lot on their own, but decide to step out of their normal patterns and go somewhere exotic. Those two scenarios, IMHO, call for the assistance of an expert. And when I say expert, I don't just mean any old travel agent like you can find by calling Costco or by heading to your local agent who only handles Sandals.

THIS.  You really need to research to find a good agent if you're going to use one.  The agent I am using was suggested to me by my wedding planner, because she knows her personally and knew that she has great expertise in the area that we are planning to go.  When i spoke to the agent, she said she had personally been to southern Africa 8 times.  She also has a special certification from the South African Tourist Board.  I completely trust her expertise, and she was able to get me some great deals that aren't advertised online.

 

On the contrary, I was just in a DW and the bride and groom booked it via a travel agent, and that agent was awful.  She was essentially just a middleman between the guests and a larger agency that booked directly with Sandals.  Instead of saving us money, they actually CHARGED the guests $25/couple to book through them - and that was just for the hotel, which we all could have easily booked at the same rate online.  But we "had to" go through her to be in the "official room block."  Ordinarily i would have booked that myself.  When another friend and i did some research we found this agent's bio - it was like "so-and-so hopes to one day travel internationally..." No.  If you are a travel agent handling bookings to international locations and you've never been out of the country, you are not qualified for your position.  She was difficult to work with. She actually told my future in-laws that they "probably wouldn't make their connection" and when they asked for a better flight itinerary she said "there isn't one."  Fail.

 

The above just makes me angry, because if i had endless money and could do whatever i wanted for a living i would want to be a travel agent - i would love to just sit around researching trips and activities that people would enjoy wherever they wanted to go based on their personal tastes and interests.  But bad and lazy agents are making it so that the profession almost doesn't even exist anymore.  it's really a shame.

majesty318

I usually book on my own. I travel a lot and am comfortable booking hotels, flights, excursions separately. The exceptions:

• cruises I always book through the cruise travel agent my mom uses. He gets us a good deal and some perks (bottle of wine in the room at the least)
  
• the time I went to an AI. I was traveling with a friend who is a teacher so we had to go over her Easter break. Flights on their own were crazy expensive on those dates and the bundle package from BookIt was much cheaper. We paid extra for a better flight time which was then cancelled - ugh. I tried to battle with them to get the extra $ back but they were not interested.
  

Knottie37373131

I booked through Sandals all inclusive resort and got a great deal. I even saw that the price went down the next week and was able to save another $571.20 just by calling them. I am booking my flight separate because we still have more than a year in advance and they were not available yet. I already have an idea of how much it should cost and plan on researching more when the flights become available.

cruffino

CMGragain said:

cruffino said:

I travel a lot and always book everything separate. I like to book with the actual company I'm using, not a 3rd party.

The above works well with hotels and air travel, but not with cruises.  Until a few years ago, cruises did not book passengers themselves, but only accepted bookings from travel agents.  Then they decided to get in on the $$, so they will book you directly, but you won't save any money or get any extra services from them.  If something goes wrong and you need an advocate, you won't have one.
If you are looking at a cruise or an all-inclusive resort, I would book with a travel agent.  Mine has saved me lots of money, and gone to bat for me when the cruise line got greedy.  (Shame on you, Princess Cruises!)


Good to know! Thanks for the info!